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nerdinthelibrary's Reviews (926)
content warnings: death, violence, gore, body horror, animal cruelty, ableism
representation: bisexual main character, hawaiian main character, physically disabled side character with chronic pain, autistic lesbian side character, deaf side characters, latino side character, japanese-australian side character, side f/f relationship, side interracial relationships, other side characters of colour
“What you have to understand about the mermaid legend is that it's universal. No matter where you go, the mermaids got there first. Even inland, if there's a big enough lake, I guarantee you there's a local community with a story about women in the water with beautiful voices who lure men to their deaths.
Where there's water, we find mermaids. Maybe it's time we started asking ourselves exactly why that is.”
It's official, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant is one of my favourite authors. The fact that she's able to write such different stories, full of fascinating characters, compelling plots, and important themes that are always handled delicately, makes her one of the best authors working today.
I know that the premise of this book is slightly ridiculous: killer mermaids sound silly, I get it. But this book is genuinely terrifying. Not necessarily in a traditionally scary sense, more in a getting chills, feeling uneasy, not wanting to ever go past your knees in the ocean ever again, kind of way.
Grant doesn't just understand how to write chilling scenes, though, she also understands what makes horror work at its best, which is investment in the characters. Despite, in my opinion, this book having two main characters in Tory and Dr. Toth, this book is also undoubtedly an ensemble. This is fantastic storytelling because it makes you care about every character, therefore making the books' stakes 10x higher. There are realistically too many characters for me to shine a spotlight on all of them, so I'm just going to mention the ones who are (in my opinion) the most important.
⇢ Victoria "Tory" Stewart, a bisexual scientist who specialises in studying acoustic marine biology and whose sister was on the original mission to the Mariana Trench. Seven years later, she decides to do the mission partially for closure, partially to prove that the mermaids exist and avenge her sister in whatever way she can.
⇢ Dr. Jillian Toth is a Hawaiian marine biologist who has dedicated majority of her life to proving that mermaids exist, making her a joke among most of the scientific community and the world.
⇢ Olivia Sanderson, an autistic lesbian nerd who is Imagine's news personality, taking over the job which Tory's sister had on the original mission. Along with her is Ray Marino, her closest friend and cameraman.
⇢ Theodore Blackwell is Jillian's almost-ex-husband (separated but not divorced) and is a high-up executive at Imagine who is tasked with overseeing the mission. He is physically disabled from an incident in his past and suffers from chronic pain due to this.
⇢ The Wilson sisters, Hallie, Holly and Heather, are all specialists in different areas. Hallie in communication, Holly in data analysis, and Heather in deep sea exploration. Holly and Heather are twins and have been deaf since birth, and Hallie has acted as a translator for them their entire life.
⇢ Jacques and Michi Abney are a married couple who are famed hunters, French-Canadian and Japanese-Australian respectively, and are only on the mission so they can have the honour of killing a mermaid and more than likely eating it.
⇢ Luis Martines is Tory's best friend who specialises in essentially proving that things like the Giant Squid and Loch Ness Monster are real, and his rich family has funded so much important scientific discoveries that it doesn't matter how crazy what he does is.
As you could probably tell from the descriptions I just gave, this book has fantastic diversity, as much of Grant/McGuire's work does. Things such as race, sexuality, disabilities, etc. inform some of what makes a character who they are, in equal measures with their passions and histories, which in my opinion is the perfect balance to strike.
I also loved the way Grant approached the world of this book. It's set in 2022, so there have been some technological advancements, but only ones that make sense. Such as technology being far enough along that Theo was not paralysed from the waist-down after his accident, but not so far along that there were no lasting consequences.
Finally, on a super irrelevant note, I would highly recommend listening to the Venom score while reading this, especially in the second half.
All in all, his book was amazing! The only books of McGuire/Grant's I still desperately want to read is the Newsflesh trilogy, and after the amazing track record I've had with her work I'm even more excited.
representation: bisexual main character, hawaiian main character, physically disabled side character with chronic pain, autistic lesbian side character, deaf side characters, latino side character, japanese-australian side character, side f/f relationship, side interracial relationships, other side characters of colour
“What you have to understand about the mermaid legend is that it's universal. No matter where you go, the mermaids got there first. Even inland, if there's a big enough lake, I guarantee you there's a local community with a story about women in the water with beautiful voices who lure men to their deaths.
Where there's water, we find mermaids. Maybe it's time we started asking ourselves exactly why that is.”
It's official, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant is one of my favourite authors. The fact that she's able to write such different stories, full of fascinating characters, compelling plots, and important themes that are always handled delicately, makes her one of the best authors working today.
I know that the premise of this book is slightly ridiculous: killer mermaids sound silly, I get it. But this book is genuinely terrifying. Not necessarily in a traditionally scary sense, more in a getting chills, feeling uneasy, not wanting to ever go past your knees in the ocean ever again, kind of way.
Grant doesn't just understand how to write chilling scenes, though, she also understands what makes horror work at its best, which is investment in the characters. Despite, in my opinion, this book having two main characters in Tory and Dr. Toth, this book is also undoubtedly an ensemble. This is fantastic storytelling because it makes you care about every character, therefore making the books' stakes 10x higher. There are realistically too many characters for me to shine a spotlight on all of them, so I'm just going to mention the ones who are (in my opinion) the most important.
⇢ Victoria "Tory" Stewart, a bisexual scientist who specialises in studying acoustic marine biology and whose sister was on the original mission to the Mariana Trench. Seven years later, she decides to do the mission partially for closure, partially to prove that the mermaids exist and avenge her sister in whatever way she can.
⇢ Dr. Jillian Toth is a Hawaiian marine biologist who has dedicated majority of her life to proving that mermaids exist, making her a joke among most of the scientific community and the world.
⇢ Olivia Sanderson, an autistic lesbian nerd who is Imagine's news personality, taking over the job which Tory's sister had on the original mission. Along with her is Ray Marino, her closest friend and cameraman.
⇢ Theodore Blackwell is Jillian's almost-ex-husband (separated but not divorced) and is a high-up executive at Imagine who is tasked with overseeing the mission. He is physically disabled from an incident in his past and suffers from chronic pain due to this.
⇢ The Wilson sisters, Hallie, Holly and Heather, are all specialists in different areas. Hallie in communication, Holly in data analysis, and Heather in deep sea exploration. Holly and Heather are twins and have been deaf since birth, and Hallie has acted as a translator for them their entire life.
⇢ Jacques and Michi Abney are a married couple who are famed hunters, French-Canadian and Japanese-Australian respectively, and are only on the mission so they can have the honour of killing a mermaid and more than likely eating it.
⇢ Luis Martines is Tory's best friend who specialises in essentially proving that things like the Giant Squid and Loch Ness Monster are real, and his rich family has funded so much important scientific discoveries that it doesn't matter how crazy what he does is.
As you could probably tell from the descriptions I just gave, this book has fantastic diversity, as much of Grant/McGuire's work does. Things such as race, sexuality, disabilities, etc. inform some of what makes a character who they are, in equal measures with their passions and histories, which in my opinion is the perfect balance to strike.
I also loved the way Grant approached the world of this book. It's set in 2022, so there have been some technological advancements, but only ones that make sense. Such as technology being far enough along that Theo was not paralysed from the waist-down after his accident, but not so far along that there were no lasting consequences.
Finally, on a super irrelevant note, I would highly recommend listening to the Venom score while reading this, especially in the second half.
All in all, his book was amazing! The only books of McGuire/Grant's I still desperately want to read is the Newsflesh trilogy, and after the amazing track record I've had with her work I'm even more excited.
content warnings: car accident, infidelity, death of an unborn baby
representation: side black character
I'm so glad TJR books kept getting recommended to me because otherwise I would have never read this. This is a book about twenty-nine year old Hannah who's moving back to LA, where she grew up, because her life is at a standstill. That night, she goes out drinking with her best friend and meets up with a high school boyfriend. At the close of the night, Hannah must choose: go home with Gabby, or go home with Ethan. You then follow her through both these timelines, which are both incredibly different and similar.
This book was beautiful. Everything is so well-crafted, which is good because with an alternating-timelines plot it has the possibility to get very messy, very quickly, but TJR handles it so effortlessly. It's near impossible to get confused between the two plots because they diverge so drastically within pages, which I think was a smart move. I genuinely loved both timelines, but the one where she went home with Gabby was my favourite purely because I liked the love interest more.
Even though the timelines are different, there were still prominent plot points throughout both; Mark and Gabby's relationship, Hannah's parents, the possibility of moving to London, Hannah's career, Jesse Flint, LACMA, and so many more. It was really interesting to see the different ways these plot points would be brought up depending on the timeline, and how it affected the characters differently. LACMA, in particular, was an incredibly major plot point in one and a ridiculously minor one in another, and Hannah has a drastically different reaction in both. I just can't get over how well-done the general plot of this book is!
My favourite aspect of this book was how messy the characters are, Hannah in particular. She fucks up, and she does it often. But she always learns from the mistakes she makes, and by the end of the book she hasn't changed in a drastic way but she's still different in both timelines. She gets her shit together in both timelines, even if it is under very different circumstances, and I think that's a testament to how well TJR created her protagonist.
Now, the description of this book makes it sound like it's about Hannah falling in love with two different guys in two different timelines, and that is a prominent aspect of the book. But the most important relationship in the book is Hannah's with Gabby, her best friend. In both timelines, these two women do nothing but support one another, no matter what happens or how much the other one screws up. My favourite quote of the book came from their beautiful relationship: "I'd do anything for you, do you know that? Does it help? To know that I'd move mountains for you? That I'd part seas?" ... "I love you," I tell her. "And I believe in you. I believe in Gabby Hudson. I believe she can do anything."
This book isn't perfect, I'm aware. But I loved it so much, and TJR is now a new favourite author of mine.
representation: side black character
I'm so glad TJR books kept getting recommended to me because otherwise I would have never read this. This is a book about twenty-nine year old Hannah who's moving back to LA, where she grew up, because her life is at a standstill. That night, she goes out drinking with her best friend and meets up with a high school boyfriend. At the close of the night, Hannah must choose: go home with Gabby, or go home with Ethan. You then follow her through both these timelines, which are both incredibly different and similar.
This book was beautiful. Everything is so well-crafted, which is good because with an alternating-timelines plot it has the possibility to get very messy, very quickly, but TJR handles it so effortlessly. It's near impossible to get confused between the two plots because they diverge so drastically within pages, which I think was a smart move. I genuinely loved both timelines, but the one where she went home with Gabby was my favourite purely because I liked the love interest more.
Spoiler
I also loved that she was happy at the conclusion of both timelines, and I think ending them on lines that were identical save for one positive adjective was a great way to close both of them.Even though the timelines are different, there were still prominent plot points throughout both; Mark and Gabby's relationship, Hannah's parents, the possibility of moving to London, Hannah's career, Jesse Flint, LACMA, and so many more. It was really interesting to see the different ways these plot points would be brought up depending on the timeline, and how it affected the characters differently. LACMA, in particular, was an incredibly major plot point in one and a ridiculously minor one in another, and Hannah has a drastically different reaction in both. I just can't get over how well-done the general plot of this book is!
My favourite aspect of this book was how messy the characters are, Hannah in particular. She fucks up, and she does it often. But she always learns from the mistakes she makes, and by the end of the book she hasn't changed in a drastic way but she's still different in both timelines. She gets her shit together in both timelines, even if it is under very different circumstances, and I think that's a testament to how well TJR created her protagonist.
Now, the description of this book makes it sound like it's about Hannah falling in love with two different guys in two different timelines, and that is a prominent aspect of the book. But the most important relationship in the book is Hannah's with Gabby, her best friend. In both timelines, these two women do nothing but support one another, no matter what happens or how much the other one screws up. My favourite quote of the book came from their beautiful relationship: "I'd do anything for you, do you know that? Does it help? To know that I'd move mountains for you? That I'd part seas?" ... "I love you," I tell her. "And I believe in you. I believe in Gabby Hudson. I believe she can do anything."
Spoiler
And the fact that in both timelines Hannah named her daughter after Gabby just makes my black, dead heart melt a whole lotThis book isn't perfect, I'm aware. But I loved it so much, and TJR is now a new favourite author of mine.
1) The Hidden Oracle ★★★★
2) The Dark Prophecy ★★★★★
*4.5
Okay, this isn't quite a 5 but I still loved it. A list of Thoughts:
- Apollo's character development makes me want to cry (in a good way)
- Piper McLean could punch me in the face and I would thank her
- Rick made a really ballsy decision concerning a character death and I really respect him for that
- GROVER! HEDGE! MELLIE! ALL MY FAVES WERE BACK AND THEY WERE GREAT
- There was a slow 50 or so pages but god did it pick back up
- We got some really good Meg backstory that I loved, and some great character development too
- I need the fourth book asap.
2) The Dark Prophecy ★★★★★
*4.5
Okay, this isn't quite a 5 but I still loved it. A list of Thoughts:
- Apollo's character development makes me want to cry (in a good way)
- Piper McLean could punch me in the face and I would thank her
- Rick made a really ballsy decision concerning a character death and I really respect him for that
Spoiler
Also, Jason was always my least favourite of the 7 so I was really only sad bc of Piper- GROVER! HEDGE! MELLIE! ALL MY FAVES WERE BACK AND THEY WERE GREAT
- There was a slow 50 or so pages but god did it pick back up
- We got some really good Meg backstory that I loved, and some great character development too
- I need the fourth book asap.
Spoiler
Mostly because my wife Reyna is going to be a major character in it, and hopefully some Frank and Hazel
content warnings: violence, death, torture
representation: mlm amputee side character, side m/m relationship
“You can't just go round murdering people. There are rules, Nimona.”
This was an extremely cute graphic novel that made my heart go all warm and fuzzy. As the title suggests, it's about Nimona, a shapeshifter who becomes the sidekick of the villainous Lord Ballister Blackheart.
Whenever there are villains in the lead of anything I always want some good exploration of what the differences between heroes and villains are, as well as the fact that there shades of grey. This graphic novel gave me that in spades, with Blackheart being a manufactured villain for his ex, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, and the organisation that runs everything maybe having more villainous tendencies than they're letting on.
The relationships were also super cute. Nimona and Blackheart have an adorable friendship where they spend the entire time exasperated at each other but would also murder everyone for the others' safety. Blackheart and Goldenloin's relationship is a bit more complicated because of Goldenloin blowing off Blackheart's arm in a joust, forcing him to become villain. They still clearly love each other but it's now Complicated, and that leads to some good confrontations and angst. I do wish that their relationship could have been a bit more explicit, but I also think it's pretty obvious when you take your hetero goggles off so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is probably the best graphic novel I've read in terms of balancing humour with its dark undertones, and literally everyone should read it.
( this is super irrelevant and feel free to ignore it, but blackheart looks like keanu reeves, right??? like, current john wick!keanu, not matrix!keanu. it was bugging me throughout the whole thing )
representation: mlm amputee side character, side m/m relationship
“You can't just go round murdering people. There are rules, Nimona.”
This was an extremely cute graphic novel that made my heart go all warm and fuzzy. As the title suggests, it's about Nimona, a shapeshifter who becomes the sidekick of the villainous Lord Ballister Blackheart.
Whenever there are villains in the lead of anything I always want some good exploration of what the differences between heroes and villains are, as well as the fact that there shades of grey. This graphic novel gave me that in spades, with Blackheart being a manufactured villain for his ex, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, and the organisation that runs everything maybe having more villainous tendencies than they're letting on.
The relationships were also super cute. Nimona and Blackheart have an adorable friendship where they spend the entire time exasperated at each other but would also murder everyone for the others' safety. Blackheart and Goldenloin's relationship is a bit more complicated because of Goldenloin blowing off Blackheart's arm in a joust, forcing him to become villain. They still clearly love each other but it's now Complicated, and that leads to some good confrontations and angst. I do wish that their relationship could have been a bit more explicit, but I also think it's pretty obvious when you take your hetero goggles off so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is probably the best graphic novel I've read in terms of balancing humour with its dark undertones, and literally everyone should read it.
( this is super irrelevant and feel free to ignore it, but blackheart looks like keanu reeves, right??? like, current john wick!keanu, not matrix!keanu. it was bugging me throughout the whole thing )
Review also found on my blog.
Asian Readathon: read a book by an asian author, read a book written by an intersectional asian author
content warnings: ableism, misogyny, racism, explicit sexual content, unwanted kiss, sexual harassment, panic attacks, loved one with cancer
representation: autistic protagonist, biracial main and side characters (Vietnamese-Swedish), vietnamese side characters, autistic vietnamese side character
The hype is real guys, the hype is real. I've owned this book for nearly a year and for some reason just never read it, until the Asian Readathon finally gave me the perfect excuse to borrow the audiobook from my library. I read this in a couple days and absolutely fell in love with it.
The Kiss Quotient follows Stella Lang, a successful thirty year-old who loves her job and has more money than she knows what to do with but has completely failed in the romance department. Thinking that it's because of her discomfort with physical intimacy she decides that the best way to deal with her issues is to hire an escort who can teach her how to become more comfortable with sex. What she wasn't expecting was to develop feelings for the man she hires.
I'm so glad I picked this up! There are so many fantastic things about this, but I'm just going to highlight a few of them.
1. Stella and Michael's relationship. Helen Hoang managed to find the perfect blend of cute and sexy in a way that I didn't think was possible. I thought that their relationship developed very naturally, from the awkwardness of their first encounter to the moment they realise they're in love with one another.
2. Michael's family. He has five sisters, all of varying ages, several cousins, one who's his best friend, a grandma, a mum with cancer, plus a piece of shit for a dad. His dad left the family years before, leaving them in tatters, and forcing Michael to give up his dreams to help his mum. I love Michael's relationship with his mum, sisters and grandma. They're incredibly close, and I loved seeing Stella get close to them as her and Michael's relationship develops.
3. The sex scenes. If a book has steamy scenes then they'd better be good, and Helen Hoang delivers. Stella is initially incredibly uncomfortable with even just hugging or kissing, let alone having sex, and the build-up to them having sex is amazing. Michael is so respectful and understanding of boundaries, and there's such a massive emphasis on consent and only doing what she feels comfortable with. The dirty talk was also fricking fantastic, if I do say so myself.
There's a lot more to love about this book: the fast-paced plot, the representation, the good writing, how well-written Stella's character is. This book is a fantastic debut, a fantastic romance, a fantastic audiobook, just fantastic in every way.
Asian Readathon: read a book by an asian author, read a book written by an intersectional asian author
content warnings: ableism, misogyny, racism, explicit sexual content, unwanted kiss, sexual harassment, panic attacks, loved one with cancer
representation: autistic protagonist, biracial main and side characters (Vietnamese-Swedish), vietnamese side characters, autistic vietnamese side character
“I don't want just a night or a week or a month with you. I want you all the time. I like you better than calculus, and math is the only thing that unites the universe.”
The hype is real guys, the hype is real. I've owned this book for nearly a year and for some reason just never read it, until the Asian Readathon finally gave me the perfect excuse to borrow the audiobook from my library. I read this in a couple days and absolutely fell in love with it.
The Kiss Quotient follows Stella Lang, a successful thirty year-old who loves her job and has more money than she knows what to do with but has completely failed in the romance department. Thinking that it's because of her discomfort with physical intimacy she decides that the best way to deal with her issues is to hire an escort who can teach her how to become more comfortable with sex. What she wasn't expecting was to develop feelings for the man she hires.
I'm so glad I picked this up! There are so many fantastic things about this, but I'm just going to highlight a few of them.
1. Stella and Michael's relationship. Helen Hoang managed to find the perfect blend of cute and sexy in a way that I didn't think was possible. I thought that their relationship developed very naturally, from the awkwardness of their first encounter to the moment they realise they're in love with one another.
2. Michael's family. He has five sisters, all of varying ages, several cousins, one who's his best friend, a grandma, a mum with cancer, plus a piece of shit for a dad. His dad left the family years before, leaving them in tatters, and forcing Michael to give up his dreams to help his mum. I love Michael's relationship with his mum, sisters and grandma. They're incredibly close, and I loved seeing Stella get close to them as her and Michael's relationship develops.
3. The sex scenes. If a book has steamy scenes then they'd better be good, and Helen Hoang delivers. Stella is initially incredibly uncomfortable with even just hugging or kissing, let alone having sex, and the build-up to them having sex is amazing. Michael is so respectful and understanding of boundaries, and there's such a massive emphasis on consent and only doing what she feels comfortable with. The dirty talk was also fricking fantastic, if I do say so myself.
There's a lot more to love about this book: the fast-paced plot, the representation, the good writing, how well-written Stella's character is. This book is a fantastic debut, a fantastic romance, a fantastic audiobook, just fantastic in every way.
Okay, there's not a chance in hell that I'll be able to write a proper, coherent review so instead you get emotional bullet points. I'm pretty sure there's no spoilers.
✨ I love each and every character.
✨ Except Zara, she can fucking choke and I hope she's miserable for as long as she exists.
✨ I actually gave a shit about Emma/Julian in this one which is incredible.
✨ Ty is my sweet baby boy and I want to hug him.
✨ He and Kit are adorable but also,, I'm sad.
✨ Kit is also the light of my fucking life and I hope he knows he deserves the world.
✨ I'm so glad that Dru got more to do in this book and we got to see her with more of her siblings.
✨ I'm not gonna be able to wait until TWP for more of these three.
✨ We were blessed with some A+ Helen/Aline content in this book.
✨ Aline defending her wife gives me life.
✨ Also, them referring to each other as wives is beautiful.
✨ Perfect Diego has fully redeemed himself and I just hope he's happy.
✨ Cristina Rosales is a goddess and we should all worship her.
✨ Well, Kieran and Mark are already doing that ;)
✨ On that note: Cassie Clare fucking DID THAT and I've never been happier.
✨ I'm also so proud of Kieran and his spectacular character development.
✨ Jem and Tessa are just living their best lives and I'm really hoping we get to see in one of the Ghosts of the Shadow Market stories.
✨ Diana Wrayburn is another character who we should worship the ground she walks on. She's just so strong and brave <3
✨ Gwyn is the perfect man and is the only person who could ever possibly deserve Diana.
✨ I really hope we get more of Tavvy in TWP because, on account of him being a child, he didn't really do much in this series.
✨ She's kind of the Worst but I highkey love the Seelie Queen.
✨ I don't even really know what to say about it, but Thule is really fucking cool.
✨ And Thule! is a badass who I want to choke me.
✨ The entire storyline around the parabatai bond was unexpected to say the least but I really enjoyed how it all went down.
✨ As someone who isn't Clary and Jace's biggest fans, I kind of wish Cassie Clare would just leave them alone at this point. I don't need them to have entirely new storylines at this point.
✨ Despite that, Alec and Magnus are my faves and they're so happy and it's wonderful.
✨ I also love Tavvy, Rafael and Max's friendship.
✨ People in this book have sex at literally the worst possible times.
✨ And they never do it in a fucking bed! What the fuck is up with that.
I'm aware that there's literally nothing remotely of substance here but I needed to give some of my Thoughts.
✨ I love each and every character.
✨ Except Zara, she can fucking choke and I hope she's miserable for as long as she exists.
✨ I actually gave a shit about Emma/Julian in this one which is incredible.
✨ Ty is my sweet baby boy and I want to hug him.
✨ He and Kit are adorable but also,, I'm sad.
✨ Kit is also the light of my fucking life and I hope he knows he deserves the world.
✨ I'm so glad that Dru got more to do in this book and we got to see her with more of her siblings.
✨ I'm not gonna be able to wait until TWP for more of these three.
✨ We were blessed with some A+ Helen/Aline content in this book.
✨ Aline defending her wife gives me life.
✨ Also, them referring to each other as wives is beautiful.
✨ Perfect Diego has fully redeemed himself and I just hope he's happy.
✨ Cristina Rosales is a goddess and we should all worship her.
✨ Well, Kieran and Mark are already doing that ;)
✨ On that note: Cassie Clare fucking DID THAT and I've never been happier.
✨ I'm also so proud of Kieran and his spectacular character development.
✨ Jem and Tessa are just living their best lives and I'm really hoping we get to see
Spoiler
the baby✨ Diana Wrayburn is another character who we should worship the ground she walks on. She's just so strong and brave <3
✨ Gwyn is the perfect man and is the only person who could ever possibly deserve Diana.
✨ I really hope we get more of Tavvy in TWP because, on account of him being a child, he didn't really do much in this series.
✨ She's kind of the Worst but I highkey love the Seelie Queen.
✨ I don't even really know what to say about it, but Thule is really fucking cool.
✨ And Thule!
Spoiler
Livvy✨ The entire storyline around the parabatai bond was unexpected to say the least but I really enjoyed how it all went down.
✨ As someone who isn't Clary and Jace's biggest fans, I kind of wish Cassie Clare would just leave them alone at this point. I don't need them to have entirely new storylines at this point.
✨ Despite that, Alec and Magnus are my faves and they're so happy and it's wonderful.
✨ I also love Tavvy, Rafael and Max's friendship.
✨ People in this book have sex at literally the worst possible times.
✨ And they never do it in a fucking bed! What the fuck is up with that.
I'm aware that there's literally nothing remotely of substance here but I needed to give some of my Thoughts.
10/08/19: Reread for the #aliceosemanreadathon. After binge reading all three of her novels back to back, I'm pretty sure this is my favourite?? I know, I'm just as surprised as you (I've got a feeling Loveless is going to overtake this next year, but I'll bask in this for now)
17/07/18: First read.
content warnings: transphobia, biphobia, panic attacks, hospitalisation, character injury (broken leg and stab wound), alcoholism, parents kicking their kid out
representation: hijabi muslim iranian protagonist, transgender gay biracial (indian-italian) protagonist with anxiety, nigerian main character, bisexual main character, biracial (chinese-white) bisexual main character
Alice Oseman has done it again. You can definitely expect this to end up being one of my favourite books of the year. The only downside is that Solitaire now needs to meet some pretty high expectations and I'm pretty sure it won't.
I loved everything about this book. The writing, the characters, the diversity, the dialogue, everything.
First, writing. I don't really know what to say other than that I loved it. One thing I really liked is how fluidly the references are incorporated and the fact that there aren't an overwhelming amount, something which practically guarantees that this book isn't going to become dated for at least a few decades. Also, Alice Oseman has this incredible way of putting into words what panic attacks feel like and how self-loathing is, in a way that I've never seen before, and I want to sincerely thank her for that because her books now have a track record of making me feel understood.
Next, characters. First of all, somehow Lister and Bliss became my faves, something which I definitely didn't expect going in. Even still, I genuinely loved each and every character. I'm not sure why, but a part of me was expecting Angel to be a shy introvert, which she definitely isn't, and it was kind of refreshing to see a teenage girl in YA who's awkward but is also really talkative and outgoing. Jimmy, I think, will always hold such a special place in my heart for being one of the first character's who I truly connected to on a mental-health basis. So many of his thoughts almost perfectly mirror mine to a scary degree. I honestly could write entire essays about how much I love all the other characters but I'll just let you know once again that I love all of them.
A minor note, but I'm pretty sure that Alice Oseman has some very good relationships with the elderly people in her life because there are several elderly people in this book that were absolute delights. Jimmy's grandad and Juliet's grandma were the stand-outs, of course, but there was also the woman who tripped the paparazzi, the taxi driver, the woman who was talking about god on the tube, and so many others. Idk, I just really liked reading about a lot of delightful elderly side characters
I love platonic relationships and this book is full of them. Juliet and Angel, Jimmy and Rowan, Jimmy and Lister, Jimmy and Rowan and Lister, Angel and Bliss. I also love familial relationships, something which this book is also full of. I just... ugh, I just really love when books have little-to-no focus on romance and are instead about other relationships.
Finally, the discussions in this book on fandom were spectacular. One of my biggest praises of Radio Silence was the way it looked at fandom in a very nuanced way i.e. there are both the fans that are really cool and the small majority who will stalk the person they "love" and make them genuinely fear for their safety. This book somehow did that even better. It has discussion of shipping real people, of famous people being entitled to privacy, of other peoples' perceptions of fandom (particularly boy band fandom), all while undoubtedly being a book in full support of fandom.
17/07/18: First read.
content warnings: transphobia, biphobia, panic attacks, hospitalisation, character injury (broken leg and stab wound), alcoholism, parents kicking their kid out
representation: hijabi muslim iranian protagonist, transgender gay biracial (indian-italian) protagonist with anxiety, nigerian main character, bisexual main character, biracial (chinese-white) bisexual main character
“It’s such an interesting concept to think about. People think boy-band fangirls all just want to kiss the boy-band boys and marry them and live happily ever after. Whereas if you actually asked a lot of fangirls, they probably wouldn’t even say that they had a crush on the boy-band boys. It’s a different sort of love, to be honest. It’s an I’d probably take a bullet for you but I’d probably feel a bit weird we just started kissing sort of love. Add that to the fact that there’s an extremely high percentage of LGBT+ people in fandom, particularly queer girls, usually because it’s a much more diverse and accepting space than real life, then the percentage of fangirls who are in it because Lister’s soooo hot is actually quite small. And that’s just one of the many things that outsiders don’t get about fandom.”
Alice Oseman has done it again. You can definitely expect this to end up being one of my favourite books of the year. The only downside is that Solitaire now needs to meet some pretty high expectations and I'm pretty sure it won't.
I loved everything about this book. The writing, the characters, the diversity, the dialogue, everything.
First, writing. I don't really know what to say other than that I loved it. One thing I really liked is how fluidly the references are incorporated and the fact that there aren't an overwhelming amount, something which practically guarantees that this book isn't going to become dated for at least a few decades. Also, Alice Oseman has this incredible way of putting into words what panic attacks feel like and how self-loathing is, in a way that I've never seen before, and I want to sincerely thank her for that because her books now have a track record of making me feel understood.
Next, characters. First of all, somehow Lister and Bliss became my faves, something which I definitely didn't expect going in. Even still, I genuinely loved each and every character. I'm not sure why, but a part of me was expecting Angel to be a shy introvert, which she definitely isn't, and it was kind of refreshing to see a teenage girl in YA who's awkward but is also really talkative and outgoing. Jimmy, I think, will always hold such a special place in my heart for being one of the first character's who I truly connected to on a mental-health basis. So many of his thoughts almost perfectly mirror mine to a scary degree. I honestly could write entire essays about how much I love all the other characters but I'll just let you know once again that I love all of them.
A minor note, but I'm pretty sure that Alice Oseman has some very good relationships with the elderly people in her life because there are several elderly people in this book that were absolute delights. Jimmy's grandad and Juliet's grandma were the stand-outs, of course, but there was also the woman who tripped the paparazzi, the taxi driver, the woman who was talking about god on the tube, and so many others. Idk, I just really liked reading about a lot of delightful elderly side characters
I love platonic relationships and this book is full of them. Juliet and Angel, Jimmy and Rowan, Jimmy and Lister, Jimmy and Rowan and Lister, Angel and Bliss. I also love familial relationships, something which this book is also full of. I just... ugh, I just really love when books have little-to-no focus on romance and are instead about other relationships.
Finally, the discussions in this book on fandom were spectacular. One of my biggest praises of Radio Silence was the way it looked at fandom in a very nuanced way i.e. there are both the fans that are really cool and the small majority who will stalk the person they "love" and make them genuinely fear for their safety. This book somehow did that even better. It has discussion of shipping real people, of famous people being entitled to privacy, of other peoples' perceptions of fandom (particularly boy band fandom), all while undoubtedly being a book in full support of fandom.
11/02/20: Third read. Still wonderful. You all need to read this series.
13/08/19: Second read. This is still absolutely perfect. My only new thought is that Nick lowkey reminds me of James from Derry Girls, mostly in the part where he's imitating being a lad.
20/02/19: First read.
Review can also be found on my blog.
*) Solitaire ★★★½
content warnings: violence, homophobia, attempted sexual assault
representation: main m/m relationship, main gay character, main bisexual character, main asian character, side bisexual character, side indian character, side gay woman of colour, minor interracial f/f relationship
As did a lot of people, I read this originally as the first two chapters of a fantastic webcomic. And it’s still fantastic in physical form!
This is a prequel to Alice Oseman’s debut novel Solitaire and follows that books protagonist’s younger brother, Charlie, as he meets and falls in love with Nick Nelson. This graphic novel is extremely different from Solitaire, which is a pretty angsty book, with a much lighter tone and simpler story.
Re-reading these boys falling in love was quite possibly the best experience of my entire life. Charlie and Nick are so endearing and lovable, and watching them become friends and then starting to like each other as more than friends is the purest experience, 10/10 would recommend.
The supporting cast is also great. There’s Charlie’s friend, Tao, who is quite protective of Charlie and doesn’t want him falling in love with a straight boy; Solitaire’s protagonist, Tori, pops up in this several times and it’s an absolute delight to watch her interactions with her brother; the P.E. teacher, Miss Singh, who reminds me a lot of the fencing coach from Fence, is a fun addition; and finally, the most important character in the entire series, Nick’s dog Nellie!
Alice Oseman’s art style is also just so cute. I love that it’s black and white and kind of rough in parts; adds to the charm and overall aesthetic of the series.
If you want a cute contemporary graphic novel that’s a quick read, this is definitely the one for you!
13/08/19: Second read. This is still absolutely perfect. My only new thought is that Nick lowkey reminds me of James from Derry Girls, mostly in the part where he's imitating being a lad.
20/02/19: First read.
Review can also be found on my blog.
*) Solitaire ★★★½
content warnings: violence, homophobia, attempted sexual assault
representation: main m/m relationship, main gay character, main bisexual character, main asian character, side bisexual character, side indian character, side gay woman of colour, minor interracial f/f relationship
“I fell for a straight boy… haha…”
As did a lot of people, I read this originally as the first two chapters of a fantastic webcomic. And it’s still fantastic in physical form!
This is a prequel to Alice Oseman’s debut novel Solitaire and follows that books protagonist’s younger brother, Charlie, as he meets and falls in love with Nick Nelson. This graphic novel is extremely different from Solitaire, which is a pretty angsty book, with a much lighter tone and simpler story.
Re-reading these boys falling in love was quite possibly the best experience of my entire life. Charlie and Nick are so endearing and lovable, and watching them become friends and then starting to like each other as more than friends is the purest experience, 10/10 would recommend.
The supporting cast is also great. There’s Charlie’s friend, Tao, who is quite protective of Charlie and doesn’t want him falling in love with a straight boy; Solitaire’s protagonist, Tori, pops up in this several times and it’s an absolute delight to watch her interactions with her brother; the P.E. teacher, Miss Singh, who reminds me a lot of the fencing coach from Fence, is a fun addition; and finally, the most important character in the entire series, Nick’s dog Nellie!
Alice Oseman’s art style is also just so cute. I love that it’s black and white and kind of rough in parts; adds to the charm and overall aesthetic of the series.
If you want a cute contemporary graphic novel that’s a quick read, this is definitely the one for you!
2018 pride reads #5
lgbt+ rep: gay mc, gay side character
I swear to god, Patrick Ness will be the cause of my death. This book was so beautiful and interesting and complex. Not one I would recommend for someone's first Patrick Ness book, but if you already love his works then I'm pretty sure you'll love this too.
I don't want to say too much about the plot because you don't find out much until about halfway through and even then you don't know the full story until near the end, so I'll just say that it was very interesting and went in a direction I didn't think it would.
The characters, as per usual, were messy and complicated and a joy to read about. A pattern I've started to notice after reading a few of Patrick Ness' books is that the parents of the protagonist are usually not 'good' parents but are instead complicated human beings who fuck up sometimes. I really like this aspect of his works as generally in YA parents are either (a) not there, (b) pieces of garbage or (c) the protagonist's best friend, which gets really boring after a while, so I like that he puts time and effort into making all of his characters feel like real people. Also, props for having a 12 year old boy be a major character and make him endearing instead of annoying, that's really difficult to do.
Diversity was included well and without force, also as per usual. The protagonist is gay, as is a side character who is kind of his love interest. The stand-out for me was easily Regine, a fat black girl who stole my heart and who I would die for by the end of the book.
I've discovered that Patrick Ness' writing is like crack for me. The first 100 or so pages are actually pretty boring plot-wise as nothing much really happens, but I found his writing so addictive I didn't care.
I don't want to go too much into the relationships because those are also pretty spoilery but the friendships in this book were so sweet.
If you're going to read this, make sure you don't get spoiled because it's so much fun to unravel the mystery of what's happening along with the protagonist.
lgbt+ rep: gay mc, gay side character
I swear to god, Patrick Ness will be the cause of my death. This book was so beautiful and interesting and complex. Not one I would recommend for someone's first Patrick Ness book, but if you already love his works then I'm pretty sure you'll love this too.
I don't want to say too much about the plot because you don't find out much until about halfway through and even then you don't know the full story until near the end, so I'll just say that it was very interesting and went in a direction I didn't think it would.
The characters, as per usual, were messy and complicated and a joy to read about. A pattern I've started to notice after reading a few of Patrick Ness' books is that the parents of the protagonist are usually not 'good' parents but are instead complicated human beings who fuck up sometimes. I really like this aspect of his works as generally in YA parents are either (a) not there, (b) pieces of garbage or (c) the protagonist's best friend, which gets really boring after a while, so I like that he puts time and effort into making all of his characters feel like real people. Also, props for having a 12 year old boy be a major character and make him endearing instead of annoying, that's really difficult to do.
Diversity was included well and without force, also as per usual. The protagonist is gay, as is a side character who is kind of his love interest. The stand-out for me was easily Regine, a fat black girl who stole my heart and who I would die for by the end of the book.
I've discovered that Patrick Ness' writing is like crack for me. The first 100 or so pages are actually pretty boring plot-wise as nothing much really happens, but I found his writing so addictive I didn't care.
I don't want to go too much into the relationships because those are also pretty spoilery but the friendships in this book were so sweet.
If you're going to read this, make sure you don't get spoiled because it's so much fun to unravel the mystery of what's happening along with the protagonist.
2018 pride reads #8
lgbt+ rep: wlw mc, wlw side characters
Okay Zandalee, I'm officially going to trust your recommendations again because this was fantastic. It has literally everything I've ever wanted in fiction: witches, woc, wlw, monster fucking (though no fucking actually occurs), female friendships, a road trip, the list goes on. Plus, the art style was super cute, the characters were great and the storyline was fun and went in a direction I wasn't entirely expecting.
lgbt+ rep: wlw mc, wlw side characters
Okay Zandalee, I'm officially going to trust your recommendations again because this was fantastic. It has literally everything I've ever wanted in fiction: witches, woc, wlw, monster fucking (though no fucking actually occurs), female friendships, a road trip, the list goes on. Plus, the art style was super cute, the characters were great and the storyline was fun and went in a direction I wasn't entirely expecting.