howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

3.5 stars, rounded up because I really, really appreciated the time taken to explain why it can be so difficult for women of color (such as our Afro-Latinx MC, Lina) to allow themselves to fully express their feelings. I thought that was such an important topic and it's one I haven't seen addressed in many books.

This was cute! I definitely struggled with Lina from time to time, just for how petty she could be with her pranks, but all's well that ends well and I grew to love her and empathize with her more as the story progressed. I will admit that I spent a solid chunk of the story wanting to grab her and shake her until something clicked in her brain, though. I don't think I'll ever quite grasp the concept that she totally moved on from her ex-fiance leaving her at the altar, yet couldn't get over her hatred of his brother for supposedly talking the fiance out of the marriage. That just... doesn't compute. I also have one other little complaint, which I wasn't going to mention because it felt like maybe it was just me, but I have to: the sex scenes were a little weird to me? I felt so much chemistry between Lina and Max throughout the rest of the book, but not in the steamy scenes.

That said, I enjoyed this story a lot overall. I thought it was addictive and fast-paced, I loved the banter (when Lina wasn't busy pranking Max), and I thought it held so many important conversations, such as Lina's fear of disappointing her family after they immigrated to the US and worked so hard to help give her the life she has. While this wasn't a perfect read for me, I still really enjoyed it and recommend it! I'm happier for having read it and definitely want to check out more of the author's work.

Buddy read with my darling Bex ♥

This was absolutely fantastic — and it would be a perfect story to hold on to for your Halloween TBR! I've been meaning to read something of Hailey's for ages and I'm so glad I finally did because this did not let me down at all. Full review coming soon!

Why the hell did it take me this long to pick this up?! I was in love within a page and inhaled this novella in one sitting, and now all I want is more.

RTC

ETA: My amazing friend Leelynn read and reviewed this book recently and had such important things to say about it, so please check her review out, too.

Given that sex trafficking is such an under-discussed topic that affects so many teens around the world, What Unbreakable Looks Like had endless amounts of potential to be a new favorite for me. I love when authors are willing to tackle dark, important topics such as this — when it's done well. Unfortunately, this story was quite the disappointing reading experience.

First of all, the writing wasn't a good fit for me. The dialogue is clunky and unnatural, the pacing is off (and incredibly rushed in the beginning), and the characters feel flat. Lex as a narrator is immensely frustrating because, despite all of these terrible and difficult things happening to her, her emotional responses feel wholly absent. She talks about reacting in certain ways but there's never any weight to it. It's honestly rare that I've met a main character who struck me as so singularly one-dimensional.

The other issue I had was the author's usage of AAVE. A bit of slang is one thing, but when your narrator changes into a weird bastardization of AAVE every time she wants to make herself sound "tough" or edgy, I'm really uncomfortable with that — especially when it's to such a degree that it feels like a caricature, as is the case here. I saw so few other reviewers fret over the depiction of AAVE & Black characters in this book that I almost second-guessed myself, but I know when something feels wrong in my gut.

I have more to say that can't be said here, so if you'd like to read the rest of my thoughts, you can do that HERE on my blog.

#1 Get a Life, Chloe Brown ★★★★★
#2 Take a Hint, Dani Brown ★★★★★
#3 Act Your Age, Eve Brown

What an absolutely sickening display. Romance clearly melted the brains of sensible women. Dani was horribly glad she had nothing to do with it.

Friends, I truly can't even begin to tell you how incredible it felt to dive back into the world of the Brown sisters. I love this trio so much I can barely stand myself, and more than that, I adore every word I've ever read of Talia's writing and this was no exception. This story is angsty, hilarious, sweet, and full of utterly delicious pining and slow-building, steamy warmth and I could not get enough! The character development is flawless and we truly get to see so much growth from both Dani and Zaf. Whether it was Dani learning to overcome her past hurts and trust herself, or Zaf finding a way to heal and accept his grief, I was cheering them both on so hard and grinning like a goofball every time either of them reached a new milestone.

"Then what's the murder glare for?" With complete seriousness, he told her, "This is just my face. I have a murder face."

While the writing is delightful and the characters are all absolutely fantastic, the star of the show for me was the hero. When I was introduced to Talia's writing in A Girl Like Her a few years back, I adored its hero Evan Miller so much that I became convinced no romance hero could ever beat him in my eyes, and I've held that opinion solidly true until today, but... I think Zafir Ansari might be my new favorite romance hero of all time. This former rugby player is a gentle giant with a heart of pure gold, and his dedication to seeking out his very own Happily Ever After despite all the turmoil he's been through? My heart aches to think of it. I mean, the man literally became a lover of romance books because he was so devastated by a family loss, he needed guaranteed HEAs in his stories, and frankly, that's so relatable and soft and beautiful. Plus, the anxiety representation in his character? Everything. I literally cried a few times just over how angsty and pining he was and how badly I wanted to see him happy. ♥ Oh, AND he teaches classes for teen boys about overcoming toxic masculinity. I'm telling y'all, we stan Zafir Ansari for life in this house.

She detected a faint note of wonder in his voice that made her want to squish his cheeks and kiss his forehead. Fortunately, he wasn't in the room, so she was saved from the horror of actually following that impulse.

Don't get me wrong, though; while Zaf was the shining light for me, I adored Danika, too. She isn't my favorite of Talia's heroines (that one's still a toss-up between Ruth Kabbah and Dani's older sister Chloe), but she was certainly fun, and I loved the fact that she was a practicing witch! I related so much to every scene that touched upon her faith and practice, and having never seen a modern witch in a romance book before, I ate it right up. Of course, Dani could be a bit cruel to my sweet Zaf at times, but without spoiling anything, trust me when I say our lovely lady impressed me to no end with how far she progressed.

"All right," Redford called from the hallway. "If the guy I'm supposed to kill is that big fucker from the video, we'll need an airtight plan."

And of course, I couldn't review this book without giving a shout-out to all of the ridiculously lovable side characters. Not only do we get a few quality scenes with Chloe and Redford (who I have missed tremendously), but we also get new insight into Eve's character, and I truly can't wait to spend more time with her in book 3. She's so hilarious and quirky and I already know I'm going to adore her. Plus, there are Dani and Zaf's respective best friends, Sorcha and Jamal, and Zaf's family members (who made me emotional every single time they were on the page, if that tells you anything about how trash I am for the entire Ansari family at this point). Talia excels at writing these perfect side characters that are so fleshed-out and lovable that they always make me want more time with them.

I'm a coward. I'm lost. I'm addicted to being around you and I don't know what I'll do when it stops. Maybe it shouldn't stop.

There's honestly so much more I could rave about (like the late-night phone calls, the sweet bliss of best-friends-turned-lovers, and how damn supportive Zaf is of every single one of Dani's multitude of big dreams), but I'll cut myself short here and just tell you that, whether you're new to romance or a huge fan of the genre, you can't afford to miss The Brown Sisters series. It's sweet, sexy, hilarious, warm, comforting, and effortlessly diverse (just check the representation listings below!). I adored every word on every page and can't wait for the finale to release next year.

✨ Representation: Danika Brown is Black, plus-size, bisexual, and a witch; Zafir Ansari is Pakistani, Muslim, and has anxiety; multiple side characters are queer, POC (Black or Pakistani), plus-size, and/or disabled

✨ Content warnings for:

Spoiler

grieving loss of family members, anxiety/panic attacks, mentions of depression, body-shaming (challenged), slut-shaming (challenged)

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Avon for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

#1 The Lightning Thief ★★★★☆
#2 The Sea of Monsters ★★★★☆
#3 The Titan’s Curse ★★★★☆
#4 The Battle of the Labyrinth ★★★★★
#5 The Last Olympian ★★★★★

“The real world is where the monsters are.”

First of all, yes, this was actually my first time reading any of Riordan's books. I know, about a decade late on this one, but this book released right as I was reaching that funny teen age where I felt like I had to shift away from MG, into YA, so I kind of turned my nose up at these years ago. As an adult, of course, I've started coming back to my beloved middle grade books, and I knew it was about time that I started this series.

This book was, more than anything, really cute. Percy is a very enjoyable narrator: he's spunky, brave, quick-witted, and sarcastic as hell, plus he has a few great friends at his side, like Grover and Annabeth. It was so fun to watch these three interact with one another, and I found myself with a particular soft spot for Grover's vague patheticness most of the time. The interactions between the kids, of course, did remind me of another brave young trio, with a spunky "chosen one" MC, a dopey and vaguely pathetic male friend, and a smart and snarky female friend... Hmm, I wonder...

I digress. I will admit that I had to remind myself not to compare too heavily to the early Harry Potter books, because there were some definite parallels, in my opinion, but they weren't blaring enough to make me dislike the book or feel any sort of need to blame Riordan of ripping anyone off. Despite the similarities, this book did have its own special style, down to the very casual and authentic-sounding voice of Percy's narrations, which definitely reminded me of, well... talking to a preteen boy, except maybe not as annoying as those interactions often go in real life.

The plot is fun and predictable, the humor is cute and silly, and the twists probably won't shock anyone who isn't in the book's intended age range, but none of those things take away from the fact that this was a really solid start to the series. I was especially fond of the depictions of the gods; especially cold portrayals of Charon and Hades, who have always been two of my absolute favorite Greco-Roman beings.

All in all, it wasn't a book that made me want to binge read the entire remainder of Riordan's bibliography in one go or anything, but I did definitely enjoy it and will be picking up the rest of this series (as well as his other series, I'm sure). I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys middle grade fantasy, and especially any younger teens or preteens who want something fun to read.

This was legitimately incredible. Such a wild, strange, eerie ride and I loved every moment of it. RTC

I've read a lot of Junji Ito's work at this point, and it's generally a bit hit or miss for me, but thankfully, this was a huge hit. I absolutely loved this collection and can easily say it's one of my favorites of his works. It spans a grouping of short stories, some written by other authors, and altogether, while they certainly don't fit a theme or anything, they work well together and were almost all extremely well-done. There was one story I wasn't a big fan of near the end, and then I think it's worth mentioning that the collection involves 'The Enigma of Amigara Fault', which may disappoint some long-time lovers of his work as it's featured in at least one of his other collections (thankfully, it happens to be one of my all-time faves, so I was delighted to read it again).

Altogether, a really solid collection I think any Junji Ito fan will be pleased with. It may even be a good introduction to his work for anyone who's hesitant to pick up his stranger titles (like 'Uzumaki'), as this one felt rather tame comparatively. I enjoyed it a lot and would definitely be interested in purchasing a finished copy when it releases to keep on my shelf!

✨ Content warnings for:

Spoiler

murder, torture, violence, body horror, corpse desecration, necrophilia, animal deaths, stalking, scenes of terror

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

#1 The Lightning Thief ★★★★☆
#2 The Sea of Monsters ★★★★☆
#3 The Titan’s Curse ★★★★☆
#4 The Battle of the Labyrinth ★★★★★
#5 The Last Olympian ★★★★★

I feel like my Percy Jackson reviews are beginning to feel repetitive, because as a whole, this series has really just captivated my heart so much, and there are only so many times I can gush about how much I love these characters, or how hilarious Percy and his friends are.

→ L I K E S :

“Be careful of love. It'll twist your brain around and leave you thinking up is down and right is wrong.”

First, I have to say that Labyrinth was the first PJO book I’ve read via audiobook instead of a physical copy, and WOW, do I recommend this narrator. He was absolutely hilarious and throws in so many bonus voice changes and accents to really bring the characters to life in a brand new way. My bank account is totally glaring at me because, despite the fact that I own physical copies of almost every book Uncle Rick has written, I’ll probably be checking out the audiobooks for most of them here on out!

“People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can't be fixed.”

As usual, the characters are wonderful and complex, Percy is a lovable yet sometimes clueless little bean, Annabeth endears me more with each passing installment, Tyson is my forever fave and I would protect him at all costs, and the world of gods, demigods, monsters, and Titans grows more complex and wonderful all the time.

→ D I S L I K E S :

“You deal with mythological stuff for a few years, you learn that paradises are usually places where you get killed.”

I originally gave this one 4 stars like I have with the 3 books before it, because—as with the first books—I wasn’t totally sure it had sucked me in enough to be “worth” 5 stars, until I was sitting here typing this review, weeks later, and realized two things: 1) I don’t have a single legitimate complaint about this installment, and 2) I inhaled most of the audiobook in one sitting and couldn’t put it down, so clearly it did suck me in that much! So, I’m happy to announce that The Battle of the Labyrinth gets a solid 5 out of 5 stars from this reader.

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

You can really tell that Rick Riordan meant for the series to grow up with the readers, because the books have steadily gotten just a little bit darker and heavier, but unlike many other series that follow this “aging up” style, PJO is still solidly middle grade and kid-friendly even by the end of this one, 80% through the series. I mean that as a good thing, though, because it means that Labyrinth is still a fun, comforting read with the stakes just high enough to create suspense without ever overshadowing how hilarious and fun the journey is.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

I’d happily recommend these books to ANY kid who likes fantasy or action/adventure stories and think that this series will be an important one for readers of all ages for generations to come. I’d also completely recommend this book, and this series in general, to any adults who aren’t typically big fans of MG, or who haven’t read much of it but want to dive into the age range a little more.

I'm not giving this a star rating because I simply can't. I could not tell you once, during this entire book, if Rowland was trying to be legitimately informative, or simply piecing together social commentary and jokes with a little splash of beliefs from cultures around the world. It doesn't help that discussing fae from so many cultures would require far more pages than this book allows for, and half of the book is compiled of illustrations and graphic design art.

It's a difficult book for me to review because I understand that I'm coming at this book from a different angle than many people are (which is the other reason I won't give it a star rating). Most readers I know are going to pick this up looking for fun stories and illustrations; those of us looking for something deeper, like many practicing witches, are probably going to be left feeling about as let down as I was.

On a positive note, I really appreciated how much attention Rowland gave not only to the impact that climate change and humanity's abuse of the planet has had on fae populations, but also to the impact that colonialism has had on society's general perception of spiritual beliefs that don't align with the more widely accepted religions (such as the author's complaint regarding US scholars' dismissal of Native beliefs as "superstitions" and "myths").

The bottom line is this: if you're someone who thinks of fae as pure fantastical fiction and you want to learn more about the history there, this would probably be a great, fun fit for you. If you're someone who is actually invested in the idea of recognizing fae in our modern reality, I'm not so sure. I'd love to hear the thoughts of other readers, though, especially ones who are coming at it from the same angle I am!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!