nerdinthelibrary's Reviews (926)

Absolutely adored this! Essential fat girl literature. We need more bi4bi M/F couples in contemporary!

This book... god, this book really hit me. I've only read one other Anna-Marie McLemore books, When the Moon Was Ours, and I read that way back in 2018/2019. I gave it a 3.5, really liked it but didn't adore it. In the years that followed, every book McLemore put out was one I was interested in but for some reason just never picked up. Until finally in 2021 I impulsively pre-ordered The Mirror Season. For the first 40ish pages of this book, I felt how I remembered feeling while reading When the Moon Was Ours - I was liking it but not loving it, more respecting what was clearly fantastic writing than actually enjoying anything. And while I wouldn't necessarily say I enjoy this book, I did begin to fall in love with it after those first 40ish pages. It really snuck up on me and suddenly I was reading almost all of it in one sitting. 

This is a tough book. There were moments when I was gripping it so hard I was genuinely worried I would break it. There were other moments where I had to hold back tears. But there were also moments where I was smiling so wide it must have looked silly. The relationship between Celia and Lock is one of the most beautiful I've read in a very long time. The complex dynamic they have because of what they've been through and their different but oh so similar experiences, and the way they navigate their relationship... I just loved it. McLemore's writing is as strong and gorgeous as ever, making me adore a book in my dreaded first-person and present-tense. A much-needed reminder that I need to prioritise their books more. 

Not a book I would recommend without caveats (please look at those trigger warnings), but one that I will recommend with my whole heart. 

One of my most overwhelming reading experiences. Considering the subject matter, I assumed this would take me a little while to get through, but I listened to the whole thing in a night, oddly engrossed. Carmen Maria Machado has such a beautiful way with words, both in writing and speaking them. 

goddd i forgot how fucking good irina's story is. 

This is an incredibly fun, addictive book. I figured out where it was going about halfway through and I was right, but I was still cackling with glee and gasping at some bits. I would recommend reading this in one sitting, especially the latter half, and just let yourself be taken on the ride. 

maybe the most mature contemporary i've ever read about university-aged characters in terms of it allowing its adult characters to actually act like adults, having them talk openly and work through things together, while not losing sight of the fact that they're still very young and don't have all the answers. ended up really adoring this. 

I'm such a slut for some Anastasia conspiracy theories

MADRIGALS LET'S GOOOO