cielosiluminado's Reviews (443)

When the Tides Held the Moon

Venessa Vida Kelley

4.5

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

i need to gather my thoughts on this but tldr was that this was such a lovely debut.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care

Ashley Herring Blake

3.0

emotional funny lighthearted 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: Yes

it was a strong start but i lost interest towards in the last half ngl… why was the book so focused on a het couple’s relationship?

anyways, the characters, jokes and banter kept me going though!! delilah and claire were very endearing and i would’ve loved to see more of their relationship and domestic moments.

Far From You

Tess Sharpe

4.0

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

what a tragic love story sophie and mina’s was. everything they lost… everything they could’ve been. all cut too short. they never even got to be out together.

reading from sophie’s pov was absolutely heartbreaking. she was a well-written, imperfect, complex character—she felt real. i empathized with everything sophie was going through and all the hardships she faced prior (car accident that left her permanently disabled and led to addiction to pills) to and after mina’s murder. people expected her to hit rock bottom but never expected her to be strong enough to climb out.

i studied addiction in college and not many know that one of the hardest parts for addicts is their constant struggle of learning how to trust themselves again. loved ones learning how to trust them (or never learning to) also plays a big role in an addict’s healing process—and we see all of that play out throughout the book in the way people treated sophie when she came back from rehab after mina’s death. sophie’s growth and development throughout the book was rough and painful, but also profoundly inspirational in the end.

There’s this long road ahead. It’s never-ending, because you don’t get over losing someone. Not completely. Not when she was a part of you. Not when loving her broke you as much as it changed you.

addiction is not something i take lightly in books—even if it’s fiction—it is something i’m more critical of and do base my opinions on how carefully the author handled the topic. sharpe’s book about loss, grief, sexuality, and addiction was poignant.

in my opinion, the murder mystery part of the book was overshadowed by the complex characters and grief they were living with. the truth was a bit anticlimactic but i loved everything else about this book.

What If It's Us

Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera

2.0

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this is a perfect example of why you shouldn’t have so many pop culture references in your writing because it dates things… in this case, badly.

Love Redesigned

Lauren Asher

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted 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: Yes

2nd read:
i still haven’t recovered from the first time and in preparation for the upcoming book, i read this again and i loved it even more.

Love Redesigned

Lauren Asher

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted 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: Yes

1st read:
rent. was. due. and lauren delivered.

the moment i started this book, i couldn't put it down. i really didn't want it to end. one of my favorite reads this year.

luis julian lopez junior, el hombre que tu eres. julian literally had me blushing and swooning at so many times. seeing his pure love and adoration for dahlia made me so emotional. he'd do anything for her. adding him to my top tier book boyfriends.

dahlia isabella muñoz, mi niña preciosa. after everything dahlia endured, she came out stronger and braver on the other side and that made me love her so much more. she truly is a queen, talented, smart, funny, and she deserves the whole world.

“You made my wish come true without me realizing it.”

dahlia and julian have a beautiful, yet tragic history together. these two going from childhood rivals to lovers seemed inevitable. in the end though, it's obvious that they were made to not only challenge, but, love each other as well.

i also really enjoyed the nosey, meddling family and it often felt like i was reading my own family at times. pleasantly surprised.

usually i'm not a big fan of books where there's dialogue in other languages because it can be cringey or not translated well. but as someone who also comes from a mexican background like the main characters, i was delighted that the sociocultural norms and traditions the characters and their families partook in were written well. also very glad the (mexican) spanish, specifically the dialogue, in the book wasn't cringey.

the (free) extended epilogue from lauren's website had me swooning even more! i cannot wait for the second book to be released summer 2024.