dlrosebyh's Reviews (773)

i’ll start this review off with “this is a book everyone should read at least once in their life”. i know a lot of people say that about their favorite book of all time, or any books with such beautiful writing, plot, world building, and so much more other stuff. however, as a queer bookworm, this book showcases such wonderful representation of the what the lgbtqia+ community goes through in their daily lives.

firstly, this book is ya; it’s easy to follow, has an accessible language, and it’s suitable for most age ranges out there. though the book isn’t diverse (which is one of the reasons why the book isn’t a 5 star), it capitulates the homophobia— whether internalized or externalized— in our society. the book itself focuses more on the transgender community, but there are also side characters who represents other people in the community. it’s set in texas, which is one of the most homophobic states in america, so it shows discrimination, hatred, disgust, in the most realistic way as possible. lastly, the book is written by someone who is a part of the transgender community. most of the things i personally have been through were perfectly done.

the romance plays a huge part of the story. the romance does not only show romantic love— it also shows the importance of self love, acceptance, and friendship. though at some parts, i cringed too hard, the book is definitely a good read. i’m glad i’m ending the year with such a great and eye-opening book.

well, let’s just say that this book got me out of a reading slump that has been occurring for 2 months now— what a relief.

in the despairing times like reading slumps, smutty books are always your friend. 

i found the book very cliche; it was very predictable. firstly, i wanted to see more of declan’s childhood, for we have seen mac’s childhood— not graphically, but at least some of it. the miscommunication trope was very unnecessary, i felt like hughes wanted to throw in the groveling because that’s what most readers want.

the chemistry was unseen in the start, but the build up was great at the end. overall, it was an okay book. i hope the series will get better :D

one of the reviews said that this book fractures cliches, and i might have to agree with it.

a tale for the time being follows two people— nao and ruth. ruth found a hello kitty lunchbox from the beach. inside it was a diary of a sixteen-year-old japanese girl named nao. as she reads the diary, she finds herself more intrigue with nao’s lifestyle. nao, on the other side, wrote the diary as she experienced bullying, harassment, etc., in her school. we also witness nao watch her parents as she decided to end her life— thus, becoming a time being.

i really loved the book. i found it a little slow at first, but the pacing was necessary and worth it. i was really intrigued until the last scene of part three, that scene really threw me off. furthermore, i found myself only skimming the last pages, for i found the ending predictable.

2 stars for nikolai and 0.5 stars for the writing style

right now, i’m still shocked on how beautiful this book is. i can’t form exact words on how much i loved it. all i can say is that it was absolute perfection.

reading this made me realize that i prefer sapphic romance more than heterosexual romance; and i am not mad about it.

the buildup was great, the world building was not too complicated, the characters are amazing (besides kinok and heros ofc). i cried a lot. sad and queer books are basically my favorite thing ever.

read for school

this is how i want my book to be: screwed up, but reflective. this book definitely delivered those elements.

i thought this book was going to be a fluffy, lighthearted, sport romance, like other sport romances out there. i was wrong. it was dark and emotional, i wasn’t prepared for it.

the ending was so satisfying, i think it was ended in the best way possible. i loved the characters so much (except for caleb and andrew ofc), and each character introduced has an important role in the story.

i wouldn’t recommend it that much, as the book tackles very graphic scenes of rape, abuse, etc. this is definitely one of my favorite reads this year, i’m glad i picked it up.

this is an interesting book.

i was going to dnf this, for the first half was not it. the lack of communication made me so frustrated, and the gaslighting every ‘banter,’ showcases a toxic relationship. i was confused on why people liked this, and why they aspire to have a relationship like them. 

however, when i got to the second half, i was stupidly smiling. it definitely picked up in that part, and i was very intrigued with what i was reading.

i wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who despises the miscommunication trope. it was a challenge to pass through it for me as well.

well, controversially, i hated this book.

it was good but once it marked the 70% mark, it started going downhill. i loved anna’s character development. her growth was amazing. i loved the disability representation in the book.

i wouldn’t say i loved the hero, he was extremely disloyal. i liked him at first, but he can’t even be loyal to the heroine. another thing about this book is that the major themes of it were depression and grief. the grief part was handled well. as i’ve said, anna’s character development was amazing; i think that part was done well. however, the depression theme wasn’t handled properly. for me, the depression representation was very stereotypical.

the book itself was lacking survival instincts, if this was real life, i don’t think they would’ve survived.

this book was a huge disappointment for me, i do not recommend it for anyone.