babybirdblogs's Reviews (237)

Oof. The characters in allegedly have me a little bit scared…😳😨
Overall a book that grabs your attention, keeps you in its grips, and leaves you genuinely terrified that there are people like the characters in allegedly out there in the world.
Definitely a compelling read and once again  Tiffany D. Jackson sheds light on the reality of things that are wrong with the justice and child welfare systems.

Dear Rebecca Yarros,
Where do I even begin… Onyx Storm had me in my feels, and those feels were ALL OVER the place! I laughed, I got emotional, I cussed (A LOT), I felt really uncomfortable reading chapter 49 on audiobook... Overall though, I didn’t want our time together to end. OS was a book that as soon as I turned the last page, (Okay it may have been like five minutes later after I stared at the wall trying to recover from that cliffhanger) I was ready to stary over, pen in hand and begin dissecting everything I may have missed, as well as re-read the series all over again just so I don’t have to accept that I’m going to have to wait what feels like forever for you to once again wound my soul with a new book in the Empyrean Series. I hate that you do this to me, but I still love you.

I finished Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys days ago and as I sit here trying to write this review my mouth is hanging open and i’m still trying to process what i’ve read.

The Nickel Boys is HEAVY, and insightful, and had me taking a whole pile of notes.  At times The Nickel Boys made me laugh, gasp, and in the end made me rethink everything I just read.

At times it made me think of the Shawshank Redemption as well as the documentary Kids for Cash. The rest of Mr. Whitehead’s works have been added to my TBR, and I look forward to the insights and knowledge I gain from them.

Ace of Spades had me questioning my own sanity. Ace of Spades was, in a word, WILD. I ended up reading this as an e-book and the further in I got the more unhinged my notes became. At about 60% of the way through the book I gave up trying to make any predictions and just accepted that at no point was I going to have any idea what was going to happen next. It made me laugh, made me say “huh? at least a dozen times, made me suspicious of EVERYONE, hated the FMC, loved the FMC, and at one point made me wonder if the MMC was just hallucinating other characters.

I think this book is perfect for fans of

The Hate You Give and Sex Education

I considered this an enjoyable read, predictable at times, but still a hell of a ride.

The first page opened and brought me Lady Whistledown vibes, and if you know me you KNOW I’m here for it. 

The Other March Sisters was an amazing, heart warming read that gives fans of Little Women the opportunity to learn more about sisters, Amy, Meg, and Beth. I loved the fact that the story included LGBTQ representation, had characters I both loved and HATED (I’m leaving this spoiler free, but you know who you are 😡).

The Other March Sister’s made me laugh, think about the society we currently live in, reminded me of my love for art and art history, and I was able to recognize myself in some part of each of the sister’s stories. I never wanted the book to end and at the same time couldn’t read it fast enough. Halfway through the novel I was already adding it to my “books to buy list” and noting on Goodreads it was going to be a 5 star read for me, and it did not disappoint. I will be working on doing a tandem read with Little Women and The Other March Sisters because I’m so excited to read them side by side.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC and special thanks to the authors For bringing me what may very well be my favorite read of 2025.

Oof. Reading Lost and Lassoed had me feeling like Lyla Sage has been reading my diary over the last several years and incorporated it into Teddy’s story. I felt so seen, and loved the acknowledgment that It’s hard being the friend who feels like they are doing all the work, and that it’s equally hard to be the one no one worries about because “they will be fine”. Lost and Lassoed reminds me of the importance of being vulnerable and letting others in, while also being open and honest with yourself and others about the things you need.

I wanted to love this book so bad and I feel like it had great potential, however I found the main character Civil to be shallow, aloof, and at times childish and annoying. I also found that part of her narrative was redundant but never added anything to the plot or helped enhance the story. DNF’d at 79 pages. This book just wasn’t for me. 

Swift and Saddled had me googling cowboy calendars, reflecting on my mental health, and reminding me of my love of all things trash pandas 🦝🦝🦝

I could relate to Ada and her history with her ex-husband and divorce (Going forward, I too will refer to my first marriage as “the incident”😂) as well as the difficulty in making friends as an adult. 

Reading Swift and Saddled has led to a lot of self reflection and setting goals to learn more about myself and the things I like, and  liking myself again 

I don’t know how I allowed myself to get 76% finished with this book before DNF’ing. It became too cringe for me to continue with it being so full of insta-love and ignoring of red flags. This was a no for me.