thelibraryoft's Reviews (477)

3.5 stars

I liked her first memoir/ set of essays a bit better than this one. I enjoyed Gabrielle expanding on both the funny & the meaningful of book 1. The chapter about her daughter Zaya was my favorite. In this chapter she gives a nearly perfect example of being the parent of a trans child. I also really enjoyed the Isis/ Bring it on chapter. It was a really interesting discussion of how she felt she didn't go far enough, that I had not previously thought of.  The chapter talking about the lasting affects of her SA were really meaningful and I am thankful she felt comfortable discussing. 

There were also chapters I didn't love. I just struggled with referring to herself as failing as a woman and a wife for not being able to have a baby (this coming after being such a trans ally for her daughter was hard). There were also some other little details in this section that just gave me a pause. She again leaves gaps where I wish she would have expanded (Wade having another daughter? being absent for most of his children's school events & basically the whole surrogacy?)

The chapter about her mental health in perimenopause was very interesting. That was something I was unaware of in general and really has given me something to think about and another reason to check in on some of my loved ones. Gabrielle is also a strong supporter of therapy and I appreciate her being so loud about it. 

I loved hearing her stories about being a black woman in Hollywood. These were the moments where her discussion of race really shine. The last chapter felt disconnected from her story. While I agree with the chapter, I started not to feel like her voice, but like a  3rd person scholarly article. 

Overall, I would still recommend this memoir, but maybe as a slower read, not a binge read like I did it.

This book follows Rosalyn Quest who is a 17 years old professional thief. After a job gone wrong, she must make up for her mistakes by joining the Thieves' Gambit, an international heist competition where the winner gets any one wish granted. 

This book is a little outside of my normal genres but I really enjoyed it. It felt like a teen Oceans 11. It was really fast paced and the twists kept things interesting. There is a little romance subplot that felt a little surface level, but maybe we will get more in book 2. 

This is a reread for me. The first time around I rated it 3 stars, but I think it was my first time reading a marriage in crisis. On second read I liked it more. 

As always, Chloe does a great job integration neurodiversity, mental illness & disability into her stories. This series has a huge cast of characters, but they are all unique and easy to love. 
Freya & Aiden are coming up on 10 years of marriage and have hit a rough patch. I love that Aiden is knowledgeable about his mental health issues and that he's in therapy before chapter 1. Both of them have the best interest of the relationship in mind, but that's not always the right thing.  They only go to like 2 therapy sessions but that's fine with me. Aiden has pulled away from the relationship physically & emotionally and does some A+ groveling. I appreciated Freya realizing how she added to their issues and their commitment to tackling their issues together.
This is the first Bergman brother book where we really get the family as a character. I love the meddling & the Hijinx.  My only gripe was the 3rd act surprise? It just didn't feel necessary.

4.5 stars!

I really enjoyed this book (I listed to the audio version). Gabrielle was thoughtful & funny & WOW was she honest. I appreciate her willingness to show herself in a light that was not always positive. Some of the stories had me laughing and kicking my feet, while others we a lot more serious. She goes into detail about her SA as a teen, and how it affected her in years to come. I loved her stories about being a stepmom and raising the boys. The only reason I remove half a star is because the stories did not seem to have a good rhythm leading into each other, and some stories I was left wanting more.

Overall, would recommend and I plan on listening to her 2nd book very soon! 

Ask not what you can do for misogyny but what misogyny can do for you!
 
What can I say? I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it in 1 sitting.
As the title says, Alosa is the daughter of the pirate king. She is set on a mission to retrieve an ancient map from a rival pirate family. To do so, she must be "kidnapped", brought as captive onto the ship, and search for it without anyone finding out. 
Alosa is a morally grey badass pirate. She is captain of her own ship and can take down three men at once, but to remain under estimated she plays the "oh no, I am just a pretty princess, my daddy will save me" card. Normally, I might be annoyed by that except she's SO BAD at it. She can't help but be witty, talk back and fight back. It also doesn't help that the pirate in charge of interrogating her is handsome, and moral, and CLEAN (pirate shock!). 
I enjoyed the adventure. I enjoyed the "twist" even if it was a little obvious. I don't think this redefined the genre, but I would recommend. The romance could have used some more building, but I have hope we will get more in the next book.

Can I call something a "cozy fantasy" with this much murder? I am not sure, but it made me feel comforted.

TW: Violence, fighting, murder, torture, discussions of abuse, threats of rape, etc. pirate stuff, nothing graphic. 

4.5 stars rounded up

The author's description if themes is perfection. No notes. 
🐉 Chinese mythology & legendary creatures
🏹 Fierce female warrior fighting for her family
⚔️ A gentle prince & a ruthless soldier
💔 Friends—Lovers—Enemies...

If you are a person who likes fantasy, but hates the first 100 pages of boring world building with nothing exciting. THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. I was fully looked in chapter 1. jotting down notes by page 11. I devoured this 500 page book. I really enjoyed watching Xingling start the book as a child and grow into an adult in the first few parts. We got to see her learn which skills she had a talent for, and which she didn't. She is absolutely terrible at being a member of court and keeping her mouth shut and I LOVE IT (same girl same).  We have a bit of a friends to lovers to love triangle to enemies going on, and It was a lot of fun and felt realistic. This was a perfect 5 stars to me right up until the end. It wrapped up a little too nicely, and forgiveness came a little too fast for me. BUT that also means it does not end on a cliff hanger. (I still cannot wait to read book 2. I will be stalking the mailman waiting for its arrival on my doorstep)

 I wanted to like this book. I really did, but no. It started off really good. Lotus was starting a phase of celibacy to help herself heal from childhood trauma. Keenan is a NBA star, single divorced father, in NYC for the summer attending family therapy to help his daughter get through the divorce and the bad press that came with it. The MMC & FMC have some undeniable chemistry, but decide to be friends as they work on themselves. In the beginning of this book all of the minor conflicts get resolved super fast because they have great communication. . . BUT as soon as they decide to be together the story changes. It really bothers me that they keep saying “oh we haven’t had sex” when they really have done every version of it except P in V. There are a LOT of bible references, and Keenan becomes disrespectful of Lotus’s belief in voodoo. He also gets really possessive to the point of basically just saying “No, you’re mine” when she tries to end things for the good of his daughter. At the beginning of the story he is constantly putting his daughter first but he stops doing that towards the end. Overall, Lotus is a queen and deserves way better than Keenan. 

 Natalie goes 2 for 2 with the Vega Family love stories.

This book had so many things I loved, meddling families, single father to a daughter, strong take no shit FMC. I loved both Lola & Saint. They were loyal, and fought for their families and for what they believed in. Lola spends most of the story fighting to save her local LGBTQ+ community shelter, and Saint protecting his family while balancing their needs with his beliefs. The romance in he story was good, but the real swoony moments were the interactions with Saints daughter Rosie. Saint is such a good dad, and taking the time to do her hair to make her happy *swoon*. I also loved watching Rosie warm up to Lola and eventually loving her.

The story also tackles serious topics like LGBTQ youth homelessness, gentrification, anxiety, PTSD, & incarceration really well.
TW: Gun violence

My only complaint is I wish we had more swoony and steamy romantic moments. A lot of the romance was built up in the flashbacks. I just wanted a little more. Overall, I really enjoyed this book (I read it in one day) I cannot wait to continue this series.