BTW I feel like this book is being incorrectly marketed and it needs to be very clear that Lou's "scheme" is FAKE DATING, it's a QUEER FAKE DATING BOOK you're WELCOME FOR THIS INFORMATION.

Anyway this was really fun, I love a good "behind the scenes" type situation and "the employee break room at a mid-tier amusement park" is a great setting. Overall this book was a lil clunky and maybe had like 2-4 too many plot/character elements going on but like whatever man, it's a fun queer summer read. Also shout-out for having a vegetarian teen main character, hell yeah.

Spoiler

Does the bi MC end up getting together with her girl best friend who she was fake dating in a misguided attempt to woo a boy? HELL YEAH SHE DOES

WAY MORE BORING THAN TWILIGHT, FIGHT ME

http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-125-interview-with-the-vampire/

I mean this is just a compilation of Ru's tweets in fancy font paired with VERY glam photos of RuPaul in drag, which isn't to say that I didn't like it. Also, RuPaul 100% believes in The Secret and tbh it seems to have worked for him.

This book came really highly recommended to me, or else I probably wouldn't have picked it up--I'm not a big fan of, like, space stuff in general, but this was really fun and not too space-y for me. I enjoyed the leisurely, episodic pace, and the worldbuilding and characters are DELIGHTFUL <3

aaa I meant to read just a bit of this before bed the other day but I couldn't put it down and read it all in one sitting! The voices for these 2 characters are so strong and so heartbreaking. This story is so REAL and yet so ultimately hopeful and tender. ughhhhhhhh my feelingssssssss

YIPES STRIPES

ehhhhhhhh so like, years ago I enjoyed Ally Condie's Matched trilogy more than I expected to--it sounded like a pretty flat, bland dystopia, and it was--but the writing was lovely and I cared about the characters enough for me to overlook the flat worldbuilding. This book doesn't.....have that for me. I never got invested enough in Poe for me to overlook basic-shit like what the fuck happened that a 17-year-old with no particular training is this world's best inventor?? It seems like it's a harsh world where life expectancy is short but like,

Spoiler

it seems like she went out on ONE voyage as an inexperienced crew member, was traumatized, and came back with a good enough design that the notoriously cruel Admiral spared her life so she could build ship armor? Why didn't the ship already have armor? WTF?

Also like, in-world the characters are confused about why the Admiral wants gold but IMO the explanation never added up.

Spoiler

He wanted it to build an airplane???

Also the technology didn't add up. Like they have these fancy boats

Spoiler

and a fucking airplane

but like, no phones or radio? Radio is old, why doesn't your dystopia have radio communication at least, except for plot reasons. JUSTIFY YOUR LACK OF RADIO TO ME, ALLY.

>:(

Also seems like everyone in this dystopia is straight and white, for no particular reason.

Awhile ago I got a book that collected 2 older Nora Roberts romances. (The book was [b:Spotlight: Untamed\Dance of Dreams|32905270|Spotlight Untamed\Dance of Dreams|Nora Roberts|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|53521716] but I'm logging each book separately because I have an ambitious reading goal to meet!)

Anywayyy I love Nora but this was originally published in 1983 and it shows! This is about a badass lady who grew up in the circus and LOVES being a lion trainer sooooo much and then like, almost immediately gives it up when a handsome man appears who wants her not to do lion stuff anymore because he's worried about her. >:( Also there are a lot of contrived arguments that got on my nerves. Nowhere near as good as her more recent stuff!!

Awhile ago I got a book that collected 2 older Nora Roberts romances. (The book was [b:Spotlight: Untamed\Dance of Dreams|32905270|Spotlight Untamed\Dance of Dreams|Nora Roberts|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|53521716] but I'm logging each book separately because I have an ambitious reading goal to meet!)

Anywayyy I love Nora but this was originally published in 1983 and it shows! I am glad at least that in this one, Ruth DOESN'T give up her ballet career FOR A MAN but the man does say explicitly to her that he's so jealous he might get "violent" and she's like OK COOL! YIKEsss a present-day Nora heroine would never put up with that shit!!!!

I am awarding this an extra star for the heroine's excellent pet cat.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot! I'm a sucker for any kind of urban magic-school-type story. I liked the outsider view of this--Ivy is a non-magical PI whose sister got all the magic abilities. I also appreciated how effortlessly diverse this book was, and how grounded in real-world issues like health care/reproductive rights it is.

I did feel like in the end, the resolution of the mystery ended up being...hmm. A bit unsatisfying? Nevertheless--an enjoyable read with great worldbuilding and characters.