Although I didn’t expect much from it going in, I absolutely loved Forward March. Harper is an asexual lesbian, like me, and that means so much because I’ve never seen that specific representation in any other book. I loved her and Margot both separately and together, and I loved their chaotic queer friends, and I loved Christian and Ben. The banter is brilliant, and perfectly balanced with all of the heart and emotion in this book. There’s even a couple of unexpected twists; at least, *I* didn’t expect them. I don't have the right words for all of my feelings right now, or the spoons to write a longer review, but this book has a special place in my heart. A new favorite YA contemporary for sure, and a 2022 favorite. 💖

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Excited as I was to read this, Mr. Wrong Number was not right for me. The only two characters I liked were side characters; Olivia was a very boring protagonist despite being written as oh so quirky, and Colin was an asshole, plain and simple. They had no chemistry, and all the miscommunication had me rolling my eyes so hard they nearly fell out of my head. Also, Lynn Painter’s writing was incredibly cringey—I hate to say it, but it read like a grandma trying to use Tiktok lingo. I won’t say don’t read this, but I will say that I highly encourage you to seek out other romance books. I don’t see myself reading any of Painter’s other books in the future.

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I’ve got no spoons, so this won’t be a long or fancy review, but I did like this book. Learn My Lesson was better than Desperate Measures, and thankfully didn’t include the word “daddy.” I loved Meg and Hercules, and liked Hades well enough. They’re the power trio I didn’t know I wanted to see. Total badasses.

And even though Zeus is one of the biggest assholes I’ve ever seen, it was quite fun to see this series connect to Dark Olympus. I’ve come up with a number of theories tying this to Neon Gods that I’m curious to see if I’m right about.

Not sure when it’ll happen, but I’m eager to see what other directions Robert takes this series in. 😌✨💙

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I don’t have the spoons for a full review right now, but A Million Quiet Revolutions was a fantastic novel in verse about two trans boys transitioning, growing up and falling in love. Gow’s poetry was beautiful and powerful, and I loved Oliver and Aaron. The author’s thoughtful examination of queer people throughout history was fascinating, and it was heartwarming to see the boys see themselves in these people. I would absolutely recommend this book. <3

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[Buddy read with Cel 💕]
[Early copy from Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]

As a huge fan of Sim’s Timekeeper trilogy, I was extremely excited to see her tackle adult fantasy. While I found the world-building and characters intriguing, The City of Dusk’s downfall was the pacing. It was abysmally slow and also kind of dense, which made reading the book take FOREVER because I’d think I’d read several pages but it was actually only two or three. It took me ages to make any real progress because I’d read a few chapters and then be in the mood to do something else.

This book gave strong Gideon the Ninth vibes, which honestly fits because that’s another adult SFF book with a badass protagonist I loved and a world I was intrigued by that—in my opinion—was unfortunately bogged down by a slow, dense story. Both books feature various houses with unique magical abilities, as well as a headstrong, sassy queer protagonist, so if you like one, there’s a very good chance you’ll like the other.

As for the characters, there are a lot. I liked most of them, but my absolute favorite—no contest—was Taesia. She has the personality of Rose Hathaway and Thomas Cresswell combined, two characters I adore, so of course I adored her too. And, you know, snarky, badass girls with weapons… my weakness. 😍

A roundup of the other characters: Risha is awesome and also quite attractive. (👀) Nik is a cinnamon roll in need of a hug. Angelica is pretty cool too and slightly unhinged, but I’m here for it. I like Dante, but I wish we’d seen more of him. Julian, Jas and Fin all fall in the category of characters I kind of like but mostly don’t know how to feel about.

Despite the overall impressive cast of complex characters, the longer I was reading this book, the readier I was to just… be done with it. I know, that sounds bad, but it’s true. So half the time, something would happen that I was probably supposed to be astounded by, but instead I was just like… okay. Yikes. What’s next?

The main reason I gave it 3.75 stars instead of a lower rating was the brilliant creativity of the twists in the second half. There were multiple curveballs thrown that I never saw coming, so even from a less-invested stance, I was impressed. Kudos to Sim for that.

I realize this review is all over the place, but honestly, so are my thoughts on this book. I’m doing my best here. I’ll probably read the second one? To be determined. As for whether or not I recommend the book, I would say yes, but not to everyone. Whereas some books I think everyone should read, I would say The City of Dusk is more of an acquired taste, if that makes sense?

Words are hard. I tried. I’m done now.

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I’ve yet to read a book by Anna-Marie McLemore that I didn’t love. The best way I can describe Lakelore is that it felt like a warm hug. I love Bastián and Lore so much, and I loved both of their stories and how they came together. McLemore’s writing is beautiful, and as always, they’ve written a thoughtful, character-driven story that challenges the way we see the world. I might not have the words for a proper review right now, but I loved and will be thinking about Lakelore for a long time. 💙

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[ETA, September 2022: Rating lowered from 3.75 to 3.5 stars.]

While my favorite of Robert’s books is still Neon Gods—I don’t think anything can top that one—this was still a good book. I liked Jasmine, liked watching her break free of her cages and grow more confident over the course of the story. I quite liked Megara and Tink, and am excited to see more of them. As for Jafar, I was mostly indifferent toward him, though I can appreciate his subtle character development. Great final plot twists—I was NOT expecting that betrayal or that murder—and a satisfying ending.

A couple of extra thoughts unrelated to my rating: I wasn’t a fan of Jasmine calling Jafar “daddy” (it’s weird to me, sorry not sorry) or of Jafar’s narrator in the audiobook. His voice was really low and raspy and honestly kind of creepy. Thankfully, he didn’t have very many chapters.

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[Early copy from Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]

This was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases—a historical fantasy with a chronically ill protagonist? Sign me the hell up. And I’m thrilled to say that it did NOT disappoint. I loved everything about One for All, from cover to cover, and it’s undoubtedly one of my favorite books not just of the year, but of all time.

Although we don’t have the same conditions, I can’t begin to describe what it meant to me, a disabled girl, to see a another disabled girl as the badass main character of a book. I saw so much of myself in Tania and related to so many of her struggles. Her determination and strength are admirable, and honestly, I want to be like her when I grow up. 🤩🤩

And the other Musketeers? Ohmygod. Icons, all of them. Don’t ask me to pick a favorite because that would be literally impossible. Théa is the biggest sweetheart, Aria is impressively clever, Portia is absolutely hilarious, and they’re all totally badass. Seeing all the ways they rallied around Tania and supported her without hesitation was heartwarming. I love their little found family more than I can say. ❤️❤️❤️

Also, I’d like to take a moment to appreciate Henri. I think he might actually be the biggest cinnamon roll I’ve ever encountered and I adore him. His awkwardness is endearing and he’s so adorably thoughtful; he must be protected AT ALL COSTS. 🥺🥺

I’m not really gonna say anything about the romance elements in this book because the main one is tied heavily to the plot, and the side one is so deliciously slow-burn you don’t actually know if it’s going to happen until it does. The only teaser I’ll give is that, for like 200 pages, I had VERY STRONG suspicions that two characters were very much ~not straight~ and was immensely happy when I ended up being right. We gays can sense each other. 😎

I can’t help it, I have to scream somewhere—PORTIA AND ARIA??? PORTIA AND ARIA!!! I first started to suspect when the four girls were practicing seduction prior to the first ball, and these two were paired up for a demonstration. I was like 👀 and then the more I read, the more they seemed to be flirting 👀 and then they KISSED and I swear I nearly SHRIEKED love this for my girls!!! 🌈✨💕

(New spoiler tag because it’s time for me to fangirl about the other ship lol.) All we got was an inkling, really, but TANIA AND HENRI!!! Badass girl with sword x total cinnamon roll is one of my absolute ship dynamics, and even though all we got were a few crumbs, I know in my heart that that’s going to end up being a DELICIOUS cake. (Is that a weird analogy? Maybe, but I’m sticking with it. 🍰) I loved Henri from the beginning, but didn’t initially ship them because I thought he fancied Théa and knew Tania was supposed to get a love interest of her own. Enter Étienne, who at first I loved because he was so similar to my sweet boy Thomas Cresswell, and then I had to hate him, because even though I was really hoping he wouldn’t be an asshole, I had a feeling that he would be and then he was, which is rather unfortunate. But then, in the end, Théa told Tania that she saw Henri as more of a brother than anything else, which my hopeless romantic heart is going to take and run with and imagine Tania and Henri as the most adorable Musketeer couple. 🥺💕🤩

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, I have one other thing to say. Yes, the story’s pacing is slower, and yes, I ultimately did predict the big bad guy’s identity, but neither of those ruined it for me. I think the reason that these can ruin some books for me while not fazing me in others has a lot to do with how attached I am to the characters and how invested I am in the story. In this case, where the answer to both is “very much,” I’m more lenient. (Does this make sense? It does in my head.)

I think I’ve done all the rambling that I can, at least for now. Honestly, I’m sad that it’s over; I finished reading One for All two hours ago and I’m still thinking about it. I’m pretty sure I’ll be thinking about it for a while, and rereading it soon enough. In the meantime, add it to the list of books I shout about from the virtual rooftop constantly. Add it to my list of personality traits. Its spot is wholeheartedly deserved.

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[Early copy from Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]

My feelings on this book are complicated. On one hand, I think it was an (unfortunately) accurate portrayal of how vicious high school can be, of flawed teens making questionable choices when under social and mental duress. On the other hand, though, I found most of the characters extremely frustrating, which hindered my reading experience.

I will say that the final third of the book revealed one very unexpected plot twist that single-handedly saved the book for me. Up until that point, nothing had shocked me except how horrible some of the characters were being. It was all very cleverly done on the authors’ part.

One aspect I have mixed feelings on is Georgie’s character. While she did end up being one of my favorites—alongside Riley and Baez—I question the authors’ choice to make her narrative what it was. Prior to the start of the story, she was a fat girl sent to a summer weight loss camp, which already isn’t my favorite thing. Then the new school year starts, and suddenly, despite being ignored when she was fat, now that she’s lost weight and started dressing differently, she becomes more popular. I realize it was in part a commentary on fatphobia in society, and one of the most significant parts of Georgie’s journey was her realization that she’s beautiful and worthwhile no matter what she weighs or how she looks. But I ask: why was any of it necessary? Why, in 2022, are we still giving this rather offensive cliché any attention? Why couldn’t Georgie realize those things without losing any weight? Alternatively, instead of any sort of self-image character arc, she could’ve been a transfer student, new to the area, and that was why she was attracting attention. I don’t know—maybe I’m over-analyzing this, but I just didn’t really like it regardless.

Also, I would’ve liked to see a bit more about Cora’s queerness. I am completely aware that it’s not meant to be a focal point in this story, and I accept that. However, it’s briefly mentioned a couple of times that she previously, secretly dated a girl, and that’s it. I think it would’ve been interesting to see more of that part of her.

Ultimately, I did like the ending. I liked where each of the characters ended up, and even liked most of the major players by the time I was done, which was a huge improvement from the first half of the book.

As for the book as a whole, I’m not sure. My criticisms of the first half combined with my unexpected investment in and the surprise improvement of the second half equal an overall neutral rating. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. I would recommend it if you’re a fan of prep school mysteries and contemporaries with social commentary, but it’s not my first choice recommendation either. So yeah—50/50, basically.

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[Early copy from Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]

I was drawn in both by this book’s gorgeous cover and the comparison to Spirited Away, one of my favorite movies. When I first started reading, I liked the protagonist’s boldness and courage, and also liked Oh’s writing style—I found it beautiful and poetic without being overbearing. Unfortunately, the more I read of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, the less I wanted to continue. If not for the fact that I got an ARC and would’ve felt bad DNFing it, I probably would’ve DNFed this book.

It’s hard to describe my issue with this book. Sometimes I read a book, don’t really like it, and can say it was because of x/y/z. Other times, all I can say is that I wasn’t vibing with the book, even if that explanation feels insufficient—and this is one of those times.

I can pinpoint a couple of things, though: a) I lost interest in Mina after a few chapters and never grew attached to any of the other characters, and b) I didn’t feel any chemistry between Mina and Shin. I found myself not really caring what happened to them or anyone else. There were a few scenes that, had they been between any other ship, I would’ve gone feral, squealing and clapping; instead, I just moved right along.

To be entirely honest, I don’t think there was enough build-up in the romance. Most of the book only takes place over a single month, which, with a couple of exceptions, doesn’t seem like enough time for two characters to truly fall in love. Or maybe the problem was that I wasn’t invested in the characters, so of course I couldn’t be invested in their romance. I’m not entirely sure.

I’m honestly quite sad I didn’t like this book, because I really wanted to. However, if you like Studio Ghibli movies, bold protagonists and character-driven stories, you might enjoy it more.

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