This was just the cute, happy thing I needed right now! Nina and Jamie are adorable, and I loved the premise of the radio show. Their group of friends was hilarious, and the little radio segments throughout really added to the story. Of course the plot was a little predictable, but it's a rom-com so we'll forgive that for now. The characters definitely made up for it!

The art in this book is gorgeous, honestly. That's the main reason to give it all the stars, plus wonderfully crafted prose. An important story to be included in the realm of picture books, and it's no surprise that it won so many awards!

This was a quick listen, but a fantastic one! Normally I'm not a huge fan of novellas because once you get into the story, it's over. This novella hooked you from the beginning and kept you invested all the way through. Glad I finally got around to reading it!

Honestly, why aren't more people talking about this book? The discussions in here are so, so important and it's done so well. Del's journey is one that a lot of teens (especially teen boys) need to read.

Review originally posted on between-the-shelves.com!

Thanks to Macmillan and Net Galley for an eARC of this to review! I loved There Will Come a Darkness, so I was excited to pick up this sequel. And it definitely didn't disappoint! The characters I came to love in the first book all came back in this one, engaging in even higher stakes than before.

If you haven't read the first book, or it's been a while since you have, I definitely recommend a refresh before picking up this book. I struggled at the beginning to pick up where the previous book left off, mostly because it's been a minute since I read it. This book picks up pretty much immediately where the last one left off, so keeping up to date is crucial.

Once I got back into the story, though, I remembered why I liked the first book so much. It's the characters that really drive the story for me. Their relationships built around these doomsday events happening pull the story forward. I'd say they even aid in raising the stakes. Once you get into the story, you definitely won't want to put it down until the end.

An epic fantasy with a strong cast of characters you'll be rooting for until the end.
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Once I finally got my bearings after refreshing my memory from the first book, this is a fantastic follow up! More in a review to come next week.

Wow, two books on toxic masculinity back to back. What are the odds they also both have a character named Del? (The other is Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles). I liked how the issues were dealt with in this book. The characters talked them out, and there were so many great discussions. Also even the background characters were fleshed out, which is always great to see!

Be warned, there are some explicit sex scenes in this book, though!

I was pleasantly surprised by this! There are a lot of great discussions of depression that go into this story, as well as chronic illness. The plot was also pleasantly not completely predictable! That's normally my issue with books like this, but this one kept you on your toes. Overall, I thought it was really well done, with a strong cast of main and some fantastic side characters.

One thing's for sure, Rory Power is great at writing a sense of foreboding that works its way throughout the novel. While I enjoyed Wilder Girls, it felt like there was just something missing at the end. While we get more of an explanation in this one, there are pieces of it that seem a little too far fetched. Maybe I was expecting a different kind of ending? Either way, Power still gets props for the tension written throughout the novel. The story itself just wasn't really my cup of tea.

Gene Luen Yang does it again! While this is a book about basketball, Yang also covers a variety of topics, mainly through the stories of the players and everyone involved in the championship. Plus, he weaves in basketball history throughout, which was interesting!

Atmospheric and slightly creepy. Exactly what I expect from a Gaiman novel.