justinlife's Reviews (916)

I'm rating this higher than I thought at first because the overall curation of essays is really good. 

Queer people's relationship with the horror genre is something that I'm glad was explored and Vallese found essays from almost every type of queer experience. It's quite impressive. Not all the essays worked for me. I was honestly hoping for more queer readings of films than personal stories and some of the stories only seemed loosely connected to the the movies they were writing about. 

I appreciated a lot of the perspectives- the relating to the monster, the body issues, the family issues. Some of the queer subtext people found I never saw (here's looking at you Jaws and Exorcist). But that's cool. Love this for them. There were some essays that felt too personal and too intimate- The Child's Play essay, the Friday the 13th one are examples of essays where I was like "does your partner/child know you wrote this, because awkward." 

I think there's a lot worth liking and it was definitely interesting to read. I would read another volume. 

Listen, Northanger Abbey isn't the easiest nor the most recognizable of Austen's work. I read it once and I don't remember much. I think I thought it was weird. In this remake, Terciero gives the book a Texas queer experience. The story follows as closely as I remember to the story, which is both good and bad. It's a hard story to sell. Cade, the protagonist loves horror and only watches horror films. When he's forced to take a summer job on a ranch, he gets invited to the owner's lake house-Northranger.  As communication goes awry and things start adding up, Cade jumps to conclusions. 

The story has its up and downs. The love interest is fun and I think Terciero does a great job adapting the book to a graphic novel m/m Texas romance. It can be a bit preachy in making the "queer people like monster movies b/c we feel isolated" point, but overall it's a solid graphic novel. I really enjoyed the art. That's what pushed this up a notch. Indigo's art is expressive, sweet, and full of emotion. 

If you've never read Northanger Abbey, this gets the main story along while finding its own path. 

I have to give credit where credit is due. This is a really well done book. It's not a book that I wanted to read and when I started it, I wasn't thrilled, but I can't deny the care that went into the structure, plot, characters, and ending. Gregory excelled with this book. 

The story revolves around the women from the Wallace family. They have the ability to communicate with an old god living in the mountain in their East TN Smoky Mountain village. Only their family knows about the god, though. The woman's words are then interpreted by one of the men of the family. The story focuses on Stella, the latest Revelator and her coming of age and then moves into the future 10 years when another revelator comes up. 

It's a great setup- 1930s and 40s Smoky Mountain. You get moonshiners, you get small town religions, you get southern gothic. 

This novel twists and turns in ways that left me unsettled. It's hard to describe without giving it away, but I was impressed in how Gregory shows how we find ways to interpret events that are beyond our understanding. When you get to the end, you'll start to rethink earlier sections of the book with this new knowledge. All the hints were there, but we couldn't see them because why would we? You might even be tempted to reread it. 

I think when I started this book, I was concerned b/c small town southern men and young girls who can speak to gods have a power dynamic there that can be problematic. I didn't want to read about an older man manipulating a girl. Fortunately, it's not really that. That part wasn't burdensome or overbearing. 

The book is creepy though. The old god is creepy and if you aren't unsettled by the end, then good for you. This took me out. Even though I didn't feel like reading it and didn't want to be in this world, I have to hand it to him for really doing the work and making it work. It's a well done book. 

This was one of the sweetest books I've read all year. It's a quick read and when I finished it, I immediately went back and reread passages and events. The book was kind, lovely, ridiculous, over the top, and campy- all in the best ways. 

In this story we have Dylan, a teen who recently lost his mom and works at his aunt's takeout business. His path crosses with Theo, ultra rich son of a tycoon who falls for Dylan. After some ridiculous scheme to get them to be fake boyfriends, the story shifts into high gear. Lee introduces Dylan to Theo's world while asking all the questions one would think, like "why is this dude into me, but also hello, we're from two different worlds!!" She introduces the characters smoothly and nothing felt out of place. 

What I loved about this was that the obstacles the couple had to overcome had nothing to do with homophobia or really xenophobia. Homophobia doesn't really exist in this world. Everyone is fine with them being gay, just some people have a problem with them being from different classes. 

The ending feels like something that came from a Disney afternoon movie, but it didn't feel out of place. It felt very HEA. It was over the top and the final confrontation is everything you would expect from that type of movie. 

This novel also contains a lot information regarding Singaporean traditions and Chinese culture that aren't usually found. If you are unfamiliar like I am, you'll be educated. If you already know about the things she talks about, then it might feel like she's going too far. It's hard to find that balance and I think she was successful

Overall, I would read this again and would read a sequel. These characters are fun. The story was solid and her pacing was on point. It hit all the notes. It didn't shy away from going big, instead it leaned in. One could say it makes a bit corny, but come on, what romcom isn't? Highly recommend this one. 

This book is like if Ready Player One understood camp and watched the Rocky Horror Picture show. It's absurd, ridiculous, fun, and bonkers. The aliens and the concepts introduced felt unique and I had a hard time wrapping my mind around them. At some point I just gave up and just accepted the concepts and ideas and rolled with the punches. 

The story revolves around Isobel who is the best player of the Sparkleworld series. It is because she's the best that she gets recruited by a cabal to help save the universe. But do they want to save the universe? The story is on another level but if you don't think too hard it's really fun. The linguist details added that extra umph to make things somewhat plausible, if that's even a thing. 

Overall it's a solid read and if you're looking for weird, fun, campy time, then this book might be for you. 

This was a lot of fun and I think it's a solid YA novel.

Schmidt's approach to this series is having a story become a part of the students' lives. In this story, we see Sherlock Holmes take center stage in Huck's life as he tries to solve the mystery of why Winston's having all these problems. Both are Freshmen in highschool which is a bit younger than I typically read. The story is wholesome and plays well with the story it parodies.

It's great to see an m/m couple showing up in series like these. The others are all f/m relationships. As this is the last of the series, I didn't have an idea who the other characters were nor why they were together, but it was fine. The story was engaging enough and the narrator was just the right kind of obnoxious kid that made the story engaging.

I also appreciated the diversity of sexualities and gender identities. It feels like how the world should be. One of the things I'm learning to appreciate with YA is that if the author is good, they can provide strong and solid examples of accountability and communication. Schmidt succeeds wildy in this area.

Not that Complicated was an ok read. It was trying to go for this murder mystery m/m romance, small british town vibe and it missed the mark for me. The narrator felt too much like a dolt to be interesting. I think Murray was going for humor in some of the miscommunication and misspeak which is fine, but for me it was more aggravating that funny. 

The narrator had of being a fussy person while mostly denying they are fussy. The writing was easy to get through though and it felt like it might be better as a soap opera. Overall, it was fine.

This book was fine. In Teacher of the Year we have kindergarten teacher Marvin who is up for TOTY award for the county and maybe the state. During the middle of the school year, a new student transfers with a hot, wealthy daddy, Olan. Olan starts having a bi awakening and we get a somewhat spicy book as we these two fall for each other and work through their traumas. 

The book is solid but the narrator, Olan, has harsh opinions about recovering addicts and alcoholics that didn't set well with me, obviously. He has his own issues being a child of neglect. Olan is a fun character and his book does have some heat to it. Good for that teacher. I think Wardell handled the teaching aspect well. It felt believable. 

this was the third m/m romance novel I read this year set in Maine. What's up with Maine being a location destination for m/m romance? I was not expecting that. 

JP Brammer has an advice column called "Hola Papi" and here he uses that trope to discuss his past. He tells his story with such care and empathy that having questions that he can answer to himself gives him the ability to be kind. This is a collection short stories or vignettes of his life. Each chapter is a question that he asks himself. When he answers the questions, he is so gentle and kind that it's refreshing. 

I feel like a lot of memoirs have a snarky or an acerbic take, particularly if they are essays. JP Bramer does the opposite. He's kind, understanding, and recognizes his part to play in his life. What I appreciated about this book is that even though he's tackling big issues, he never insults himself. He gives himself grace. We need more of that. The concepts he talks about are internalizes homophobia, bullying, mental help, suicide, sexual assault, assimilation, etc. I never felt uncomfortable for him. That's a hard thing to manage when writing about yourself. 

I would recommend this book to people looking for a queer, poor, biracial experience told with love and care. 

This was a decent YA novel with a lot of fun supporting characters. 

Here we have a take on the Groundhog Day movie where Clark is forced to relive the same day over and over again until one day things shift and he realizes he's not alone. Stuck in the same day as him is Beau. As Clark tries to figure out why he's stuck, Beau pushes away. 

This was a cute book and it took a direction I wasn't expecting based on the cover. What I liked about it was how tired Clark is of reliving this day and having to go through the motions with people who w0n't remember him or don't think about him. I appreciated how Couch made the characters seem real in how they dealt with it. I liked all the new characters that were introduced when Beau enters the picture. 

There were some beats that were off for me. How they figure out their situation and how they get out of it didn't feel compatible with the story. I also, personally am not a fan of the concept of soulmates in a relationship sense and that theme gets mentioned some. 

I wish this book had at least two more chapters or an epilogue b/c it feels like there's a lot of unfinished business. Maybe one chapter and an epilogue. 

Overall though, Couch does a good job with this one and his target audience should enjoy it.