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Circa by Devi S. Laskar
Circa had the potential of being an immersive and compelling read. Sadly, the structure and length of the narrative do the story no favors, as the final product ultimately struck me as formulaic in a-MFA-program type of way. Sure, Devi S. Laskar quite effectively utilizes a 2nd pov, which is no easy feat. Beyond this…
1980s, 1990s, 20th century, 2nd pov, 3 STARS, Adult, America, cheating, Circa, cultural dissonance, DEATH, Devi S. Laskar, drama, family, female authors, first love, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, GRIEF, growing up, identity, indian american author, intergenerational, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, missing girls, missing persons, North Carolina, published in 2022, read in 2022, snapshots, style over character, stylised prose, will they won't they, youth -
The Dove in the Belly by Jim Grimsley
in The Dove in the Belly, it’s all about the 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 “A moment of happiness could feel almost like a wound.” The Dove in the Belly is a work of startling beauty that presents its readers with a piercing exploration of male intimacy and a mesmerizing study of queer desire that beautifully elaborates the many…
1970s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, atmospheric, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, books about books, break-ups, campus, DEATH, desire, drama, family, first love, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, illness, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, jealousy, Jim Grimsley, journalism, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, love can be ugly, m/m, masculinity, melancholy, mothers & sons, My reviews, NEW ADULT, North Carolina, obsession, published in 2022, queer, re-reads, read in 2022, read in 2023, reading, ROMANCE, sex, SEXUALITY, Southern America, strong sense of place, The Dove in the Belly, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, youth -
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 -
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 -
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu
The first few pages of Here Again Now brought to mind the opening scene from my much beloved A Little Life so, naturally, I cranked up my expectations. As I kept on reading however my initial excitement over the story incrementally decreased to the point that I no longer looked forward to picking it up.…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, actors, addiction, Adult, ANGST, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, england, fatherhood, fathers & sons, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, GRIEF, Here Again Now, introspective, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, lyrical prose, male authors, male friendships, My reviews, Nigeria, nigerian british author, Okechukwu Nzelu, published in 2022, purply prose, queer, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, style over character, tragedy, weak prose, will they won't they -
The Summer of You by Nagisa Furuya
“to me…you will always be part of my summer.” The Summer of You will definitely appeal to fans of shounen-ai like Seven Says. I, however, found it rather generic and clichéd.As the title itself suggests The Summer of You is very much a light summer romance. The manga follows Chiharu and Wataru, two boys who…
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Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
She wondered if the rest of early adulthood would be like this—avoiding roommates, getting ripped off for bad fusion food, and the peculiar loneliness of being smothered by people she didn’t want to spend time with. Having recently fallen in love with Choi’s most recent novel, Yolk, I was eager to read more by her.…
3.75 stars, 3rd pov, academia, addiction, America, American, anxiety, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, campus, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, emergency contact, favourite authors, female authors, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, identity, korean american author, Mary H.K. Choi, mary hk choi, My reviews, NEW ADULT, published in 2018, rape, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social media, texas, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT -
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
“To be careful with people and with words was a rare and beautiful thing.” The first time I read this novel was back in 2013 and in the years since I have come to regard Benjamin Alire Sáenz as one of my favourite authors. His deceptively simple style captures with clarity the thoughts and feelings…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, America, American, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Aristotle Mendoza, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, coming of age, Dante Quintana, el paso, family, fathers & sons, first love, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, latinx author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, m/m, male authors, male friendships, MEXICAN AMERICAN AUTHOR, published in 2012, queer, re-reads, read in 2013, read in 2021, Summer, summer reads, texas, YOUNG ADULT -
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Perhaps I should not have requested an arc for People We Meet on Vacation as I was one of the few people who last was not particularly enamoured by Beach Read (i know, i know, the audacity). I actually ended up enjoying this more as I found it to be both funnier and a lot…
3 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, cheesy, Chicago, Contemporary, croatia, drama, Emily Henry, female authors, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, gay side characters, holidays, HUMOR, Italy, lgbtq+ side, light reads, m/m side, My reviews, netgalley, NEW YORK, ohio, published in 2021, queer side characters, read in 2021, rom-coms, ROMANCE, Summer, summer reads, travel, uplifting reads, wedding drama -
The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters
“Secretly, he wants to be the hero. He wants to be the difference-maker. All his life, he’s wanted to be the person rescuing someone or something. But who rescues the rescuer?” The Summer of Everything tells a very wholesome story, part coming of age, part romance, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Our protagonist, Wesley…
3.75 stars, 3rd pov, ace side characters, America, American, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, brothers, California, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, HUMOR, identity, Julian Winters, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, m/m, male authors, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, ROMANCE, santa monica, Summer, summer reads, The Summer of Everything, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT
luce [is reading] 