emmreadsbooks's Reviews (1.28k)

This book reads like a love child of Lemony Snicket and Lewis Carroll and I'm a fan. With the meandering storyline and fantastical atmosphere, this is a great book for fans of fairy tales and Middlegame alike. I found myself struggling to pay attention at parts, but I admired the lush imagination required to dream up a book like this.

This was a thrilling suspense novel with a few too many plot holes. I constantly found myself questioning the reactions of the characters and their parents throughout, though I still couldn't put the book down.

There is so much black, gay, and trans love in this book. This is a romantic coming of age novel that really helped me understand better what it means to question your identity. Felix truly develops throughout the story from a trans teenager to a proud demiboy, but even more than that grows in his artistic endeavors. I couldn't put this book down and it's now one of my universal recommendation.

I wasn't sure how Fonda Lee was going to follow up Jade City, but holy cow!! The political intrigue amped up tenfold but we also began to delve into deeper themes of sexuality and societal norms for our characters. I appreciated that we saw less points of view than in the prior novel, especially in that we got to spend more time with Shae and Wen. The author does such a great job fleshing out her female characters and how they navigate this world.

Plus I kept finding fun parallels to the Godfather series, so I hope this continues in Jade Legacy.

This was a fun forbidden romance with a larger focus on character growth. I loved watching Ruthie blossom, but the real heroes of this book are the Parlonis. Focusing on a pair of eccentric octogenarians who enjoy hazing their personal assistant was pure genius. This book is fairly light on the steam, but I didn't mind because the plot really drew me in.

*Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

The blurb of a "Queer YA #MeToo reimagining of Thelma & Louise" is absolutely accurate for this book. I wasn't a fan of the lack of chapters, though admittedly it kept me reading. While this book touches on many important topics like rape, it does so through a lens of privilege that keeps the reader distanced from their impact. I enjoyed the prose, but the plot became repetitive pretty soon into it.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This is a captivating mystery told through the lens of a young man with spinal muscular atrophy. I found the method of storytelling quite unique and effective, that being the use of color and italics to refer to mental communication and the way how Daniel talks directly to the reader. This book touches on themes of death, friendship, and perceptions while still maintaining a tense main narrative. Overall, a beautiful debut.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Oooohoohoo! If you want a gaslight-y multi-PoV thriller, this is a solid choice. I loved being tossed from mind to mind as the overarching story began to add up. Adding in the statistics at the beginning of Shay's chapters kept me interested and I was surprised at how many were actually relevant. Certain unrealistic elements made me question the storyline, but it was still quite enjoyable.

I can't believe that I put off reading this book for so long. My boyfriend is Paraguayan so much of the culture was familiar to me, like the sense of community around maté. This book touches on topics like undocumented immigration and societal expectations of women with such care and it left me feeling positive about the research done by the author. Adding in the strong characters and well-planned plot, you get an amazing book. Just wow.

I loved the idea of this book. 2 superpowered amnesiacs finding their memories - and themselves - over a crazy couple of days, what's not to like? Ultimately I felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a little too much, even for a superhero book. But I loved the main characters and their platonic friendship, something rarely seen in books nowadays, and would read a follow-up (should there be one).