tayahmarie's reviews
91 reviews

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This might be my favorite romance book of 2021, I fear! I’ve never read anything from Tessa Bailey before but now I’m tempted to go through her backlog and read everything because that’s how obsessed I am with her writing and this story.

Honestly, this is so wattpad-esque (but in a good way!) it hurts and as someone who used to spend way too much time on there in high school, I knew I would eat this up! This has everything that I could ask for in a romance - all my favorite tropes: (enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, small-town romance, etc.) a likable heroine and hero, and actual steamy scenes. I became a Piper stan after reading page one - her humor and the way she just went through life still being optimistic, charismatic, and particularly kind was great. I also loved how Tessa made it known that Piper is high maintenance and loves to shop/the nicer things in life and didn’t make her feel embarrassed or ashamed of herself because she liked those things. I feel like a lot of books and movies make young women feel bad about themselves if they do and it’s absolutely absurd.

Brendan is something! He got on my last nerve in the beginning and I hated how rude, judgemental, and at times very misogynistic he was towards Piper. But as usual, as time went on he changed for the better. I actually ended up liking his character towards the end. I do understand why some folks aren’t happy with his character because besides being misogynistic at times, he also comes off as possessive. BUT, I feel like you tend to get problematic themes like this when it comes to enemies to lovers tropes, unfortunately. Their foundation is essentially built off angst and being nasty towards each other 💀.

Overall, I LOVED this story, loved the fishing/boating aspect of this (which I didn’t think I would). This is definitely going to be my new comfort romance book that I’ll reread when I want to feel something, lmao. I’m so excited for the sequel - it’ll be Hannah’s time to shine and i love that for her!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Hunger Games universe is one of my favorite book series/universes of all time. Though I disliked President Snow then and now, I enjoyed this story for what it was and it tied up a lot of loose ends from the HG trilogy. Can't wait to see the movie adaption of this!
A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A classic enemies-to-lovers story and I loved the representation as much as I did the romance. Definitely look up trigger warnings before diving in since there are quite a few.
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Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Such an important read. I was left breathless after I finished the book.
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Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I originally rated this 4.5 stars (or in this case, circus tents😅) but bumped it up to 5 because I’m STILL thinking about this story almost a week later. This was my first introduction to Stacey Lee’s work and let’s just say that I was not disappointed. As I mentioned in my recent posts, I knew I was going to like this one due to the Titanic element alone. However, I truly became invested in not only Valora and Jamie’s stories/lives, but also the side characters. I was rooting for ALL of them, even the ones who were doing everything they could (through small gestures/simple acts of kindness) to support Valora and Jamie along the way. There’s just such a strong sense of family and community here and it’s great. Despite the obvious tragedy and harmful sexism and racism (which was needed to show the severity and horrors Chinese people and women endure/d), this book did have a lot of highlights and shenanigans that kept you entertained and truly engaged throughout the story… even to the point where I sometimes forgot they were on the Titanic. Though the ending caught me off guard, Lee’s way of allowing us to really get connected to/know the characters helped it all make sense in a bittersweet way.
Beach Read by Emily Henry

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Talk about a SLOW BURN (but in a good way). Yes, this is another 5-star read for me and yes, I do believe the hype. Honestly, when I first started this I wasn’t too thrilled and I think that’s because I set too many high standards for this book and didn’t want to be disappointed…thank goodness I wasn’t.

January is amazing and Gus is a king. I really loved January’s witty comments and how quick on her feet she was. I genuinely laughed out loud at some of the things she said like full-on cackled because she’s just so funny! Her and Gus’ chemistry cannot be denied and the banter between them is so so good. Gus is one of the sweetest male fictional characters I’ve ever come across. The way he would describe January and his feelings toward her was just *chef’s kiss*. I could reread Chapter 26 over and over again and since I’m such a hopeless romantic this book was right up my alley! On the flip side, this was also a heartbreaking story and I love when authors can pull at every single heartstring of yours… which is probably why a lot of folks love Emily Henry’s writing IMO. I will definitely pick up The People We Meet on Vacation as soon as I make a dent in my TBR 😂.
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Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

 I loved Reena from page one, her passion for baking breads (lots and lots of bread) was adorable and very relatable as we all need an outlet to break up the monotony of everyday life. Her support group was refreshing to read about, too. I was genuinely invested in their mini storylines and how things would turn out for them towards the end. As for Nadim, he’s easily become one of my favorite male fictional characters when it comes to contemporary romance. His optimism from the very beginning was contagious. The only thing I didn’t care for was the misunderstanding/not talking it out trope that often gets thrown into romance books/movies 🙄. I don’t want to spoil too much but overall, I think this is a cute read!
Blackout by Nicola Yoon, Dhonielle Clayton, Ashley Woodfolk, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A cute, lighthearted read! Thrilled that these amazing authors collaborated to put Black love stories at the forefront.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I thought this was a cute, funny, and heartwarming read! Goffney did a great job at exploring culture, identity, and race and made it digestible for a YA audience.
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In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I thought this was an eye-opening, phenomenal memoir. Guerrero is the epitome of strength, resilience, and perseverance. 
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