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nerdinthelibrary's Reviews (926)
Look, this is a giant pile of trash, but call me a dumpster diver because this is exactly the kind of trash I love. I was expecting the whole thing to just be sex so when the plot kicked in I was surprised and a little cautious, but that ended up being the cherry on top. This hits all the tropes I love and I'm actually pretty hyped to read the second volume.
content warnings: transphobia, transphobic/homophobic/ableist/sexist slurs, child abuse (emotional), forced outing, purposeful misgendering
representation: transgender lesbian protagonist, latina wlw side character, various side queer characters, various side poc
This book was fine. Its main characters were really good, the plot was intriguing, and it was extremely fast-paced, but its secondary characters were very two-dimensional and the fight/combat scenes were written in a really bland way.
All in all, this book was okay but not as good as I wanted it to be. I probably won't read the sequel unless my library gets it.
representation: transgender lesbian protagonist, latina wlw side character, various side queer characters, various side poc
This book was fine. Its main characters were really good, the plot was intriguing, and it was extremely fast-paced, but its secondary characters were very two-dimensional and the fight/combat scenes were written in a really bland way.
All in all, this book was okay but not as good as I wanted it to be. I probably won't read the sequel unless my library gets it.
content warrnings: murder, suicide, self-harm, violence, gore, torture, drug overdose, animal death
representation: asexual protagonist (not revealed until book 2)
Finally, a Schwab book I like! After the complete flop that was This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet, I was a little skeptical going into another one of her books, but now I think it might just be her YA I'm not that into because I really liked this.
Originally written as a standalone, Vicious follows Victor Vale and Eli Ever, college roommates who start to explore the possibilities of EOs – people with ExtraOrdinary abilities that seem to only manifest once someone has died and come back to life. So they begin experimenting. Flash-forward ten years later and Victor is getting out of jail, swearing revenge on his former best friend.
I've seen this described a lot as Professor X and Magneto but they're in college, and that's not too far off. In terms of characterisation it's totally off, but if that's the general dynamic you're into then this is definitely the book for you.
I loved the way that this was structured. It jumps around in time, all circling around a specific event. We'll go from two days before to ten years earlier, back to two days before to one year earlier. Along with the time jumps there are also constant POV changes; we get the perspective of all of our main characters, most commonly Victor and Eli. This all sounds way more confusing than it is. Schwab is masterful at switching between time, place and perspectives, giving you just enough information so you can get your bearings.
In general I wasn't a massive fan of the other Schwab's I've read, but even with those I still really liked her characters and the same is true here. Even when they're unlikable, they're endlessly compelling. Victor and Eli are The Worst in very different ways: Victor is dramatic and openly callous, while Eli commits horrific acts under the guise of doing the right thing. It's an incredible dynamic, and one that you can see the roots of even when they're college students. They have a strong relationship, something you can see even when they're trying to murder each other. I definitely think they're a little in love with each other but it's very much left up to the interpretation of the reader.
Alongside our protagonists, we have their sidekicks, for lack of a better word. Sydney and Serena Clarke are sisters on opposite sides: Sydney is a thirteen year-old who Victor saves (and lowkey adopts) and Serena is a twenty year-old who manages to make herself indispensable to Eli. My favourite aspect of the book was the relationship between the sisters. Something horrific happened between them before the events of the book and neither of them can quite get over it. Sydney feels betrayed by her big sister and Serena feels conflicted over a difficult decision she had to make in an attempt to help her little sister. Our fifth major character is Mitch, Victor's roommate in prison who's a talented hacker. He's just a sweet man who's loyal to a fault and I loved him.
This book is a super fast read. It's about 340 pages, and all of those pages fly by. It technically took be six days to finish this but that's actually two or three sittings in total. While this book was really enjoyable and a quick read, I did find myself not caring at certain points, especially towards the middle. The ending makes up for every single grievance I have, though. It's one of my favourite endings ever and I gasped in delight when I realised what was happening. It's perfect for a standalone but also makes me excited for the next book, something which is almost impossible. I'm glad I finally got around to this, and I'm now much more excited to read other works of Schwab's.
representation: asexual protagonist (not revealed until book 2)
“But these words people threw around - humans, monsters, heroes, villains - to Victor it was all just a matter of semantics. Someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens. Someone else could be labeled a villain for trying to stop them. Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”
Finally, a Schwab book I like! After the complete flop that was This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet, I was a little skeptical going into another one of her books, but now I think it might just be her YA I'm not that into because I really liked this.
Originally written as a standalone, Vicious follows Victor Vale and Eli Ever, college roommates who start to explore the possibilities of EOs – people with ExtraOrdinary abilities that seem to only manifest once someone has died and come back to life. So they begin experimenting. Flash-forward ten years later and Victor is getting out of jail, swearing revenge on his former best friend.
I've seen this described a lot as Professor X and Magneto but they're in college, and that's not too far off. In terms of characterisation it's totally off, but if that's the general dynamic you're into then this is definitely the book for you.
I loved the way that this was structured. It jumps around in time, all circling around a specific event. We'll go from two days before to ten years earlier, back to two days before to one year earlier. Along with the time jumps there are also constant POV changes; we get the perspective of all of our main characters, most commonly Victor and Eli. This all sounds way more confusing than it is. Schwab is masterful at switching between time, place and perspectives, giving you just enough information so you can get your bearings.
In general I wasn't a massive fan of the other Schwab's I've read, but even with those I still really liked her characters and the same is true here. Even when they're unlikable, they're endlessly compelling. Victor and Eli are The Worst in very different ways: Victor is dramatic and openly callous, while Eli commits horrific acts under the guise of doing the right thing. It's an incredible dynamic, and one that you can see the roots of even when they're college students. They have a strong relationship, something you can see even when they're trying to murder each other. I definitely think they're a little in love with each other but it's very much left up to the interpretation of the reader.
Alongside our protagonists, we have their sidekicks, for lack of a better word. Sydney and Serena Clarke are sisters on opposite sides: Sydney is a thirteen year-old who Victor saves (and lowkey adopts) and Serena is a twenty year-old who manages to make herself indispensable to Eli. My favourite aspect of the book was the relationship between the sisters. Something horrific happened between them before the events of the book and neither of them can quite get over it. Sydney feels betrayed by her big sister and Serena feels conflicted over a difficult decision she had to make in an attempt to help her little sister. Our fifth major character is Mitch, Victor's roommate in prison who's a talented hacker. He's just a sweet man who's loyal to a fault and I loved him.
This book is a super fast read. It's about 340 pages, and all of those pages fly by. It technically took be six days to finish this but that's actually two or three sittings in total. While this book was really enjoyable and a quick read, I did find myself not caring at certain points, especially towards the middle. The ending makes up for every single grievance I have, though. It's one of my favourite endings ever and I gasped in delight when I realised what was happening. It's perfect for a standalone but also makes me excited for the next book, something which is almost impossible. I'm glad I finally got around to this, and I'm now much more excited to read other works of Schwab's.
content warnings: panic attacks, mentions of racism, homophobia and transphobia, discussions of near-death experiences
representation: queer protagonist with anxiety, genderqueer love interest, pansexual Black main character, Korean lesbian main character, trans lesbian main character, biracial (white-Mexican) fat gay main character with anxiety, f/f side relationship
We all know that I love cheesy romcom's. I also love the non-cheesy ones, but those are few and far between. However, despite (or maybe because of) my love for them, I tend to be very picky about the ones I like. I'm happy to report that The Love Study is one of the ones that I like!
This adult romcom follows Declan, a commitment-phobe in his late twenties who meets Sidney, a genderqueer advice YouTuber who invites him to be on their show called The Love Study. The Love Study would involve Sidney setting Declan up on dates with people and every week he reports back so that they can have an open discussion about modern dating for queer people. However, as Declan goes on these dates, he begins to develop feelings for the host of the show instead.
As previously mentioned, I love romcom's, so I'm also very aware of the traps they can fall into. Thank god, The Love Study falls into almost none of them, and even when it did I didn't mind at all. Sure, you can tell where the story's going pretty much from page one, but you don't read a romcom to be blown away by plot twists. You read so you can fall in love with some characters who are falling in love. And oh boy did I fall in love with these characters.
Not just Declan and Sidney, who I adore, but also the entire cast of supporting characters. Declan has a friend group from college who call themselves the Marginalized Motherfuckers (or, the Motherfuckers for short) and Sidney quickly becomes incorporated into this group. This group is made up of Mia and Ronnie, who are getting married, Mason, the guy Declan left at the altar, and Oscar, who is getting his own book which I'm very excited for. They're all queer and have such a loving, supportive friendship that made me feel all the warm and fuzzies. They don't take each others shit but also are always there for each other in a way that felt extremely authentic, especially in terms of tight-knit queer friendships (I say as someone with a tight-knit friend group made up almost entirely of queer people). It's also just fantastic to read a book where all the major characters are unapologetically queer.
As much as I love it, I can see this book not working for some people. It's very dialogue-heavy, with lot's of discussions about relationships that are often long passages, and that just won't work for some people. But I think that the way it's written is so smartly done that every line feels natural and you don't question why these people seem to be monologuing a lot. Sidney being an advice YouTuber means that the book can get away with a lot of deep conversations that regular people might not have on a day to day basis, which also means that a lot of tropes can be easily avoided. There's constant communication between Declan and Sidney about their relationship, which results in a refreshing lack of stupid misunderstandings. There are lot's of moments in the book where a character will say something wrong, apologise for it and the other person is understanding, something which I think happens a lot in real life but I never see in fiction because it isn't dramatic enough.
This book's discussion of mental health is also top notch. Oscar and Declan both have anxiety and there's never a moment when their struggles are invalidated. There's a beautiful scene where Declan is talking to Mia and Mason about having a panic attack and they're hurt he never mentioned it, demanding that the next time it happens they tell him. He says: "And help how? Hold my hand while I cry?" somewhat incredulously, but Mia and Mason both respond affirmatively because they want to be there to help him in any way they can. And it's like that throughout the book!
The ending nearly made me cry, which is ridiculous because it isn't sad at all. It was just really wonderful and hit me in a way I didn't expect it to. This entire book is really wonderful. If you like queer adult romance, then this should be at the top of your TBR because it's one of the best I've ever read.
representation: queer protagonist with anxiety, genderqueer love interest, pansexual Black main character, Korean lesbian main character, trans lesbian main character, biracial (white-Mexican) fat gay main character with anxiety, f/f side relationship
“Here’s how my friends describe me to new people: ‘This is Declan. He left his last boyfriend at the altar, so watch out.’”
We all know that I love cheesy romcom's. I also love the non-cheesy ones, but those are few and far between. However, despite (or maybe because of) my love for them, I tend to be very picky about the ones I like. I'm happy to report that The Love Study is one of the ones that I like!
This adult romcom follows Declan, a commitment-phobe in his late twenties who meets Sidney, a genderqueer advice YouTuber who invites him to be on their show called The Love Study. The Love Study would involve Sidney setting Declan up on dates with people and every week he reports back so that they can have an open discussion about modern dating for queer people. However, as Declan goes on these dates, he begins to develop feelings for the host of the show instead.
As previously mentioned, I love romcom's, so I'm also very aware of the traps they can fall into. Thank god, The Love Study falls into almost none of them, and even when it did I didn't mind at all. Sure, you can tell where the story's going pretty much from page one, but you don't read a romcom to be blown away by plot twists. You read so you can fall in love with some characters who are falling in love. And oh boy did I fall in love with these characters.
Not just Declan and Sidney, who I adore, but also the entire cast of supporting characters. Declan has a friend group from college who call themselves the Marginalized Motherfuckers (or, the Motherfuckers for short) and Sidney quickly becomes incorporated into this group. This group is made up of Mia and Ronnie, who are getting married, Mason, the guy Declan left at the altar, and Oscar, who is getting his own book which I'm very excited for. They're all queer and have such a loving, supportive friendship that made me feel all the warm and fuzzies. They don't take each others shit but also are always there for each other in a way that felt extremely authentic, especially in terms of tight-knit queer friendships (I say as someone with a tight-knit friend group made up almost entirely of queer people). It's also just fantastic to read a book where all the major characters are unapologetically queer.
As much as I love it, I can see this book not working for some people. It's very dialogue-heavy, with lot's of discussions about relationships that are often long passages, and that just won't work for some people. But I think that the way it's written is so smartly done that every line feels natural and you don't question why these people seem to be monologuing a lot. Sidney being an advice YouTuber means that the book can get away with a lot of deep conversations that regular people might not have on a day to day basis, which also means that a lot of tropes can be easily avoided. There's constant communication between Declan and Sidney about their relationship, which results in a refreshing lack of stupid misunderstandings. There are lot's of moments in the book where a character will say something wrong, apologise for it and the other person is understanding, something which I think happens a lot in real life but I never see in fiction because it isn't dramatic enough.
This book's discussion of mental health is also top notch. Oscar and Declan both have anxiety and there's never a moment when their struggles are invalidated. There's a beautiful scene where Declan is talking to Mia and Mason about having a panic attack and they're hurt he never mentioned it, demanding that the next time it happens they tell him. He says: "And help how? Hold my hand while I cry?" somewhat incredulously, but Mia and Mason both respond affirmatively because they want to be there to help him in any way they can. And it's like that throughout the book!
The ending nearly made me cry, which is ridiculous because it isn't sad at all. It was just really wonderful and hit me in a way I didn't expect it to. This entire book is really wonderful. If you like queer adult romance, then this should be at the top of your TBR because it's one of the best I've ever read.
I received an ARC of this book for free as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.
content warnings: racism and Islamophobia, hate crimes, terrorism, bullying, death threats, violence
representation: Muslim Indian-American protagonist, main and side characters
I'm going to be honest, the only reason that I own this book is because I found it at Savers and it was an ARC. I recognised the title and figured this would probably be my only chance to own a physical ARC, so I threw caution to the wind and bought it. Boy, am I glad I did because this was great!
Samira Ahmed's debut is about Muslim Indian-American teen Maya, an aspiring filmmaker who is in her last year of high school. She wants to go to NYU and become the first Indian-American to win an Oscar, but her parents want her to stay close to home and become a lawyer. But her parents don't know that she secretly applied to NYU and got in, so now she needs to figure out how to convince them to let her go. She also gets swept up in a love triangle between her, Kareem, a college student she meets at a family wedding, and Phil, a boy at her school who she's helping with an assignment.
For the first ten chapters, I was having fun but wasn't blown away. It felt like a regular, cute YA contemporary romance, with Maya's heart being torn in two directions as she's also trying to work up the courage to tell her parents what she wants. But then chapter 11 happened and suddenly I was sitting up in my metaphorical seat and paying attention. The events of the chapter aren't that extraordinary, but the way that Ahmed writes them is. Her writing is so emotional without ever being sappy in a way that I hadn't been appreciating up until that point. From there, the book just continued to amaze me.
A lot of darker stuff happens in the second half, but it isn't out of nowhere if you've been paying attention. As the book goes on, you start to realise how dark parts of the first half were and everything makes sense. The second half is also where basically all of the trigger warnings come into play so I would recommend some readers proceed with caution there.
Ahmed isn't just great at the technical skill of writing, though; her characters are incredible and I love them all. Maya has such a distinct voice that I thought was going to annoy me at first but then I ended up missing her the second I closed the book. She views the world and her life as a film, partially as a coping mechanism but also because she just loves films that much. She's one of the most passionate characters I've ever read about, and anytime she starts talking at length about anything film-related I found myself falling further in love with her. The end of the book is the perfect ending to her character. It's not about romance, or her parents, or the terrorist attack. It's about her and her passion.
I was worried after a few chapters that one of the boys in the love triangle was going to end up being an asshole so that Maya could have an easy choice, but thankfully it didn't do that! Kareem and Phil are just nice boys and I loved them. As much as I loved them, though, they probably rank towards the bottom in terms of main characters I loved, because Violet and Hina trump them easily. Violet is Maya's best friend and Hina is her aunt. They're both the absolute greatest. One of them is always present so that there's at least one person in Maya's corner, sometimes two, and I loved the support system that we see Maya building for herself.
I'm in general pretty wary of the way parents are written in YA because they're usually either the Worst or the Best, tropes which equally annoy me, so I was happy to see that Maya's parents were neither. They're just people who, like their daughter, sometimes do everything exactly right and sometimes colossally fuck up. Maya's relationship with them becomes more strained over the course of the book but luckily both Ahmed and Maya never make them the villains of the book. By the end, both they and Maya have grown and seem to understand the others' perspective more, even if they still disagree with it.
One of my favourite things about reading is picking up a book with no expectations and loving it, so this was a total success! The characters are the great, the romance is swoony, the tone is balanced so well, and the ending was incredible. I'm a few years late to this but I'm glad I got around to it, especially since I've heard that Samira Ahmed's follow-up to this, Internment, is also great.
representation: Muslim Indian-American protagonist, main and side characters
“My world slows down. My breathing, the journey of the drips of water that trail from his skin onto mine, the rise and fall of his chest, and the blink of his eyelids.
In the movies, you can achieve slow motion in two ways, first, by overcranking, basically capturing each frame at a much faster rate with your camera than it will be played back on a projector. Then there’s time stretching, where you inset new frames in postproduction between the ones already filmed but linger longer on each one. That’s what this feels like, but where each of the new frames I add is just a blank screen of longing.”
I'm going to be honest, the only reason that I own this book is because I found it at Savers and it was an ARC. I recognised the title and figured this would probably be my only chance to own a physical ARC, so I threw caution to the wind and bought it. Boy, am I glad I did because this was great!
Samira Ahmed's debut is about Muslim Indian-American teen Maya, an aspiring filmmaker who is in her last year of high school. She wants to go to NYU and become the first Indian-American to win an Oscar, but her parents want her to stay close to home and become a lawyer. But her parents don't know that she secretly applied to NYU and got in, so now she needs to figure out how to convince them to let her go. She also gets swept up in a love triangle between her, Kareem, a college student she meets at a family wedding, and Phil, a boy at her school who she's helping with an assignment.
For the first ten chapters, I was having fun but wasn't blown away. It felt like a regular, cute YA contemporary romance, with Maya's heart being torn in two directions as she's also trying to work up the courage to tell her parents what she wants. But then chapter 11 happened and suddenly I was sitting up in my metaphorical seat and paying attention. The events of the chapter aren't that extraordinary, but the way that Ahmed writes them is. Her writing is so emotional without ever being sappy in a way that I hadn't been appreciating up until that point. From there, the book just continued to amaze me.
A lot of darker stuff happens in the second half, but it isn't out of nowhere if you've been paying attention. As the book goes on, you start to realise how dark parts of the first half were and everything makes sense. The second half is also where basically all of the trigger warnings come into play so I would recommend some readers proceed with caution there.
Ahmed isn't just great at the technical skill of writing, though; her characters are incredible and I love them all. Maya has such a distinct voice that I thought was going to annoy me at first but then I ended up missing her the second I closed the book. She views the world and her life as a film, partially as a coping mechanism but also because she just loves films that much. She's one of the most passionate characters I've ever read about, and anytime she starts talking at length about anything film-related I found myself falling further in love with her. The end of the book is the perfect ending to her character. It's not about romance, or her parents, or the terrorist attack. It's about her and her passion.
I was worried after a few chapters that one of the boys in the love triangle was going to end up being an asshole so that Maya could have an easy choice, but thankfully it didn't do that! Kareem and Phil are just nice boys and I loved them. As much as I loved them, though, they probably rank towards the bottom in terms of main characters I loved, because Violet and Hina trump them easily. Violet is Maya's best friend and Hina is her aunt. They're both the absolute greatest. One of them is always present so that there's at least one person in Maya's corner, sometimes two, and I loved the support system that we see Maya building for herself.
I'm in general pretty wary of the way parents are written in YA because they're usually either the Worst or the Best, tropes which equally annoy me, so I was happy to see that Maya's parents were neither. They're just people who, like their daughter, sometimes do everything exactly right and sometimes colossally fuck up. Maya's relationship with them becomes more strained over the course of the book but luckily both Ahmed and Maya never make them the villains of the book. By the end, both they and Maya have grown and seem to understand the others' perspective more, even if they still disagree with it.
One of my favourite things about reading is picking up a book with no expectations and loving it, so this was a total success! The characters are the great, the romance is swoony, the tone is balanced so well, and the ending was incredible. I'm a few years late to this but I'm glad I got around to it, especially since I've heard that Samira Ahmed's follow-up to this, Internment, is also great.
I've read my fair share of non-fiction books in this format (one or two pages per person, an illustration of them, outline of their life/achievements) and this is unfortunately the worst by far.
The illustrations were fantastic, but that was really the only thing this had going for it. The biography-portions oftentimes felt like a condensed wikipedia article, just listing greatest hits and outlining hard childhoods. There were way too many where the person's queerness was only mentioned in a throwaway line, identified incorrectly (they refer to both Freddie Mercury and David Bowie as gay), or not mentioned at all.
There were also several people included in this who have said some pretty iffy stuff in regards to trans people, which left a bad taste in my mouth as I was reading.
The illustrations were fantastic, but that was really the only thing this had going for it. The biography-portions oftentimes felt like a condensed wikipedia article, just listing greatest hits and outlining hard childhoods. There were way too many where the person's queerness was only mentioned in a throwaway line, identified incorrectly (they refer to both Freddie Mercury and David Bowie as gay), or not mentioned at all.
There were also several people included in this who have said some pretty iffy stuff in regards to trans people, which left a bad taste in my mouth as I was reading.
This is the first Agatha Christie book I've ever read and I'm definitely going to try to read more in the future. It's no wonder she's known as one of the greatest mystery writers ever; this story was intricate and layered in such a clever way that you have no hope of figuring it out but it makes perfect sense at the end. Along with that, this book also featured a cast of characters who are some of the most interesting I've ever read about, despite knowing very little about them.
Unfortunately, I knew about the twist at the end before reading the book because I was spoiled for the movie (the original) but this didn't hinder my enjoyment of uncovering the mystery in the slightest.
Unfortunately, I knew about the twist at the end before reading the book because I was spoiled for the movie (the original) but this didn't hinder my enjoyment of uncovering the mystery in the slightest.
content warnings: gun violence, murder, abduction, homophobia, racism
representation: disabled gay main character, gay side characters, main m/m relationship, side black character
This was such a dull book. With one very notable exception I'll get to, the entire book was an entirely inoffensive but painfully boring book. Literally nothing was interesting; the characters, the mystery, the sex, the writing, the romance, the action, absolutely n o t h i n g was even halfway interesting. This is apparently quite an unpopular opinion judging by how highly rated the book is, but I can't. The only reason I didn't DNF is because it was so short.
Truthfully, I could have given this book 2 stars, but its treatment of its one black character forced it down a star. There's a side character, a black woman whose nephew has gone missing. The author decided not only to make her an angry black woman - a trope I am so very tired of seeing - but she also makes comments about white people that makes the (white) protagonist declare her as racist. WTF. I don't know if the author has had negative interactions with black people or what, but speaking as a white person, someone calling you 'cracker' doesn't qualify as racism sweaty :)
I'm done. I'll definitely not be continuing, I have far better uses of my time.
representation: disabled gay main character, gay side characters, main m/m relationship, side black character
This was such a dull book. With one very notable exception I'll get to, the entire book was an entirely inoffensive but painfully boring book. Literally nothing was interesting; the characters, the mystery, the sex, the writing, the romance, the action, absolutely n o t h i n g was even halfway interesting. This is apparently quite an unpopular opinion judging by how highly rated the book is, but I can't. The only reason I didn't DNF is because it was so short.
Truthfully, I could have given this book 2 stars, but its treatment of its one black character forced it down a star. There's a side character, a black woman whose nephew has gone missing. The author decided not only to make her an angry black woman - a trope I am so very tired of seeing - but she also makes comments about white people that makes the (white) protagonist declare her as racist. WTF. I don't know if the author has had negative interactions with black people or what, but speaking as a white person, someone calling you 'cracker' doesn't qualify as racism sweaty :)
I'm done. I'll definitely not be continuing, I have far better uses of my time.