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nerdinthelibrary's Reviews (926)
content warnings: loss of a parent, bullying, slut shaming
representation: main biracial (korean-white) character, side biracial (korean-white) characters, side gay character
I'm going to start this off by saying that the movie adaptation is a million times better than this book. That might be controversial, but there were a lot of things I didn't like about this book that the movie did much better. Honestly, most of this review is going to be me talking about the characters because I don't really have much to say about the plot or writing other than they were fun.
I understand people who were annoyed by Lara Jean's naivety and innocence, but I actually really liked her for that. We don't get enough protagonists in YA who are kind and see the world in a more bright way, and I really wish that we wouldn't immediately write off those characters as dumb just because they're not GrimDark™.
This is where I regret to inform you that Lara Jean was the only character I liked. Again, the movie did this much better.
Peter Kavinsky is, in the words of It'sJaneLindsey, "a fuckboy and he can choke". He was the perfect example of the Dickish Bad Boy trope, and while 13 year old Jaime would have loved him, 17 year old Jaime wanted him to just fucking leave. That being said, I didn't like Josh either, which I think this is more of an unpopular opinion. He was just always acting as if he was so superior because he's a Nice Guy, which is a trope I hate very equally with the Dickish Bad Boy. If they had both just straight up died at the end of the book I would have been okay with it.
More unpopular opinions: I really didn't like Margot or Kitty. Well, actually, I didn't mind Kitty; she was annoying, but she also reminded me a lot of one of my younger sisters so I found a lot of her brattiness weirdly endearing. But Margot, oh my god, I hated her so much. As a big sister, I could not imagine treating my sisters with so much bitchy condescension as she did. She acted as if she was so much better than Lara Jean because she's so much more ~~mature~~ and she couldn't go a fucking page without criticising one of her sisters, while also not only acting as if her dad was completely incompetent but also never giving him a chance to prove her wrong. I understand that after their mum died she felt like she needed to fill a parental role, but literally every single time she was on the page I would start seething with rage.
Anyway, other than the cast of unlikable characters (I did like the more minor characters - their dad, Chris, Lucas, etc.), I did find this book to be really fun and addictive and while I'm not sure if I'm going to complete the trilogy, I will definitely be reading the sequel.
representation: main biracial (korean-white) character, side biracial (korean-white) characters, side gay character
I'm going to start this off by saying that the movie adaptation is a million times better than this book. That might be controversial, but there were a lot of things I didn't like about this book that the movie did much better. Honestly, most of this review is going to be me talking about the characters because I don't really have much to say about the plot or writing other than they were fun.
I understand people who were annoyed by Lara Jean's naivety and innocence, but I actually really liked her for that. We don't get enough protagonists in YA who are kind and see the world in a more bright way, and I really wish that we wouldn't immediately write off those characters as dumb just because they're not GrimDark™.
This is where I regret to inform you that Lara Jean was the only character I liked. Again, the movie did this much better.
Peter Kavinsky is, in the words of It'sJaneLindsey, "a fuckboy and he can choke". He was the perfect example of the Dickish Bad Boy trope, and while 13 year old Jaime would have loved him, 17 year old Jaime wanted him to just fucking leave. That being said, I didn't like Josh either, which I think this is more of an unpopular opinion. He was just always acting as if he was so superior because he's a Nice Guy, which is a trope I hate very equally with the Dickish Bad Boy. If they had both just straight up died at the end of the book I would have been okay with it.
More unpopular opinions: I really didn't like Margot or Kitty. Well, actually, I didn't mind Kitty; she was annoying, but she also reminded me a lot of one of my younger sisters so I found a lot of her brattiness weirdly endearing. But Margot, oh my god, I hated her so much. As a big sister, I could not imagine treating my sisters with so much bitchy condescension as she did. She acted as if she was so much better than Lara Jean because she's so much more ~~mature~~ and she couldn't go a fucking page without criticising one of her sisters, while also not only acting as if her dad was completely incompetent but also never giving him a chance to prove her wrong. I understand that after their mum died she felt like she needed to fill a parental role, but literally every single time she was on the page I would start seething with rage.
Anyway, other than the cast of unlikable characters (I did like the more minor characters - their dad, Chris, Lucas, etc.), I did find this book to be really fun and addictive and while I'm not sure if I'm going to complete the trilogy, I will definitely be reading the sequel.
content warnings: violence, racism
representation: bisexual biracial (chinese-vietnamese) main character, sapphic love interest, main f/f relationship, side trans black character, side latina character, side asian characters, side queer characters
This was everything I wanted Dreadnought to be. It was silly, it was fun, it was heartwarming, it was cute, just AHH! It was everything.
The world that this book takes place in was so well-crafted. It's set almost a century into the future after World War III where superheroes (meta-humans) are common. C.B. Lee did an amazing job of naturally incorporating facts about the history of the world and how the technology worked, and none of the exposition scenes felt too bogged down with information because she always made sure to include enough character and fun that you barely noticed how much information was being fed to you.
I loved how it's established that, even in the future, technology can be sucky. It can be outdated, it can malfunction, those of lower economic status can't get the best tech, and I feel like that's never explored in futuristic texts.
This book has my new favourite cast of characters in it! Jess was a fantastic protagonist, awkward and funny and kind, and I loved being in her head. Being the daughter of Chinese and Vietnamese parents, it was wonderful to see her culture incorporated seamlessly into the book; in the food she eats, some of the words she says, the name she gave her A.I. I also don't think I've ever seen a book look at the struggles of a child with bilingual parents who was predominantly taught English, and how that can affect them.
The side characters were also a complete delight. Abby was an adorable love interest, and I'm so excited to read Bells and Emma's books.
One of my favourite themes to explore in literally anything superhero related is the morality of a hero vs. villain mindset, and this book tackles it perfectly. A lot of that discussion is spoilery, but I'll just say that it really nailed the ideas of what makes a hero and what makes a villain, as well as who makes those distinctions. This was explored in relation to the government hiding parts of history they didn't want the general public to see, which just so happens to be a favourite sci-fi trope of mine.
Now, plot-wise this book is about as subtle as a punch to the face. Odds are, you'll figure out every twist and who everyone's secret identities are. But that doesn't matter, because the book is still so enjoyable, and let's be honest. You're not expecting the most mind-boggling, intricate plot ever. You're expecting a fun superhero plot and that's exactly what you get.
In conclusion, I'm really pissed off that my library doesn't have the sequel because I want to continue right this second.
representation: bisexual biracial (chinese-vietnamese) main character, sapphic love interest, main f/f relationship, side trans black character, side latina character, side asian characters, side queer characters
This was everything I wanted Dreadnought to be. It was silly, it was fun, it was heartwarming, it was cute, just AHH! It was everything.
The world that this book takes place in was so well-crafted. It's set almost a century into the future after World War III where superheroes (meta-humans) are common. C.B. Lee did an amazing job of naturally incorporating facts about the history of the world and how the technology worked, and none of the exposition scenes felt too bogged down with information because she always made sure to include enough character and fun that you barely noticed how much information was being fed to you.
I loved how it's established that, even in the future, technology can be sucky. It can be outdated, it can malfunction, those of lower economic status can't get the best tech, and I feel like that's never explored in futuristic texts.
This book has my new favourite cast of characters in it! Jess was a fantastic protagonist, awkward and funny and kind, and I loved being in her head. Being the daughter of Chinese and Vietnamese parents, it was wonderful to see her culture incorporated seamlessly into the book; in the food she eats, some of the words she says, the name she gave her A.I. I also don't think I've ever seen a book look at the struggles of a child with bilingual parents who was predominantly taught English, and how that can affect them.
The side characters were also a complete delight. Abby was an adorable love interest, and I'm so excited to read Bells and Emma's books.
One of my favourite themes to explore in literally anything superhero related is the morality of a hero vs. villain mindset, and this book tackles it perfectly. A lot of that discussion is spoilery, but I'll just say that it really nailed the ideas of what makes a hero and what makes a villain, as well as who makes those distinctions. This was explored in relation to the government hiding parts of history they didn't want the general public to see, which just so happens to be a favourite sci-fi trope of mine.
Now, plot-wise this book is about as subtle as a punch to the face. Odds are, you'll figure out every twist and who everyone's secret identities are. But that doesn't matter, because the book is still so enjoyable, and let's be honest. You're not expecting the most mind-boggling, intricate plot ever. You're expecting a fun superhero plot and that's exactly what you get.
In conclusion, I'm really pissed off that my library doesn't have the sequel because I want to continue right this second.
content warnings: sexual assault, homophobia
This is a graphic memoir by Tillie Walden about her life through the lens of her skating, from years five to seventeen. I didn't like this as much as I was hoping I would, which really sucks because I was so excited to read it.
What I did like was the story. It was melancholy and heartbreaking the whole way through, so you should know that going in, but it was beautiful to read. All the best bits were when it became very introspective and you would spend pages in the mind of Tillie. But the pacing was so off, something which I've seen a lot of other reviewers mention. There would be rapid time jumps and scene changes, which just didn't work for me in this format. This really sucked because it made the story as a whole a lot less enjoyable.
Also, and this is a much more personal thing, I wasn't a massive fan of the art style. Not so much that I thought it was bad or anything, it just didn't gel with me and a lot of the time I had difficulty telling characters apart.
I didn't hate this by any means, but it's a very forgettable read that had a lot of potential.
This is a graphic memoir by Tillie Walden about her life through the lens of her skating, from years five to seventeen. I didn't like this as much as I was hoping I would, which really sucks because I was so excited to read it.
What I did like was the story. It was melancholy and heartbreaking the whole way through, so you should know that going in, but it was beautiful to read. All the best bits were when it became very introspective and you would spend pages in the mind of Tillie. But the pacing was so off, something which I've seen a lot of other reviewers mention. There would be rapid time jumps and scene changes, which just didn't work for me in this format. This really sucked because it made the story as a whole a lot less enjoyable.
Also, and this is a much more personal thing, I wasn't a massive fan of the art style. Not so much that I thought it was bad or anything, it just didn't gel with me and a lot of the time I had difficulty telling characters apart.
I didn't hate this by any means, but it's a very forgettable read that had a lot of potential.
content warnings: death of a parent, discussions of (fictional) chronic illness
representation: sapphic side characters, mlm side character, side f/f relationship
The tagline of this book is "Friendship, fandom, art, love, and finding the people you never knew you needed..." I have never seen a better description of a book in my entire life.
Friendship: This book has such a beautiful look at friendship, but also never shies away from the ugly sides of it. The main character, Sloane, enters a pre-established friend group at the start of the book, and it's really interesting to see the dynamics play out from there. I fell in love with the entire friend group at different points for different reasons. Vera was easily my favourite of them all, maybe in part because she's arguably the most focused on, but I genuinely loved them all. Seeing them interact and finding out along with Sloane things about their pasts (like their penguin party rule) was so much fun.
Fandom: Within the book, Sloane's dad (the Nicolas Sparks of this universe) is in a writing slump and becomes obsessed with the TV show Teen Wolf Were School, and very quickly becomes engrossed in the fandom to the point where he's both printing out fan-fiction to give to his daughter and writing his own. As he starts to become more obsessed, it leads to great discussions of both fandom and fan-fiction, and the way certain media can affect people.
Art: There are two main looks at art throughout the book. The first comes from Vera and Gabe's late mother, who was an artist, and Sloane and Remy spend the book trying to recover one of her final paintings that the twins' father sold. Then there's also Sloane's singing, something which she's fantastic at and has dedicated so much time and energy to throughout her life, but still sees as a sort of glorified hobby. The climax of the story mostly comes from the art in the book, and I know that's kind of a weird explanation but it's the best I've got without going into spoilers.
Love: Love of all kinds is explored throughout the book. I've already touched on friendship, so I'm going to split this section into two separate parts.
Family: The family dynamics in this were so great. Sloane and her dad's relationship was oftentimes very light and funny. They understand each other really well, and there's the previously mentioned fan-fiction situation. But there are still real moments of darkness with their relationship, particularly towards the end. Sloane's parents also have a very complicated relationship, and I wish the book had gone into it more. And then there's Sloane and her little sister, Laney, who just have a lovely relationship that reminded me a lot of Lara Jean and Kitty from TATBILB. But the look at family doesn't stop there because there's also Vera and Gabe's family. Their father remarried a woman in her early twenties, something which neither are happy with, and this is another aspect I wish would have been explored more. Then there was also their relationship with each other, which is (for the most part) a loving one. But they're very different people and that obviously leads to conflict. Overall, the look at family in this book was really nice and I appreciated the lack of absent parents.
Romance: This was easily the weakest aspect for me. I loved Vera and Natasha's cute background relationship, but Remy and Aubrey's situation (exes, but Remy's still in love with her) just gave me a headache. I appreciated that Remy was called out on his shitty attitudes, i.e. the fact that he felt entitled to know why Aubrey broke up with him and then change that about himself to win her back, but on the whole I just never really cared. Then, there's the main romance, Sloan x Someone. I didn't get it, because there seemed to be so little set-up, and I skipped all their romantic scenes.
This is a cute contemporary about friendship that had its weak aspects, but was still a really good time (the fic obsession and the twins dressing up as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in particular gave me a good laugh), and I'll definitely be picking up some of Emma Mills' other work.
representation: sapphic side characters, mlm side character, side f/f relationship
The tagline of this book is "Friendship, fandom, art, love, and finding the people you never knew you needed..." I have never seen a better description of a book in my entire life.
Friendship: This book has such a beautiful look at friendship, but also never shies away from the ugly sides of it. The main character, Sloane, enters a pre-established friend group at the start of the book, and it's really interesting to see the dynamics play out from there. I fell in love with the entire friend group at different points for different reasons. Vera was easily my favourite of them all, maybe in part because she's arguably the most focused on, but I genuinely loved them all. Seeing them interact and finding out along with Sloane things about their pasts (like their penguin party rule) was so much fun.
Fandom: Within the book, Sloane's dad (the Nicolas Sparks of this universe) is in a writing slump and becomes obsessed with the TV show Teen Wolf Were School, and very quickly becomes engrossed in the fandom to the point where he's both printing out fan-fiction to give to his daughter and writing his own. As he starts to become more obsessed, it leads to great discussions of both fandom and fan-fiction, and the way certain media can affect people.
Art: There are two main looks at art throughout the book. The first comes from Vera and Gabe's late mother, who was an artist, and Sloane and Remy spend the book trying to recover one of her final paintings that the twins' father sold. Then there's also Sloane's singing, something which she's fantastic at and has dedicated so much time and energy to throughout her life, but still sees as a sort of glorified hobby. The climax of the story mostly comes from the art in the book, and I know that's kind of a weird explanation but it's the best I've got without going into spoilers.
Love: Love of all kinds is explored throughout the book. I've already touched on friendship, so I'm going to split this section into two separate parts.
Family: The family dynamics in this were so great. Sloane and her dad's relationship was oftentimes very light and funny. They understand each other really well, and there's the previously mentioned fan-fiction situation. But there are still real moments of darkness with their relationship, particularly towards the end. Sloane's parents also have a very complicated relationship, and I wish the book had gone into it more. And then there's Sloane and her little sister, Laney, who just have a lovely relationship that reminded me a lot of Lara Jean and Kitty from TATBILB. But the look at family doesn't stop there because there's also Vera and Gabe's family. Their father remarried a woman in her early twenties, something which neither are happy with, and this is another aspect I wish would have been explored more. Then there was also their relationship with each other, which is (for the most part) a loving one. But they're very different people and that obviously leads to conflict. Overall, the look at family in this book was really nice and I appreciated the lack of absent parents.
Romance: This was easily the weakest aspect for me. I loved Vera and Natasha's cute background relationship, but Remy and Aubrey's situation (exes, but Remy's still in love with her) just gave me a headache. I appreciated that Remy was called out on his shitty attitudes, i.e. the fact that he felt entitled to know why Aubrey broke up with him and then change that about himself to win her back, but on the whole I just never really cared. Then, there's the main romance, Sloan x Someone. I didn't get it, because there seemed to be so little set-up, and I skipped all their romantic scenes.
This is a cute contemporary about friendship that had its weak aspects, but was still a really good time (the fic obsession and the twins dressing up as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in particular gave me a good laugh), and I'll definitely be picking up some of Emma Mills' other work.
Here's a quick general overview of my thoughts before we get into the actual reviews:
1) Witchy stories really like sister relationships and I am so here for it.
2) Looking back, I'm fairly certain each story contained either a woman of colour and/or a queer woman, something which is absolutely incredible.
3) Also, a lot of the authors are women of colour or queer women, so thank you to Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe for including such a wonderful variety of authors in your anthology.
4) No matter what rating I gave it, I don't regret reading a single one of these stories.
1. STARSONG - Tehlor Kay Mejia ★★★★
TW: death of a loved one, drug overdose
This was a great way to start off this collection!! It's about a latinx teenager who's popular online, is really into astrology and make-up, and also happens to read charts and horoscopes for people. The start is very introspective, mostly just about Luna's magic, her tía, who also had magic and died, and Luna's recent overdose. Then, after a fight with her mamí, Luna decides to start a science vs magic debate with a cute girl on Instagram, and suddenly it became a romcom. This story ended too soon, honestly. I just wanted more of Luna and her life, and I would definitely not be opposed to reading an entire book of this. Also, the start had Luna reading the charts of a polyamorous couple and it was treated completely normally. YES, let's keep normalising poly relationships!
2. AFTERBIRTH - Andrea Cremer ★★★
TW: complications during childbirth
This one was a bit of a weirder one. It's set in 1650 and we're shown a difficult birth that ends up suggesting that the mother in question is into some witchy/devilish things, all spliced with transcripts of testimonies as the midwife who delivered the baby is put on trial for witchcraft. At the centre of the story is a spellbook which has been passed down for generations, which I've just discovered is a favourite witchy trope of mine.
3. THE HEART IN HER HANDS - Tess Sharpe ★★★★★
TW: loss of a loved one
It feels as if this short story was written for me. 1) The entire thing revolves around soulmarks (aka the first words your soulmate says to you are on your skin) which is one of my all-time favourite fanfic tropes. 2) There are loving descriptions of tea. 3) A soft f/f friends-to-lovers romance at the centre of it. 4) Despite the soulmarks, the characters stick the bird up at Fate because true love. I know this won't be the most beautiful or impactful of this collection, but it's definitely going to remain one of my favourites.
4. DEATH IN THE SAWTOOTHS - Lindsay Smith ★★★
TW: bullying, death threats, death, autopsy
This was fairly average, but by no means unenjoyable. It's about a girl called Mattie who serves the Lady of Slumber by giving her the souls of the dead, but there's a lot of hatred around her because of the heinous crimes her followers commit in her name. Then something strange happens with a person's soul and Mattie has to try to figure out what's up. This was a fun read that had a nice message about prejudice.
5. THE TRUTH ABOUT QUEENIE - Brandy Colbert ★½
TW: hospitalisation, death, infidelity
This is an unpopular opinion but I wasn't a fan of this one. I really liked the start of this one, with Queenie and her grandmother, and I loved that the entire story was about black witches. But then it became way too much about teen drama, specifically Queenie and Webb's relationship which I just never cared about. I appreciated the lack of girl hate between Queenie and Blythe, and I liked the characters and diversity (the line So, white people get to be witches, but we don't? That doesn't seem fair had me cracking up), but this was just too much romantic drama and not enough magic.
EDIT: It's worth noting that as time has gone on, I've dropped this a full star because that's how much I didn't care.
6. MOONAPPLE MENAGERIE - Shveta Thakrar ★
From what I've seen, this is across the board a lot of peoples' least favourite of the collection, and I unfortunately have to agree. The worst part is that the concept could be so cool: it's about a coven who puts on a play every year and this year the main character has convinced her coven to let her write the play, but the ending isn't coming to her so she makes a deal with an evil... magical being (sorry, I genuinely have no idea what they're meant to be). But it was executed so poorly. The characters were bland, I genuinely couldn't remember who anyone was page-to-page, and the plot became a confusing mess.
7. THE LEGEND OF STONE MARY - Robin Talley ★★★★
TW: bullying, death
I don't use this word to describe things very often, but this was a lovely story. It's about the descendant of a Mary Keegan, a woman who was chased by a mob centuries ago for being a witch and froze to death, supposedly putting a curse on the town before her death. This story was so atmospheric, particularly towards the end, and the telling of Mary's story was incorporated incredibly fluidly into the main narrative. There was also a cute f/f romance that had a bit of a twist at the end, and I wouldn't be opposed to Robin Talley expanding this story a little. The highlight of this story, though, was the theme of forgiveness that runs through the whole thing, and as cheesy as it is that end scene is what bumped this rating up to a four.
8. THE ONE WHO STAYED - Nova Ren Suma ★★★★★
TW: molestation, incest, sexual assault, gang rape
This might be the most gut-wrenching thing I've read in my entire life. This is one of the shortest of the collection, but so impactful. Despite being less than 20 pages, the dread that builds as you know what's going to happen to the main character even as she's oblivious is awful and incredible in equal measures. There's lots of vague language in this, which somehow makes the story even more impactful. Nova Ren Suma is a genius and I can't wait to read more of her work.
9. DIVINE ARE THE STARS - Zoraida Córdova ★★★★★
TW: loss of a loved one
This was a beautiful #ownvoices latinx story about two cousins who are visiting their dying grandmother along with the rest of their family, all of who are only there to see what she's leaving them. This is kind of weird, but I love that super specific trope of a matriarch/patriarch dying, the main character is the favourite of the matriarch/patriarch & there's that one dickish family member who's only in it for themselves. It's a massive cliche, but I really love it and that's exactly what this story is, as well as having beautiful cousin and grandmother-grandchildren relationships, and fantastic magical realism elements. Honestly, I don't even know if this is coherent, but I loved this story and I want a full-length version, or at least a novella.
10. DAUGHTERS OF BABA YAGA - Brenna Yovanoff ★★★½
TW: violence, slut shaming, animal gore
This is a story about teenage witches who are Done. Done with bullying, done with being called whores, done with the way the world treats them. Just completely done. And I loved it for that. Along with those themes of getting revenge against those who deserve it, there was also an underlying theme of fitting it. More specifically, fitting in with American culture when your family isn't American, something which is surprisingly not touched on very much in fiction and should be explored more. Overall, a really fun story, and the one which has thus far been most successful in making me want to become a witch.
11. THE WELL WITCH - Kate Hart ★★★
TW: racism, animal cruelty, death
From what I've seen this is a somewhat unpopular opinion, but I quite enjoyed this one. It's about a woman living alone in the 'oasis' in 1875 Texas after the death of her mother and disappearance of her father. That is, until three strange and possibly dangerous men show up, and trouble starts from there. I'll admit, the way the story panned out could have been better, but on the whole I liked it. I loved Elsa as a character, and was very surprised at how much I cared about the romantic aspects. This is also one that I would love to see as a short film, because I think the setting and plot really lends itself to that medium.
12. BEWARE OF GIRLS WITH CROOKED MOUTHS - Jessica Spotswood ★★
TW: death, poison, roofie (love potion)
Well damn, I'm just full of unpopular opinions aren't I. This story is getting constantly compared to Three Dark Crowns as it centres around three sisters who come from a long line of witches who have gone mad and murdered their sisters, leaving only one witch a generation. And, like TDC, this book was all potential with no pay-off. Which was frustrating because it started off so well. We had three sisters who, despite what their mother always advised, refused to hate each other and only grew closer after her death. The three sisters were all interesting and had cool powers (Jo gets visions, Elle is a poisoner, and Georgie can make fire). Elle was bisexual and in love with a woman, and queer relationships were so normal there was a high-class family arranging an f/f relationship. But then it ended and it felt so incomplete. Still, I would love a full-length novel, if only so I can get some semblance of closure.
13. LOVE SPELL - Anna-Marie McLemore ★★★★
This was a simple, beautiful story full of magic and latinx culture, as should be expected of all Anna-Marie McLemore's work. Going a bit off track, I love how many stories in this collection focus on latinx women, written by latinx authors. All of them are inserting their culture so beautifully into their stories, and it's making the collection as a whole more interesting. Anyway, back to this story. As I said, it's a simple one: a bruja in a small town who cures lovesickness with her tía falls in love with a trans boy who's a part of the church. This story reminded me a lot of When the Moon Was Ours, and it was so lovely I nearly started crying halfway through for no reason. Anna-Marie McLemore is so talented it's insane.
14. THE GHERIN GIRLS - Emery Lord ★★★★★
TW: domestic abuse, animal abuse, gaslighting, mentioned harassment
This was so much more beautiful than I was expecting. It's about three sisters with special gifts who are spending quality time together because one of them has come home for a while. However, her final night is shaken up by the return of another sister's abusive ex boyfriend. This story had such a wonderful look at abusive relationships (that sounds bad but I couldn't find a better way to phrase it). It drives home the fact that it's the abusers fault, never the victims, that toxic relationships can be incredibly hard to leave, and that the victim isn't at fault for not realising their s/o's toxic behaviour. Not only that, but I loved that it was all about sisters supporting sisters, and not even entirely to do with the abuse (though that is a big part). One of the sisters was also (in my opinion) pretty heavily coded to be demisexual and another is wlw, which I thought was pretty cool.
15. WHY THEY WATCH US BURN - Elizabeth May ★★★★★
TW: mentioned sexual assault
I was literally shaking as I read this story. God, what a powerful end to this collection. This is a story that follows a girl who is sent to a labor camp after a sexual assault, along with other women accused of being witches for their 'sinful ways'. It's about thirteen girls, all so different and yet so similar, who must suffer together. They support one another in every way they can, whether it's selling their bodies to get the others food or just comforting another girl. This was such a magnificent story about the power of women, and it urges you to not forget these girls, to not forget those who have suffered. I just... this was so gorgeous. I'm running out of adjectives, but even if you don't care about a single other story in this entire anthology, please, please, please find a way to read this particular one.
Overall, I gave this anthology series 54 stars out of a possible 75, which (after do a lot of simple maths that my idiot brain had a hard time with) added up to around a 3.5 rating. But, honestly, some of these stories felt like they deserved more than five stars, so I'm going to bump it up to a four. I would highly recommend everyone read this, even if it's only for a few stories (seriously, read Why They Watch Us Burn, it will change your life).
1) Witchy stories really like sister relationships and I am so here for it.
2) Looking back, I'm fairly certain each story contained either a woman of colour and/or a queer woman, something which is absolutely incredible.
3) Also, a lot of the authors are women of colour or queer women, so thank you to Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe for including such a wonderful variety of authors in your anthology.
4) No matter what rating I gave it, I don't regret reading a single one of these stories.
1. STARSONG - Tehlor Kay Mejia ★★★★
TW: death of a loved one, drug overdose
This was a great way to start off this collection!! It's about a latinx teenager who's popular online, is really into astrology and make-up, and also happens to read charts and horoscopes for people. The start is very introspective, mostly just about Luna's magic, her tía, who also had magic and died, and Luna's recent overdose. Then, after a fight with her mamí, Luna decides to start a science vs magic debate with a cute girl on Instagram, and suddenly it became a romcom. This story ended too soon, honestly. I just wanted more of Luna and her life, and I would definitely not be opposed to reading an entire book of this. Also, the start had Luna reading the charts of a polyamorous couple and it was treated completely normally. YES, let's keep normalising poly relationships!
2. AFTERBIRTH - Andrea Cremer ★★★
TW: complications during childbirth
This one was a bit of a weirder one. It's set in 1650 and we're shown a difficult birth that ends up suggesting that the mother in question is into some witchy/devilish things, all spliced with transcripts of testimonies as the midwife who delivered the baby is put on trial for witchcraft. At the centre of the story is a spellbook which has been passed down for generations, which I've just discovered is a favourite witchy trope of mine.
3. THE HEART IN HER HANDS - Tess Sharpe ★★★★★
TW: loss of a loved one
It feels as if this short story was written for me. 1) The entire thing revolves around soulmarks (aka the first words your soulmate says to you are on your skin) which is one of my all-time favourite fanfic tropes. 2) There are loving descriptions of tea. 3) A soft f/f friends-to-lovers romance at the centre of it. 4) Despite the soulmarks, the characters stick the bird up at Fate because true love. I know this won't be the most beautiful or impactful of this collection, but it's definitely going to remain one of my favourites.
4. DEATH IN THE SAWTOOTHS - Lindsay Smith ★★★
TW: bullying, death threats, death, autopsy
This was fairly average, but by no means unenjoyable. It's about a girl called Mattie who serves the Lady of Slumber by giving her the souls of the dead, but there's a lot of hatred around her because of the heinous crimes her followers commit in her name. Then something strange happens with a person's soul and Mattie has to try to figure out what's up. This was a fun read that had a nice message about prejudice.
5. THE TRUTH ABOUT QUEENIE - Brandy Colbert ★½
TW: hospitalisation, death, infidelity
This is an unpopular opinion but I wasn't a fan of this one. I really liked the start of this one, with Queenie and her grandmother, and I loved that the entire story was about black witches. But then it became way too much about teen drama, specifically Queenie and Webb's relationship which I just never cared about.
Spoiler
Especially when he kissed her when he had a girlfriend!EDIT: It's worth noting that as time has gone on, I've dropped this a full star because that's how much I didn't care.
6. MOONAPPLE MENAGERIE - Shveta Thakrar ★
From what I've seen, this is across the board a lot of peoples' least favourite of the collection, and I unfortunately have to agree. The worst part is that the concept could be so cool: it's about a coven who puts on a play every year and this year the main character has convinced her coven to let her write the play, but the ending isn't coming to her so she makes a deal with an evil... magical being (sorry, I genuinely have no idea what they're meant to be). But it was executed so poorly. The characters were bland, I genuinely couldn't remember who anyone was page-to-page, and the plot became a confusing mess.
7. THE LEGEND OF STONE MARY - Robin Talley ★★★★
TW: bullying, death
I don't use this word to describe things very often, but this was a lovely story. It's about the descendant of a Mary Keegan, a woman who was chased by a mob centuries ago for being a witch and froze to death, supposedly putting a curse on the town before her death. This story was so atmospheric, particularly towards the end, and the telling of Mary's story was incorporated incredibly fluidly into the main narrative. There was also a cute f/f romance that had a bit of a twist at the end, and I wouldn't be opposed to Robin Talley expanding this story a little. The highlight of this story, though, was the theme of forgiveness that runs through the whole thing, and as cheesy as it is that end scene is what bumped this rating up to a four.
8. THE ONE WHO STAYED - Nova Ren Suma ★★★★★
TW: molestation, incest, sexual assault, gang rape
This might be the most gut-wrenching thing I've read in my entire life. This is one of the shortest of the collection, but so impactful. Despite being less than 20 pages, the dread that builds as you know what's going to happen to the main character even as she's oblivious is awful and incredible in equal measures. There's lots of vague language in this, which somehow makes the story even more impactful. Nova Ren Suma is a genius and I can't wait to read more of her work.
9. DIVINE ARE THE STARS - Zoraida Córdova ★★★★★
TW: loss of a loved one
This was a beautiful #ownvoices latinx story about two cousins who are visiting their dying grandmother along with the rest of their family, all of who are only there to see what she's leaving them. This is kind of weird, but I love that super specific trope of a matriarch/patriarch dying, the main character is the favourite of the matriarch/patriarch & there's that one dickish family member who's only in it for themselves. It's a massive cliche, but I really love it and that's exactly what this story is, as well as having beautiful cousin and grandmother-grandchildren relationships, and fantastic magical realism elements. Honestly, I don't even know if this is coherent, but I loved this story and I want a full-length version, or at least a novella.
10. DAUGHTERS OF BABA YAGA - Brenna Yovanoff ★★★½
TW: violence, slut shaming, animal gore
This is a story about teenage witches who are Done. Done with bullying, done with being called whores, done with the way the world treats them. Just completely done. And I loved it for that. Along with those themes of getting revenge against those who deserve it, there was also an underlying theme of fitting it. More specifically, fitting in with American culture when your family isn't American, something which is surprisingly not touched on very much in fiction and should be explored more. Overall, a really fun story, and the one which has thus far been most successful in making me want to become a witch.
11. THE WELL WITCH - Kate Hart ★★★
TW: racism, animal cruelty, death
From what I've seen this is a somewhat unpopular opinion, but I quite enjoyed this one. It's about a woman living alone in the 'oasis' in 1875 Texas after the death of her mother and disappearance of her father. That is, until three strange and possibly dangerous men show up, and trouble starts from there. I'll admit, the way the story panned out could have been better, but on the whole I liked it. I loved Elsa as a character, and was very surprised at how much I cared about the romantic aspects. This is also one that I would love to see as a short film, because I think the setting and plot really lends itself to that medium.
12. BEWARE OF GIRLS WITH CROOKED MOUTHS - Jessica Spotswood ★★
TW: death, poison, roofie (love potion)
Well damn, I'm just full of unpopular opinions aren't I. This story is getting constantly compared to Three Dark Crowns as it centres around three sisters who come from a long line of witches who have gone mad and murdered their sisters, leaving only one witch a generation. And, like TDC, this book was all potential with no pay-off. Which was frustrating because it started off so well. We had three sisters who, despite what their mother always advised, refused to hate each other and only grew closer after her death. The three sisters were all interesting and had cool powers (Jo gets visions, Elle is a poisoner, and Georgie can make fire). Elle was bisexual and in love with a woman, and queer relationships were so normal there was a high-class family arranging an f/f relationship. But then it ended and it felt so incomplete. Still, I would love a full-length novel, if only so I can get some semblance of closure.
13. LOVE SPELL - Anna-Marie McLemore ★★★★
This was a simple, beautiful story full of magic and latinx culture, as should be expected of all Anna-Marie McLemore's work. Going a bit off track, I love how many stories in this collection focus on latinx women, written by latinx authors. All of them are inserting their culture so beautifully into their stories, and it's making the collection as a whole more interesting. Anyway, back to this story. As I said, it's a simple one: a bruja in a small town who cures lovesickness with her tía falls in love with a trans boy who's a part of the church. This story reminded me a lot of When the Moon Was Ours, and it was so lovely I nearly started crying halfway through for no reason. Anna-Marie McLemore is so talented it's insane.
14. THE GHERIN GIRLS - Emery Lord ★★★★★
TW: domestic abuse, animal abuse, gaslighting, mentioned harassment
This was so much more beautiful than I was expecting. It's about three sisters with special gifts who are spending quality time together because one of them has come home for a while. However, her final night is shaken up by the return of another sister's abusive ex boyfriend. This story had such a wonderful look at abusive relationships (that sounds bad but I couldn't find a better way to phrase it). It drives home the fact that it's the abusers fault, never the victims, that toxic relationships can be incredibly hard to leave, and that the victim isn't at fault for not realising their s/o's toxic behaviour. Not only that, but I loved that it was all about sisters supporting sisters, and not even entirely to do with the abuse (though that is a big part). One of the sisters was also (in my opinion) pretty heavily coded to be demisexual and another is wlw, which I thought was pretty cool.
15. WHY THEY WATCH US BURN - Elizabeth May ★★★★★
TW: mentioned sexual assault
I was literally shaking as I read this story. God, what a powerful end to this collection. This is a story that follows a girl who is sent to a labor camp after a sexual assault, along with other women accused of being witches for their 'sinful ways'. It's about thirteen girls, all so different and yet so similar, who must suffer together. They support one another in every way they can, whether it's selling their bodies to get the others food or just comforting another girl. This was such a magnificent story about the power of women, and it urges you to not forget these girls, to not forget those who have suffered. I just... this was so gorgeous. I'm running out of adjectives, but even if you don't care about a single other story in this entire anthology, please, please, please find a way to read this particular one.
Overall, I gave this anthology series 54 stars out of a possible 75, which (after do a lot of simple maths that my idiot brain had a hard time with) added up to around a 3.5 rating. But, honestly, some of these stories felt like they deserved more than five stars, so I'm going to bump it up to a four. I would highly recommend everyone read this, even if it's only for a few stories (seriously, read Why They Watch Us Burn, it will change your life).
content warnings: intrusive thoughts, death, alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual assault, mentions of cancer, unexpected birth
representation: lesbian main character with anxiety, lesbian love interest, main f/f relationship, gay side characters, side hindu character
I'm going to be totally honest, this book felt more like a four star for me, but looking at it objectively it's a three.
This is a very average book about a girl, Maeve, who moves to a new place to live with her dad and meets a cute girl, with the addition of her suffering from an anxiety disorder. As I said, it's very average. The writing is competent, if seeming to be overdone at times when it comes to the language being used. The characters are fine, none of them fleshed out enough to be compelling but none of them so bland that you don't care.
Except for one: Salix. She's the love interest, and is a complete manic pixie dream girl. The name alone suggests that, let's be real, and her characterisation reads as if Carrie Mac googled the characteristics of a MPD and wrote them into her character. She has one hobby (music), a family that we never meet, a mother dying of cancer (this is literally only mentioned once in passing, very reminiscent of The Room), a seeming unending amount of love for Maeve, and no flaws whatsoever. There are even a few moments when it almost seems like the narrative is trying to make it out like she's fixing Maeve's anxiety, which I found very uncomfortable.
Now, onto some positives. One of the highlights was this books look at addiction: Maeve's father is an alcoholic, and there is a lot of discussion of how a person's alcoholism can ruin a family, something which you see both in Maeve reflecting on her childhood and in the present.
Now, the reason why personally this is a four star is because of how much this book seemed tailored for me. Let's start with the obvious, Maeve's anxiety. While the way her anxiety presents itself is different to mine, the reactions she got from well-meaning people who loved her was so similar to my own experiences it was spooky. People trying to urge you to do something even though just the thought of it makes you feel like you're dying, and then them dismissing you as paranoid or attention-seeking or difficult, even when you apologise because you (logically) know that you're being unreasonable. I was genuinely tearing up when those moments would happen.
There was also the emphasis on step-family, which I really enjoyed and related to as someone with a half-brother, stepmum, three stepsisters, and so many step-grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins. Maeve's dad remarried years ago and, with Maeve's stepmum, had twin boys and there's another baby on the way. This book never once tries to tell you than Claire, Corbin, Owen and the new baby aren't as much Maeve's family as her dad and mum; she loves them, they love her, and they're her real family, no questions asked.
As much as this book made me feel, it's still pretty average and I don't know if I could really recommend it to anyone.
representation: lesbian main character with anxiety, lesbian love interest, main f/f relationship, gay side characters, side hindu character
I'm going to be totally honest, this book felt more like a four star for me, but looking at it objectively it's a three.
This is a very average book about a girl, Maeve, who moves to a new place to live with her dad and meets a cute girl, with the addition of her suffering from an anxiety disorder. As I said, it's very average. The writing is competent, if seeming to be overdone at times when it comes to the language being used. The characters are fine, none of them fleshed out enough to be compelling but none of them so bland that you don't care.
Except for one: Salix. She's the love interest, and is a complete manic pixie dream girl. The name alone suggests that, let's be real, and her characterisation reads as if Carrie Mac googled the characteristics of a MPD and wrote them into her character. She has one hobby (music), a family that we never meet, a mother dying of cancer (this is literally only mentioned once in passing, very reminiscent of The Room), a seeming unending amount of love for Maeve, and no flaws whatsoever. There are even a few moments when it almost seems like the narrative is trying to make it out like she's fixing Maeve's anxiety, which I found very uncomfortable.
Now, onto some positives. One of the highlights was this books look at addiction: Maeve's father is an alcoholic, and there is a lot of discussion of how a person's alcoholism can ruin a family, something which you see both in Maeve reflecting on her childhood and in the present.
Now, the reason why personally this is a four star is because of how much this book seemed tailored for me. Let's start with the obvious, Maeve's anxiety. While the way her anxiety presents itself is different to mine, the reactions she got from well-meaning people who loved her was so similar to my own experiences it was spooky. People trying to urge you to do something even though just the thought of it makes you feel like you're dying, and then them dismissing you as paranoid or attention-seeking or difficult, even when you apologise because you (logically) know that you're being unreasonable. I was genuinely tearing up when those moments would happen.
There was also the emphasis on step-family, which I really enjoyed and related to as someone with a half-brother, stepmum, three stepsisters, and so many step-grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins. Maeve's dad remarried years ago and, with Maeve's stepmum, had twin boys and there's another baby on the way. This book never once tries to tell you than Claire, Corbin, Owen and the new baby aren't as much Maeve's family as her dad and mum; she loves them, they love her, and they're her real family, no questions asked.
As much as this book made me feel, it's still pretty average and I don't know if I could really recommend it to anyone.
content warnings: loss of a loved one, suicide attempt, self-harm, intrusive thoughts, racism, sexism, homophobia, fatphobia, mentions of abortion, mentions of anti-abortion sentiments, infidelity, mentions of sexual assault, violence, animal slaughter (for eating purposes)
representation: fat mexican-american main character with depression and anxiety, side mexican and mexican-american characters, side gay mexican-american character
This book is raw, and real, and painful, and beautiful, and I still don't know if I like it or not. My feelings are complicated, to say the least.
The premise of this book is very simple: fifteen-year-old Julia's world is changed when her older sister, Olga, dies. Olga was seen as the perfect daughter, something Julia definitely isn't. But Julia starts to realise that maybe Olga wasn't as perfect as everyone thought and she tries to uncover more about her sisters' life, while also dealing with her grieving parents and school and her relationships and her mental health.
Because of my complicated feelings, I'm just going to make a pro/con list.
PROS
- As the whitest person alive (and an Australian) this book taught me so much about Mexican culture. The book isn't written in a way to make sure non-Mexican people understand; it just tugs you along for the ride and if you don't understand then that's your problem, and I loved that.
- Julia has a very complicated relationship with her mother that I think should be explored in YA more. They love each other, of course, but they never seem to be able to like each other no matter how hard they try. Despite this, there are some touching scenes between them, and their relationship does grow over the course of the book.
- Lorena and Julia's friendship was surprisingly very beautiful, and I loved their bonding moments as well.
- All the parts set in Mexico were incredible. First of all, Erika L. Sánchez describes it with so much care and attention that you feel like you're there: you feel as if you can hear, smell and see everything Julia is, and that's something I have to give credit for. It was also just a wonderful setting with interesting characters, and there was something so peaceful about reading those chapters.
- The mental health rep was so good! I'm not sure if this could be considered spoilers or not, but I'm going to hide some of it just in case you want to find things out in the moment without being told beforehand. But don't worry, none of these are major plot spoilers.
CONS
- The characters are both unlikable and inconsistent, Julia in particular. Sometimes she's calling out sexism, racism, etc., and other times she's saying that someone is "flaming but has never officially come out of the closet". I understand that this is just adding depth to her and giving her flaws, which from a writing standpoint I get, but as a reader it just made me not like her for most of the book.
- The books treatment of the one gay character was not great. He's a complete stereotype ("So what do you like to do for fun? What is your idea of beauty?" "Shopping, partying, and... fucking."), and there's a real gem of a scene in which Julia gets accused of being homophobic and her response is "Seriously? How many times have we gone to the Pride Parade? Who introduced you to Rocky Horror Picture Show? And the L Word?" (she's not homophobic, for the record, that was just a really terrible way of defending herself)
- Despite being mentioned as important characters in the synopsis, Angie is in maybe three scenes at most in which she's super cryptic about Olga and then her final scene where she finally tells Julia everything, and Connor doesn't show up until about halfway through and is in the book pretty sporadically from there.
- Julia is an English nerd, as am I, but the way it was portrayed was the most annoying way possible. For one, she can be very stuck-up when it comes to people not using English correctly (saying yous, for example), which would be fine on its own. But she also comes across as a complete literature snob. This is an actual passage of text when she's asked what her favourite book is: "I love so many... The Awakening? One Hundred Days of Solitude? The Great Gatsby? Catcher in the Rye? The Heart is a Lonely Hunter? The Bluest Eye? Poetry or prose? If poetry, then maybe Emily Dickinson..." I think that's literally the English-lit major equivalent to Ready Player One. It reads like Erika L. Sánchez just googled "classics" and wrote a bunch down.
- The writing could be extremely choppy. A chapter would end with Julia wondering if she was going to be grounded for something, and then the next chapter would start an unmentioned amount of time later with her at school. It was very jarring and annoying.
So, yeah, I'm super conflicted. Some parts were four stars, some were two stars, so three seems like a good compromise. I am really excited to see what Erika L. Sánchez writes next.
representation: fat mexican-american main character with depression and anxiety, side mexican and mexican-american characters, side gay mexican-american character
This book is raw, and real, and painful, and beautiful, and I still don't know if I like it or not. My feelings are complicated, to say the least.
The premise of this book is very simple: fifteen-year-old Julia's world is changed when her older sister, Olga, dies. Olga was seen as the perfect daughter, something Julia definitely isn't. But Julia starts to realise that maybe Olga wasn't as perfect as everyone thought and she tries to uncover more about her sisters' life, while also dealing with her grieving parents and school and her relationships and her mental health.
Because of my complicated feelings, I'm just going to make a pro/con list.
PROS
- As the whitest person alive (and an Australian) this book taught me so much about Mexican culture. The book isn't written in a way to make sure non-Mexican people understand; it just tugs you along for the ride and if you don't understand then that's your problem, and I loved that.
- Julia has a very complicated relationship with her mother that I think should be explored in YA more. They love each other, of course, but they never seem to be able to like each other no matter how hard they try. Despite this, there are some touching scenes between them, and their relationship does grow over the course of the book.
- Lorena and Julia's friendship was surprisingly very beautiful, and I loved their bonding moments as well.
- All the parts set in Mexico were incredible. First of all, Erika L. Sánchez describes it with so much care and attention that you feel like you're there: you feel as if you can hear, smell and see everything Julia is, and that's something I have to give credit for. It was also just a wonderful setting with interesting characters, and there was something so peaceful about reading those chapters.
- The mental health rep was so good! I'm not sure if this could be considered spoilers or not, but I'm going to hide some of it just in case you want to find things out in the moment without being told beforehand. But don't worry, none of these are major plot spoilers.
Spoiler
Julia has depression and anxiety, both of which are diagnosed. She goes to therapy, and the book represents both the good and bad of it, and she is prescribed medication which is never once stigmatised. She has good days, she has bad days, and neither take away or 'add legitimacy' to her mental illness. The author even added resources at the back of the book, which I love so much. Overall, I just thought it was handled really well.CONS
- The characters are both unlikable and inconsistent, Julia in particular. Sometimes she's calling out sexism, racism, etc., and other times she's saying that someone is "flaming but has never officially come out of the closet". I understand that this is just adding depth to her and giving her flaws, which from a writing standpoint I get, but as a reader it just made me not like her for most of the book.
- The books treatment of the one gay character was not great. He's a complete stereotype ("So what do you like to do for fun? What is your idea of beauty?" "Shopping, partying, and... fucking."), and there's a real gem of a scene in which Julia gets accused of being homophobic and her response is "Seriously? How many times have we gone to the Pride Parade? Who introduced you to Rocky Horror Picture Show? And the L Word?" (she's not homophobic, for the record, that was just a really terrible way of defending herself)
- Despite being mentioned as important characters in the synopsis, Angie is in maybe three scenes at most in which she's super cryptic about Olga and then her final scene where she finally tells Julia everything, and Connor doesn't show up until about halfway through and is in the book pretty sporadically from there.
- Julia is an English nerd, as am I, but the way it was portrayed was the most annoying way possible. For one, she can be very stuck-up when it comes to people not using English correctly (saying yous, for example), which would be fine on its own. But she also comes across as a complete literature snob. This is an actual passage of text when she's asked what her favourite book is: "I love so many... The Awakening? One Hundred Days of Solitude? The Great Gatsby? Catcher in the Rye? The Heart is a Lonely Hunter? The Bluest Eye? Poetry or prose? If poetry, then maybe Emily Dickinson..." I think that's literally the English-lit major equivalent to Ready Player One. It reads like Erika L. Sánchez just googled "classics" and wrote a bunch down.
- The writing could be extremely choppy. A chapter would end with Julia wondering if she was going to be grounded for something, and then the next chapter would start an unmentioned amount of time later with her at school. It was very jarring and annoying.
So, yeah, I'm super conflicted. Some parts were four stars, some were two stars, so three seems like a good compromise. I am really excited to see what Erika L. Sánchez writes next.
1) Cable & Deadpool, Vol. 1: If Looks Could Kill ★★★
2) Cable & Deadpool, Vol. 2: The Burnt Offering ★★★
content warnings: violence, gore
representation: pansexual main character
The first two issues of this were so great, and then the subsequent four were really average. The Wade Wilson, Private Investigator, aspects were so interesting, and then it turned into a story about chasing Cable throughout dimensions and that was a lot less interesting. Or at least should have been an entirely separate thing because it didn't really fit with the overall storyline, which was about the Black Box.
I don't know what it is with these comics, but it's like they're physically incapable of focusing on Cable as opposed to Deadpool. I don't know if it's because he's more popular or what, but so far all three volumes have felt less like "Cable & Deadpool" and more like "Deadpool feat. Cable".
I think I just need to accept that this series is always going to have a solid three-stars from me.
2) Cable & Deadpool, Vol. 2: The Burnt Offering ★★★
content warnings: violence, gore
representation: pansexual main character
The first two issues of this were so great, and then the subsequent four were really average. The Wade Wilson, Private Investigator, aspects were so interesting, and then it turned into a story about chasing Cable throughout dimensions and that was a lot less interesting. Or at least should have been an entirely separate thing because it didn't really fit with the overall storyline, which was about the Black Box.
Spoiler
Yes, baby Cable was cute but that's not the point.I don't know what it is with these comics, but it's like they're physically incapable of focusing on Cable as opposed to Deadpool. I don't know if it's because he's more popular or what, but so far all three volumes have felt less like "Cable & Deadpool" and more like "Deadpool feat. Cable".
I think I just need to accept that this series is always going to have a solid three-stars from me.
1) Off Base ★★★★½
2) At Attention ★★★★★
3) On Point ★★★★
4) Wheels Up ★★★★★
content warnings: death of a loved one, grief, alcoholism
representation: gay black main character, demisexual/grey asexual main character, main m/m relationship, side gay characters
This dumb, cheesy, cliche-ridden series has stolen my entire heart and I'm 100% okay with that. First off, as usual, this is still way better than it has any right to be in literally every way possible; writing, plot, characters, relationships.
This book reminded me a lot of At Attention, probably because it has similar themes of grief and main characters losing loved ones, even if the situations are extremely different. This was a far more serious book that a lot of the others with the custody storyline, and I really liked how that added drama to the book. SpoilerYes, the wedding solution was cheesy but so is the entire book and the entire damn series so idgaf, it was cute as shit.
I loved how the sex scenes always had a focus on Mark's sexuality. He never settles on a definitive label at the end of the book, toying around with both demisexual and grey-asexual, but Isaiah is always aware that he's on the ace-spectrum and this is factored into the sex. A lot of the steamy moments don't lead to anything more than making out, and when it does go further it's mostly just Mark doing things to Isaiah. But it's also acknowledged that sometimes Mark does like doing sexual things. Overall, this book just had really good a-spec rep, especially for an erotic book.
Once again, Annabeth Albert writes cute kids who I find endearing. I don't think you guys understand how hard it is for me to give a shit about kid characters, and yet I always do in this series. Also, as per usual, seeing previous characters (particularly Dylan and Ben) was a complete delight.
This book made me fall in love with Bacon, which is good because the next book is about him. He's also pan which I'm super excited for!
2) At Attention ★★★★★
3) On Point ★★★★
4) Wheels Up ★★★★★
content warnings: death of a loved one, grief, alcoholism
representation: gay black main character, demisexual/grey asexual main character, main m/m relationship, side gay characters
This dumb, cheesy, cliche-ridden series has stolen my entire heart and I'm 100% okay with that. First off, as usual, this is still way better than it has any right to be in literally every way possible; writing, plot, characters, relationships.
This book reminded me a lot of At Attention, probably because it has similar themes of grief and main characters losing loved ones, even if the situations are extremely different. This was a far more serious book that a lot of the others with the custody storyline, and I really liked how that added drama to the book. SpoilerYes, the wedding solution was cheesy but so is the entire book and the entire damn series so idgaf, it was cute as shit.
I loved how the sex scenes always had a focus on Mark's sexuality. He never settles on a definitive label at the end of the book, toying around with both demisexual and grey-asexual, but Isaiah is always aware that he's on the ace-spectrum and this is factored into the sex. A lot of the steamy moments don't lead to anything more than making out, and when it does go further it's mostly just Mark doing things to Isaiah. But it's also acknowledged that sometimes Mark does like doing sexual things. Overall, this book just had really good a-spec rep, especially for an erotic book.
Once again, Annabeth Albert writes cute kids who I find endearing. I don't think you guys understand how hard it is for me to give a shit about kid characters, and yet I always do in this series. Also, as per usual, seeing previous characters (particularly Dylan and Ben) was a complete delight.
This book made me fall in love with Bacon, which is good because the next book is about him. He's also pan which I'm super excited for!
content warnings: outing
representation: genderqueer main character
This was a really cute graphic novel that had the audacity to hit me in the feels at the end. Honestly, this would have been a five star but
representation: genderqueer main character
This was a really cute graphic novel that had the audacity to hit me in the feels at the end. Honestly, this would have been a five star but