goatsrsexy's Reviews (604)

Despite being released on Valentine's Day, I wouldn't consider always the almost a romance. There's romance in it, and it does have a happy ending, but there's also a lot of relationship drama and unhappiness. I think the romance part of this book was it's weakest aspect.

Overall, this is a coming of age story. Miles just recently came out as trans before the book starts and while the people in his life are mostly accepting of it there's parts that they just don't always get right. And there's a lot that Miles doesn't get right either because at the end of the day, he's a teenage boy and teenagers fuck up a lot even without the added pressure of being queer in a small town. I loved reading about his piano lessons which his teacher Stefania (probably the best side character in the book). And I think my favourite part of the book was when Miles dad gave him a tie. 

think this is a fantastic queer YA novel that everyone should read! We need more queer and trans YA so I'm always stoked to read and promote new ones. I suggest looking up trigger warnings if they're useful for you.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc

Take the lead is being re released on Valentine's Day this year. It was originally published in 2017 as an ebook but now it's getting a paperback release as well. Alexis Daria apparently did some editing and made a few changes to this version so it would be interesting to compare it to the original (I did not). Unfortunately this book wasn't really for me. I think if you're a big fan of dance you would probably enjoy this more, for me I found the parts that focused on the technicalities of the dances and stuff pretty boring and in general I found myself skimming quite a bit while reading this book. The concept of a romance that takes place on a dance show (essentially Dancing with the Stars) is super fun, and I think a lot of people will enjoy this so don't let my opinion dissuade you from giving it a try if you think it sounds interesting. The part I enjoyed most was reading about Stones struggles with his own reality show. I will say the book got more engaging in the second half after the characters actually admit their feelings. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc.

Abyss was a very pretty but melancholy story. Told from the perspective of 8 year old Claudia as she starts to learn about mortality and the fact that her parents are very human and make many mistakes. We are watching Claudia's family through her eyes and seeing how much children take in even when they seem like they're not paying attention. The story to me felt very true to how I felt about things as a child. This was my first Pilar Quintana book, but it won't be the last. Thanks to Netgalley and World Editions for the advanced copy.

Hell Bent was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. I can say it was definitely worth the wait. We get so much more Darlington than we did in Ninth House which is what everyone was hoping for. The characters we were introduced to in the first book were developed so much more and by the end of the book I really felt like I knew them, like I was a part of their group too. I especially loved getting to know Turner better. The small bits where we see things from their povs (can't say anything else without spoiling) were really amazing.

The writing in this was fantastic. It was incredibly lyrical and descriptive in a way I personally haven't seen in Leigh Bardugos other books. Especially the way grief and guilt were described was phenomenal.

The ending is definitely a cliff hanger and sets up for a third book, but it also had a pretty good conclusion so the wait for the next book won't be as torturous as the wait for Hell Bent was. I will say if Darlington and Alex don't hook up in the next book I'm gonna scream, their sexual tension is too much. Also I am kinda shipping Mercy and Tripp but with the way the book ends idk if it could really work...

This book was definitely full of surprises for a plot that seemed like it would be fairly predictable at first glance. The writing was beautiful but I felt that the beginning dragged a little bit. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone fond of dark fairytales.

As someone who's bookstagram account is brand new and very very slowly growing, it was so amazing to receive an advanced copy of fellow bookstagrammer Lindsey Lanzas debut novel.

Lucy is a recently divorced writer with probably the worst 'best friend' on the planet. When she ends up with no where to live with no notice, a stranger on a plane invites her to come home with him. But Henry isn't really a stranger, he just so happens to be her favourite musician of all time.

Henry has extreme social anxiety, but when he hears Lucy singing along to his music, he's super intrigued, and somehow is super comfortable talking to her. He brings her home to his mansion that he shares with his friends and fellow musicians, and Lucy helps to bring out the best in all of them (well all but one of them- and I'll say that I don't really understand what was going on with Craig tbh).

This book is written in first person from both Henry and Lucys perspective, but the story overall was more about Lucy and more from her point of view. I thas a very realistic portrayal of chronic illness and the loneliness and insecurity it can cause. It had super heartwarming portrayals of friendship and the romance was very sweet.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book!

Jon is a lonely kid who gets bullied, but he has one really good friend in Chloe. When he gets abducted, it changes Chloe's life... And when he suddenly reappears four years later, with a mysterious note and no memories, life changes again. 

Chloes whole life is based around being available to Jon, but he seems to want nothing to do with her. What she doesn't know is that he loves her more than anything, but something happened to him when he was abducted that makes him dangerous to be around, so he stays away from everyone he loves to protect them.

Eggs is a policeman with a disabled son and a struggling marriage who is obsessed with finding a connection between so many young people dying of heart attacks in his town, a connection that no one seems to notice but him.

Providence follows these three characters through years of their life. The characters are extremely well developed and the story is mysterious and thrilling. There is so much going on but the story stays cohesive. I think some people might not like the ending, but I found it all came together really beautifully in the end.

When I was a kid I was absolutely obsessed with the movie version of this book. I watched it so many times and even today I still love it. I actually didn't realize that it was based on a book until it came time for me to choose a book for the New Zealand category of my storygraph reading challenge, when I saw this as an option it was an obvious choice.

Honestly, this book was so much better than the movie I loved so much. It is a beautifully written story about a Maori girl who desperately wants to be loved and appreciated by her grandfather, who has an amazing kinship with the sea. It was told mostly from the perspective of her uncle who loved her so much. 

It also told the story of a very very old Whale, and the description of its relationship with it's original rider, it's 'golden master'  was heart achingly beautiful.

This was a short book, so I would recommend it to everyone as it doesn't take much time to get through and I honestly can't imagine anyone not loving it.

This was really sweet and I loved how Jewish it was! But something about it just didn't feel right to me at the same time. I found it a bit hard to get through and I think part of that was all the time jumping which I'm not a huge fan of

This book had a lot going on. It was about Zimbabwean children playing games and trying to understand situations way too complex for children, and it was also about immigrants in America and the feeling of not quite belonging anywhere. It was a really beautiful and at times heartaching read.