eloise_bradbooks's reviews
801 reviews

This Feast of a Life is a warm, slice-of-life novel that gently follows two characters, Auden and Valerie, as they navigate their evolving relationships, with themselves, their families, each other, and food. The story explores themes of identity and healing: Auden is coming out as non-binary and beginning to explore their place on the asexual spectrum, while Valerie is grappling with grief and working to reconnect with her father who is grieving just as much.

The pacing is quiet and meandering, which isn't what I prefer with contemporary YA stories like this one. While I didn’t feel an urgent need to keep turning the pages, the slower tempo allows space for emotional and slow-burn growth. Watching Auden become more confident in their identity and seeing Valerie find strength through vulnerability were both touching and rewarding arcs.

One aspect I loved but that I wish were talked about more is the book’s handling of asexuality. The tension between Auden, who is realizing they don’t feel desire for sex or kissing (at the moment), and Valerie, who leans toward casual flings due to her knowing what it means to lose someone she loved, is a compelling dynamic. However, I felt this conflict was resolved too quickly and could have used more depth.
As much as I adored both characters, I found myself wondering whether their relationship could truly endure...

K. Ancrum has a beautiful gift for writing lonely, traumatized characters who find solace in each other. Her stories often explore intense emotional bonds that toe the line of codependency, which can feel unsettling at first. But she always manages to ground these relationships in genuine tenderness and vulnerability, making them emotionally gripping and undeniably sweet. 
The Corruption of Hollis Brown is no exception: dark and gritty, yet unexpectedly romantic and tender at its core. The characters are lovable, and I especially appreciated the strong emphasis on friendship alongside the central romance.

"Young Royals meets The Prince and Me when a disgraced princess falls for a new student at their all-girls boarding school, but the two must hide their forbidden love at all costs."

I know that with Sophie Gonzales, I can always expect great writing and the right balance of fun and emotional depth. This book was no exception. I really enjoyed it, especially the romance and the focus on friendship.

I also appreciated how the story tackled important topics like teenage pressure, substance use, and what it means to be queer in the public eye, especially in a YA book!
That said, I felt some of those conversations could have gone a even deeper. I would’ve loved to see more exploration of grief, the immense pressure placed on a future queen, and broader questions like: what is the point of monarchy in today’s world?

Une BD drôle, touchante et plutôt instructive, dans laquelle on peut enfin se reconnaître. C’est une belle œuvre autobiographique, qui réussit à aborder l’identité de genre avec simplicité et justesse.

J’aurais toutefois aimé un peu plus de développement sur le parcours de Tam vers la compréhension de son identité non binaire. Tout va un peu vite à ce niveau-là. Ayant traversé des questionnements similaires, j’ai pu comprendre, mais je m’attendais à un peu plus de doutes, de tâtonnements, de remises en question intérieures, ces moments de flou qui rendent souvent le chemin plus palpable.

Je l’avoue, je plaçais beaucoup d’espoir dans cette BD, espérant qu’elle devienne celle que je pourrais mettre entre les mains de mes proches pour les aider à mieux me comprendre… Mais ça, c’est plus une attente personnelle qu’un défaut de l’ouvrage en soi.

A lonely traveler unexpectedly finds a home when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child, joined by a baker and a slightly magical cat.
This was such a lovely cosy fantasy full of friendship and found family.

I'm disappointed in myself for having listened to the audiobook while doing other things... I should know by now that if I want to enjoy cosy fantasy, I can't do it with the audiobook. I'm too easily distraced when the story is too cosy... I don't think I got to appreciate the story and the characters' relationships enough.

Too much of a girl for their neighborhood hockey team, but not girly enough for their boy-crazed BFF, Ollie doesn’t know where they fit anymore. When a school project asks them to write an essay on what it means to be a woman, Ollie finds themself torn between the safety of hiding and the risk of embracing their truth.

This middle-grade novel about a nonbinary kid coming into their own is absolutely beautiful. As an adult navigating similar questions, it felt incredibly healing to read. So many of Ollie’s thoughts around gender, identity, and being seen as a woman were deeply resonant, right in the feels, again and again. I'm so happy that kids today have access to stories like this.

Slightly disappointed that Ollie was clearly written as autistic but it never got mentioned at any point. I guess that's something else they're going to have to figure out, but it could have been briefly mentioned already...

 De magnifiques dessins, une belle histoire d'amitié, et surtout un véritable témoignage de ce que ça fait d'être une étudiante aujourd'hui : entre la précarité, le regard qu'on les hommes sur leurs corps, le fait de se prostituer pour pouvoir subvenir à ses besoins, et l'impact que ça peut avoir sur la vie.
Ca reste une petite entrée sur ce que ça peut vouloir dire "être travailleuse du sexe", mais c'est déjà une formidable entrée. 

Love in Focus isn't a bad book by any means, but I finished it yesterday and all I remember is two women pining for each other from page one (and years back), clearly attracted to each other and full of chemistry, yet constantly finding dumb excuses not to get together...

What I appreciated most about Kiss Me, Maybe is how central asexuality is to the narrative and the main character's personal growth. Angela’s journey of exploring and understanding her identity, starting with identifying as aegosexual and later finding more comfort in graysexual (and lesbian) labels, is heartfelt and nuanced. Her open conversations about questioning micro-labels and the fluidity of identity were refreshing and meaningful. I especially loved seeing a sex-positive aspec character, which is still rare.

The romance was sweet and comforting, though ultimately it’s not what will stay with me about the book.

Where it lost me, though, was the scavenger hunt plotline. I really struggled to buy into the idea that a newly out 27-year-old "late bloomer," who has never been kissed, would decide to launch a public scavenger hunt on TikTok to find a stranger to share that first kiss. The premise that only someone who really knows her would solve the clues didn’t hold up, especially given the viral nature of TikTok and the sexualisation she had already received from her previous videos. It felt unsafe and unrealistic, and what bothered me even more was that this decision was never seriously questioned by Angela or the people around her. Everyone just seemed to go along with it like it was a great idea, which felt unconvincing and a bit frustrating.

Also this may be petty, I'm mad that the cover features a lesbian and bi flag but no ace flag, despite asexuality being such a major and well handled theme in the book...

 Low Orbit is a graphic novel that leans heavily into the "slice-of-life" genre. Rather than following a tightly structured plot, it focuses on the daily experiences of Azar, a "Malaysian American teen carving out her own identity in the uneasy space between friends and family".

What struck me most is that while the book frames Azar as someone "carving out her identity", it often feels like she already knows who she is and what she stands for. Instead, it's the people around her, friends and family, who seem to be in flux, and Azar ends up playing the role of guide. She's a bold, headstrong character, and I found her easy to admire, even love.

That said, I felt let down by how certain issues were handled. Some serious interpersonal conflicts (cheating, or coercing someone into doing something against their will) were brushed aside or treated too lightly for my taste. These moments made me question the message being conveyed.

Despite that, there were aspects I truly appreciated. The diverse cast of characters felt fresh and reflective of real-world communities, and the "found family" dynamic was heartwarming. Still, the pacing was uneven, and a few plot developments left me puzzled rather than moved.