Thank you NetGalley and TorTeen for sharing this ARC with me!

Y'all, I really love this series. It's just ridiculous and fun in the best ways.

The criticism the first book got regarding the way police were depicted was definitely warranted, and I appreciate the effort in this one to rectify that, even if at times it came across as a little awkward. There's a lot of needed dialogue here, and it can feel a bit clunky, but again, I appreciate the discussion. This is not me saying he
"fixed" anything, as that is absolutely not my place, but rather acknowledging there was an attempt made.

Also- drag queen superheroes? Hell yes. I literally yelled when this character appeared and Seth had to talk Nicky through learning their name.

TJ has this way of making me cringe with secondhand embarrassment (in the best way) but still not be able to stop reading. Nick is still a mess, I still adore Seth, Gibby and Jazz are still the brains of this entire operation and the others would be lost without them... This was just a super fun, action-packed continuation.

Can we talk about TJ and his ability to cliffhanger?? Hello?

I'm so excited for book three!

how could i have ever been ashamed of loving dante quintana?

seriously adore these two. they were so weird and angry and honest. it was nice to see teenagers having real, confusing emotions.

"Guncle Rule number eight: Live your life to the fullest every single day, because every day is a gift. That's why people die. To teach us the importance of living."

First of all, I didn't sign up to cry my way through the last quarter of this book, okay. I signed up for silly kid hijinks and exasperated uncle shenanigans.

I definitely got that, but I also got a hell of a lot more. I got a look at grief and what it can do to both the young and young-at-heart. I got a look at fucked up family dynamics, and how they might not always be completely irreparable. I got a brief look at addiction, and what it means (and how difficult it can be) to ask for help. I got a look at home absolutely terrifying it can be to put yourself back out there in the world after hiding yourself away for so long.

This book was a lot more than I signed up for, but I adored it. There were so many great one-liners, and Patrick was an absolutely ridiculous man that I would do anything for. The kids were perfect, dealing with grief and loss and being thrust into the life of their reclusive Gay Uncle Patrick, (GUP, as they call him- and my heart melted a little each time they did).

It was joyful and heartwrenching, but most of all, it was hopeful. I loved experiencing them all figuring life out together and leaning on one another for support.

This book was simply lovely and I just think you should read it right away.

I read this all in one sitting, and it was ridiculously fun, oh my god. It kept me laughing and guessing, and I could hear everything Gianna said so clearly.

I really enjoyed this!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the copy of this ARC!

Breathe Deep & Swim focuses on two brothers, Wolfgang and Van Gogh (yes, I’m serious) and how they handle the sudden death of their (less than stellar) father from Covid-19. Knowing that they have no family around to take them in with their father gone, the boys decide to make a run for New York, where their estranged mother grew up, on the off chance that she might have gone back. The book focuses on them trying to get to New York to see if their mom is still there and hoping she’ll take them in so they don’t have to go through the foster system.

This book was just not for me. The writing wasn’t bad, at all, but it felt very rushed and like it only touched the surface on a lot of topics that could have been so good if there had just been a little more to it..

The brothers felt a little too codependent for me, but I get that it was to impart the idea of family over everything.

I also wasn’t a fan of Janelle, who is black, telling Van Gogh they couldn’t be together because he was willing to cut off his racist father just to be with her. A racist father is still a racist, and I would want nothing to do with him, so I thought that was odd even if the *idea* was coming from a well intentioned place.

Overall, it was a quick read that I just didn’t connect with.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the advance copy of this book!

3.5 stars.

Lilah is a b-list actress with dreams of making it to the a-list. Noa is a college student looking to make it big in the special effects industry, who may or may not have a big crush on Lilah. When the two of them end up working on the same film, Noa can't believe her luck and immediately puts her foot in her mouth upon being introduced to Lilah. The two of them overcome the awkwardness and become close during filming, but will it turn into something more than friends? Not if an unhinged super fan of Lilah's has anything to say about it.

I struggled to get into this one, I won't lie. It's not a bad story, at all, but I found myself much more interested in the side character Chrissy than I was either of the main characters. It was also a very long book, and I kept having to talk myself into continuing to read.

The story is a cute idea, the characters are likeable enough, and overall this was an okay read.

i would protect brougham with my LIFE.

If you'd told me at the beginning of this year that a book about Peter Pan was going to give me so many feelings I'd end up crying- twice I probably wouldn't have believed you.

But, oh boy. This one got me. It hit all the right notes, and I love the way it dealt with some serious issues in a way that both ripped my heart out and made me so proud of Peter and James. It's such an interesting, believable (I know, but you'll understand if you read it) retelling of the Pan story. I loved it.

Hook and Pan's relationship is just so... so. They're precious to me.

I devoured this in, like, three hours. Did not want to put it down.

This one is an all-time favorite now, for sure.

I don't.

What the fuck do I even say here? Holy cow.

I thought I knew enough about this book to know where it was going take me, and I was right but also I have never been more fucking wrong in my life.

It was brilliant storytelling. Evelyn is unapologetically herself from beginning to end, and after having read the entire time, I'm still not even sure I like her very much, but goddamn do I respect her.

I'm obsessed with the idea of old Hollywood, and this really was right up my alley. The good, the bad and the ugly of it. I love that it was broken up into sections by which husband she was married to, and I was SO attached to one of them, you don't even understand.

This kind of blew my mind, man. Just... wow.