booktribe's Reviews (603)

Give me all the Black romance books set in fall with giant pumpkins pls🥰

Also, idk how but I need Enoch and Katherine to get their own book! Maybe a marriage in trouble trope, gotta fall back in love or something. Idk but I NEED more of them😩

Been trying to read this book for months and just can’t get into it. Hopefully I’ll like the movie better.

Couldn’t connect to the writing style

I thought the book was great, it was just too much for me to take. Very heavy with no respite.

Loved the action, but I was sooooo confused. There were a million fantasy words with no context as to what they meant. I had to flip to the glossary every page. 

Should’ve been way shorter. I was over halfway done with the book and barely anything had happened. Just a lot of running around in circles. There should’ve either been important subplots to the story to fill it out OR it should’ve been way shorter. It’ll probably be better as a movie, but I don’t like that the casting is white-washed so🤷🏽‍♀️

I was incredibly bored!!!

All Signs Point to Yes is a short story collection inspired by astrology and love! There’s a story for every sign! And it’s very diverse with Black, Latine, Asian, and Indigenous representation. As well as lesbian, gay, pansexual, bisexual, non-binary, and trans rep! 

     I first requested this book because I felt like who better to review this book than me, a lover of books and astrology? I just had to read it! As soon as I started the book I loved the fact that all the stories were based on Venus signs, which is the planet of love, instead of sun signs. I did feel like most of the stories were accurate to their signs. And I love that there was a mix between fantasy and contemporary stories. I didn’t love this book like I thought I would, but I did enjoy it.

     My favorite stories were the Libra, Pisces, Taurus, and Virgo stories. Sadly, out of this whole collection, those are the only stories I gave above 3 stars to. Some of the other stories were pretty confusing or boring to me. But those four stories I mentioned were the standouts. But, there is one thing that bothered me in the Virgo story that I must address. I was very happy to see Indigenous representation in this collection! However, there was so much appropriation of AAVE (African American Vernacular English), it made me very uncomfortable. I enjoyed this story, and individually I gave it 4 stars, but it would’ve been a 5 star read for me if not for the appropriation of AAVE. I hope the author can improve upon that in his next work.

     I wish I had enjoyed this collection more being that I love astrology and it was written by all authors of color. It sounded like the perfect read for me, but several stories left a lot to be desired in my opinion. However, I would love if there was a part 2 with new love stories for each sign! I would definitely read that!

Thank you Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this arc! All opinions are my own.

TW: parental death, parental abandonment, addiction recovery, bullying

     This book is a teen romance between two members of a battle-bot-building team. If that doesn’t make you want to read this book then I don’t know what will! The cover immediately drew me to this book, but when I read the synopsis I just knew I had to read it!

     There were so many great things about this book. Yes this book is a romance, but it also tackles all the misogyny that girls and women in STEM have to go through. I really loved that this book touched on that because so many young girls that will read this book need to know that it happens and that they can and will overcome it! And although that was a part of the story, the novel never lost its fun and lighthearted flow. I also found the descriptions of all the robot information, including the battle bot fights, very easy to follow. There was technical talk, but I never got confused. Another thing I loved about this book was Bel, the female main character! She was so likable and I just wanted the best for her in life. The character development in this story was great, even with the characters I disliked, I understood them and their motivations.

     However, speaking of characters I didn’t like, I didn’t like Teo, the male main character. He was very arrogant and self centered. Though his character did improve eventually, I would’ve enjoyed the story better if the romance had been between Bel and Dash, Teo’s best friend. Put Dash in the forefront and make Teo a side character and this could’ve been a five star read for me. I also didn’t like Neelam, the only other girl on the robotics team. I wanted to love her, but I’ve never been a fan of the “this character is rude, but only because they’re misunderstood” trope. Like I said previously, I understood every character’s motivations, I know that her character was meant to show that a lot of times women and girls in STEM have to have a guard up to protect themselves from the overwhelming misogyny, but there was no excuse for her to be continually rude to Bel when Bel never did anything to her. 

     I enjoyed this book! The end was very satisfying for me! Though, I would’ve enjoyed it more if I liked the male main character. But, I found it very enjoyable and can’t wait for young girls in STEM to read it! 

Thank you Holiday House and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

TW: misogyny, parental divorce, cultural appropriation