julias_books_18's reviews
223 reviews

The Legend and Lattes setting is truly the definition of a magical, low stakes, cozy fantasy story. If you don't know anything about business, you can turn off your knowledge about realistic markets.

As someone who went to a business school and therefore knows a bit about business plans and entrepreneurship, I was crying inside about some of Viv‘s plans for her shop at times. But I guess here the powers of fantasy worldbuilding come in clutch, so that you don‘t really have to look into things such as hiring criteria or food selling licenses.

In all the other cases (like the complete lack of marketing at the start) we had Tandri to save the day, so thank the heavens that we had her.

But honestly, if there was one thing I could wish for from this universe, it would be that more issues could be fixed with baked goods. Real-life Thimble bakeries would be a true game changer for conflicts. 

It's kind of insane to read in the author's note that publishers refused to give this book a chance because of the supposed lack of a market. I am very glad "Nobody in Particular" is finally getting the attention it deserves, and not just because of the commoner x royalty trope, but also because of the wide range of topics it covers.

Sophie Gonzales is one of my favorite writers for sapphic romances, and this is once again proof of why this is the case. 

This book made me feel really comfortable, just like how Danni and Rose make each other feel, with all of the friendship moments, the forgiveness, and, of course, the sapphic main couple.

Communication is key, and this is definitely a lesson you can see the characters learn throughout this story. And even if some of the politics weren't really how they would work in real life, the vibes and the hopefulness needed in today's political climate made me willing to overlook them in exchange for a happy ending. 

For everyone looking for a sapphic story, including dealing with grief set in front of a backdrop of royals and reporters, this is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review. 

In a land far, far away, there lived a boy, burdened with a curse, in a tiny village where everyone despised him… until he found people that valued him.

This story had such a nice fairytale vibe to it that I could excuse some of the clunky dialogues at the beginning. This luckily evens out very fast, and you end up with a fairly flowy writing style.

Once upon a time, the cursed boy met another boy, someone who looked at him differently. But that didn't help the wrath of the villagers that hated him…. And who had really interesting second names.

If you know German, you will notice how a lot of the side characters will be referred to only by their second name, which is always the German word for their occupation, which felt very hilarious at times. Aside from those stylistic choices, I enjoyed the found family aspect of this story a lot, even if it takes almost half the book to finally meet them.

And they lived happily ever after… or did they? 
At the end of this story, I was left with a lot of unanswered questions, like:

How does Wendell's curse actually work?

What is up with Jacques past? (They moved on way too quickly from one very, very important realization.)

But most importantly:

What now?

With the open-endedness of this story, it feels like there could follow a second book, but I have found nothing of the sort.

Regardless, „Deerstalker“ is a very atmospheric fairy tale with a hint of romance but a lot of found family that is worth reading if you can look past some unwieldy dialogue and an uncertain ending with unresolved questions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Indigo River Publishing for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review. 

 The perfect preparation for the times ahead, even if a lot of pieces of advice consist of throwing things into machines.

To everyone who thinks I might be sabotaging them:

I am not sure what you are talking about, but we can sort it out through channels. Do make sure to mail me a complaint and to write an inquiry for a conversation that will surely resolve this matter. :) 

Damn, that sure was one hell of a trip.

For being such a short novella, this story included a variety of different themes, with such a descriptive writing style that makes you feel like you yourself are trapped in one of the spheres. (Which is quite literally true if you understand the metaphors and their correlation to our lives.)

However, what this story lacked was context. You never really find out a lot about the space station itself other than the information provided in the blurb (and this information is also not the most accurate, since the memory swapping or witnessing of earthly events never even get mentioned). The vagueness might have just been the author's intent, since we do not get a lot of context before starting out our life on earth either. Also, because the novella was this short, some topics felt very rushed and didn't get the attention the whole setup deserved.

To sum up, "Space Station" is a short but fascinating read that can make you reflect on your own life if you are willing to overlook a lot of unanswered questions and immerse yourself in the situations K. R. Gadeken puts you in.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.

"Is That An Aura of Wild Magic Engulfing You, Or Are You Just Pleased To See Me?" is really one of a kind. It has the unique talent to slap you in the face with a cruel truth one minute and wrap you in a hug with a consoling thought the next. 

It's so full of disability representation, queer representation, self-realization, and so much love. 

The way Laceco worked through the manifestations with other people, changing not only their lives but his life in the process as well, was so beautiful to see. 

I went through so many emotions when reading this book, and it filled me with such a fierce need to change the world for the better, to give people who don't feel like they fit in a place to express themselves without the constant pressure to explain themselves, that in my mind this story needs a little award for giving me hope and inspiration.

The only thing I would have enjoyed seeing more of is further explanation of Oro and Akoma and some more information on Lacecos manifestation, because the explanations felt quite vague at times. 

To sum up, this book is for everyone wondering about their place in the world because of the seemingly huge differences that split them up from other people and everything who wants to change the world and their mindset for the better. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.

Oh boy, I now I feel like an expert on female regency clothing layers.
Will this be on the official lesbian test, because I am ready!

But asides from the clothing lesson, what really makes this book as good as it is, is the entertaining premise as well as main characters who keep orchistrating the most comical situations.
If you can look past quite a lot of Will-they-won't-they - moments this is a really hilarious book that distracts from how bad this time period actually was for queer people.

This was an insanely entertaining read, especially if you try to figure out the mystery alongside the investigators.

The plot twists are really well done, and if you pay attention really closely, you will find that they had been set up for a really long time...

Things to do before starting this book:

I got the solution to the mystery pretty early on, but to be fair, that was mostly on me for going, "You know what would be absolutely hilarious...?", coming up with the craziest thing I could think of, and then being actually right.

I unironically enjoyed this a lot. 

If you are comfortable with turning a text around in your mind a couple of times to grasp the full meaning, this is definitely a worthwhile read that deserves the classic status it has today.

Also, I can confirm the queer undertones are there. We see you, Horatio! 

This is not an easy read by any means (I highly recommend you check the trigger warnings) but it portrays the struggles of people who don‘t fit societies „norms“ and the lack of understanding they face every day so well.

The book is collecting A representation like it‘s pokemon:

And I am so here for all of that rare represenation. 

Regardless of the hard topics, this book made me feel so seen, and gives you unique insights into experiences unlike your own.

This book is for giving hope to the fellow Space Aces, you can tell.🪐🖤🩶🤍💜