simonlorden's Reviews (1.38k)

I received an ARC through NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

A marvelous, richly written historical account of Shelley's death, and Mary Shelley reclaiming something for herself. When Shelley dies, Mary is not allowed to go his cremation because she's not a man - and she has to face that some people she believed to be "their" friends were actually her husband's friends. This novella is about grief and love, but also about rebellious women who dress as men to sneak into lectures and other places that they are banned from.

The second half of the novella is a series of imaginings of what might have happened on that boat where Shelley died. It's a bit dream-like, a bit abstract, and I enjoyed it less than the first half, but it was still beautifully written.

An adorable, colorful and easy to understand story about a trans boy who really wants to be a good big brother.

Absolutely beautiful illustrations. There's surprisingly little dialogue, even for a picture book - it doesn't really "explain" to you why it's okay for a little boy to dress as a mermaid, it just shows you that it is. That was nice (even though there's nothing wrong with explaining, especially in a kid's book, but variety is nice). I also liked the mermaids being diverse in ages and body types, including older and fat mermaids on the pictures :)

I received an ARC through NetGalley and the below is my honest and voluntary review.

A dream-like story of monsters and body horror. The girl had a good, comfortable life, until feathers and bones started growing out of her skin and her family turned against her to murder her in front of the town. She is saved by a boy from the village, and the two of them run away together to find a cure for their transformation.

The tone of the story is definitely dark, and there's a lot of body horror, injuries, and descriptions of dead bodies (both humans and animals). Nobody in this story has names, which was confusing at times, but it increases that dream-like feeling. I think this is all less about the plot and more about the feelings and the transformation.

I'm feeling kind of mixed about it - the lack of names really made it hard to read, although I like the concept in theory - but it's an interesting and romantic horror story, and I liked the inspiration behind it.

I received an ARC through NetGalley and here is my voluntary and honest review.

This book is about a young woman (?) realizing she is asexual and aromantic, but it also about a lot more than that. During her journey to figure out her own identity, Chika meets friends and classmates with various identities and relationship types. 

I liked how this book explored a lot of issues, including getting married for convenience because living alone without a partner in adulthood can be difficult (not only emotionally, but practically - e.g. only family being allowed to visit you in a hospital). It also has a sideplot about fandom, and how you shouldn't be ashamed of your interests, and how anime isn't just for small children. I especially liked the mention that what you enjoy in fiction doesn't determine what kind of person you are in real life.

Overall, I think this is a great introduction to asexuality and identity, and it also raises some questions about romance, expectations and pressure even to those who aren't asexual and do want to participate in romantic relationships.

It also has some really cool returning space and planet motifs.

Main characters with the same starting letter will be the death of me and my brain. Cute story, although sometimes Emery and Ezra dancing around each other and not getting anywhere was a bit much. The first book is still my favourite, somehow none of the sequels could quite capture that magic for me again.

This book was brutal. Every time you think you know what's going on, there's another twist.

I'm a bit disappointed because the first book is one of my favourites, but this was a struggle. Chester claims he is an outcast in the town, which is probably true, but I couldn't feel much sympathy for him because for most of the book, he's the one who goes out of his way to be rude and distant with everyone. Especially Will. Basically, Chester is saying one thing, but the book itself is showing us another thing, and it really does seem like Chester's identity as an outcast is self-inflicted, at least in the present.

The whole Holly King/Oak King power exchange sounded really interesting, but I wasn't really feeling the chemistry between Chester and Will, so that part lost its magic too.

This book was a solid three stars, a quick but kind of forgettable read. Vicious was too much for me even in this book, though, so I'm unlikely to read his.