booknerderika's reviews
663 reviews

This was good but not as amazing as I had hoped. The characters were likeable and the plot was fine, I wanted more though. It felt like things were happening so quickly and the scenes were so short. I did enjoy the dialogue and the humor as usual with a Talia Hibbert book. 

Jessica Nabongo, the first black woman to travel to every country in the world, shares her experiences in 100 countries. 

I enjoyed learning about so many places I knew nothing about and also reading about the different foods and cultures around the world. The pictures were a nice bonus. 

I wish she would've shared every country but I understand that it would've been too long and as she said she didn't want to give a description on every country since there were some she still wanted to see more of. 

I'm furious right now. What kind of ending was that?? This book was torture and then ended horribly. I went from loving Celine in The Beautiful to hating her by the end of the series. Absolutely the worst ending I've ever read. I'm so hurt and angry. I waited 2 years for THIS?! 😡

A new favorite book! I've needed an autistic FMC that I could relate to. I love that Jessie found her "people" since I didn't have that in high school, and it helped heal that part of me. Also, the final words in the acknowledgments felt like a message directed at me. 

"Don't shrink who you are to make others feel comfortable. You deserve to take up all the space you need." 

Before reading this, I had mainly read about the history of Palestine and the issues in Gaza. So, this book brought more information about the West Bank and other issues like life for imprisoned Palestinians and what it is like to grow up in an aparthied state. The strength necessary to endure a life like Ahed's and countless other Palestinians is so immense. Their ability to not give up hope despite constant abuse and torture speaks volumes to the resilience of the Palestinian people. 

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story that should be required reading. Palestinians are people and zionism continues to brainwash people into dehumanizing them. We must share their stories and do all we can to help end the Israeli occupation. 

I love morally gray characters and this gave me all of that in the love interest and the protagonist, however why did this have to be a colonizer romance? It didnt help that Arin was also white. 

I was waiting the whole book for

Sylvia to reveal her true identity, and it was so satisfying at the end

! That was probably my favorite part of the whole thing. 

This book was informative and brought up many crucial points for understanding the struggles of the Palestinian people. 

One reason, among many, that I appreciated the dialogue in this book was because of the insight that Ilan Pappé brought to the discussion. I think it is important to hear from former zionists because they can explain the mindset of the Israeli zionists from first-hand experience. 

One part in particular that has stuck with me is in regards to the comparison of Palestine/Israel to South Africa. It was mentioned that Israelis don't need Palestinians the same way that white South Africans needed black South Africans, which makes this issue so much more extreme. I had not considered that, but it makes so much sense when looking at the way Israel has treated the Palestinians, especially those in Gaza. 

This also helped shed light on the nature of the Israeli government by showing their continued pattern of disregarding ceasefire agreements. 

It's sad that this has been going on for so long and also frustrating that the US is continuing to contribute to the Israeli apartheid by funding and supporting it. It's also disgustingly appalling to see how Israel committed and continues to commit war crimes against Palestine with no repercussions.

Wow. I need a moment before I review this.. 

This started out better than it ended. The ending sort of fell flat for me and felt so rushed and a bit anti-climactic. Actually, the whole book felt rushed, if I'm being completely honest. I needed more and while I'm excited for another book in the Caraval world, I'm a little disappointed by this one.

Natalie Caña has done it again!

There was so much representation in this book (Plus-size, LGBTQ+, mental health/trauma, etc) and tropes that I normally don't like but actually enjoyed here (2nd chance romance, single parent romance, "good boy" smut). 

Lola is a plus-sized bisexual activist who stands firm in her beliefs and loves everyone so fiercely. Then there is Saint, the caring father and military veteran who feels it's his duty to protect everyone while neglecting his own struggles with

anxiety and PTSD.

I appreciate that this was not a pro-war book and that the topic of how marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by military recruitment out of high school was brought up. 

Saint wasn't a favorite character for me in the first book, but I have gained a new view of him and want nothing but the best for him. 

I am curious to see how things are going to work out for the next couple. Especially with the drama from book 1. I am very much looking forward to book 3.