eloise_bradbooks's Reviews (801)

4.5 ~ Looks like I've found another author to add to my faves.

Ashley Herring Blake has the perfect way of writing middle grade books about girls liking girls, wanting to hold hands, wanting to kiss them. It is so touching and beautiful.
Not only that, the rest of the story is just as wonderful.

After getting a heart transplant, Sunny hopes she'll stop thinking about kissing girls and she'll be able to focus on getting to know her mother since she's back in town after having left her eight years ago.
The family dynamics are so nuanced and well done. Obviously the found family element is my favourite. The themes of friendship, lost friendship, acceptance and surfing... I just...
I'm reading this at 23 so happy to know that younger girls could read this and see that their feelings are beautiful.

The best comic about historical intersectional feminism, featuring real life women who were bloody amazing.
I appreciate even more how it's readable at all ages.

Now that's how you write a fascinating fantasy story in a fascinating world with fascinating characters (though mostly the secondary ones).
The gradual world building is sensational and even though I thought I wouldn't continue with the next series, there's no way I can stop at this. I'm sure Sanderson has even more to tell us about this world and I can't wait to find out...

Maw's paw, I needed time to think about this before writing a review. Altogether, I think I'm pretty satisfied.

What I really appreciated with this third and final book was the whole myth element and world building we got. It was so interesting.

The characters were still bloody brilliant.
There's an unnecessary love triangle that really didn't need to be SO prevalent in this book. And wowdy the amount of explicit sex scenes was over the top (especially when you think about who is writing the story [inside the book AND out of it] and how the lesbian sex was porn worthy). Oh and don't get me started on Jay Kristoff 's fascination for boobs . Or breasts as he likes to say. On every other page.
Although I must say.. Jay Kristoff literally shades himself for a few of these things.. In the book itself.
And yet dispute these annoying things, I couldn't help but absolutely love this. I was entertained all the way through and my heart messed with on repeat.

Romance step aside, cause what moved me the most were Mia's relationship with her Found-dad and her Shadow-cat.
Just know this: This story is about family. And it makes us think it's about blood family but 'byss and blood you realise it's actually more about found family.
So yeah, gentlefriends, I'm touched.

Since I read and loved The Music of What Happens, I needed to try out Bill Konigsberg's most well known previous book.

Openly straight would have been w'a wonderful read at the time it came out. Not sure it still is today. Some things just don't work as well today. And yet in the end I still found it good.

But hey, I truly recommend reading The Music of What Happens for some brilliant content from this author who clearly has done nothing but improve on the small things that make Openly Straight outdated.

Mais quelle petite perle.
Je ne m'attendais pas à autant adorer chaque aspect de la vie de Priam, à me retrouver dans beaucoup de ceux ci et de tenir à lui et sa petite bande.

Cest un livre de découverte de soi. Oui, en partie sur l'attirance, mais sur beaucoup plus. La découverte de qui on est, qui on veut être, ce qu'on veut faire et comment prendre les choses en main pour devenir la personne que l'on veut être. Tout en gérant des amitiés adorables et notre premier grand amour.

I survived. For most of the book I didn't think I'd make it out alive. I barely did. Soooooo many emotions.
I loved it.

First, I'd like to point out that this book for me was clearly devided into two parts.
The first half basically goes through all that is said in the GR blurb, so even though you'll want to read that blurb (because it really is a beautiful blurb), try not to focus on it too much or you'll be wanting all those things to happen too soon. But believe me when I say that even knowing all those things before starting, it does not take away from the fact that the first part of this book is one of the most beautiful, amazing, heartfelt stories I have ever read.
A story about love, friendship, family, finding your place, growing into your own, belonging, oh... and also wolves. That's a thing. But tbh the most heartfelt parts were to do with the humanity that lives in all of these beautiful characters.

Now, I'm NOT saying that the second half wasn't good. It was veeeery good. Still beautiful.
I was left longing for the characters to get it together though. It also had a very different mood, more sombre, darker. I still loved it, my heart was in pieces but I loved it.

There were a couple of things that bugged me if i'm honest. Mostly the fact that there is this one thing about a couple of the side characters that interests me A LOT but we never get to know about it. I understand that we're seeing it through the MC's POV and he doesn't want to push them into talking about it but I WANT TO KNOOOW. And I think the author has said he wasn't talking about them any time soon. Ugh. My heart will be left longing for answers forever and always (or i could just go read fanfics, i'm sure they exist).
> Ahaha how wrong i was : Ravensong deals exactly with this issue.

All in all, I loved this. Stories that make me feel this many emotions so strongly in one book deserve awards. That's all I'm saying.

Most authors write words. TJ Klune writes feelings. His books are always so full of emotions. And heart. And love.

My main issue with Gordo is that he spends 60% of the book saying "Don't", "Let's not talk about this", "You don't know how I feel but I won't ever speak about it so it will never get solved"... I don't like that.
Luckily, this isn't all this book is about.
It's about a pack. A family. A home.
That's my favourite thing in books. Found Families who would anything for each other. And oh how the Green Creek novels completely grasp that.

Its violent, but Oh so soft at the same time. Deeply serious at times but also fun when it needs to be.
And its simply full of heart. Full of emotions. As always with this author.

Though some of these poems hit well and hard, i'm starting to get the gist of Lovelace's words.
You can only have so many ways of saying the same thing over and over.

2.5 ~ Don't really know why I bothered reading this.. Curiosity I guess?
Oh well, it was OK distracting background noise, OK to listen to. Shame the boys spent the entire time thinking the other doesn't like them. Annoying. Not much depth to anything.