titalindaslibrary's Reviews (687)

Damn, that last 20% of the book FLEW by! I think the first half took a bit too long to build to the climactic last half, but overall I enjoyed this. 

The whole time I kept getting Crimson Peak vibes and I LOVE that movie! This would make such a gorgeous film adaptation in that style. 

Another nonfiction book I would recommend as necessary reading. It took me far longer than usual to finish this, but it was worth slowing down for. 

This collection of short essays, poems, and short pieces make for a powerful cohesive work that was simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. Once again I am struck by HOW LONG this brutal occupation and apartheid has been ongoing. As one line said: “There was anger over occupation, but more anger over why we must always be telling this story.“ 

I was enjoying this memoir a lot but then I saw reviews pointing out the controversy between this author and her family. Normally I'm sympathetic to people writing books their family might hate (for example, Educated by Tara Westover),  but there are reviews from the author's brother and sister-in-law that are quite concerning. Basically they are saying "she lied about this and that verifiable fact, we busted our asses to help care for our mother/MIL while she couldn't be bothered, also our mother/MIL was an amazing woman who is being described here in very ableist language." 

Sooo...I'm not 100% sure what's real or not real here, but there are just enough red flags that I will DNF'ing for now. I don't feel comfortable reading this story until I know more.

I love feminist fantasy, and this was a spectacular one! From chapter 1 I was hooked and the unexpected theme of patriarchy interlocked with religious systems was done beautifully. Deka goes through some massive deconstruction! 

My one tiny complaint would be the romantic subplot - I don’t feel like Deka and Keita had believable chemistry. Maybe their interactions will be built on in the next book, but I think it would’ve been more interesting to see them as friends. Why must YA always shoehorn these romances in?? 😩

But overall? Loved it. I’m so glad I decided to wait and start this trilogy closer to the pub date of book 3 - this is one of those stories that absorbs you and you don’t want to leave! 

Baby’s first encounter with the Omegaverse. And you know what? Not bad. I DNFed Hazelwood’s STEMinist books, but this one works for me! 

We stan Courtney Milan in this household 🫶🏼

Love Naomi’s character development in relation to how she viewed her mom - and in effect how that changed the way she viewed herself. Not only that but the small sample of a different type of love and strength that skews from the typical type of love shown in romance books between Naomi’s parents. 

Kai was so stubborn for SO long (aka: the entire book) over what seemed like the simplest decision, but it really showed how our inner demons can sabotage our happiness.

Overall, an excellently done romance and I’ll be looking forward to reading more by Milan! 

Tiffany D. Jackson is consistently writing some of the hardest hitting YA books. I recently read Weight of Blood and found it gripping, so when I saw this audiobook available I decided to listen to it for a roadtrip. I'm not sure if I'd recommend that as the emotional turmoil and stress certainly kept me awake and alert, but at what cost?

Wow. I loved this, especially on audiobook! The snippets of his live show where he’s reading and interacting with a crowd was a pleasant surprise. José takes all the pretentiousness out of poetry to share, laugh, and sigh over the different facets of life - specifically through a Mexican-American lens. I loved that every poem is preluded by his thoughts and what he was going through at the time! 

Oh wow, this one crept up on me. Initially quite slow and meandering, it wasn’t until the past storyline and its characters got introduced that I was drawn in. 
This book is sad, sweeping, romantic, and mournful. The ending affected me in a way I hadn’t anticipated, tying together the beauty of remembering our stories and the strength it can endow others by passing them on. 

Just not in the mood for this right now :)