“You promised once that you’d show me what the bed of a prince was like.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

Athlen smiled, “I did.”

I did not expect to love this as much as I do, and I’m so glad I picked it up. Athlen and Tal are literally the cutest!

“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔: 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓. 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒍?”
“𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆.”

Set in a prestigious boarding school in England, Never Kiss Your Roommate follows Evelyn and Seth, the two newest students, as they become friends, make memories and find love - Evelyn with Noelle and Seth with Jasper. When Evelyn meets Noelle, her roommate, Noelle is initially cold and standoffish, but eventually Noelle warms up to her, and they grow closer. Seth, on the other hand, has his eyes on the French boy named Jasper, who has a love for the arts and all things queer. 

Evelyn is literally the sweetest. She has eyes for Noelle and Noelle only, even though Noelle seems pretty intent on pretending she doesn't exist. She can be a bit naïve at times, and she definitely doesn't always think things through, but I love her all the same. Noelle, ugh ! Angsty characters just have a special place in my heart. It's like oh you hate everyone? I'm in love with you now, thanks. She's definitely a bit harsh with Evelyn in the beginning, but it's really the way she is with everyone so it's not like Evelyn's singled out. I love the interactions between the two of them, especially once Noelle starts to open up. It's cute. It's funny. Pure fucking fluff, and it makes my gay heart sing ballads. 

“𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦?”
“𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘵.”

Seth and Jasper might just be the complete opposite of Evelyn and Noelle. Seth is sarcastic with a dry sense of humor. He loves mysteries and true crimes, and his perspective was really enjoyable. Watching him pine for Jasper from a distance was adorable, and the little moments they had when they were alone... my beating heart be still. Their banter is freaking hilarious. And Seth's gay panic moments... so accurate.

I really liked that the story was told in two POVs. Even though there were more Evelyn POVs, it was nice to be able to see the progress with Seth and Jasper, as well as whatever would happen when Seth wasn't with Evelyn. I absolutely love all the characters, which doesn't always happen. I usually find at least one of them annoying, but it wasn't like that with this book. 

What I didn't like:
- Miscommunication Trope: I hate it with a passion. Nothing annoys me more. Like I get that with their age (17/18), it happens, and it was resolved fairly quickly if not dramatically, but it still grinds my gears. Like please if you're supposed to like and trust the person, take all of the five seconds needed to have a conversation instead of jumping to conclusions.
- The pacing towards the end of the book was relatively fast. Everything escalated in the final few chapters, and though it was set up from the beginning of the book, I do wish that it was fleshed out more - since it was such a drastic change from the cute, fluffy tone that the book had already set. If there were more hints dropped through out the book, it would've better set up the SVU turn that it took at the end, and a few more chapters to allow it to play out would've eliminated the abrupt, "wow why are we going so fast" feeling.

Overall I really did enjoy this book. I've already preordered it, and I'm excited to get the physical copy. It'll probably become one of my comfort reads. The recommended age is 14-17, but I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone below 16, specifically because the ending does lean more towards darker content that no 14 year old needs to read. All in all, I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the ARC.

Final Rating: 4.5 stars

Rep:
Noelle - black, bisexual
Evelyn - lesbian
Seth - bisexual
Jasper - pansexual 

Content warning
Major: kidnapping, stabbing, blood, recount of abusive relationship incl. assault - physical and sexual
Moderate: bullying, slutshaming, panic attacks
Minor: outing (mentioned), homophobia, sexual content, claustrophobia

 

Oh how this book has made my little gay heart sing !

Scottie, after losing a basketball game to her ex-girlfriend’s team and rear ending her nemesis, Irene, in the school lot, comes up with a plan to solve her and Irene’s problem. She’ll pay to fix Irene’s car if Irene pretends to date her. And chaos ensues.

I absolutely loved this book and the characters as well. It’s fast paced and easy to follow, and I flew through it in just a few hours. Scottie is dealing with the loss of her ex, Tally, as she struggles to reconcile her idea of Tally with the person Tally truly was. She’s hurting, and she’s not quite sure how to handle it, so she makes questionable choices in the process. It was interesting to see the push and pull of her and Tally’s relationship. Because even though they clearly weren’t good for each other, they somehow kept coming back together. 

Irene, head cheerleader, Desi and a force to be reckoned with. She knows what she wants, and she takes it, and I absolutely love her for it. When she’s not challenging the notion that cheerleading isn’t a real sport, she’s riling up Scottie. They fit well together and their banter is always entertaining. There’s truly never a dull moment with them. 

I liked the communication in the book. It wasn’t always smooth, but Scottie being able to articulate to Irene the mental space that she was in - warms my heart. I loved that even though the book was fast paced, the romance didn’t feel rushed at any point. It was a natural progression. I didn’t like the ending with Charlotte because it just didn’t give me the closure I needed. She never really faced any consequences for her actions towards Irene and Scottie (arguably), and it just didn’t sit right with me.

This is definitely a book I’ll be recommending. I genuinely enjoyed the writing and I loved the characters. Even though it’s targeted towards a younger age group, I feel like anyone who reads it will be able to enjoy it. 

If you love sapphic enemies to lovers and the fake-dating trope, this book is definitely for you. 

Final Rating: 4.5

Trigger Warnings: ableism, abuse - physical and sexual, child neglect, incest, molestation, rape, religious trauma, food deprivation, domestic violence, murder, homophobia, miscarriage, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, pedophilia, arson, attempted murder, gun violence, mutilation

Not My Ruckus by Chad Musick is set in Texas in the 1980s. It tells the story of 14-year old Clare as she struggles with an undiagnosed disability and abuse, while exploring her sexuality and living in an extremely religious household. A first kiss and a murder. Secrets unravel and the problems in Clare's life grow as her relationship with Esther becomes more complicated. As the story continues, we learn just how connected Clare is to Esther.

Clare is probably one of my favorite protagonists. She's kind, loyal to a fault, protective and hilarious. Her thought process can be chaotic at times, and she doesn't pick up on most social cues. She's often dismissed because no one wants to take the time to explain what they mean. And she doesn't always think things through, but she means well. Her relationship with Esther was interesting to say the least, and at times it felt like Esther was taking advantage of Clare. 

I think if I'd read this book, it would be a lot easier to follow along. Seeing as I was listening to a narrator, it did get confusing at times trying to understand where the story was going. It's fast-paced and filled with action with a continued element of horror.  

It's listed as a coming of age story, but I would not recommend this to any one under 18. It was hard for me to get through it, and I'm well over 18. The story is dark and covers very heavy topics, and a few of the scenes are quite jarring. Even though some of the topics aren't explicitly described, it was still pretty raw and haunting. I can't say that I enjoyed or didn't enjoy the book because it just wasn't at all what I was expecting. It's definitely well-written, so if you enjoy dark stories, I'd recommend this one. It covers the horrors of societies that are often overlooked and shows that even the people we believe we know can have a dark nature.
 

yeah you lost me at nazi y’all got me all the way fucked up

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC.

Magic. Mystery. Murder. All three components come together to make The River Has Teeth a book you won't want to put down.  
 
The story pulls you in with the first interaction between Della and her mother, who's being kept in an abandoned prison to protect her and everyone else from her. Off the bat, we see a hint of the complexity of their relationship with her mother's drastic mood changes, Della's perceived indifference to her mother's hurtful actions as well as the way she takes care of her. When news spreads that two girls have gone missing in the woods nearby the prison, Della's first suspect is her mother because, despite her love for her, she understands the true nature of the monster she's become.  
 
Next, we're introduced to Natasha Greymont. Her sister, Rochelle, has gone missing, and the police have no leads, so Natasha's angry. Angry enough to do the things no one else will do. Angry enough to make a deal with the devil to get her back. Though in this case, her devil is a witch named Della.  
 
As the story progresses, Natasha learns her sister's secrets, finding that maybe she didn't know Rochelle as well as she thought. Della, on the other hand, struggles to not only reconcile the mother she knew with the monster she's become but also with the knowledge that her mother is most likely responsible for the disappearances. As the two work together to uncover the truth, one thing's certain: sometimes we need a little bit of magic. 
 
This book really captures the immense rage and despair that often comes with grief and loss. The way anger can result in isolation, and the need to take back control - the lengths one will go to to regain that control. Natasha's pain is palpable, and while I did think she could be egocentric at times, I didn't hold it against her. Her anger and need for retribution were only a means to distract her from her loss. Though her fixations annoyed me at times, I could understand where she was coming from. I only wish her anger was directed into more fruitful pursuits. 
 
Della's endurance and unrelenting love for her mother really speak to her character. The way she steps up and takes charge, in situations, someone at her age definitely shouldn't have to deal with-- shows her resilience. I loved her POV, but some of her inner monologues did become repetitive at times. She's hilariously ridiculous. There's nothing I love more than a character who can piss everyone off with just a few words. They both have their flaws, like all characters do, but watching their story unfold was beautiful.