thelovelylibrarylady's Reviews (1.1k)

The Gravity Of Us has been on my radar since it was first published in early 2020. However, since I am not a person that is super intrigued by space, I kept picking up other titles that interested me more. While I am glad that I finally got to read this YA book, I probably could have skipped it and been fine. Stamper, the author, writes a good contemporary novel featuring strong queer romance and science fiction elements. Others may enjoy this title more than I did, especially if they are already fascinated with space and space travel. 

Before picking up this book, I had seen it compared to Daisy Jones And The Six. This comparison made me nervous as I didn't love that book. However, I can say with full confidence that The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is its own unique story that tackles vastly different topics than Daisy Jones does. In fact, I liked this book better. I thought the premise was very unique - looking back on an Afropunk rock duo from the 70s who made music challenging the inequality in the world. However, the question is did both partners really believe in the messages their music conveyed... I highly recommend reading this title and if you are an audiobook person, the audio has a full cast of narrators and is fantastic! 
(PUB DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

After discovering the magic of cozy mysteries earlier this year, I decided to give this title a try when I saw that it was on Kindle Unlimited. Overall, this book was good, but not great. I did not figure out the mystery - which is always a positive when reading this genre. However, I do not know if it is because of good writing or because I didn't care enough to try to figure it out. I never really felt connected to the characters, even the protagonist who the readers spend the most time with and I am not sure I would go out of my way to recommend this book to other readers. 

The side characters in this novella were a little cheesy, especially the ex-boyfriend and her ex-friend, but the story was exactly what was promised. It focused on a second chance romance with friends who are reunited at their ten-year high school reunion. If you don't like smut, this is not the book for you. There are sex scenes galore (if you couldn't tell from the suggestive cover), making Worship a fun, risqué read.

Despite Dark Places being one of my favorite books of all time, this piece, also written by Flynn, was pretty lackluster. Coming in at under 100 pages, this short story can easily be read in one sitting - which I did. However, the ending is disappointing and leaves too much of the plot open for interpretation. The author didn't need to answer every plotline she created, but maybe one or two would have been nice? I honestly thought my book was missing a chapter, that's how abrupt and open Flynn left this one.

And When She Was Good was the first Laura Lippman novel I have read and it definitely will not be my last! The plot was enthralling and every time I had to step away from the book to deal with the real world, I found myself thinking about the story and what would happen next. After finishing the novel, I looked at a few reviews and was shocked that there were so many negative takes. DO NOT let these dissuade you from picking up this title. I absolutely loved the characters (who were all terrible people, but so well-rounded), the storyline, and the ending! If you are looking for a fast-paced, backlist thriller, And When She Was Good should be your next read!

Carolina Santos, the heroine of this story, was this book's saving grace. She is intelligent, witty, and compassionate. If she was a real-life human being, I would want to be her best friend. Her family was also wonderful and I enjoyed how Sosa, the author, included them in the story. With that being said, Carolina's love interest - who just so happens to be her ex-fiance's brother, the other side characters, and the plot itself fell flat. It was a very run-of-the-mill contemporary romance novel which will probably not stick with me past the end of this year. I do think this title would make a very cute rom-com movie and would not be surprised to see it get picked up by Netflix in the near future. As to if I would watch it though, I am not sure.

This is the sixth book I have read from Jackson and I don't know what else I can say about her writing. She has earned herself a spot on my list of favorite authors and I cannot wait to see what she does next. This title, Grown, takes inspiration from the real-life events of R. Kelly and other stories of grooming in the entertainment industry. Like many of her other books, it is difficult content-wise, and readers should be aware of that before diving in. For this reason, Grown would be a great book club pick. Since the plot tackles such difficult topics, I think discussing and debriefing these moments would be beneficial

For years, I kept saying that I was going to read this modern classic. And for the length of this novel, I am embarrassed that it took me so long to finally pick it up. I read Fahrenheit 451 in one sitting on a Sunday afternoon while my partner watched football beside me on the couch. While he is not a reader, I kept asking him to mute the television so I could read him lines from the book. Bradbury's prose is so beautiful that I just had to share it with someone. My only complaint is that I did not get to read it in an academic setting. I would have loved to discuss this title with a class and really dig deeper into the prominent themes, such as the power of free will and the value of literature in society. If you are like me and have somehow never had the chance to read this classic, I recommend you stop putting it off and read it as soon as possible!

Citizen Illegal is one of my all-time favorite poetry collections. I found myself rereading each of Olivarez's poems multiple times before moving on to the next one, not because I was confused by the messages, but because I was in such awe of his writing. Olivarez's work is just so beautiful and important and if I could, I would buy everyone a copy of this collection. But because I can't, do yourself a favor and pick up this title. You will not regret it.