I'm feeling very fifty-fifty about this one. I really enjoyed the friendships in this one; when Lila moves to Winchester from Miami to spend summer with her aunt she ends up meeting a whole host of vibrant individuals who all added to the plot in fun ways. I particularly loved all the cuban food and that so much of the novel centred around how food can bring people together!

However, being British, I felt like I was subjected to just a few too many dated English linguistic stereotypes. I am just not convinced that the woman Lina's aunt hires in the B&B kitchen refers to her employer as 'The Missus'. For me, it really drew me out of the reading experience each time one was used in just not quite the right place.

I've been not so keen on YA romance recently, but this certainly restored my faith a little bit with a very sweet (baking pun for you ;) ) storyline.

I can't believe this only came out last year - I feel like I've been seeing this adorable cover for years!

Having just read A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, and not reading my blurbs before I start books, I was delighted to discover this book was also a book about a girl with mixed Cuban heritage. It's a joy to read the Cuban Spanish spoken among family and friends, and Ophelia's thoughts on her own Latine heritage blended seamlessly with her (more central to the plot) questions about her own sexuality.
I very much enjoyed how this book didn't ever take the easy way out; plot lines that could've been wrapped up with a cute little romance trope or predictable ending consistently went that one step further to examine how each person is full of their own complexities, such as Ophelia and Talia's story.
Another delightful LGBT+ coming of age, that certainly lives up to its hype

This was such a curious collection of stories!

To begin with, I was not particularly convinced. Some of the language was coarser than I prefer to read, and I felt like I wasn't being hooked on dramatic plot points because of the short-story structure. However, as the book progressed, I began to see each story as more of a short social commentary or observation on modern-day queer culture. At times, I felt the bizarreness or weirdness of the stories had a Neil Gaiman aspect to them, with the blunt writing and the weaving in of the fantastical.
This was an interesting read, and something I would recommend to those who prefer their flash fiction a little more off-putting

I know Romantasy books are not everyone's cup of tea, but I had the best time reading this and I will not be taking any criticism. I truly love starting a book and knowing that I am going to thoroughly enjoy it, I was carrying this one around with me hoping I'd get a chance to snatch a few more pages.
This was an IMMACULATE enemies to lovers, full of vicious vampires and a distinctly hunger-games dystopian feel while still sticking true to those traditional fantasy roots.
We had so many good tropes: enemies to lovers, who did this to you, grumpy/sunshine - I was literally giggling and kicking my feet as they tried to kill each other, the dialogue was that good.
Obviously, those of you have read the book will know that I am SO MAD at Carissa Broadbent and I need to get my hands on book 2 immediately (my library doesn't have it!!!).

I picked this one up through someone else's recommendation who I think said they were surprised not more people had read it. However, I wasn't particularly impressed with this one, with the writing of some of the female characters really not working for me.
There were some fantastic, lush settings for this novel with sprawling, vibrant cities contrasted with the dust of the desert. When we ventured out of the city in the first two or so chapters, I was curious to see what else we would unlock in this fantasy world...only for the group to turn around and go straight home again. The bad guys in this were refreshingly unusual even if they felt a little underdeveloped - by the time we reached the crux of the plot, I still felt like I didn't really know who everyone was and why they were fighting?
One thing I will appreciate is how much our married couple really did spend the whole story thinking about how much they just wanted to be at home with each other - really respect that.
I also saw that this was blurbed by Lev Grossman, whose book it's safe to say I hated, and I'm not saying there's a correlation but I did think it was interesting...

An informative and heartfelt look at the lives of 3 young men in Brazil living with or supporting the people they love who have HIV. I felt that primarily this book was focussed on removing the stigmas and prejudices surrounding HIV, particularly in terms of what HIV positive relationships can look like nowadays thanks to existing medications.
I thought the range of characters we were introduced to were very sweet and clearly displayed to the reader a variety of thoughts and feelings about a HIV positive diagnosis. On the other hand, I struggled to remember which of the guys was which - and what their relationships were with each other. And the plot didn't really go anywhere? I looked up at the halfway mark to discover that really we were still just talking about how we all knew each other.
Not going to be a top book of the year by any means, but also an insightful look into a topic I don't know so much about.

A lovely gentle read, set in Burma with some stunning descriptions.

Through Tin Win’s blindness, the world comes to life through the vibrant sounds he hears. His steadfast relationship with Mi Mi was beautifully written and the story followed the gentle ups and downs of their lives.

Not my usual genre but an endearing read

A helpful little book with friendly, approachable chapters about prayer. What is it? Why do we do it? And how can we get better at it?

Read this over a long period of time in small chunks and appreciated the little suggestions to practice praying in certain ways to try and find what works for you.