Wicked Flavors was one of the books I was excited to delve into, and I can say that it did not dissapoint at all.

I was gifted an ARC and I'm leaving this review with my own opinions for free.

I really liked Gwendolyn right from the start of chapter one. She is a character that can capture and hold attention easily, with how relatable her interactions with other people are and how the way she is passionate about her dolls and their customisation. It was really cool to see a character with a strong love for a hobby and the hobby itself. Although I have some knowledge about dolls and customasation from YouTube doomscrolling, it was fun to see some of it in the book. Gwen is also very determined to get what she wants (in this instance, the new doll for her collection) and her no-nonsence attitude was really cool. Just seeing her interact with Ambrosius for the first time, I already kind of fell in love with their dynamic. I think it really worked mainly thanks to the fact that both of the characters were nicely fleshed out, not shallow in any way. And both were monstrous as the horror label on this book promised. 

I think Gwen's journey as a character was one of the strongest and also most enjoyable points of this book, especially as it naturally progressed. I especially enjoyed how she found a more bold version of herself, ready to stand up when she was mistreated by people around her but also in her relationship with Ambrosius. This also shifted their dynamic, and although I already liked it in the beginning, it was even better when Gwen found her footing and embraced her monstrous nature.
The monstrosity was honestly such a fun thing, if I can word it that way. The horror was done extremely well, especially the body horror, and while it didn't exactly make my stomach turn, it was definitely a fascinating part of the book, along with the more mysterious plot apart from Gwen's transformation. I really liked how it was foreshadowed, how things clicked together later in the story and everything mentioned previously found its place. 

When it comes to representation, I was really happy to see so many in just the two main characters. Gwen's autism was so integral to the story, which is something that always makes the reading experience great. Both her and Ambrosius' Native Hawai'ian heritage also brought more to the story, not just in the terms of Ambrosius' origin backstory, but also in Gwen's experience among humans. 
The rep I have to especially highlight, as it made me extremely happy, is the ace rep. Both characters are demi, and I have to say this was one of the best depictions of it I have seen in a very long time. Like not only is it Ace4Ace, but there was no doubt that they are ace-spec. There was no skirting around the subject, like there sometimes is in (especially more mainstream) media, it was really clear in the dialogue and in Gwen's thoughts. And it wasn't just one mention, it was loud and clear, and it shaped the way they interacted. Nice.

Thanks to the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A round of applause for amazingly written complex characters is in order, because I can't help but love the way both Sara and Malcolm went through their character developments. It was really great to see them both struggle with their past and how it still influenced not only their actions, but their views as well. They were not perfect people, but the story didn't completely dismiss their shortcomings, for example I was glad to see Sara work through her hate towards vampires as the trial she was on progressed and how it negatively impacted her relationship with Daphne. I would want to see a bit more of that, actually, but at the same time, it was really realistic for Sara to be like that. Her relationship with Malcolm mirrored that as well - she wasn't exactly the pinacle of perfection when it came to her views of his scar at some moments. But I liked how they progressed from reunited former friends to lovers. 
Sometimes when books try to focus on romance while also having a separate plot line, it can get too unbalanced, but I think Bark and Bite was nice in this area. There was enough time for them to form a new bond, with all the time they spent together and talk, before the trial started and then the whole drama with Richard could get space in the story too. Sara's struggle not only with her past relationship with Richard but also her addiction were handled in a really good way, and definitely added a new layer not only to her character, but also to the story as a whole.

Thanks to the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gaming was a nice book, tackling interesting themes and showcasing a really nice friends-to-lovers dynamic between the main characters, but unfortunately I struggled with the pacing and how the main conflict - losing the game store because of inheritance issues - worked. I feel like the stakes of losing the store wasn't as highlighted as it could have been in the story, which gave the baby-making pact little urgency and thus made it not as impactful... And the ending was a bit anticlimatic, just like the characters themselves noticed and mentioned. The other ex-wife's character felt almost cartoonish, and as the conflict got resolved, it made the pact almost laughable in hinsight.
But I have to say the smut itself was really nice, especially the way the author made one scene to be in DnD and used the main hobby of both characters to show their interests and dynamic more. 
I really liked the body positivity and Gwen's feeling around her former relationship, which was abusive, and how she moved past them. For a novella, I think there was enough space for both of these things to be discussed.

 This was such a heartwarming manga! It really nicely presented the story of a non-human character exploring an aspect of the human world and finding new things. I especially loved how it showed not only Sakura's devotion to his work, but also the way the community around the bathhouse was such a strong part of it. Luka was a fun character too, I really liked how silly he acted sometimes, but still stayed the elegant vampire he is. I wished the relationship between him and Sakura was explored more, but I still enjoyed the manga a lot.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a review. 

Yeah, so this was pretty nice.

This was such a great retelling. Love how it stayed true to the original story, especially when it came to the whole vibe, while still being extremely entertaining.

Really interesting concept and beautifully written. 

 A/S/L is hard for me to review because I don't exactly know how to feel about it. While I really enjoyed many aspects of the book - the experience of growing up as a trans girl in the 90's and later living through the 2016 US elections, the different POVs and how there were many different things like the game descriptions and chats, the changing timelines, in the end, the book dragged a lot pace-wise and was a bit confusing when POVs and time changed with no indication. The missing quations marks were definitely not helping as it was sometimes hard to see what's a dialogue and what's not. But I really liked all three of the main characters and how different their lives were, and I think that was the strongest point of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC. 

Benítez, hvězda mého života, světlo naděje, blorbo můj milovaný <3

Unfortunately quite disappointing.  I really couldn't help but feel frustrated by how Alana acted and couldn't understand what the main couple saw in each other. The first half of the book wasn't as bad, but then it got worse and worse and like a snow ball picked up more miscommunication and arguments between the characters.