howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

We've all heard the Beauty and the Beast story in some format or another, but in Haven, Beauty is the beast. When Rain's mother passes away, he's taken in by his aunt in Haven, a small town with a big past and even bigger secrets. He thinks his life's finally going to get peaceful and quiet for once, until he falls for Freddie, a girl who's a lot scarier than she seems.

"I believe we all hide a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed."

I really wanted to love this book. I thought it was such a unique take on the classic story of "girl falls in love with a beast" by swapping the gender roles, and I was totally here for the idea of what I expected to be a full role reversal, where the new guy in town was going to be some sort of fairly helpless, lost thing, while the girl would be some sort of wickedly strong and impressive mythical creature who would sweep him off his feet and save him from the woes of her world.

Instead, from the very first chapter, Rain is dripping with macho charisma. He's over six feet tall, built like a linebacker, and can win any fight, thanks to his years on the streets. He oozes masculinity, isn't deterred by anything, and - most notably - he's a totally typical sex-crazed teen.

If the "alpha male" trope is up your alley, this might be the perfect YA version of that for you, but I found myself cringing every other time he opened his mouth, and every single time he had any sort of internal monologue about Freddie. He can't look at the girl for more than ten seconds without becoming aroused, and he frequently oversteps serious consent boundaries - in one scene, as she is trying to leave the room, he literally grabs her hand and places it on his crotch without her consent to show her that he wants her.

(Coincidentally, that scene was the point where I stopped caring at all about this book or these characters.)

Meanwhile, Freddie, who's supposed to be this terrifying, fierce, beastly young woman... is typically reduced to a sad, moody, and almost-equally-sex-crazed girl whenever she's alone with Rain, which just further kind of ruined the hopes I had for these characters.

As far as the plot itself goes, there isn't much I can say that won't spoil the story, but at the same time, it's all incredibly predictable and full of tropes and cliches that any reader of the paranormal romance genre will see coming a mile away.

All in all, there isn't really anything good I can say for my experience reading this story, but I'm still giving it two stars because I do think that this book has its audience - it's just not me, and I would hope it's not any impressionable young girls who might read this and think these are healthy behaviors for teen boys in their lives.

Content warnings: violence, death, mentions of drug addictions

Thank you so much to Entangled Teen for sending me a lovely finished copy in exchange for my honest review!

If you're friends with me on any sort of personal social media account, you probably already know that I have an unhealthy obsession with Sarah's Scribbles. While I adore webcomics from all sorts of artists and sources, Sarah's are some of the few comics that can, without fail, always make me laugh out loud, smile, or even just go, "Yep, been there." This collection is probably my favorite so far. I just about died laughing over some of the comics, while others had me nodding vigorously and biting my tongue to keep from waking up the house with my cries of, "PREACH, GIRL!"

One of the best things about this collection is, at the end, there's a section of 20-ish pages where Sarah offers some advice for aspiring artists. She delves into a bit of how toxic the internet culture has become, especially for content creators, many of whom live in constant fear of criticism, unkindness, and downright harassment. Her words are inspirational, smarmy, and fun, and totally reinforced why I love Sarah Andersen so damn much.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It felt like thousands of question marks were floating in the air, and instead of grabbing them out of the air and shaking them for answers, we were simply accepting the uncertainty of the moment.

This was actually a 3.5 star read for me, but the more I pondered it over the two-day span between finishing it and reviewing it, I realized it wasn't quite remarkable enough for me to round up.

Here We Are Now tells the story of Taliah, a biracial white/Arabic teen who's never met her father. She's only working on an educated guess that he might be Julian Oliver, rockstar sensationalist, when the man shows up at her door one day to tell her that her assumptions were correct - and he wants to take her to meet his family, including his dying father.

→ taliah sahar abdallat ←
He said that he thought Sufjan Stevens was overrated, which was basically a declaration of war as far as I was concerned.

Tal isn't the most enjoyable narrator in the beginning of the story. She starts the book off fairly amusing and relateable with an excellent depiction of anxiety and paranoia, but those feelings quickly morph into a level of snark and distrust that's not pleasant to read through. Despite the fact that Julian's entire existence points blatantly to a million lies Tal's mother has fed her throughout her life, Tal refuses to place any blame on her mother.

The nice thing about Taliah, however, is how much she grows; throughout the story, through a handful of "tough love" scenarios from multiple friends and family members, she learns that life isn't as black and white as she thinks it is. She grows to slowly trust people and open up, and is forced to come to terms with her unhealthy level of possessiveness over her best friend, Harlow.

→ julian oliver ←
As weird as it is to say, I was maybe, sort of, starting to fall in love with my dad. And he was maybe, sort, starting to fall in love with me.

The most unexpected thing about Here We Are Now was how quickly and how much I fell in love with Tal's father, Julian. From the opening of the story, I honestly expected him to be this flighty, dirtbag sort of stereotypical rockstar who would show up, get her hopes up, and then shatter her dreams a few times before disappearing again at the end of the book. That is totally not Julian at all, though.

From the beginning, he's awkward, uncertain, and a little bit shy about learning he's Taliah's father. I won't spoil the fine details for you, but we learn that Julian hasn't been half bad enough to deserve some of the events of the past, and he's actually a pretty well-meaning guy. His banter with Tal is so enjoyable, and I loved the way the we got to see the past through his memories, but they were written in Lena's (Tal's mother) perspectives.

→ harlow ←
(Not to mention, if I were gay, Harlow would've been way out of my league.)

Harlow is Tal's childhood best friend, who happens to be a lesbian. I loved the idea of Harlow to bits: she's obsessed with baking, she's sassy, she's proud of her sexuality, and she's got a good head on her shoulders. Unfortunately, her actual interactions with Tal and the other characters in the story are cringe-y most of the time, and her "tough love" spiel about not relying on only one person would have been a lot better if it hadn't been laced with her breaking a promise to Tal so she could hang out with her girlfriend.

→ romance ←
"I think with some people you can just tell you're going to have a history with them. Even if that history hasn't happened yet."

The romance in this book was one hundred percent the biggest disappointment in the entire story. It felt so incredibly lackluster and out of place that I probably would have rounded up to 4 stars if I could have somehow gone through and edited out the entire existence of this friend-of-the-family character. He's not a bad kid, but it would be so nice to see a YA contemporary every now and then that doesn't end in a couple forming, and this book would have been perfect for that! Totally a missed opportunity.

→ diversity ←
When she felt like defending herself, she would bitterly think that the hijab marked her as weak in the eyes of the Americans, and she had not come to America to be weak.

First of all, I am not Muslim - or religious at all - and I cannot speak for how good this rep was. I do know, however, that Jasmine Warga identifies as a Middle Eastern/American woman, so the POC rep is own-voice and was so enjoyable to read. Tal's mother's perspectives frequently reflect on her Muslim beliefs and family, as well as how incredibly homesick she is for Jordan. She frets constantly that she is letting her parents down if she doesn't make a name for herself in the States, and there is even a solid bit of conversation about hijab-wearing and eating habits!

Of course, there is also the lesbian rep that I mentioned in Harlow's case, which I found really enjoyable. Harlow is out and proud and has no questions about her sexuality. There are no tropes, or painful moments we commonly see through queer characters in YA contemporary titles.

→ final thoughts ←

All in all, Here We Are Now was a fun read, but nothing spectacular. Had it not been for the romantic aspect, I would have given this 4 stars, but it was such a downer that I couldn't justify rounding up the rating. If you're looking for a fun YA contemporary story about family, with some nice diverse representation thrown in, or if you're already a Jasmine Warga fan, I'd recommend picking it up.

All quotes are taken from an unfinished ARC and may differ from the final release. Thank you so much to Balzer + Bray for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED this little book! When I picked it up for reviewing, I expected it to be a children's book teaching the value of sincere apologies - which was a hasty accusation based on the cover, to be fair - but it was so much better than what I expected. THE GIRL WHO SAID SORRY is about a young girl being forced to deal with society's expectations of her based on sexism and gender roles, and making herself "small" and "agreeable" as a girl. In the end, she realized that she needed to just be herself, and not worry about what other people thought. I absolutely loved it and thought it taught such a great value!

Dream of the Butterfly is a story of a little girl named Tutu, who becomes lost and ends up trapped in a town where being a little girl - or being an inhabitant of another town - is a crime worthy of imprisonment. The story feels incredibly reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, in one sense; in another, however, it felt like a blatant nod to many of the Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki films I grew up loving. With that in mind, I thought I'd really enjoy this graphic novel, but unfortunately, it felt very much like an info-dump at times, and I had a hard time getting attached to the story or caring very much about the outcome.

Thank you to Lion Forge and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My first problem with Unicorn of Many Hats wasn't the author's fault so much as an issue with managing my own expectations: after the 6th issue's graphic novel styling, I was genuinely hoping all of the future volumes would be graphic novels, too! I loved the cohesive, linear story of #6, and it felt so much more polished. Unfortunately, #7 reverts back to the "comics" style with short jokes and one-liners, and after having read a few other issues in the Heavenly Nostrils series, things were beginning to feel rather repetitive. I did, however, appreciate the glossary of terms in the back for the kids, as well as the fact that Phoebe seems to be aging up a bit in the newer issuers, which works well for kids who have been growing up with the series. I personally don't plan on reading any future Heavenly Nostrils books, but I'll totally offer these to my son when he's old enough.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for offering me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A highschool girl is closing up shop at the library she works for, when she takes a tumble and finds a hidden floor to the library - stocked with books that have only individuals' names on the spines. When Willow finds the book with her name on it, she realizes that she can write in the book, and whatever she writes will come true - at a price.

I thought this was a pretty fun idea, and the art was nice enough, but I just didn't really find it particularly interesting. I didn't get attached to the story or characters, and probably wouldn't continue the series; that said, if the synopsis intrigues you, I'd recommend giving it a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review!

I have always loved Lang's poetry, ever since I can remember knowing it existed. I used to read her work over and over as a teen, getting lost in how emotive and haunting it was. When I saw that she was releasing a new collection, I couldn't wait to read it, and was so grateful to get my hands on it. She's been sitting on some of this work for a decade, but man, was it worth the wait.

Greet the world with no expectation.
Love as though you have never been hurt or betrayed.
Let go of the ones who take so much from you
yet offer nothing in return.

This is how you take back your power.

Lang writes of love and loss, grief and healing, power and weakness, and she switches flawlessly between poetry and prose. Her words are full of impact across every single page, and unlike many poets I enjoy, I never find her writing to be repetitive. She is confident and wise in much of this collection, offering gentle mentoring that we all need from time to time.

If you're a fan of poetry, if you're someone who's loved and lost, or even if you're just looking for a book to make you feel, the emotions that Lang describes are universal, powerful, and her delivery is perfection. I highly recommend picking this collection up.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Turn left at the screaming woman with a collapsing face. Turn right at the kneeling man with bleeding sores the size of teacups.

What an incredibly atmospheric, beautiful, haunting little read this was.

Ms. Valdez is such a kindly narrator; despite being faced with absolutely bizarre circumstances, she never judges, only views the world around her with wary curiosity and, at times, heart-aching pity. She knows the pain of loss too well to be terribly surprised by the nature of her new occupation, and her lack of shock at the entire scenario was a refreshing touch.

What exactly am I doing here? I came to this house to escape empty rooms.

Early in the story, we see that Ms. V has suffered a terrible grief of her own, and it's all too similar to the reasons why she was called upon to teach poor, lost little Isabella. Despite how obvious her loss is in the story - particularly in her fever-like nightmares - I appreciated that Jeremy's storytelling never dwells upon it long enough for it to be too heavy, or to take away the eerie nature of Stockton House.

A little voice tells me to turn back, but a little voice always tells me to turn back.

My favorite thing about this story wasn't how interesting the narrative was, or how devastatingly haunting the portrayals of grief were; it was the writing, and how genuinely eerie and grotesque it became at times. The atrocities that the story is named for are horrifying statues depicting tragic Biblical moments, and Stockton House itself is filled with its owner's paintings. The writing quality behind these descriptions is impeccable, transporting you directly into the dim, quiet hallways of the estate, where something slightly wicked seems to constantly hide just out of sight.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys tragic, gothic stories about ghosts, and doesn't mind a great deal of nightmarish visuals and scenery.

Thank you to Tor.com Publishing for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Frida was an amazing woman and I loved this little book! The artwork was beautiful and vibrant enough to keep any child’s attention. I loved how her personality was described through comparisons to her pets. It was also nice that there was a more mature synopsis of her life at the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review!