shereadytoread's Reviews (806)

The photos in this book were STUNNING but the written pieces not so much. There didn't seem to be any uniformity to the accompanying text where some commented on the movies they were recreating, some commented on the photoshoots themselves and some were just the photographer's thoughts. I would have loved a question or two from each celeb being answered or at least a theme to what was discussed in each section.

I absolutely loved this take on grumpy x sunshine where instead of being rude under the premise of "grumpy" the MMC is cordial but emotionally unhappy from dealing with a traumatic recovery. Both the MCs have weighty backstories that I enjoyed unraveling and their pining was *chef's kiss*. 

Honestly this would have been a five star read but those sex scenes were awkward and this is a rare time that I wish the spice was removed. It took me out of the story and the dialogue within those scenes didn't flow well with the character's speech from the rest of the book. 

Definitely will be reading the second book!

This book seemed like a cheap grab at political events of 2020 but demonized trauma responses and mental health issues in a lesbian couple. 

I love the style but the story felt a bit too long. The story puts a lot of obstacles in the way that extend the story. I enjoy a contemporary set YA story with actual stakes, because outside of fantasy I feel like that's not as common. The formatting of the book is a unique with presented evidence in the form of reports, videos, interview transcripts and posts. It may not be the best for audio, but after a little while I didn't even notice it.

This book isn't exactly what I expected which was more of a general history of the group with a connection to current members. While you do get that, it is more of a minor piece of the book and the focus is on the individual lives of the newest generation to take over the ranch and program. The book gives an unflinching view of their personal struggles with gangs, addiction, trauma, and their connection to the horses and one another. I greatly enjoyed reading this and if you have a younger reader, I would suggest the adapted version for YA.

This book was a fun little romp through the late 80s and 90s, but while the nostalgia is strong, the plot is weak. The characters themselves are pretty likable but there is very little investment in their connection to one another or the outcome. The queer romantic subplot is a bright spot that focuses on identity acceptance but otherwise I didn't care what happened to anyone and had no investment in the ending. The plot twists were pretty week and there wasn't enough suspense built to make the story exciting. It is more about depressed teenagers and all the actual plot points seem to be background to that.

 

Obviously the pacing of gothic books is its own thing but if you anyone asked me if I thought what this book was going to be about, I would not have been able to guess no matter what. I think this is a book that succeeds at making you like a pretty unlikable MC (but it's really done by making everyone else in the story the most terrible people ever). The imagery was really well done and the callbacks to details were really good.

 

I enjoyed some of the stories but there was no real cohesiveness to the theme, genre, etc so it felt like a random collection. I felt like the "morals" of many of the stories were too in your face and I wasn't a fan of that. I think the strongest stories were early in the book so the second half dragged a lot for me. If you are a fan of a variety of genres, absurdist content and can handle a few gross outs then this one might work well for you.