Reviews by caseythereader | The StoryGraph

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caseythereader

The Dating Playbook

DID NOT FINISH: 18%

I just can’t read about athletes who push through injuries and pain to keep playing. This is totally a me thing, I’m sure this book is great.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care

Ashley Herring Blake

5.0

emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

- DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE is everything a romance novel should be. Funny, full of vibrant characters, fast paced, and whew, spicy. On top of all that, it's got a meaty plot that explores hard and important life experiences.
- I loved that it was not quite friends to lovers and not quite second chance, but also not NOT those things. It was messy, but always clear that Delilah and Claire were good together.
- There's a lot going on in this book but it never feels to crowded: instead the characters feel like real people living real, complicated lives, and discovering new things about themselves and the others in their lives along the way.

Content Warnings

My Monticello

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

4.5

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

Daughter of the Drowned Empire

Frankie Diane Mallis

3.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thanks to Seven Queens Press for the free advance copy of this book.

- DAUGHTER OF THE DROWNED EMPIRE was a fantastic surprise of a book. A complex world with an intricate history and hierarchical power system, a smart and fiery heroine, and a smoldering love interest.
- It took a bit to get a grasp on all the various ranks and kingdoms, but following along as Lyriana learned more about herself and the land she's heir to was worth hanging in there for.
- The book takes a few good plot turns and leaves some threads hanging for the sequel, which promises to expand the world and its history.

Content Warnings

Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home

Charlie Warzel, Anne Helen Petersen

4.0

challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

- I think everyone who works an office job should read this book. Management to see what they should be doing, and non-management to see what they can argue for.
- This whole book can essentially be boiled down to a few points: 1. Just because it's always been this way doesn't mean it has to keep being that way. 2. There's no one solution for every company, flexibility and thoughtfulness is key. 3. Capitalism ruins everything for everyone.
- This book will also show you that you are not alone. You are not the only one struggling while everyone else is managing the tornado of suck just fine. The whole arrangement needs to change for everyone.

Content Warnings

The Boy with a Bird in His Chest

Emme Lund

3.75

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Thanks to Atria Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- THE BOY WITH A BIRD IN HIS CHEST is a lovely exploration of queerness through the lens of magical realism. Reading Owen and Gail as a metaphor for being queer (and trans, specifically, was how I read it) is both a gut punch and a warm hug.
- This is a book that makes you feel like you're drifting along the currents with it (fitting for a book about a boy drawn to water). Most of it is just languidly figuring things out, with a few propulsive events sprinkled in. You just need to be willing to ride along with Owen as he finds himself.

Content Warnings

King of Joy

Richard Chiem

3.5

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

Bitter

Akwaeke Emezi

4.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Thanks to Knopf Young Readers for the free advance copy of this book.

- BITTER is the prequel to Emezi's YA novel PET, and follows Jam's mother Bitter in the pre-revolution days.
- Given that Bitter is older than Jam was in PET, this novel has a slightly more adult feel - PET felt like a middle grade fairytale, while BITTER is more like a parable from a parallel timeline. It also expanded the world and its fantastical elements a bit, which was great.
- These books would be great gifts for kids interested in activism, particularly around social equity. Emezi has built the world of Lucille to shear down the world's problems to just resource distribution and policing, making these a good place to start. They even name drop some prominent activists from our world (Brooks, Kaba, etc.) to give readers a trail to follow.

Content Warnings

Ophelia After All

Racquel Marie

3.75

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Thanks to Macmillan Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- Y'all, OPHELIA AFTER ALL is one of the sweetest, queerest books I've ever read.
- This book so beautifully explores discovering new sides of yourself, and grappling not only with coming out generally, but with how earthshaking it can be to understand yourself differently, and to worry about changing the set image of you others have in their heads.
- A range of queer identities are shown, from lesbian to asexual, and most of the characters are people of color as well: just wonderful to see a book about a group of queer teens that isn't primarily white.
- I did feel that it got a little bogged down in Big Teenage Relationship Feelings in the middle, but every character was so lovely I was willing to keep going in hopes of finding them happy and loved at the end.
- On a personal note, my family has always grown roses the way Ophelia does, and I loved seeing the names of hybrids I know and love given the appreciation they deserve.

Content Warnings

Wahala

Nikki May

4.25

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thanks to Libro FM for the free copy of this book.

- WAHALA is pitched as an Anglo-Nigerian Sex and the City, which, sure, in the sense that it's about a group of girlfriends and their relationships. But it's also more than that, of course.
- The story builds slowly as we learn about each woman and her life, regrets, annoyances, and sense of belonging in London's Nigerian community. At first it seems like just a standard literary fiction novel peeking into their lives, but about 3/4 of the way through things take A TURN and suddenly you're on a rollercoaster with them, rushing to turn the pages and figure out what the heck is happening.
- I won't give anything away, but give this one a try if you're in the mood for something with both depth and action.

Content Warnings

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