Reviews by betweentheshelves

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Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter

Brea Grant

3.0

adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A quick read and a fun take on Mary Shelley! Classified as horror, but with humor infused throughout. At times, it felt like it was a bit on the wordy side, but the ideas behind the story and the art were definitely sound.

Siege and Storm

Leigh Bardugo

3.0

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Unfortunately, I think this book suffers from second book syndrome. I had a hard time staying focused by the end, but maybe that's because I'm in the mood to read more YA queer rom-coms. Anyway! There are a lot of characters introduced in this book, which makes it difficult to follow at times.

Of course, there's still a cliffhanger ending which means I'll definitely be reading the third book. And still watching the show! I have hopes that the third book will make up for the issues in the second one. Interested in seeing how this all plays out!

Content Warnings

Five Dark Fates

Kendare Blake

3.0

dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

While four books weren't super necessary for this series, this was a pretty satisfying ending! Well, an ending that fits with the mood for the rest of the series. We get closure for all the characters in one way or another. I really enjoyed Blake's writing style and would definitely be interested in reading more from her!

Content Warnings

She Drives Me Crazy

Kelly Quindlen

4.0

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy to review! As a lover of the enemies to lovers trope, I knew that this was going to be right up my alley. It’s the gay fake-dating scheme that everyone needs!

We start off running in this book, jumping right into Scottie and her girlfriend drama. Quindlen does an excellent job of pulling the reader into this fictional world without being too info-dumpy. Right from the start, Scottie is a likeable character, even if she seems to be caught up in her toxic ex-girlfriend. And is a bit oblivious.

The relationship between Irene and Scottie also felt nature, even if the two are incredibly snarky toward each other in the beginning. It’s great banter though, and you can tell there are sparks almost from the beginning. They also have incredible best friends, and Scottie has a great family. I love seeing a family who is totally accepting and willing to help Scottie through her drama.

The only thing I would have improved in this was the pacing. By the end, some of the pacing felt off, particularly with the competition for Student Athlete of the Year. I wanted the events to go together more seamlessly, but instead the end felt a little jumpy.

All in all, this is a great rom-com featuring two girls who weren’t meant to fall in love. With lots of great, diverse representation and a fantastic cover, this one should be on every teen shelf!

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Entertaining while also hitting some heavier issues. You know I love enemies to lovers, so I knew I was going to like this. Stay tuned for a full review on Friday!

Content Warnings

Two Dark Reigns

Kendare Blake

3.0

dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What I enjoyed about this installment was that we got more information and background about the island and how it relates to the main land. Plus, we got some dark history of the queens that just adds fuel to the fire with the current queens. Yes, the book was fairly slow moving, but the same structure holds true from the other books. Definitely still interested in seeing how it ends, though!

Content Warnings

Kate In Waiting

Becky Albertalli

4.5

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me an advanced copy of this to review! I love Becky Albertalli, and this is one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I am happy to say that it definitely lived up to the hype!

Right from the start, we get Albertalli's signature lovable characters. I immediately fell in love with Kate and Anderson and their little, diverse squad. Not only do we have Jewish main characters, Kate and Anderson (who is also Black), but also a trans character and other gay characters. Just like in Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, this is a squad you'll fall in love with and their love for theater. It's honestly contagious.

What I also loved about this was Kate's journey in finding confidence in herself. At the beginning of the book, she's content to stay in the background. But through her friends and their support, she realizes that she is pretty awesome. Everyone deserves friends like that. Even though the plot points were slightly predictable, I didn't care because I loved reading about these characters.

Finally, I loved the importance that Albertalli places on platonic love. I don't feel like that's ever emphasized enough in rom-coms, but it's front and center in this book. Platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones, and this romance gives equal importance to both. Next to the characters, that's probably my favorite thing about this book.

All in all, this will hit home with theater nerds everywhere. If you're looking for a love story focused on friendship, this is the book for you!

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Of course this is adorable in that teen rom-com way. As always, Albertalli absolutely nails the characters. More in a full review to come on Thursday!

Content Warnings

Katie the Catsitter

Colleen AF Venable

4.0

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Obviously picked this up because of the cats, and I'm so glad I did! This is almost everything you could want in a middle grade graphic novel, with fun characters, cats, and superheroes. I loved seeing all the adventures that Katie got up to with the 217 cats, and can't wait to read more! They are definitely just getting started.

Shadow and Bone

Leigh Bardugo

3.0

adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think this is a great introduction into this world, and there's a lot of information in here that I wish I would have known reading Six of Crows. Plus, with the way that it ended, I need to know what happens next. Good thing I checked out all three from the library!

Content Warnings

A Man and His Cat, Volume 3

Umi Sakurai

5.0

hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

I could just keep reading these. They're just so relaxing and the perfect in-between for more serious books.

A Man and His Cat, Volume 2

Umi Sakurai

5.0

hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Just as cute as the first! If you're a cat owner, you'll definitely relate to basically everything in this manga.

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