soulfullyalex's Reviews (383)

 Thank you NetGalley and Ninestar Press for an eARC of this title.

Alright friends, I really enjoyed this book! I am not usually an enemies to lovers fan because I often find them super unrealistic. Whoever, I found this really realistic. I loved how Gerrick and Moranthus meet, learn about each other, and work together though out the story. I found it really nice to see two characters learn about each other over an extended period of time and actually getting to know each other.

One thing I really enjoyed about this story was the cultures created for all the different fantasy races. I also loved how these cultures and ideologies where explained within the story without having any info dumpy sections. I loved how organically the information was presented. I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding and atmosphere within this story.

Overall, this was incredibly sweet, exciting, and fun all in one. For someone who doesn’t typically like an enemies to lovers story this was written really well and felt so realistic that I really enjoyed it. 

 Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for an eARC of this title.

Oh, how I adored this sweet and short little story. This is where fake dating feels so real and honest. These two professional friends go to a wedding together and pretend to be dating and oh the drama. I adored this. Let’s be honest, these short little stories don’t have a lot of plot or character development, but they are the most comforting and wholesome books I have ever read. This one was no different. It was soft and sweet and just filled me with the warmest feels.

If you like fake dating, some pining, and weddings this is the book for you! 

 Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for an eARC of this title.

I desperately wanted to love this book! It had so many good things. It had fae, magic, murder, banter, and LGBTQ+ representation. The culture of the fae was so thought out and the relation between the human world was thought out quite well. So many people would absolutely love this book! I loved that this book took place in Toronto. It’s not often that I see a city I know well in a fantasy book like this.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. For one thing I really understood that urban fantasy isn’t for me. Urban fantasy, the mix between fantasy elements and the real world is something that I don’t mesh with very well. Another thing that I had trouble with was the dialogue. It was just a bit off for me. I can’t say that this book wasn’t good, I think it was just really not for me. I couldn’t really get into the characters and feel completely connected to them.

I can see so many people absolutely adoring this book. The fact that I didn’t adore this doesn’t say anything about this book, because I can see so many people absolutely loving it. I think a lot of teens will adore this book. The fact that I didn’t love it was simply because it just wasn’t for me. 

 Thank you to NetGalley and JY for an eARC of this title

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I loved the urban fantasy vibes and the mystery. I found the world really interesting and world-building was explained really well. The characters were also really interesting and different. I found them to be well written and they really did feel like kids at school. I enjoyed the dynamics between the friend group and other students at school.

Overall, I think this story was very fun and exciting. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen, which is always fun. The mystery and magic were all very interesting. I loved the wide variety of magical people and creatures. I would highly recommend this to children and adults alike! 

 Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for an eARC of this title.

I really enjoyed this story overall. It took me a little bit to get into it. I found that the writing style and narrators voice at the beginning took a bit for me to get into the flow of. We jump into the story in the middle of Anya and Zac’s life so we are doing a little bit of catching up. Once I got into the flow of the story I really enjoyed it.

One thing I liked a lot was how messy and real all the characters felt. They felt like real people with pasts and passions and flaws. I really enjoyed how healthy the relationships were. Though they had flaws and issues, they did their best to be open about them and support one another through whatever the issue is to come out with a better understanding of each other at the end.

This is definitely an unconventional love story but I love how honest and real it felt. I also really enjoyed how mental health and addiction was discussed. There is significant discussion about addiction and alcohol abuse, but I loved how it was discussed not as a horrible thing experienced, but something that can be managed and worked through when there is support, love, and understanding surrounding that. I think overall I really enjoyed how this story went and ended. It just felt so real and honest. It wasn’t all perfect and it was messy and complicated, but that’s how life really is, so I enjoyed that a lot 

 Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for an eARC of this title.

There are a lot of things I loved about this story. For one, I loved that it was a queernorm world where polyamorous relationships are the norm. I love this because we have characters with multiple different sexualities and pronouns. I loved the variety and how all pronouns and relationships were completely accepted. I love stories where there is no questioning of sexualities, identities, and relationships. It makes them so incredibly welcoming and nice.

I really liked the dynamics between the characters. They were all varied and they all had complicated pasts and interactions. It was very nice to see characters that were complicated and flawed and relatable. I think that it made the plot more interesting because the pasts and interactions between characters impacted how they handled the twists and turns within the story.

I overall enjoyed the story. I think the plot was ended and cleaned up a little bit quickly, but other than that I really enjoyed it. It was fun and exciting. I would definitely recommend this title! 

 What’s Up, Beanie is a collection of comics previously posted on Instagram with some context sprinkled in with the narrator essentially telling the story of the comics. I think it was a very cute way to adapt Instagram short comics into a full story. It’s a collection about growing up and learning about yourself. It was incredibly sweet.
One thing I really loved was the art style. I had seen the art around before and I think it is just the cutest style. I love the colour palette and how soft everything feels. It was a quick read but it was nice and sweet 

 
Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Box for an eARC of this title.

Alright, this is what I need to say about Wynd. I adored it! I loved the art style in this graphic novel. It was colourful and fun. I loved that the characters all had their own style and could be clearly identified through the artwork. I also loved how visually diverse the characters were. There was obvious on-page diversity.

I also loved the story. Wynd is so sweet and put into the most difficult and complicated situation simply because he has magic in his blood. As the first book in a new series, I thought this was perfect! The pacing was so wonderful and quick that the action picked up soon enough to draw you in, but late enough that I had an understanding of the general rules and beliefs of the world. I really enjoyed how there was so much explained in this first volume, without it feeling info dumpy or slow. I really would love to continue this series when more are published.

I would highly recommend this to people of all ages who like magic, adventure, and characters discovering who they really are, as well as some political issues. 

 Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an eARC of this title.

Alright, this is everything I want in a SciFi novel. First and foremost I adore the fact that the world is queernorm and gender neutral. I mean, space travel is normal and people from different planets is normal, so why wouldn’t gender nuetrality and queerness be normal? It should! And I loved it!

Now, onto the other aspects. I loved the characters Kiem and Jainan are incredible characters. They are both complicated and sweet and also big dumb-dumbs. This was really a “they-just-need-to-talk” scenario, but it was so dang good. I loved how our characters grew over the book and learned more about themselves and each other. I also loved the consent discussion. Without spoilers, I will just say that it is everything I want in books and more books should treat consent this way.

The plot, oh man. I loved the plot. I will say that it is a slow beginning, BUT I loved that the set up was slow and made me desperate to know more about the world and what was happening. The whole murder mystery plot I thought was incredible. I did not guess the culprit or the reasoning so, that’s a win for me. Overall, I thought this book was incredible and I highly recommend it. The relationships are amazing, the characters are so sweet and so fun, and the plot just made me want more. I still want more!