I was so tremendously excited for this book, but unfortunately, after a few weeks of trying to slog through and making very little progress, I'm going to do us both a favor and call it quits. I adore home invasion stories because they're one of the very few horror themes that genuinely chill me to my core, and the idea behind this book was an incredibly unique take on that trope; however, that unfortunately meant that it wasn't what I hoped it would be and I couldn't connect.

Anybody Home? is written in second-person perspective and is essentially a "guide" of a mentor teaching a mentee how to pull off the best possible home invasion ordeal. I thought the idea was really interesting, but it led to a surprising amount of repetition in the text and made it impossible for me to care about any of the characters, which by proxy made it impossible for me to feel scared or truly unsettled by the events therein. Maybe if I had finished the book, I would have felt differently, but I skimmed ahead to several later sections to see if anything piqued my interest, and it was more of the same.

Judging by most of the other ARC reviews I'm seeing for this book, I definitely feel like the odd one out in disliking Anybody Home?, so I think anyone who is interested should absolutely pick up a copy and give it a chance! That said, it didn't work for me and I'm quite disappointed to say so.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
 

 Sometimes you realize you've "outgrown" a book, and that's okay.
 

 I'm sad to DNF this, given how much I loved Emily's debut and how excited I was to read this new release, but I'm so bored. :( Maybe I'll try it again someday, but every page is just dragging by.
 

 

I might revisit this some time, but I dunno. I generally really don't like bully romances, but I woke up a few days ago in the rare mood for one, so I picked this up, and enjoyed the first 20% or so. I put it down for a couple of days, came back to it, and was just kinda "over it". It isn't the book's fault, it's just a theme I basically never enjoy, but if the urge strikes me again in the future, I'll come back to this.

 

I'm so sad to DNF this, but at this point I've recognized that I can either DNF it now with no star rating, or power through the rest of it and inevitably give it a low rating, because this book is not working for me at all. I love the fact that we're getting to see Black queer rep in YA horror, because that's something that is almost unheard of, but the writing is disjointed and not enjoyable, the school shooter's personality feels sensationalized to the point of being a stereotype, and Jake as a narrator simply isn't an enjoyable head to be inside of.

Jake is so emotionally and mentally clocked out from everything and everyone around him that reading this book feels like the literary equivalent of a really bad "brain fog" day (IYKYK). I'd also liken it to a hazy dream sequence, except it's the entire book and it wasn't a pleasant narrative experience.

I would have loved to have enjoyed this book more and I'm definitely open to reading future releases from this author, but The Taking of Jake Livingston didn't work for me. That said, it definitely feels like one of those stories that has an audience, so if you enjoy YA horror, I would still recommend giving it a try!

✨ Representation: Jake is Black and queer; Jake's brother Benji is Black; Allister is Black and queer.

✨ Content warnings for: school shooting, violence, murder, suicide, substance abuse, characters filming and sharing films of sexual activity without consent

I read a final copy I purchased myself, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also sent an early review copy by the author/publisher. 

 I'm sad because this is my first time trying a Tessa Bailey book and I've heard so many people rave about her, but this was NOT for me. I hate how Georgie's family treats her, I don't care for any of the side characters but Rosie (and not enough to feel very pressed to read book 2 in this series), and Travis is getting on every single nerve that I have.

He's self-centered, rude, and it feels like 99% of his thought processes are either objectifying Georgie with no regards for her as an actual human, or thinking about how terrified of her brother he is, or drowning in self-pity. I'm also solidly not a fan of men with the whole "I can't have sex with her because she'll get attached because women are overly emotional UwU children" vibe.

I'm not enjoying any of this, sadly. Also, the smut scene a chapter or two back genuinely made me cringe from start to finish and I hope it isn't an indicator of how all of Tessa Bailey's books are. 😬

Based on a few recommendations, I'll probably try It Happened One Summer next, but I don't think I'll bother trying to continue this series. 

 I don't think this one is quite for me, but it's not because there's anything wrong with the book — I think I'm just not in the mood for the jokes right now. That said, I can see The Plumbers appealing to a LOT of readers (especially anyone looking for a similar feel to Shaun of the Dead or something along those lines), and I could see myself giving it another go some time when I'm more in the mood for a comedy/horror cross-over!
 

I can't handle any more of Wes being this much of an asshole while Rain fawns over him. I can understand why bully romances or romances with guys who start off as total douchebags work for a lot of people, but I've learned that they just do not work for me except in very rare exceptions, and this was NOT an exception. Wes has spent the entire first 1/4 of the book blaming Rain for everything (even though literally everything thus far has stemmed from him kidnapping her at gunpoint at the beginning of the book), and when he isn't talking to her like she's a piece of trash, he's sexualizing every movement she makes. 

 I decided to go ahead and DNF this one at the 50% mark because it really wasn't for me, but it's also not a book I feel right about giving a negative rating because I'm sure it's going to make a lot of people very happy! It's so sugary sweet, so over the top with fluff and cuteness, that I felt like I was inside the heads of the two most wholesome, innocent people of all time... and again, while that's going to work very well for a LOT of readers, I was very bored and not having a lot of fun. As a queer woman, I love seeing happy queers, but I think I'm a little too dry and cynical to enjoy this level of fluff anymore. Ah, well. It's a cute story and I'm happy it exists, even if I'm not the right audience!

✨ Representation: both characters are non-binary/trans