The premise of this book has a lot of potential, and overall, it's more of a quiet, character-driven story. Which I normally absolutely love; give me character over plot any day. However, the writing style felt a bit all over the place, even though this is a fairly short novel. Some parts seemed to drag, while others didn't. I loved [book:The Marrow Thieves|34649348], but this book didn't really reach that level.

What I did like about this book was the way Winifred's relationship with her dad changes throughout the book. He's been struggling with the grief over her mother's death, and Winifred is struggling with the death of her aunt. 

Not a bad read overall, but not my favorite from Cherie Dimaline. 

 Thanks to HarperTeen and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball by Jason June! We know that we can can expect fun gay adventures from Jason June, with a little bit of chaos, and I think that's a great description for this book. And it's coming out just in time for pride!

The overall concept for this book felt unique. I loved the concept of the Gaybutante Society, that helps teens make connections for the future as well as in the LGBTQ+ community. It was an overall fun idea and it's what drew me to the story in the first place. I definitely think the general tone will make it a really fun summer read.

However, the pace of the novel made it so that some aspects felt glossed over. Giving some of the events leading up to the ball a little more breathing room not only would have helped with the world building, it also would have helped with character development. Riley's bet at the beginning felt a little too high stakes, and kind of out of left field. Adding more character development for Riley and some of the side characters also would have helped make it feel more natural.

There were some good explorations of gender and the way gender was a spectrum, though. There are definitely teens that will relate to Riley's journey, and I'm glad this book exists because of that. 

All in all, this wasn't my favorite of June's books, but it will still make a fun summer read! 

I guess I'm just hitting some middle of the road fantasy with these last two books! This is a debut historical fantasy about secretive magic, about power, and about sexism. The magic system was interesting and gave off a very 1920s vibe throughout most of the story. The overall world building was well done, and there's a strong cast of characters throughout.

Some of the pacing in the book was off, however. There were some moments where the writing really shined, so there's potential! Especially since this is going to be a series; lots of time to flesh out some of the aspects of this book that had a lot of potential.

Quite honestly, I'm not really sure how to rate this book. The world building and the magic system were fascinating. The concept of the magical school and the city it was set in was engaging for the first 100 pages or so, and I wish more of the book would have been set there because I love a good magical school story. However, when they got lost in the forest, they lost me a bit.

And, I think that's because the characters were especially strong. They all kind of fell a bit flat, including Ren, the main narrator. Yes, she's smart, knows a lot, but outside of that, she seemed to only have one emotion the entire time. The romance at the center felt a bit forced because of this, since she only had one goal in mind: revenge.

The story also would have benefited from a bit more editing because the story itself dragged a bit in the middle. Like, there was an urgency to them surviving, but it didn't really feel like it? It's hard to explain. There's room for a sequel at the end of the book, but not sure I'd continue with the series anyway.

The Black Cat storyline is really the first 1/3ish of this volume, with the rest of it filled with the end of a Ben Reilly story. It's been a while, so that storyline felt a little out of place to me. But Black Cat and Spider-Man always have great chemistry, so that was probably the best part of this volume overall. We're also heading into the Gauntlet storytline, so taht's what's coming up next.

Aside from the fact that I really dislike this cover, a pretty good Spider-Man volume! The Chameleon storyline was probably the best aspect of this volume, as it was the most tense. I was hooked while reading it, and Peter Parker really can't catch a break. We get a little re-introduction as to what's been happening with MJ between now and Brand New Day, which was a helpful refresher. The art wasn't always my favorite, but you know. It is how it is. 

This volume mostly felt like filler for the next big event, which is fine! Just didn't necessarily make it a stand out. We did get to see some back story for Aunt May and Uncle Ben, which I enjoyed. And of course, the main event: the wedding! Which of course, leaves us with our first siting of MJ in a while. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

The end of this volume hints towards the Gauntlet storyline, which I know spans like 5 volumes. Big events can be hit or miss, but we'll see how it goes!

Oh my god, Norman Osborn is...really messed up. Oof. Spider-Man takes a little bit of the sidelines in this story, focusing instead on Harry and his father. There's some great stuff that comes out of that storyline; a lot of emotional depth and honestly, lots of trauma. You really feel for Harry, though.

There's some stuff in here that doesn't age particuarly well (especially when it comes to the female characters), but alas. It is from the early 2000s. Overall, an engaging story that really gets tense in spots. It'll be interesting to see what happens next!

First of all, the fact that this is a YA book and they go back in time to the 90s because that's when her mom was a teenager just makes me feel old. I just think of going back in time for that to be further back. But this is where we are currently at. So.

Nevertheless, this was an overall really enjoyable story. It's your typical "go back in time to fix my relationship with a parent" type of story, so most of the story was a tad predictable. I did enjoy how Sam gained a new perspective for both her mom and her halmoni. You get that interwoven story of immigration in there, and the way perspectives have changed since the 90s. There was a lot packed in the story, and it made it really easy to read.

There is a slight plot twist in there that I didn't see coming, so I appreciated that! If I remember correctly, Sam is a sophomore, so I was a little confused as to why she was completing college apps? But maybe I'm remembering that incorrectly. Some of the time travel details were also a bit vague, though that's maybe on purpose. Time travel itself is vague.

This would also make a great movie, so movie companies take note! Stop re-making things and make new movies instead. I would watch this in a heartbeat.

As someone who doesn't actually read a lot of adult fiction (especially literary fiction), I was more captivated by this book than I expected. Especially because a lot of the characters aren't exactly the most likable, and the story itself does get a bit violent in places. I wasn't necessarily a huge fan of those passages, especially because there was a lot of animal violence as well. But for the most part, I was able to skim the passages that were especially dark.

The plot itself is a bit all over the place, jumping between timelines and giving Inti's backstory in pieces. I found I didn't mind this, as it connected to what was currently happening in Inti's life and gave us context for what was happening in the present moment. A lot of this story is also about domestic violence, in some pretty dark situations, so if that's a trigger for you, I'd stay away from this one. It gets very, very dark in places.

Even with that, the writing was beautiful and there were some great lines throughout. Will I necessarily read the author's other book? Probably not, just because it's not my favorite genre. But I am glad that I read this one!