btwnprintedpgs's reviews
1302 reviews

This book definitely landed more in contemporary lit fic than it did in romance. While there is a romantic undertone, a lot of this book is our MC Sadie trying to figure out life.

I'm not generally a time travel girly or a holiday season reader, but I did like how this book really drove home the message that sometimes things happen for a reason. As Sadie starts her Second Chance Year, she starts to fold herself up and hide her true feelings in order to stop rocking the boat, because that's what resulted in the Very Bad Year.

I'll be honest, I liked her Second Chance Year. It might not have worked out the way she planned it, but she learned so much more through it and the finale felt all the more satisfying. It felt earned, even though she had to really go through it in order to get there.

The one thing I wish we had more of was Sadie actually talking through her feelings more, whether through her own narrative or a longer conversation with her friends/family. It would have made the bonds stronger and given us a bit more foundation for her relationships.

All in all, a solid read full of found family, chaos, and letting go of expectations.

TW: sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexism, alcohol consumption, racism; mentions death

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Forever in exchange for an honest review.

Repetitive prose, immediate dislike of the MMC. DNF 10% in.

TW: HP reference, sexism

Whew, that was too relatable, oof. RTC

This book was relatable to the point it felt like a personal attack, and I both resent being called out and also applaud Lily Chu for it.

Dee is a Diversity and Inclusion consultant, Teddy is the heir of a huge fashion business, and chaos ensues when Teddy's family business is thrust in the spotlight for terrible D&I practices (in that there wasn't really any D&I). The main plot was hard to get through - the micro-agressions, white privilege, and outright racism - it was a wild storm. However, so many great conversations came out of it and it was a huge undertaking on Chu's part to write about and shine a light on some of these issues.

The personal attack was Dee's family. The way they sweep everything under a facade of toxic positivity and general avoidance. It was a bit too real at times, and I commend Chu for really hitting me where it hurts. So much of my family was reflected in this book and it was an oof. Dee's growth through it was amazing, even though it takes her a while to fully settle into it (relatable, as well).

While I liked Dee, I loved Teddy. He was my favourite part of the story. Lily Chu always makes her men so real and outside of the conventional "manly man" template. Teddy is a fashion designer who loves art and isn't intimidated by a smart woman and he's almost entirely green flags and I love him for it. He and Dee really click and seeing their relationship with each other develop and grow was a lot of fun, despite the growing pains.

The book was a ride and while I definitely didn't like confronting some of my own issues as I read it, a book where you see yourself reflected and your experiences shared is really a testament to Chu's ability to write real and relatable characters. That ending also was so vindicating, my goodness!

Rep: biracial MCs, bisexual secondary character

TW: toxic positivity, biphobia, racism, micro-aggressions, racial slurs, bullying, sexism; mentions fatphobia, cancer, death of a parent

eARC gifted via Colored Pages Book Tours by Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Now I need a printed version of this book on my shelf. Atmospheric, emotional, and fantastically woven together, I need this novella injected into my veins.

In such a short time, this story built a rich, paranormal underbelly within modern-day Chicago; made me care immensely about its characters and get emotional over them; and tied together the fates of three people who seemingly have nothing in common other than being relative outsiders within their communities. I loved the writing and the depth we got from the characters despite the format of the story (or because of the format of the story?). The mythological depth was also well done - not too info dumpy, but enough that you understand each class/race so that you care and you can follow.

Am I back in my Veronica Roth era? Who knows. But I am now a huge fan of this book.

TW: death, mutilation, violence, murder, injury detail, alcohol, blood; mentions death of a parent, death of a child

eARC gifted via Edelweiss by Tor Books in exchange for an honest review. 

Y'all aren't ready for this book, holy honk. I want to scream for so many reasons. The emotional roller coaster this had me on - one moment I'm laughing, the next I'm crying, the next I'm fueled by righteous rage. The fact that this is a debut novel had me absolutely floored, because it didn't feel like that for a second. Anyways, it's 1:30AM, so full RTC.

---

This book is about broken and toxic friendships, the "not like other girls" moniker and all it's connotations, a girl disappearing, sexual assault (including rape, revenge porn, and more), and how those we love can let us down. Though these are all hard subjects to read about, Meredith Adamo makes it easy.

Jo is a firecracker of an MC. She's an outcast, at odds with her old friends, but doing the best she can with what she has. She's one of those characters you like from the start - her witty inner dialogue, her strong and distinct voice, her growth as she starts to better understand and reframed her narrative, everything about her draws you in from the start. She had true main character energy, to the point where it felt like other characters were trying to strip her of it and make her secondary to their story, and yet they never succeed.

Though Maddie goes missing, the story is really centered around Jo. We get to see Jo grow as a character, both through her inner narrative and her healthier relationship with friends, family, and Hudson. Despite the darker side of her story, I found her new friendships wholesome; the banter sweet, funny, and realistic; and her own voice a great way of adding levity to the whole situation. It's all done in a way that's tasteful, but I also laughed way more than expected.

At the end of the day though, I feel like I got sucker punched by this book. Some parts just felt like such a dose of reality, or felt so poignant, that I would literally gasp. There's one line especially (taken from the ARC, but if it's removed from the final copy, I will cry) where Jo asks someone, "When did I stop being a person to you?" I felt all the air leave my lungs cause oof. It makes more sense in context, but even on its own it packs a punch.

This book will make you laugh, cry, get mad, and scream in righteous fury, but you'll be glued to the pages throughout. Once I met Jo, I couldn't leave her story or her world. An absolutely amazing debut, Meredith Adamo is one to watch!

TW: rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual content, bullying, kidnapping, drug use, alcohol consumption, injury detail, violence, adult/minor relationship; mentions infidelity, death of a parent, death via car accident

ARC gifted by Bloomsbury US via BookInfluencerDotCom in exchange for an honest review. 

Your honour, I love them.

This book was an emotional roller coaster. I loved Emma's empathy and how it changes others around her throughout the story, but also how she had to learn how to keep that while also keeping her peace.

There were a lot of familial issues touched on here. An incarcerated parent, a sibling turned guardian, parental neglect, a child parenting their parent, and that's not even the full list?? As such, there's a lot of reflection on who these characters are, who they can be, and how they can be together when so many factors are pulling them apart.

The mental health discussions, the humour, the strong friendships, and the heartwarming romance all came together to create a beautiful book. The way this connected back to Part of Your World was so surprising, and I barely caught it since it's been so long since I read the previous companions. Just for the Summer was fantastically interwoven into the series and the world's coming together was so perfect. I'm so happy to see how far Abby Jimenez has come with her writing and can't wait to see what she thinks up next!

TW: abandonment, parental neglect, incarcerated parent, alcohol consumption, mental illness, child abuse, emotional abuse, vomit, depression, PTSD; mentions suicide, death of a parent, car accident 

If you love character driven books focused on memories and stories, you'll absolutely love this atmospheric book that merges magical realism with historical and political fiction along with contemporary family drama.

Alma is an author who inherits a property in the Dominican Republic after her father passes. There, she decides to build her cemetery of untold stories - stories long abandoned and in need of a resting place. Where else do untold stories go? Through this, she inadvertently brings together four main characters - Alma, herself, with her messy family still alive and bickering; Filomena, who is hired on as the groundskeeper and who's own story is full of turmoil and loose ends; Alma's dead father, Manuel Cruz, who's story as an immigrant and refugee comes through in his own voice and through Alma's attempt to write it; and Bienvenida, the second wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, as she finds her voice again within the cemetery walls.

This is not a story with a lot of plot. Instead, it walks us through lives that are vastly different, but interconnected in ways that will surprise you. There were a lot of threads, and I will admit that at some points the story lost me with the number of characters that were introduced, but over time, it was fascinating to see how interwoven these narratives were. I loved getting to know these characters, I learned, I gasped, I had to pause the audio in utter shock. There was a lot to get my head around, and it was so interesting to listen to a story like this.

Two points of contention. The first is that there are a lot of characters. A lot. So when we're bouncing from POV to POV, through and across time and country, it gets a bit overwhelming on audio. However, when I picked up the physical book, this was one of those books where they didn't have quotation marks for when people spoke, but it was easy to flip back should a time jump totally take me by surprise. I think both the audio and the physical (or digital) would be good to have on hand, because I really do feel like the audio had a magic of it's own to it, but having the story in front of you made it easier to follow along.

All in all, this was a very haunting story, with ghosts of all sorts coming to life in this cemetery. I know that this book won't be for everyone, but if you want something to get lost in, this is a very strong contender, as you'll be hooked by the narrative and captivated by the characters' stories and voices as they all come to life.

TW: murder, political turmoil, infidelity, child death, sexual assault, genocide, racism; mentions death of a parent, abandonment, dementia, emotional abuse, deportation, homophobia

ALC gifted via Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review. 

The Earthly Blaze is the fantastical sequel to The Heavenly Sword. Immediately, we're thrown back into the action and we get multiple strategy meetings and kung fu battles in the first few chapters. I was immediately sucked back into the story and I thoroughly enjoyed this finale!

Poon really found her stride in this sequel. The plot is tight, the character development is focused and deeper, and the writing flows well. The faster pace helped to push the plot, and the world building was immaculate. I found myself hooked from the first page and I definitely think this is the shining star of the duology.

It really felt like The Heavenly Sword finished at the 50% point of the story, and The Earthly Blaze propels us through to the end. This book is full of history-rich world building, further development of our Immortals and their relationships with those both in the heavenly realm and the mortal, and amazing action scenes and political scheming. The stakes felt higher with the reveal of what happens after the mission is fulfilled. It gave the story some extra punch and really tested the relationships that they all made across this epic journey.

I once again found myself fascinated by the folklore and mythological elements of the story, as well as the deep relationships built throughout Sai'er's mission. The fight scenes were definitely the highlight for me, with each one showing off Poon's writing skills as each scene came alive for me as I read. You can truly see that this is as much as work of art as it is a tribute to the genre.

I will say that this series isn't for everyone. There definitely has to be an understanding for East Asian storytelling, as it differs greatly from what we're generally used to and comfortable with in Western media. I loved how the world came to life, but if you do decide to pick this up, I would recommend gaining a better understanding of wuxia and xianxia stories and their story structure so this isn't such a huge adjustment.

All in all, this epic finale had me on the edge of my seat until the very end and I applaud Poon for taking on such a huge story!

TW: nudity, violence, death, torture, injury detail, murder, kidnapping, manipulation

eARC and finished copy gifted by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

I'm conflicted with this one.

I loved that this is a female led wuxia/xianxia genre-bending story. Sai'er is an amazing lead who, while naive at times, is an absolute baddie. She learns to fight, excels in it, trains hard, is immortal spirit Chang'e in mortal form, and becomes the leader of a strong, tight knit rebellion. Everything about her checks lists for me and her story is so interesting. Based off a real rebellion leader, I found her character amazing, as a whole.

The world-building was also a huge win for me. Poon's writing is immersive and I could see the world come alive in my mind as I read, especially the fight scenes. The training sequences and fight scenes really set the stage for future battles, and I enjoyed joining Sai'er, Binhong and Yinho on that journey.

Where this book lost me at times was the virgin magic (an absolute no for me) and Sai'er's inexplicable attraction to a known tyrant and rapist (also, ick). Due to the virgin magic, there are attempts to make her not one (ahem), and I did not enjoy those sequences. With regards to the evil Sky Wolf, the main adversary and the man Sai'er is drawn to, she's transported fairly early on in the story to an old memory from her life as Chang'e. In that vision, Sky Wolf sexually assaults her, and she's walks away from that vision still drawn to him and trying to better understand his psyche. I wish her disillusionment happened earlier, as that was a big nope for me.

This book had strong writing and fantastic world building, but some of the cons really conflicted with the pros. I'm curious to read book 2, as the end of this book cuts right at the 50% mark of the plot, but this one was a miss for me.

TW: violence, injury detail, sexual assault, suicide attempt, vomit, rape, torture, war, death, kidnapping, death of an animal (not dog, hunting); mentions cannibalism

eARC gifted by Alice Poon, the author, in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Anita Kelly book and it was okay. I want to say it was amazing, but unfortunately it just didn't click right with me, which is hugely disappointing since it had everything I basically like (outside of the main trope, which didn't click as the main trope until I was in it).

Immediately, I got hooked on the writing. The story started off strong but their brains being abuzz over one another immediately turned me off. I appreciated both of their respect for one another - green flag characters all around - but the fangirly-ness of it all was not for me (the whole love arc takes place across 2 months only).

Then there was the practice dating. I'm not usually a practice dating kind of person, the trope is very hit or miss for me, and this time around it was a miss. The priorities felt off and some of it felt way too fast, but again that might be a me problem.

I did like the mental health discussion, the chats about feeling behind because of a lack of dating (and possibly being aro/ace/demi), and the feeling of being mildly directionless, but for some reason it just didn't gel with me like these discussions usually would (cause hi, directionless, mentally ill demi here). I did love the reassurance that no label is really needed though, that was very gratifying. Also, the MC's relationships were also really well developed (though maybe the large cast was part of why I didn't love it??). Both MCs have full lives - family who they love and interact with, friends who pop in and help them through problems - and I loved that they had that, but it was a lot of take in. Maybe if I'd read the first two books I would have had a better handle on all the secondary characters.

Like I said, the writing was good, but something just didn't click for me and I'm as disappointed by that as you probably are. Might give their other books a try one day, but this was just okay for me.

Rep: sapphic, MC with depression and chronic migraines, MC questioning

TW: sexual content; mentions drug abuse, addiction, parental neglect

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Pacing: 2/5
Overall: 3/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Forever in exchange for an honest review.