the goodreads one-star means 'did not like it' and i did not like it


◯ Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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#1) Aru Shah and the End of Time ★★★★★
#2) Aru Shah and the Song of Death ★★★★½

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#1) Not Your Sidekick ★★★★☆
#2) Not Your Villain ★★☆☆☆

quick thoughts:

• i really adore this cast of characters, but especially the main Sidekick Squad
• lee's writing is so addictive. it's fast-paced and action-packed. i marathoned this series v easily
• idk what it is about the world-building but i find it almost impossible to visualise the settings and fight scenes
• this had the most incredible discussions about aromanticism and queerplatonic relationships
• i have a terrible feeling jess & abby's timeline was kept purposefully vague because the fourth book is going to be from abby's pov and it'll backtrack like the second book
• this series is just so much fun. i have no regrets

➸ Trigger warnings for

internalised amisia & aromisia, coming out themes, nightmares, drugged w/o consent recounted, mild gore depiction, scars mentioned, nonconsensual human experimentation mentioned, explosion, kidnapping, imprisonment, disappearance of a loved one, car crash, and fire

.

▷ Representation: Emma (mc) is Latinx, questioning aroace & has two mums; Bells (li) is a (bi?) Black trans boy; Jess (sc) is bisexual & Chinese-Vietnamese; Abby (sc) is a lesbian; Brendan (sc) is gay (?) & Chinese-Vietnamese; Sean (sc) is Black, ace & demiromantic; queer, hijabi, & bipoc scs.

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#1) Not Your Sidekick ★★★★☆
#3) Not Your Backup ★★★☆☆

quick thoughts:

• i'm so disappointed
• bells is one of my favourite characters but i realllllly didn't like the plot
• the first 40% of this book is a recap of the first book from bell's pov. it was so unnecessary and made the story repetitive and rushed the ending
• i also just .... didn't ship bells & emma that much
• bells' voice felt really passive. jess had such a clear, unique voice so i don't know what happened
• the fact that bells' transness was so central to the story was wonderful. he talks about how shapeshifting affects his gender dysphoria and practising giving himself t-shots when he goes away for training

➸ Trigger warnings for

gender dysphoria, ableist language, needles mentioned, hormone replacement therapy mentioned, physical assault, kidnapping, human medical experimentation, explosion, imprisonment, fire, and disappearance of a loved one

.

▷ Representation: Bells (mc) is a (bi?) Black trans boy; Emma (sc) is Latinx, questioning aroace & has two mums; Jess (sc) is bisexual & Chinese-Vietnamese; Abby (sc) is a lesbian; Brendan (sc) is gay (?) & Chinese-Vietnamese; queer, hijabi, & bipoc scs.

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#1) Not Your Sidekick ★★★★☆
#3) Not Your Backup ★★★☆☆

quick thoughts:

• this was so much fun
• plotholes & weird world-building aplenty but it was so damn addictive
• i read this in a single sitting because i just couldn't put it down
• jess & abby are so soft and their romance was so wholesome
• i just loved this??? a whole lot

➸ Trigger warnings for

racism, bismisia, transmisia, coming out themes recounted, drugged w/o consent, implied forced breeding program, scars, physical injury, implied nonconsensual medical experiments, physical assault, kidnapping, captivity & imprisonment, disappearance of parents, and bullying

.

▷ Representation: Jess (mc) is bisexual & Chinese-Vietnamese; Abby (li) is a lesbian; Emma (sc) is Latinx, questioning aroace & has two mums; Bells (sc) is a (bi?) Black trans boy; Brendan (sc) is gay (?) & Chinese-Vietnamese; queer, & bipoc scs.

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i'm here for the queer librarians on horseback




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