theartsybookwitch's Reviews (393)

DARLING is a peter pan retelling set in modern Chicago. 

I loved this retelling, I loved everything about it. It's so nice and inspiring to see all the different diversity from Wendy being Black, to every side characters of color (Black, Korean, Russian, Ojibwe), who are queer (lesbian, bisexual and asexual rep!) to characters with disabilities (hearing impaired and amputated hand). 

Don't get me wrong, I love the disney version of Peter Pan, but I always found myself drawn to the gritty version that most media tends to avoid. The intense idea of found family plays well throughout the novel and we follow Wendy Darling as she gets pulled into the crime life and

gets into something that she learns was set in twenty years prior.

I would caution readers that has experienced abuse, gaslighting, grooming or any form of toxic relationships to not read this book. 

4.75/5 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Red, White and Royal Blue. I binged it in several hours nearly. But OLS, it was just too hard to get through. 

It's not even that their relationship was terrible. Or the writing was bad. I just couldn't get myself to continue it. 

I might pick it back up in the future and try again, but I was disappointed to say the least. 

Emotional and hauntingly beautiful

Jen Calonita's retelling is just icing on the cake. 

Growing up, I always adored Hercules. The mythology, the animation, the music, the plot, the characters, everything. And this retelling is no exception. 

The novel starts off exactly at the end of the movie, and continues on in Megara's pov. I loved seeing things from her pov, and hearing how her inner turmoil and anxiety flowed in her, even in the movie was done well. 

I felt like I could feel everything that Megara was feeling, even in the end and throughout the main plot. 

I think my favorite character was Megara, but also Hades. The characters were dynamic and had heart. 

There was at some points where I felt like the novel was dragging, but overall was a good adaptation. 4/5

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC. 

There is a beauty in grief. 

I'm not a huge poetry fan, but I really liked Chloë's collection. It explores an angle of grief that isn't normally seen. Gravity is inside everything, and is a natural feeling. I loved how Frayne explored the themes of gravity and love through her own feelings from her ex and tells a powerful story to her future and her future partner. 

Frayne's verse was so beautifully written, and it shone a bright light on grief and gravity. There was at some points where I thought it was slow, but it was so powerful to read.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the chance to review this ARC.*