booktribe's Reviews (603)

The illustrations were beautiful, the story was very interesting, but the execution was lacking. It skipped around a lot. There were several times where I wondered if a panel or two were missing because there’d be no lead up to something that happens or is said. The potential for the story is so great that I might try to continue the series when the next one comes out, but the layout and writing need improvement.

This book called RECLAIMING Two Spirits is written by a cis white man. I prefer to get my Indigenous history from Indigenous people. I don’t understand why the author thinks that he is “reclaiming” anything.

This book was not at all what I was expecting in the best way!! The story had me HOOKED! The characters were everything! I loved the main characters so much! They really got me rethinking my top love languages because the way he SPOILED my girl and the beauty that was their love letters to each other has me craving gifts and words of affirmation🥰 I can’t wait to continue the series!

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is a gothic horror novel set in an alternate Victorian England about Silas, an autistic trans boy who just wants to be himself and wants the opportunity to do what he’s best at, surgery. But, after a failed attempt to get out of an arranged marriage, Silas gets diagnosed with Veil Sickness—a disease that sends violet-eyed women into madness—and gets sent away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. But when the ghosts of missing students come to Silas begging for help, he must risk himself and everything he loves to get justice.

This novel is a tough read (check trigger warnings below) but it was definitely worth it. The writing was beautiful. I found myself highlighting so many quotes. The character work was great. I loved Silas and Daphne and even eventually loved characters that I never thought I would!  I am a gore girlie, so I loved all the medical talk and gory scenes! (Even though there was one scene that was even a lot for ME, the girl who loves horror and watches real surgeries on YouTube) But I loved every second of it. 

I do wish that the ghosts were a little more prevalent. Most of the book focuses on the horror of the humans, as it should’ve, that’s what the story called for. But in the synopsis there was a lot of emphasis put on spirits and being a medium, so there was less of that than I was expecting. Also, there were a lot of characters introduced at once toward the beginning of the book, and it took me a while to remember who was who and keep up with everyone’s names. Those were my only two complaints though, everything else was great!

This book was a hard read at times, very triggering, but it was worth it! And I liked that there was a note in the back of the book that addressed the fact that in reality most of the things that were done to these characters were historically done to people of color. I’m glad the author shed a light on that for his readers that don’t know. I’d definitely recommend this book to someone looking to get lost in gorgeous writing, characters you care about, and a heavy but necessary story.

Thank you Peachtree Teen and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own. 

TW: sexual assault (on page), transphobia, ableism, discussions of forced pregnancy and miscarriage, suicidal ideation, misgendering, misogyny, animal disection, abuse, abortion, medical gore, murder, pedophilia

Give me all the Black cowboy romance books!!!

I knew I was going to enjoy this book because the fake dating trope is top tier every time, but this far surpassed my expectations! Oaklynn and Sacred were sooooo freaking cute! One of my favorite book couples of all time! There were so many beautiful moments with them! I’m a southern girl, so I knew I was gon love it, but I really didn’t know how much I NEEDED Black cowboy/cowgirl books, but now I need them all! And this book also consistently has me cracking up! I need to get me a Sacred (even though he be playing too much)! I also loved Blake and can’t wait to read her book! It was just everything! It gave adorable, hilarious, family drama, like literally everything. I am IN LOVE with this book! Everybody go read it!

The book is just too triggering to me. There is so much emphasis on adult/minor relationships and pedophiiia that it’s just so uncomfortable. It’s happening multiple times with multiple different people and I can’t take it. There was also a common theme of young girls “luring” grown men into having sex with them. I hope that there will be commentary later in the book about how only these grown men are to blame because children shouldn’t be able to “lure” you into doing anything with them, but I can’t finish to find out. Read with caution.

When I first started this book, I was incredibly excited for it. It’s one of my most anticipated releases of 2023! And the beginning of the book was great! It started off very creepy and mysterious! The character development was good. The exploration of grief in this story was very impactful. I loved the mixed media format and how photographs were included in the novel. And the chapters from the motel room’s point of view were so creepy, I was excited to find out what was going on! But sadly, I had to DNF at 55%.

After the first few chapters, most of the time this did not feel like a mystery or horror book. There was way too much emphasis on a romantic subplot and it really took me out of the story and bored me. There was more pining than mystery. I don’t usually mind if there’s a little romantic subplot in my spooky books, but the two main characters pining took over the whole story. It was interesting at first but it just got exhausting when the story wasn’t moving forward, it was just all about romantic thoughts. It also seems like these characters don’t really care about their lives! At one point they learn about all the deaths in the room, they know there’s something sinister going on,  and they still choose to stay there! That is very unrealistic to me. At about 49% into the story I decided to put it down for a week or so to focus on books that I was enjoying more. I eventually picked it back up to read more, got to 55%, and I just have no motivation to finish. I kind of care what happens at the end, but not enough to read 45% more pining instead of mystery. Maybe one day I’ll come back and try to finish, but not today.

Someone that knows going into the story that romantic thoughts are a heavy focus of this story and that it’s more character driven than plot driven might have a better time with it. I was just expecting paranormal mystery with little to no romance. But if you enjoy romantic plots in your spooky books, this could be a good read for you!

Thanks you Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

TW: death of a family member, car accident, drowning, parental neglect