buffyreads's Reviews (575)

5⭐️ brb crying over two tiktokers in love | tropes: rivals to lovers, fake dating, asian mcs | audio 

This book was a love letter to all things romance and also a heartfelt lesson i. finding yourself. I loved Irene so much! I related to her a lot. I loved seeing her journey dealing with people pleasing and anxiety. As someone who struggles a lot with negative self-talk and anxiety it can be tough to feel enough and worthy and it felt cathartic to see Irene face these challenges and deal with them. I loved Irene and Aiden together. Their chemistry was everything and I loved seeing Irene slowly let Aiden in. I also loved Aiden's character. He is so caring and kind while also being charming and sarcastic. I liked seeing him challenge some of Irene's perceptions and how that helped her grow. I also liked how understanding he was of her and how he fought for her. This book also was such an ode to romance readers in the best way. I loved the discussion of tropes and the subversion of them. Seeing a main character that lives and breathes romance struggle to feel worthy of her own happily ever after was really interesting and relatable. I will definitely have to read more from Susan Lee because this was incredible. 

Thank you to Read Forever Pub and Libro.fm for a chance to listen to an ALC of this book! 🖤

3⭐️ so much going on omg | tropes: angst, ace spec fmc x bisexual fmc, friends to lovers | medium steam | audio 

Overall Thoughts 💭:

I liked Angela a lot as the fmc. I've been looking for more books with ace rep and this book really dove into what that's like and the narratives people on the ace spectrum have to combat both in person and online. It also touched on how hard it is to be a late bloomer and the pressures of that. The conversations about sexuality, identity, and all its complexities was great and I liked her journey. 

I liked the concept of her becoming tiktok famous. I know a lot of people don't like explicit mentions of social media like that but it was done really well as someone who is a creator. 

Something I struggled with in this book is its direction. I felt like the plot was being pulled in several directions and not all of them were equally interesting. Theres the main social media plot, the ace influencers crush plot, the love interests ex, the scavenger hunt (that felt truly pointless at a certain point) then the cousins, and then the artist.  I think this story was pulled in too many directions with too many side characters. I understand the story the author wanted to tell with these subplots but I feel like it added additional weight to the story that made it drag on. It sometimes felt like women's fiction in that aspect. 

The romance between Angela and Krystal was the highlight of this book. I loved their vulnerability with each other and their conversations were always interesting. I did again it frustrated with the pacing but the story between them was beautiful in the end. They both had valid reasons to struggle being in a relationship and be vulnerable. 

Thank you to Simon Teen for a chance to read an ARC of this book! 🖤

5⭐️ my beloved scooby doo gang feat a raven! |
tropes: paranormal mystery, first love, paranormal small town | digital 

Overall Thoughts 💭:
I loved this book a lot! I read it in two days and was completely drawn into this paranormal world, and this group of teenagers trying their best. I adored Cam. I empathized with his strained relationship with his parents, brother, and best friend. What I also loved about this book is that even from Cam's point of view, you can understand all his new friends and their feelings and perspectives.  His new group of friends all felt fleshed out and important, and that made the conflict and seeing them all come together even more impactful. I also loved this setting! Small paranormal towns aren't new but I liked how Lukens slowly widens the world for us through Cam's eyes so that the exposition never feels like info-dumping and the creatures' lore is unique in their own ways. There is a romance subplot that was adorable. A lot is going on with the mystery plot, but it was still very cute and sweet. I liked Mateo and Cam together! Another feat of how good this book is that I cared about the mystery and was on the edge of my seat! I struggle with mysteries sometimes but wanted to give this book a try and am so glad I did.

Biphobia :(