skudiklier's Reviews (647)

Girls Like Girls

Hayley Kiyoko

4.5

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I don't read a lot of YA anymore, and I was a little worried I'd be bored by this, but I actually really liked it! It's not perfect, and it starts out a little slow/clichéd for me, but I just read the last 80% of the book all in one day, so I definitely found it engaging. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to older readers but it's a great coming-of-age book for queer teenagers. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

French Holiday

Sarah Ready

2.0

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Overall I didn't like this book--I feel bad but I just thought the writing was awful and the whole thing felt like a cartoon/sitcom where no one acted like a real person would. I did care a bit about the relationship and I like enemies to lovers so I stuck it out even though I wanted to DNF a few minutes in. And it's not the worst thing ever or anything, I don't hate it. I just didn't enjoy it and wouldn't recommend it. There was also ableist language right in the beginning of the book, which like, it wasn't a big issue in the rest of it, but still it started off on a bad foot. And the main character just jumped to ridiculous conclusions all the time and did not act reasonably at all. The writing just felt bad and lazy.

The narrator however was good, and it wasn't *not* entertaining in some ways. Thanks to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

Dear Prudence: Liberating Lessons from Slate.com's Beloved Advice Column

Daniel M. Lavery

5.0

reflective medium-paced

I both enjoyed this, and found it helpful! I was excited to read this because I enjoy Lavery's work in general, and have followed him online for years, but I've only ever actually listened to Dear Prudence once or twice, and that's not where I know him from at all. Throughout this book I was very impressed with how consistently he cut to the heart of an issue--I would finish reading a letter, think it seemed hopelessly complicated or fraught, and then have things completely turned around by Lavery's reframing of the questions the letter-writer needed to ask themself.

The only odd thing is that the book just sort of ends--there's no conclusion at all, so it felt very abrupt. But aside from that I have no problems with this book. I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperOne for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

Embarrassing Scenes Reviewed: A Collection of Nerdfighters' Most Cringey High School Stories

funny lighthearted fast-paced

For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.

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A Princess in Theory

Alyssa Cole

4.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I couldn't put this down! I saw one or two of the twists coming (at least a little), and not having the HEA until the very last second was a little weird. It felt like it could use an epilogue to really get closure instead of feeling rushed. But overall I loved it and I'll definitely be reading the next one in the series ASAP. The audiobook narrator was great as well!

Content Warnings

Pomegranate

Helen Elaine Lee

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book has so much heartbreak and pain and frustration and hope. I'm really glad I read it, especially when for a little bit there I was worried it would just be hurt after hurt, but knew I was going to push through regardless. Pomegranate is very much about the past and the present, and how we are all of our past selves at once. It's about growth and change in combination with not being able to fully escape your past. It's about queer love, and the way society sets some people up to fail, and the bravery it takes to open up to others. It's so so beautiful and I would highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

Sugar and Surrender

Scarlet King

5.0

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book is exactly what I needed after the cliffhanger of the first one--I love getting to see more of the group dynamics here, and learn more about how bonds work. I was curious too how this book would work given where the last one ended (and thus where this one had to start), but Scarlet King pulled it off spectacularly. This book felt full of the same tension and suspense as the last one, and had a couple surprising moments that made me gasp. I'll miss these characters but this was a great way to end the series and I'd definitely recommend reading Sugar and Surrender (especially if you read Honey and Hellfire--you need this closure!).

Thanks to Scarlet King and her team for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

Rocket Fantastic: Poems

Gabrielle Calvocoressi

4.0

reflective slow-paced

My feelings about this collection varied a lot depending on the poem. Some of them I absolutely loved, I wrote down quotes I liked, etc. But others I just couldn't get into.

Content Warnings

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock

Jenny Odell

5.0

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

I really appreciate this book; I got so much out of it, and I would definitely recommend it. I might even like it more than How to Do Nothing.

I do wish that I'd thought about the fact that I'd probably other to read this as an audiobook; it took me a while to get through this as-is, but still, it was definitely engaging.

I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

Radiant Sin

Katee Robert

4.75

emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I really enjoyed this book, as with every other book in this series so far! There's a plot point about the ending bothering me, that at first I was going to talk more about, but then I realized maybe I'm just assuming it would go a different way than it will. So it bothers me less now (but just in case anyone else was thinking about it I'll still put it in spoiler tags at the bottom haha). Anyway, I really liked this book! I hope she keeps writing this series for sure, as I always look forward to them.

Spoilers for the ending ahead!!

Okay I'm just like. If Cassandra is the witness at the end won't that cause issues since that's why everyone hates her family?? Like that feels like a big deal for her to be the witness that causes him to take the title. I was waiting for that shoe to drop, like, since half the reason she didn't want to stay in Olympus/with Apollo is that she hates the games the thirteen play, all the attention on them, etc. I thought it would be a source of tension at the end that there would be more attention on her, etc. And maybe it's just that no one will know she was the witness except the thirteen, and they don't care?? Idk. I just felt like that bit was unresolved. Even if there was a throwaway line addressing how that went I would have been satisfied. But anyway maybe it just wouldn't play out like I was imagining it so this doesn't bother me as much as it did right when I was finishing the book. But if anyone else was thinking this too please dm me or something (@skylerwitherspoon on IG or @skudiklier on Twitter lmao) I don't know anyone else who's read this book.

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