titalindaslibrary's Reviews (687)

Daaaaaamn, okay! Victoria switched up the formula with this one, and I really like how she's propelling the worldbuilding and political aspects forward. While I'm quite attached to Meg and her sheltered, religious background (hello, yes, I am self-projecting, I'm aware), her connection to Maxu felt a bit forced at times. I don't know, I like how previous couples really had to spend time together and learn more about each other before a true mating bond would appear. Having Maxu recognize her so quickly right at the start was a bold decision, and while she mostly stuck the landing, I wasn't 100% sold on their chemistry. 

HOWEVER. The cliffhanger ending and knowing who the next couple is??? I cannot wait to dive in and start Sophia and Sikthand's story! 🤭

A looooot of plot suddenly happens in the last 10%, but I did enjoy learning more about Fejo so damn much. The last third leading up to that chaotic ending was a bit of drag though. I wouldn’t mind a spinoff novella on this couple though, especially with the development around her sister and her kid! It sounds like a “found family adventures through space on their pirate spaceship” sort of vibe and I am 100% down for that.

It's undoubtedly interesting what authors can come up with for a collection of short stories. This one is no exception, but like most collections, I have some favorites. Overall, the first three stories were the strongest, and the rest felt a bit lackluster in comparison to those. 

A sweet, hopeful middle grade story that’s a Filipino mother’s love letter to children in the American diaspora. 

Fuck it, I absolutely LOVED this book!!! Between this and Mechanical Romance, I find I much prefer Alexene Follmuth’s stories to Olivie Blake’s. These YA characters are a balm to my nerdy, angsty high school heart, and I need MORE.

Viola is so angry yet delicate, and in seeking to protect her fragility she’s so quick to push others away and cut ties…something I’m a bit too familiar with myself. But the growth she goes through in this book was well developed, and I love the cast of side characters that help push that along. Especially Bash and Olivia!? Hell, even her ex-friend Antonia goes through some growth, and it’s heartwarming to see no character left behind. 

I did this as a hybrid read and highly recommend checking it out on audio - the narrators do a great job, and I was laughing so much at some of the dialogue. The exchanges between Viola and Bash were especially hilarious!

Anyway, anything Follmuth wants to write, I WILL be reading it! 

God, I’m obsessed with this series

By the end of this memoir I felt so many churning emotions. Mostly anger and sadness at what white supremacy, most especially internalized white supremacy, has done to destroy cultures and the diaspora's connection to identity within that. 

Ugh, I have such mixed feelings for this book, so I'll try my best to sort through them.

First, what I liked:
- The Bridgerton vibes are strong! I get a lot of that historical/regency vibe from the rich descriptions of settings, clothes, and prim exchanges between lords and ladies.
- This twist on vampires and making them Blood Workers instead is fascinating.
- Every time we got a reference to Filipino food I could hear the "RAAAAA PHILIPPINES MENTIONED RAAAAA!" sound go off in my head.
- The opener was SUCH A BANGER, wtf, so good! Of course I was hooked by that!

What didn't work:
- After such a strong opening, we hit a wall by the 50% mark. I almost DNF'ed at that point, I was so bored. We were just repeatedly being shown the same thing (omg, someone died again, who could it be!?) and the heavy handed exposition overtook the plot, making it a frustrating reading experience. 
- For someone who's supposed to be a badass spymaster, Shan really doesn't seem to do much (aside from that killer opening scene)? Also, it feels ridiculous to believe NO ONE would recognize her, like what in the Clark Kent makeup disguise is this? Girl doesn't even wear a wig, she straight up adds some extra foundation and eyeliner or whatever and calls it good.
- The Blood Working sounds so cool...it'd be even cooler if we got a better explanation for how it worked.
- This book wanders down different paths of trying to be a murder mystery, a romance, political court intrigue, and revolution but fails to excel at any of them and instead becomes a rather middling experience in all four categories.

And speaking of the political intrigue/revolution plotline, by the end I was Team Villain! Shan and Samuel are such pacifist centrists in this that I couldn't help getting annoyed by them. While Samuel feels like he could be swayed into genuine revolutionary action, Shan is so clearly wrapped up in benefitting from a system that will continue to oppress others. 

I wanted to love this book, and after such a strong opening, I was so excited! But my own expectations ended up making this feel even more disappointing. 

Honestly, this probably would've been better as a physical read for me. I think I could've gotten more out of it. As an audio read it was fine, but I struggled to make the connections between these stories. Definitely some good writing in here, and I'll be curious to check out more by this author. 

Okay wait…I really loved this one! 🥹

Lily is such a badass and the most realistic FMC in this series so far lmao because she too was like “WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE’RE IN LOVE AFTER A WEEK??” Her practical brain and how she’d try to intellectualize her feelings made me feel seen. 

I also really enjoyed the plotline of trekking through an alien forest and surviving while growing closer together. I’ve always been a sucker for survival tales. There were so many cute scenes that had me giggling, like Lily teaching this hulking, city slicker alien to play checkers or how to start a fire. 

Overall, I feel like this is the book that’s gonna cement my attachment to this series.