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The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
“It felt scary, as if she were stepping across some invisible boundary, as if she might not know herself afterward. As if she were becoming the self she’d always thought lurked just underneath her skin. Her coolest possible self.” The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is very much old-school Holly Black: edgy aesthetics, gritty/snarky dialogues, and…
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, Adult, adventure, age gap, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, balls, bi side characters, DEATH, drama, dystopia, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, gritty aesthetics, HOLLY BLACK, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, lgbtq+ side, monsters, no plot just vibes, PARANORMAL, published in 2013, queer side characters, re-reads, read in 2013, read in 2022, revenge, road trip, ROMANCE, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, The Coldest Girl, trans side characters, URBAN FANTASY, VAMPIRES, violence, YOUNG ADULT -
The Arena of the Unwell by Liam Konemann
“At any given moment, I have no idea what’s true about any of us.” The Arena of the Unwell is a gritty and exhilarating exploration of loneliness and longing, obsession and jealousy, queerness and male intimacy. tw: self-harm & suicidal ideation Our narrator is Noah, a 22-year-old gay man who lives in London. He works…
1st pov, 4.25 stars, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, atmospheric, AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR, bad love, bi side characters, cheating, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, DEPRESSION, england, feverish, gay, gritty realism, grunge vibes, introspective, jealousy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Liam Konemann, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, m/m, masculinity, mental health, music, nostalgic reads, obsession, psychological, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, self-destructive, self-harming, sex, SEXUALITY, strong sense of place, suicide, The Arena of the Unwell, the male malaise, toxic relationships, unreliable narrators -
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
Summer Sons is very much a vibes-driven novel that would not exist without Maggie Stiefvater’s The Dream Thieves. From the aesthetics permeating the story to the combative & codependent character dynamics, Summer Sons share a lot of similarities with that book. Lee Mandelo’s older cast of characters however allow for them to employ an edgier…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, academia, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cars, coming of age, Contemporary, curses, DEATH, FANTASY, friendships, gay side characters, ghosts/spirits, GOTHIC, history, HORROR, identity, it’s about the *aesthetics*, Lee Mandelo, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, M/F/M side, m/m, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, nashville, NEW ADULT, PARANORMAL, polyamory, published in 2021, queer, read in 2022, reading, SEXUALITY, Southern America, southern gothic, summer reads, Summer Sons, SUPERNATURAL, tennessee, toxic relationships, trans side characters, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk
If you like lyrical love stories such as Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson, or books that give serious A24 coming-of-age film vibes such as All the Water I’ve Seen Is Running by Elias Rodriques, don’t sleep on Nothing Burns as Bright as You. The author captures how all-consuming first love can be through the…
1st pov, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, Ashley Woodfolk, atmospheric, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Contemporary, f/f, female authors, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, lyrical prose, My reviews, Nothing Burns as Bright as You, queer, reading, ROMANCE, sapphic, style over character, stylised prose, Summer, toxic relationships, unnamed characters, unnamed narrator, vignettes, YOUNG ADULT -
Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden
I had quite hopes for Anything But Fine and the first few chapters promised a ya coming-of-age in the realms of The Sky Blues, Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, and You Should See Me in a Crown. As the story progresses however I found myself growing weary of the unnecessary miscommunication. If you are…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Anything But Fine, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, dancing, drama, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, m/m, male authors, My reviews, published in 2021, queer, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, sports, teen angst, Tobias Madden, YOUNG ADULT -
Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters
This is yet another one of my most anticipated 2022 releases that ended up missing the mark. Having read and enjoyed Julian Winters’ The Summer of Everything I went into this expecting something cute & wholesome only to be confronted with a generic coming of age ya about characters who are just out of high…
1st pov, 2 STARS, America, ANGST, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, Julian Winters, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, m/m, My reviews, non-binary side characters, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, Right Where I Left You, ROMANCE, Summer, summer reads, teen angst, YOUNG ADULT -
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
While Ophelia After All wasn’t quite the cute & wholesome read I wanted it to be it still made for a better than okay read. The in-group drama, avoidable miscommunication, and one too many love triangles detracted from an otherwise compelling coming-of-age. If you are reading this expecting it to be a HEA romance, I…
1st pov, 3 STARS, ace side characters, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, female authors, friendships, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, latinx author, LGBTQ+ Author, love triangle, Ophelia After All, published in 2022, queer, Racquel Marie, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, SEXUALITY, social issues, unrequited love, YOUNG ADULT -
Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique
A week or so before reading Monster in the Middle I read Tiphanie Yanique’s debut short story collection, Land of Love and Drowning, which I rather enjoyed. I remember being struck by Yanique ’s atmospheric storytelling, by her subtle use of irony, and by her thoughtful meditations on death, love, and everything in between. So,…
1980s, 1990s, 2 STARS, 2000s, 2010s, Adult, affairs, America, American, belonging, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, cheating, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, Ghana, illness, incest-y, interconnected stories, intergenerational, ISLAND, lgbtq+ side, MARRIAGE, mental health, Monster in the Middle, My reviews, NEW YORK, pandemic, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Religion, Saint Thomas, Saint Thomas authors, schizophrenia, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, Tiphanie Yanique, travel, U.S. Virgin Islands authors -
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
“I was Tookie, always too much Tookie. For better or worse, that’s a fact.” I feel quite conflicted over The Sentence. Although I loved the first half of this novel I found the latter to be boring and somewhat disjointed. While I’m sure many will be able to love everything about this book I wish…
3.5 STARS, Adult, America, American, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, bookshops, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, female authors, ghosts/spirits, hauntings, history, illness, indigenous, indigenous author, lgbtq+ side, libraries/bookshops, LITERARY FICTION, Louise Erdrich, MAGICAL REALISM, minnesota, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, netgalley, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, pandemic, PARANORMAL, prison, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, social issues, The Sentence -
How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs
How to Love a Jamaican: Stories is a promising debut collection that focuses on the Jamaican diasporic experience, highlighting cultural and generational differences and providing us with some wonderfully realized vignettes. Alexia Arthurs’ prose is engaging, unsentimental yet lyrical, and she’s fully able to bring the places she’s writing of—be it America or Jamaica—to life.…
3.25 stars, Adult, America, American, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, class, collection of short stories, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, female authors, intergenerational, jamaica, jamaican, jamaican american author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, migration/immigration, My reviews, published in 2018, read in 2021, reading, short stories
luce [is reading] 