yourbookishbff's Reviews (650)

I fully loved the first 80% of this story, particularly the excellent chemistry and tension between our overlooked and underestimated heroine and rakishly overconfident hero. This was set up as brother's best friend and my biggest disappointment was that it never fulfilled this plot set-up in the third act. The conclusion felt rushed and I struggled with some of the timing/decisions around intimacy, for how stressy they were. That said, I really enjoyed this book's set-up and with more time/resolution at the end, it would have felt a lot more balanced.

This is an excellent reformed rake x wallflower romance, both lighthearted and angsty in equal measure. It came So Close to an explicit declaration of fidelity, but didn't quite capture it, which is the only element that held it back from being truly Perfect for Me. I loved how a casually careless moment from early in the story came into the plot at the end to create maximum third-act angst and heartbreak (the pain was exquisite).  The narrator was great. I loved the older-sister-spinster vibe that is Callie. She's such a relatable character and her tender love for Mariana blended so realistically with bitterness and envy. I loved the humorous nods to the modern reader (flesh wound jokes), was so grateful for her brother, Benedict, and their easy banter and camaraderie. sibling relationships among them. I also felt the plot was well-paced. 

It Takes a Scandal by Carolyn Linden takes our series to the countryside, where sisters Abigail and Penelope meet the mysterious Sebastian Vane, neighbor to their new country estate. It has elements of Hades/Persephone (even literally descending below ground to a secret grotto for an intimate encounter) as well as Beauty and the Beast (though our Beast is simply thoroughly misunderstood and misaligned, and if anything, is more traumatized than severe). This dragged a bit for me, as I don't love when the story feels so isolated (taking place almost entirely between the neighboring estates) and because it generally leaned more dark and reflective than I had hoped. It felt almost gothic at times - our tortured hero is Really Tortured, and the story takes some dark twists toward the end as our mystery unravels. 

This rake reformation is delicious, but you have to read the first book in this series, A Duke In Shining Armor, to fully appreciate the Duke of Ashmont's growth in this story. After a lifetime of pranks and aimlessness, Ashmont has to learn how to be trusted, how to take responsibility for himself and those in his care, how to make the lives of others easier (for once), and he has to evidence that he can do all of this sustainably, that he can truly become a person others depend on. His sincere reflections supported this character growth, and the levity of the point system (in rewarding his favors) balances his authentic, intrinsic motivation to hold himself accountable. This had everything I love about Loretta - a himbo hero who falls for a sharp and uncompromising heroine, plenty of absurd antics and cutting banter, comedic (and heart-warming) side characters, and a sweet, earnest happily-ever-after. I particularly loved their wedding night, and the full-circle moment that mirrors their childhood admiration. 

Going into this, I knew to expect time travel between present-day (at publication - late 1970s) and the antebellum South, but I did not expect that Kindred would ultimately be more character study than time travel/sci fi - and now I understand why it is such a memorable and timeless read for the genre. For a book under 300 pages that leans heavily on dialogue, this drives a nuanced, complicated, and deeply disturbing portrayal of the relationship between a Black woman living in the 1970s and her white (slave-holding) ancestor living in the early 19th century. The world-building is secondary here - we don't ever understand how this is happening, only why, as Dana is repeatedly pulled back in time to save Rufus's life and ensure the continuation of her family line. The abruptness of the story's start is mirrored again in its conclusion, and we are left reeling from the slow-building horror of a white boy who grows into a white man at a time when he is afforded every privilege of power and security. 

Butler consistently sows doubt in the reader: Is Dana's husband, Kevin, good enough to her, will he protect her, will he prioritize himself? Is Dana growing attached to Rufus, does she feel sorry for him, does she forgive him for his cruelty because she sees how he was raised? Do we become acclimated as Dana and Kevin do, do the horrors become loss horrible through exposure, do we become numb to it? What are we willing to sacrifice to save ourselves, a person we love, or a family member? Butler resists answering any of these questions, instead giving characters room to orbit around each other as they make their own decisions and shape their own histories. 

This is a challenging and graphic read, but a fast-paced one that evidences Butler's place in the sci-fi/fantasy canon. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this coming-of-age story and am grateful, again, that stories like this exist for today's teens. The short chapters and first-person narration make this a fast-paced read, and I enjoyed the irreverent, sincere and self-deprecating voice of our main character, Yamilet. Reyes explores the complex intersections in identity for Yamilet, who comes out as a lesbian, and her younger brother, Cesar, who comes out as bisexual, within their deeply Catholic, Mexican-American household. We can see the layered obstacles for this family as they fight to stay afloat independently years after the deportation of their father (leaving their mother as the family's sole source of income) and thrive in a world that feels fractured along too many religious, cultural and familial fault lines. 

Most compelling in this story is Reyes' look at mental health crises for queer teens. We know statistically that queer teens face disproportionately high rates of bullying and harassment, physical and sexual abuse, depression, and suicidal ideation, and we see these themes explicitly played out in Yamilet and Cesar's storylines. Readers who like to see on-page discussions of mental health care and intervention (akin to Heartstopper) will appreciate how these conflicts are managed by Reyes - particularly how they evidence the ways in which racism and classism within healthcare further complicate crisis care and long-term support for marginalized youth.

I found myself more drawn to the family dynamics and interpersonal relationships (outside of the romances) in this story (the sibling dynamic between Yami + Cesar meant the world to me), so I was only disappointed that the final 20% centered romance to the degree that it did for Yamilet - that said, this was just personal preference. 

Fortune Favors the Viscount, the fourth installment in Caroline Linden's Wagers of Sin, was easily my favorite story of the series. We finally see the infamous and often sidelined Mr. Nick Dashwood in the lead role and gradually learn how the gambling hell owner came to be. I love a strong-willed and resourceful governess who stands up for herself, and our female main character, Emilia, is all of that and more. She dives headfirst into Nick's life, upending his aspirations and his family, and showing him a path toward trust and partnership. I particularly loved how aware Nick is of the power imbalance between them, due to his gender, money and influence, but also due to her dependence on him as her employer. The on-page discussions of power and consent are well-done and help each character find equal footing with the other.

For third-act anxiety, know we have a Big Bad Villain that dominates the relationship tension and drives the final 20% right until the very end. I loved seeing Nick and Emilia's family come together, and the relationship between Lucy and Charlotte is so affirming. I think this one is particularly enjoyable when you know Nick's role throughout the series, but it could absolutely be read as a stand-alone.

I grabbed Spear as an audiobook (narrated by the author!) and I highly recommend this format for an atmospheric and immersive listening experience. As a reader less familiar with Arthurian legend, I'm sure I don't fully appreciate all of the ways in which Griffith has expanded the original myth by recasting it with her own gender-bent, queer lens, but I loved it all the same. The writing is intentionally lush, and the imagery so meticulous that it's easy to feel physically present in this magical world. This is a quick listen (just under 6 hours at 1x), and I know I'll be returning to Griffith's other works soon. 

The best way I can think to describe The Stars Too Fondly is that it's like the writers of The Good Place had written Project Hail Mary. This is campy sci-fi for the sci-fi nerds, filled with (what I can only assume are deep-cut) Star Trek episode references, fourth wall breaks that feel self-deprecating and pull the reader in on the joke, and world-building you shouldn't ask a whole lot of questions about. In short, it's exactly as described - a joyful sapphic sci-fi rom-com. Some of the plot twists are fairly predictable - but a few genuinely surprised me - and ultimately, I had a blast spending time with these characters and read this story in one evening.

Also want to note that this fills a GAPING HOLE in the sub-genre of sci-fi and/or fantasy romance: it is an actual stand-alone with a single story arc, clear resolution, and a happily-ever-after. I honestly added a half star just for that alone, because an actually-efficient, sub-350-page tight storyline in sci-fi with a central romance?! Unheard of. Spectacular. Give me more.

If you enjoy overtly silly sci-fi and a romance where one of the main characters is an actual hologram, you're going to love this. I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy!

The Temple of Persephone by Isabella Kamal evidences evocative writing and a unique premise. While Hades and Persephone retellings are not uncommon, I've never read one that called back so directly to the original tale and that used the mythology through so much of the plot's throughline. Aside from that inspiration, the characters also felt very reminiscent of our cast from Pride and Prejudice - a surly (but largely just misunderstood) male main character, a hoydenish female main character aging into spinsterhood (in her mid-20s) in the countryside with an elderly, doting (but distant) father, and a secondary romance between two sunshine characters who fall immediately and hopelessly in love.

Despite all the familiar beats in this romance (marriage of convenience is usually a favorite set-up for me!), I struggled to feel the chemistry between the two main characters and wished for more on-page tension between them through the first half of the book. This is a very introspective book, with most page-space devoted to inner monologue, and there were moments I wanted more interaction between characters, more showing and less telling, more push and pull between them. The secondary plot - and the primary cause of tension between our main characters - felt like it was carrying too much in the final act, as I struggled to imagine the back-and-forth truly being as drawn out as it was.

In another call-back to Pride and Prejudice, in the final act, we have our male main character threatening to interfere in a secondary plot in a way that didn't feel as resolved as I needed it to be - his actions are frustrating and limit agency for these characters in a way that rankled a bit. This, alongside our female main character's continued negative self-talk throughout the narrative (more telling than showing, as we don't see a lot of evidence for why she may have felt that way among her family and friends), made it hard for me to really root for the main characters through the final conflict.

While I struggled with the plot and characters, I did find the writing to be compelling, and I'll read more by this author in the future, in hopes that this was just a set-up that didn't quite work for me. Thank you to the author and publisher for an advanced reader copy!