littleredmacks's Reviews (528)

Great Gatsby Remix 

Trans Rep 

Insta Love 

 

 

While this is a Great Gatsby remix, I felt like the Great Gatsby premise could have been dropped and it would have made a much better book overall. I felt like making the characters likable does a disservice to the retelling. Though, I did enjoy the diversity changes as well as the LGBTQIA rep we get throughout this book. 

 

I really enjoyed the trans gay rep as well as Daisy turning out to be a lesbian, however, I feel like this would have been much better if these weren’t teenagers and were actual adults. There was a lot of backstory and expectations for characters that were supposed to be 15-16, or maybe 14? Very unclear about the age. Overall it was difficult to believe and I had to keep reminding myself they were children and not adults. 

 

Overall, all the relationships felt very flat. They were not built up in a way that felt realistic, which is a shame considering the author had created some great characters (though drastically different from the original characters). Even Nick and Gatsby’s relationship felt very insta love and the obstacles that were put between them felt like things the author added to the plot to drag it out. 

 

The gay club did make my queer heart very happy though. 

 

Through the descriptions, you can tell the author really did their research on fashion for this time period which was really exciting to learn new tidbits. 

 

I do want to read something else from this author that isn’t a retelling because I think I could really end up enjoying their writing. 

Mutual Pining to Lovers 

Spicy 

Great Banter 

Commitment Issues 

 

As always Talia Hibbert writes banter and smut that leave me wanting more. However, the plot in this one was a bit messy, much like our main characters. 

 

I adore friends to lovers, but I want to see them truly be friends without having the pining over each other. It feels like every friends to lovers I read lately is just mutual pining for years before it all spills over and this one was no exception. 

 

The issues that Jasmine dealt with were real issues that can make having a relationship difficult. However, we never see her work through those on screen. All the work is done off screen which wasn’t very satisfactory. It also made the third act reunion feel sort of bland. We also see everyone talk about how amazing she is and no one really calls out the fact that she needs therapy, but I felt like they could all clearly see it. 

 

Rahul wants the absolute best for this girl and nothing less. However, he lets her hold the reins with everything and never really says what he wants to and I wish we could have seen him develop a little bit more. It felt like all he did the whole book was be in love with her. He didn’t even really show her he was in love with her without some kind of signal from her that she was okay with it. 

Dual POV 

Past and Present 

Psychological Thriller/Mystery 

Slow Pace 

YA Book - read the TW’s 

 

 I am not a thriller/horror book girlie. I prefer to consume that sort of media as TV shows or movies. However, this book held my interest, kept me hooked, had me guessing the whole time. 

 

I think what really worked for this book is that is not a true haunted house book. It is more about people who are haunted houses. It explores themes like unresolved trauma, generational trauma, abuse, toxic family members, and how our relationships are shaped by the secrets we keep. It explores those themes with the backdrop of the haunted house. 

 

This book follows Daisy who can see ghosts and is attempting to unravel family secrets and Brittany who is 10 years in the future attempting to unravel the secrets of the past and what happened to the forgotten Black girls in that house. It was very interesting to flip back and forth and attempt to unravel the mystery along with both the girls. 

 

I will say that there is some repetition and the beginning takes a little bit to really get going. I wished some pieces had been cut for the sake of pacing, but overall I really enjoyed this story. 

Found Friendship 

Fake Dating 

Very Short Read 

Family Issues 

Light & Fluffy 

 

This is a cute short read if you’re in between other series or looking for that palette cleanser. I enjoyed the relationship between the main characters and how it developed from friendship. There is teenage angst and miscommunication and lying (something all teenagers do, we’ve all been there). The teenagers truly felt like teenagers, so if those are things that frustrate you, I’d move on to something else. 

 

One of the main conflicts is between the FMC (Riley) and her dad. Since the divorce, the two have been struggling to connect with each other. As someone who struggles connecting with their dad, I was really looking forward to seeing growth, conversations, and bonding, but so much of that happens off screen that it was disappointing. 

 

I would have loved to have seen better character descriptions as well as more diversity among the characters. Many were middle class white characters. There is the over-achieving asian best friend and a flirty Latino and I felt those were playing into stereotypes a little too much for my taste. 

 

The ending also felt rushed, especially with the big thing that happens at the end. I wasn’t a fan of that trope at all. I’d have much preferred to see her truly bonding with her dad on screen before this moment. 

 

I also feel this is a great way to introduce young readers to TTR games as well as theater, if those are things they may be interested in. 

 

I think that my biggest issue with the story though is why Riley is being punished in the first place. She drove without a license and took her mom’s car so that her and her friend could go see a musical, but she never seems to see why this was a problem. She is constantly defending the action and refuses to believe it was wrong because it was for the sake of a musical. The fact that the friend had her license and could have driven, but said nothing is slightly frustrating. 

I enjoyed reading this book so much! 

So many unnecessary POV additions. Slow plot. So many things could have been cut.