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Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell
Between Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm and The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino I have now come to the conclusion that books about sleazy womanizers and the women who at some point or other loved them are not for me. Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm appealed to me because I find that ensemble-cast books usually make for…
2 STARS, Adult, affairs, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, BOSTON, cheating, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), divorce/separations, drama, fathers & daughters, female authors, female solidarity…where?, FLORIDA, Laura Warrell, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, Massachusetts, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, Miami, music, musicians, polyphonic, pregnancy, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, SEXUALITY, snapshots, Sweet Soft Plenty Rhythm, toxic relationships, unrequited love -
Ghost Music by An Yu
“Solitude is tolerable, even enjoyable at times. But when you realise that you’ve given your life to someone, yet you know nothing but his name? That kind of solitude is loneliness. That’s what kills you.” Not having had the best experience with An Yu’s Braised Pork I was intrigued but wary of this second novel…
3.25 stars, Adult, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, An Yu, atmospheric, Beijing, China, chinese author, cold tone, Contemporary, divorce/separations, dreamlike quality, Dreams, female authors, feverish, Ghost Music, ghosts/spirits, hauntings, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, melancholy, MEMORY, music, musicians, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, psychological, published in 2023, read in 2022, restrained prose, surreal, weird -
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 -
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
“And none of that mattered. No matter how nice the suit, no matter how educated his speech or how strong the handshake, no matter how much muscle he packed on, no matter how friendly or how smart he was, none of it mattered at all. He was just a Black person. That’s all they saw…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Brendan Slocumb, class, Contemporary, drama, family, male authors, music, musicians, My reviews, MYSTERY, NEW YORK, North Carolina, Poverty, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, reading, RUSSIA, serbia, social issues, SUSPENSE, The Violin Conspiracy, toxic relationships, travel -
The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton
this is my fault. i should know by now that titles claiming to have dark academia or sapphic vibes should be approached with extreme caution. DISCLAIMER: I did not like this book and my review reflects of that. I will be brutally honest about my thoughts on this novel so if you want to read…
1 STAR, 3rd pov, academia, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, cheesy, Christianity, cliques, Contemporary, dark academia, drama, eating disorders, f/f side, female authors, horrible friends, lesbian side characters, Longing, maine, MELODRAMA, music, My reviews, MYSTERY, obsession, philosophical, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, Religion, sex, SEXUALITY, SUSPENSE, Tara Isabella Burton, teen angst, The World Cannot Give, toxic relationships, unrequited love, weak prose, weak worldbuilding -
Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson
I lived for that Mack cameo! Sadly, Olivia & Toni didn’t steal my heart away like Liz & Mack did… “Loving someone is being big enough to admit when you mess up, and then doing everything in your power not to do it again.” Rise to the Sun is a summery sapphic romance that reads…
1st pov, 3 STARS, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, f/f, female authors, georgia, Indiana, insta love, Leah Johnson, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, music, musicians, My reviews, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, sapphic, social issues, Summer, summer reads, YOUNG ADULT -
Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng
“After all, wasn’t it true that to love someone is to figure out how to tell yourself their story?” With understated lyricism, Feng charts the experiences of a family divided by physical and emotional borders that are nevertheless united in their pursuit of a more ‘promising’ future, for themselves and each other. The narrative intertwines…
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, America, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, China, chinese american author, cultural dissonance, DEATH, disabilities, family, GRIEF, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, Linda Rui Feng, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, MARRIAGE, migration/immigration, music, musicians, My reviews, published in 2021, read in 2021, san francisco, Swimming Back to Trout River, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart. Richly observed and heartbreakingly candid Crying in H Mart provides a powerful account of a complicated mother-daughter relationship. In her memoir musician Michelle Zauner writes with painful clarity of when at age 25 her mother was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Zauner’s recollection of her…
4.5 STARS, America, American, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CHILDHOOD, Crying in H Mart, cultural dissonance, DEATH, family, female authors, food & cooking, GRIEF, identity, illness, intergenerational, Japanese Breakfast, Korea, Korean, korean american author, language, LGBTQ+ Author, MEMOIR, MEMORY, Michelle Zauner, mothers & daughters, music, musicians, My reviews, netgalley, published in 2021, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading -
If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich
“It’s been so hard for me to believe that being adored doesn’t mean I’m one mistake away from being despised.” If you are looking for an escapist read, look on further. If This Gets Out is a cute and ultimately uplifting YA romance. It does have the sort of tropes and scenarios that you would…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, boybands, Cale Dietrich, co-authored, Contemporary, Czech Republic, Denmark, drama, england, female authors, FRANCE, gay, Germany, hungary, influencers, Italy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, LONDON, m/m, male authors, music, musicians, netgalley, Netherlands, published in 2021, read in 2021, road trip, ROMANCE, Sophie Gonzales, spain, summer reads, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT -
The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan
Moving through space (America, Lebanon, Syria) and time (from the 1960s to 2019) The Arsonists’ City tells a sprawling yet engrossing tale about the Nasr, a Syrian-Lebanese-American family. Written with the same subtlety and beauty as her debut novel, The Arsonists’ City presents readers with a cast of fully-fleshed out characters, however flawed or frustrating…
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 2010s, 20th century, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, actors, Adult, affairs, America, assault, California, cheating, Contemporary, drama, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, forgiveness, GUILT, HALA ALYAN, HISTORICAL FICTION, jealousy, Lebanon, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, music, musicians, netgalley, Palestine, palestinian american author, published in 2021, read in 2021, siblings, Syria, The Arsonists' City, theatre
luce [is reading] 