crispycritter's Reviews (516)

Juliette spends this whole book prancing around in a bright purple leotard, which seems like a highly problematic color to make an outfit when every time you go above ground you're in an active shooter situation. 

Less Whiny Adam and way more Daddy Issues Warner. Does the fact that Warner is nice to a starving dog one time make up for the fact that he (from what we can tell at this point) enthusiastically participated in mass murder? Kinda enjoyed being a little despot shit? Did some other unspeakable things that were vaguely hinted at to prove to daddy he deserved the Sector 45 job, which will definitely be used as a plot device to drive a temporary wedge between Warner and Juliette in book 3 when the truth is revealed??? I mean, I guess. Plus, his daddy was like REALLY mean to him. So we're supposed to cut him a lot of slack. It's not abuse if someone else abused you first. Everyone knows those are the rules for hot male characters in books.

Adam's singular personality trait continues to be his ability to wear the heck out of a shirt.

Kenji tells Juliette she looks "sexy" in about 80% of their conversations. The people fawning over him and telling us he's such a good friend must have never had one of these guy friends IRL.

Everyone (except Daddy Issues Warner) tells Juliette to get over herself when she's clearly grappling with a traumatic history of isolation and rejection. Rather than recognizing how overwhelmed she is upon arrival they just assume she is being a big B. No one at Omega Point seems to have done a decompression period for a stressed shelter animal before, which seemed like exactly what Juliette needed. There's no time! Omega Point could be attacked any day! There is also no time for therapy in a dystopia, even though at least one character is a psychologist. 

There's not really a plot - only training montages and makeout sessions.

Anyways, I rated this book higher than past books in this series. Why? Because I read another recently published YA Dystopia that held itself out as being a great feminist take on Lord of the Flies and I'm pretty sure it set feminism back a decade (real "you became the thing you swore to destroy" vibes). At least Unravel Me doesn't try to be what it's not. This book is entertainment and I was entertained. Teenage X Men existing in a poorly crafted hellscape just trying to bone while Warner's mean daddy tries to stop them. I hope they make it, you guys. And I hope Warner explains his dumb tattoo in the next book. Off I goooooo!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. Full review to come.

A benevolent stalker learns that the object of his obsession, his maid's barely-legal daughter he saw once but never spoke to, is about to be auctioned off at some underground sex club his neighbor runs for rich crusty dusties. He swoops in at the last minute and wins the auction, not planning on actually sleeping with her (he's a good guy!) but oops bad men with guns demand a public show.

What's a plucky virgin heroine to do? Realize she's very into vouyerism and scream out "daddy" a couple times mid-coitus. This is how we, as readers, know that this is not simply insta-lust but kismet, manos: the hands of fate, destiny, for our nice billionaire stalker man is down with audiences and there is a sufficiently big age gap for him to qualify as a Daddy.

Stalker Daddy decides to withhold her auction payout until she agrees to either be his forever or she shows up for 20 monthly dinner dates. Ya know, the ole 'collect your lottery winnings in a lump sum or over time' debate. He puts her money in an interest-bearing account and tells us he will be keeping the interest, which felt uncharacteristically stingy for an otherwise generous billionaire daddy.

Some truly disturbing sexual acts are carried out in front of people who are just trying to do their jobs. Upon reflection, Stalker Daddy realizes holding the young, poor heroine financially hostage is not a good look nor a way to demonstrate your undying love. Some other kooky stuff happens! Everyone lives happily ever after!

Romantically Inclined got me. Apparently I am a sucker for a good MM football romance. I took a star off because somehow almost 100 pages of this book was ONE spice scene?? Perhaps we could have had more plot or better pacing? It might be ok though, because there is a second book.

Thanks, Kim. I hated it. I spent so much time and effort writing a diatribe in my book club's buddy read I don't know that I have the energy to post a review here - TBD. Don't let the hype around this book get ya, kids.

The okayest murder mystery with way too many makeout sessions.

Another reviewer referred to the sex scenes as overly mechanical and I fear we did not read the same book. There were extensive references to starbursts and lightning and fires and stuff. So even though I had no idea when anyone was finishing I'm assuming everyone was having a good time.

It’s Eye Bleach O’Clock. I’m genuinely impressed I didn’t DNF this. Everyone in this book got a UTI.