I had really high hopes for this debut novel, The Queer Girl is Going to be Okay by Dale Walls. It's a story of Dawn who, with the help of friends Edie and Georgia, is making a documentary about queer love to enter a film contest for a major scholarship. 

Dawn lives in Texas and is hiding her own queer identity from her religious family. I enjoyed and resonated with the descriptions of life in the South, especially around cultural expectations and religious values. I also thought the author did an excellent job creating a lens into what it is like to be Black and Texan, two identities that are not my own. 

Edie and Georgia get a fair bit of character development as well the MC Dawn, but I think the character development overall was wonky and uneven. I wanted more growth and nuance, and this gave more happy ending life is great YA vibes. That said, I also wanted more fortitude from Dawn about standing up to her family's value system. Do I know that's not always realistic? Yes, but I think that brave conversations are something teens really do need to read. 

Unfortunately, this didn't hit the right notes for me personally. I'd revisit this author because as a debut, this is a promising start. 

I was eager to read The Fury by Alex Michaelides. It is getting lots of buzz on Instagram, and I thoroughly enjoyed his previous book, The Silent Patient. I was a little unsure going into this one, because his other past novel, The Maidens, was not a good fit for me. The Fury surprised me with a unique storytelling style and lots of nods to characters and events from his past books. That said, you can read this as a standalone that would only minorly spoil those earlier titles. 

Told by an unreliable narrator, this is a story about close friends with secrets on an isolated Greek island. I loved the setting and Michaelides' descriptions of it. The characters are relatively intriguing, if a bit one note. We have two famous actresses (one more self-centered than the other), spouses, a maid, an island caretaker, and the side kick friend that is our narrator. As the story progresses, there are narrative shifts that give some insight into other characters thoughts and motivations. This one moves at a good clip, so I don't want to say much about the plot other than that there is a murder and the police won't be able to arrive for quiet some time due to weather. 

This book landed solidly between The Silent Patient and The Maidens for me. I had fun and I recommend it for a quick, fun read that moves at a good clip. Just don't think too hard about it or you'll end up with some potentially angsty questions about a few dubious plot decisions. I was fortunate to have both the ARC and ALC of this one and I preferred the e-book. Many folks are enjoying this narrator, but his voice wasn't my cup of tea. 

I won't remember much about this one as time goes on, but I will remember the unique way that Michaelides divided up the story, turned traditional thriller plot narrative style around, and that I didn't want to stop reading!

The prologue was intriguing. Then the first chapter was cheesy, clunky, and displayed a privileged cranky MC that just turned me off. 

As a bisexual, I think I'm insulted? 

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date delivered what I wanted and have come to expect from the Bright Falls series, loveable Sapphic energy and some good spice. 

Iris Kelly was not my favorite FMC in Bright Falls, but I think that has a lot to do with where I am in life and a lack of things in common. The writing was great and fun, and I think this will work well for most romance readers. Even my least favorite Ashley Herring Blake book is still a great book.  

HOW DOES THIS SERIES JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER?

Okay, now that I'm done yelling... read this ASAP. I cannot believe how much depth Oseman packed into this fifth installment of Heartstopper. Nick and Charlie are up against a lot in this one: figuring out the next step in their relationship (both as Nick goes off to Uni and in terms of intimacy), family dynamics, friendships, and just figuring out themselves as individuals. 

Ugh, I just loved it. This is top tier. 

The Day After the Party is a strong four star psychological thriller for me. That said, it's more of a mystery and it's definitely about toxic relationships and secrets between friends. To start, Katelyn wakes up in the hospital after her thirty-sixth birthday party and she doesn't remember a thing. She's got a rare form of amnesia and no one is telling her what happened at the party, so she has to figure it out herself. 

Katelyn and Leah have been best friends since they were five, and with ample flashbacks we get the dramatic backstory that has led them to the present day 31 years later. Don't read this if you don't like messy relationship drama, but if you do... run don't walk. And it's on Kindle Unlimited. 

Content warning: lotsa infidelity 

I liked this much better than the first short story in the "Getaway" series from Amazon. Having read The Other Black Girl, I was eager to see if Harris would present that stellar writing with more pizzazz in the short format and she did! The Other Black Girl mostly worked for me, but I felt the ending was rushed after a long lead up and fell flat. This story, His Happy Place, gets in and gets out. Literally. It's creepy and unsettling, and I won't say a bit about the plot because it's so short I don't want to give anything away. Read it!