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mousereads's Reviews (2.14k)
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Ciara Smyth manages to take two of my least favorite genres, slam them into a book and make me love them. I am not a contemporary reader, and I am most definitely not a romance reader. However, the way that Smyth weaves humor in and out of these heavier topics genuinely makes me love these stories.
This book touches on interesting topics without it feeling too heavy. A point is made, but it’s just subtle enough that you can enjoy the overarching point without feeling preached to. I genuinely appreciated the way that Smyth addresses boundary setting with friends, and even parents to an extent.
From the humor to the romance, everything about this book brought me genuine joy.
Full review will be posted on my blog on June 3rd, 2021.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Ciara Smyth manages to take two of my least favorite genres, slam them into a book and make me love them. I am not a contemporary reader, and I am most definitely not a romance reader. However, the way that Smyth weaves humor in and out of these heavier topics genuinely makes me love these stories.
This book touches on interesting topics without it feeling too heavy. A point is made, but it’s just subtle enough that you can enjoy the overarching point without feeling preached to. I genuinely appreciated the way that Smyth addresses boundary setting with friends, and even parents to an extent.
From the humor to the romance, everything about this book brought me genuine joy.
Full review will be posted on my blog on June 3rd, 2021.
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel was one of the sweetest things I’ve read in a while. Firstly, the art is gorgeous and incredibly well done. I liked how detailed the style was without feeling messy or overwhelming. The color palette was really gorgeous for this specific novel. The story was heartwarming and amusing, with a ton packed into the short graphic novel. This is a full story, which I appreciated a lot. There is no cliffhanger to leave you frustrated and wanting the next story immediately. The way this novel addressed different identities and setting boundaries with others was really wonderful!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel was one of the sweetest things I’ve read in a while. Firstly, the art is gorgeous and incredibly well done. I liked how detailed the style was without feeling messy or overwhelming. The color palette was really gorgeous for this specific novel. The story was heartwarming and amusing, with a ton packed into the short graphic novel. This is a full story, which I appreciated a lot. There is no cliffhanger to leave you frustrated and wanting the next story immediately. The way this novel addressed different identities and setting boundaries with others was really wonderful!
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This story was jarring, in the best of ways. I don’t often provide content warnings in my reviews (this is due to not knowing everyone’s needs). I do want to give a massive warning to pet death/murder and domestic abuse.
Katrell and Will can both be incredibly frustrating characters. However, it’s all in realistic ways. Their actions are not supposed to be inherently the most likable. There is genuine character growth in this book, and it never feels forced.
The story was dark for many reasons, from paranormal to emotional. The paranormal aspects were fantastic to see and really brought this book to life (or back from the dead? Bad joke, I’ll see myself out). Lewis has really brought something to the table with this book, and I loved it.
My full review will be posted on August 23rd, 2021.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This story was jarring, in the best of ways. I don’t often provide content warnings in my reviews (this is due to not knowing everyone’s needs). I do want to give a massive warning to pet death/murder and domestic abuse.
Katrell and Will can both be incredibly frustrating characters. However, it’s all in realistic ways. Their actions are not supposed to be inherently the most likable. There is genuine character growth in this book, and it never feels forced.
The story was dark for many reasons, from paranormal to emotional. The paranormal aspects were fantastic to see and really brought this book to life (or back from the dead? Bad joke, I’ll see myself out). Lewis has really brought something to the table with this book, and I loved it.
My full review will be posted on August 23rd, 2021.
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“My name is Will. I’m a Westie. I live in Zone F. My corporation account is in credit.”
It’s hard to know where to start with this review, much less what to say without spoiling the book. My rating is a 2.5, which could teeter more towards 3 stars.
First, Rijswijk’s writing is actually fantastic. They do a good job of world-building. Despite the very good writing, this book has minimal redeeming plot qualities. If you’ve read my reviews before, then you know that character growth is extremely important to me. Will consistently makes choices to save his own skin, and this doesn’t change even at the end. I wanted more for Will, and I wanted Will to do more for the society he lived in.
The content in this book is dark, and would most certainly be triggering for others. You never get a break from this content. This made it a touch difficult to get through.
My full review will be out July 12th, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“My name is Will. I’m a Westie. I live in Zone F. My corporation account is in credit.”
It’s hard to know where to start with this review, much less what to say without spoiling the book. My rating is a 2.5, which could teeter more towards 3 stars.
First, Rijswijk’s writing is actually fantastic. They do a good job of world-building. Despite the very good writing, this book has minimal redeeming plot qualities. If you’ve read my reviews before, then you know that character growth is extremely important to me. Will consistently makes choices to save his own skin, and this doesn’t change even at the end. I wanted more for Will, and I wanted Will to do more for the society he lived in.
The content in this book is dark, and would most certainly be triggering for others. You never get a break from this content. This made it a touch difficult to get through.
My full review will be out July 12th, 2021
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The prose in this book was absolutely beautiful. Tarisai has developed into an interesting character. She is slowly healing from the trauma of being used as a tool and finding her footing as a new leader. However, the story felt rushed, and I did not care about or connect to anyone mentioned.
As much as I enjoyed this book, it did suffer greatly from second book syndrome. This book is hurt the most by the fact that realistically, this should have been a trilogy. There is so much that should have been built up as a peak plot point in this story, that the ending felt lackluster.
This story still gets a high rating from me, primarily because of Tarisai and the context of her story, as well as the beauty of the prose.
My full review will be posted on August 9th, 2021.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The prose in this book was absolutely beautiful. Tarisai has developed into an interesting character. She is slowly healing from the trauma of being used as a tool and finding her footing as a new leader. However, the story felt rushed, and I did not care about or connect to anyone mentioned.
As much as I enjoyed this book, it did suffer greatly from second book syndrome. This book is hurt the most by the fact that realistically, this should have been a trilogy. There is so much that should have been built up as a peak plot point in this story, that the ending felt lackluster.
This story still gets a high rating from me, primarily because of Tarisai and the context of her story, as well as the beauty of the prose.
My full review will be posted on August 9th, 2021.
BLOG|INSTAGRAM|TWITTER|YOUTUBE
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to disclaim that I have suffered from an eating disorder and have since recovered. My perspective of this is written as an Own Voices reviewer for eating disorders.
This book was one of the most beautiful contemporaries I have read in quite some time. Schwartz does a fantastic job of not sugar coating the mental illness. Additionally, it has good sapphic representation, not just alludes to it. The asexual representation surprised me, and the way it was described felt well thought out.
There are subtle anti-Semitic phrases in this book. The author is Jewish, and I am not, so I don’t feel it’s my place to say anything one way or the other about this. I do want to say that neither character is the most likable, and that is entirely at the fault of their respective mental illnesses. Eating disorders tend to lean towards being manipulative as a form of self-protection.
The ways both girls went through the recovery system and their journeys were well written. Not all stories will end in recovery, and not all recovery stories are linear.
This book is not for everyone, as Eating Disorders are hard to read about. The people who experience them may frustrate you.
My full review will be posted on September 9th, 2021.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to disclaim that I have suffered from an eating disorder and have since recovered. My perspective of this is written as an Own Voices reviewer for eating disorders.
This book was one of the most beautiful contemporaries I have read in quite some time. Schwartz does a fantastic job of not sugar coating the mental illness. Additionally, it has good sapphic representation, not just alludes to it. The asexual representation surprised me, and the way it was described felt well thought out.
There are subtle anti-Semitic phrases in this book. The author is Jewish, and I am not, so I don’t feel it’s my place to say anything one way or the other about this. I do want to say that neither character is the most likable, and that is entirely at the fault of their respective mental illnesses. Eating disorders tend to lean towards being manipulative as a form of self-protection.
The ways both girls went through the recovery system and their journeys were well written. Not all stories will end in recovery, and not all recovery stories are linear.
This book is not for everyone, as Eating Disorders are hard to read about. The people who experience them may frustrate you.
My full review will be posted on September 9th, 2021.
BLOG|INSTAGRAM|TWITTER|YOUTUBE
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
Nguyen has created an interesting sci-fi world in which androids are a part of our everyday lives but not necessarily welcomed. In flashbacks from Park’s past, we are given pieces of information surrounding wars, riots, and Park’s relationships with androids. This does, however, cause the pacing of the story to suffer. These chapters feel drawn out, and border on info-dumping and boring.
I wanted to enjoy this book. Sci-Fi Thrillers are one of the niche genres I love dearly. But by the time we got to the grand reveal at the end, I was bored. The information felt force-fed to me, and it took away from my ability to truly enjoy this story. The pieces of a wonderful book are all there, however, the execution could perhaps use some more work.
Full review will be published on June 14th, 2021.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
Nguyen has created an interesting sci-fi world in which androids are a part of our everyday lives but not necessarily welcomed. In flashbacks from Park’s past, we are given pieces of information surrounding wars, riots, and Park’s relationships with androids. This does, however, cause the pacing of the story to suffer. These chapters feel drawn out, and border on info-dumping and boring.
I wanted to enjoy this book. Sci-Fi Thrillers are one of the niche genres I love dearly. But by the time we got to the grand reveal at the end, I was bored. The information felt force-fed to me, and it took away from my ability to truly enjoy this story. The pieces of a wonderful book are all there, however, the execution could perhaps use some more work.
Full review will be published on June 14th, 2021.
