katsbooks's reviews
560 reviews

This was just as adorable as the first volume. The vignettes are so cute and heartwarming. It was sweet to learn more about Kanda and his life. I was kind of hoping for more of a plot this time but I think that the little vignettes might be a part of its charm. It, honestly, feels like a nice filler between other larger books. I don't know if I'll feel inclined to pick up the rest of the series, but it is genuinely so sweet. 

“Books are easily destroyed. But words will live as long as people can remember them.”

“Time goes on even when we do not.”

“Sticks and stones keep breaking my bones but these words, these words will kill me.”

This was a fun follow up to Shatter Me. I enjoyed learning more about the world. I definitely get the Warner hype now. I was convinced at the end of the first book that there was absolutely no way I'd love him but I do. I really hope we get to see more of his redemption arc in the third book. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Mafi's writing. On the one hand, it's very visual and descriptive. Mafi can really paint an emotional picture. You understand *exactly* how Juliette is feeling at any given moment. On the other hand, it is entirely possible to skip entire paragraphs because the writing does nothing to push the plot forward for sections of the book. 

I also have a love/hate relationship with Juliette as a character. On the one hand, she feels like a realistic teenager. On the other hand, talk about dramatic and selfish. I oscillate between loving her character and being completely annoyed by her. 

Overall, I'm really glad that I'm reading these books with my niece. They're a fun time. They're definitely easy to read. I think this book, honestly, helped get me out of a reading slump. I look forward to book three! 

“Your grandma used to always tell me that just because something is over doesn't mean it wasn't successful. All things end at some point.”

“Being in a shadow is never just as simple as stepping out of it. Shadows can camouflage a lot of things.”

“Blackness is indeed a social construct. Within the context of American racial politics, there can be no Black without white. No racism without race. But the prevalence of culture is undeniable.”

I really enjoyed this anthology. I've read from Ibi Zoboi before and loved her work. I've also read from a handful of these authors before and haven't had anything bad to say about them either. 

Like a lot of anthologies, some of the stories were more forgettable than others but some were absolutely fantastic. I think some of my favorites were Out of Silence, The Trouble with Drowning, Black Enough and Wild Horses, Wild Hearts. 

I really liked how these stories really showed the breadth of what it's like to be a young, black person in the United States. There were immigrant stories, queer stories, stories about colorism and a whole lot more. I'm sure some perspectives were left out but I, ultimately, think Zoboi did a good job of representing as many different voices as she could. My book club picked this out and I'm really glad we did. We focus on picks that are diverse so we've read quite a few books about the black experience. While individual stories can carry a lot of nuance and multiple perspectives, anthologies always make really good picks because you get so many more perspectives. 

I listened to a lot of this and I would absolutely recommend it as a physical book or an audiobook. The narration of each of the stories was done so well. Each of the stories was a good length, not too long or too short. I'd honestly love to put it in my classroom. 

I was a little disappointed by this book. I'm going to be painfully honest here but the reason I picked this up is because my mom had a whole shelf of these books when I was a kid. She kept them on a shelf in her bedroom that was not meant for polite company. But, naturally, I knew they were there. I remember pilfering a few from her and sneakily returning them. I learned how to skim while reading her books because I would be so anxious I was going to get caught or only had a limited amount of time before I felt like it needed to be back on the shelf because someone was coming home. I remember being completely scandalized because *gasp* there was sex in these books. Preteen Kat had no idea how tame this was compared to what she reads almost 20 years later!

So this book wasn't bad by any means. I think it just suffered from high expectations. I found the romance to be really fun. It was definitely not as scandalous as 13-year-old Kat remembers. (Although, I'm fairly certain I never read this exact book when I was younger.) In fact, I was actually quite disappointed with the spice. It was there but it wasn't great. And frankly, it was a little sexual assaulty, especially initially. So trigger warning for that. It ended up being used as a way to further the plot along in a way that I definitely wasn't a fan of. Plus the entire set up was kind of contrived. And I say that with full knowledge that a lot of romance plots are a bit contrived to begin with, especially in historical romance. Honestly, I would have liked this better had it been a simple romance with no spice (or sexual assault). 

From a strictly romantic perspective, the secret identity trope was fun. The first 2/3rds was fairly well done. It's what kept me reading but, the last 1/3 was meh, at best. 

I think I may pick up another Lindsey in the future but I can already tell, this wasn't a favorite. 

“Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic”

“Reading lets us live in someone else’s shoes. Literature builds bridges; it makes our world larger, not smaller.”

“The cultural constructions are clear: so many Chinese ghosts are hungry, angry, voiceless women. In taking Athena's legacy, I've added one to their ranks.”

I would like to start this review by saying that I don't often love books with unlikable or unreliable narrators. However... this is absolutely an exception to that rule. I picked this up for my monthly book club and I'm so glad we did. The premise is so compelling. A white author (June) and an Asian author (Athena) who went to college together and published their debuts around the same time are now "friends" in adulthood. One night, they grab drinks and go back to Athena's apartment where Athena chokes and dies in front of June. However, just before that, Athena had shown June her most recently finished manuscript that even her agent has yet to see. So, naturally, June steals the manuscript and passes it off as her own. What follows is a massive critique of the publishing industry all told from June's point of view. 

June's entire character threw me for a loop because, while I knew I didn't like her, I also couldn't help but sympathize with her at many different points throughout the novel. Maybe it's because I'm also a white woman but I entirely understood how June came to some of the conclusions she did. That doesn't mean I agree with any of her choices. In fact, her character is entirely unlikeable and selfish. Kuang's writing perfectly encapsulated the cognitive dissonance white people can have when it comes to race issues and white supremacy in spaces like publishing (or anywhere really). This entire book made me intensely uncomfortable because I felt like Kuang called out every biased thought I've ever had out loud. I know that biases are natural and that what's important is how one responds to their biases when they crop up but being in June's head felt equal parts familiar and uncomfortable. I'm still just so mind-blown that Kuang was able to so easily make me feel both of those things simultaneously. 

So suffice it to say that R.F. Kuang is an absolutely masterful writer. I have Babel on my shelf, as well as the first novel in the Poppy War trilogy. Based on what I experienced with Yellowface, I definitely have to try out more of her books. 

“Do you know, I suspected you were a good man, deep down. Even if very, very, very deep down. In a fathomless cavern. Underneath a volcano.”

“If you’re a broodmare, that would make me the stud.”
“And there,” she said, “is the injustice of the world in a nutshell.”

"...you’re the very life of me.”

This has been my favorite historical romance, by a very large margin. The banter! Oh my lanta, the banter! Tessa Dare had me literally laughing out loud on multiple occasions. I read this as an ebook through Libby but liked it so much that I went out and bought the rest of the series (so far. Crossing my fingers the fourth book actually gets published soon but it's been in the works for what looks like years at this point.) 

I loved how wholesome this book felt while also being quite steamy. I'd probably give it like 3.5 chili peppers. Both Emma and Ash had insecurities that helped create the wholesome atmosphere, imo. Usually, it's the woman who has physical insecurities so it was really interesting to see this stereotype flipped onto the MMC. 

The grumpy-sunshine trope was done quite well here. It led to some amazing banter. I loved how Emma wasn't scared of Ash, at all, and, in fact, pushed all of his buttons to get a rise out of him. She's so confident yet so insecure. It was such an interesting combination for a heroine. 

The side characters were fantastic. The house staff was so much fun to read about. It was also so fun to get to know the heroines from the rest of the series. It was fun to see their personalities and grow to love them and their quirks before reading their own standalone novels. 

Like I said, I'll definitely be reading the rest of this series. I've already purchased physical copies of each one that's available and will pre-order the last one whenever it finally gets published. Tessa Dare may be a favorite historical romance author for me! 

"She wanted to be loved, but she was terrified of surrendering her heart to someone else's keeping."

"You're an independent woman with a strong spirit—much stronger than my own. However, you mustn't lose the gentle part of your nature, the part that is tender and compassionate."

I was intrigued by this romance. I think I will read more by Kleypas again. The writing itself seemed to be pretty good, but I didn't always love the characters. I waited a few weeks to write this review because school was starting and it was completely overwhelming. I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time recalling most of the plot. So I'll try to flesh out some of my feelings. 

I loved and hated how intense Damon was. There were a few moments where, even for a historical romance, he was a bit *too* possessive and pushy. I can't remember a specific scene where this happened but I remember a couple of times, his character felt uncomfy to me. I really liked Julia's character in the beginning. She seemed like a good, strong FMC. However, I was really disappointed by how her story ended. It felt like Kleypas wasted a ton of her potential as a character. Not to say that that isn't a valid choice but it just seems at odds with the character development from the beginning of the novel. 

Based on the writing, I think I'd read more by Kleypas. After reading some reviews, it sounds like this wasn't a favorite amongst a lot of her readers. So I'm hopeful that other books by her will deliver better character development. 

“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty.”

“It's in the darkest corners that things seem the scariest.”

This book was cute. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling, which I liked. However, I don't think I can gush about this. Was it bad? No, it was... fine. I saw a review that said this book felt a little bit like a rough draft. It just felt a bit unfinished. I read When Dimple Met Rishi from this author and loved it so this was a bit of a disappointment in comparison. Again, it wasn't terrible but I woudn't call it great either. 

The romance was cute. I enjoyed the sister dynamic between the main character and her little sister. The side characters were a lot of fun. The entire setting was charming, as hell. I loved the representation of India even though this is a European fairytale retelling. 

I think one of my biggest gripes about this book is that the curse is never fully explained. Well, the curse itself kind of is but I still don't understand how it was broken. There was barely any magic at all. At least not explicitly. Everything that happened, literally, could have been coincidental and just happened to line up with the "curse." I also didn't love the main character. I feel like in a Beauty in the Beast retelling, the "beauty" should be likable and, sometimes, she was really judgemental and insufferable. 

I think I'll continue to read some of Menon's other contemporary works but I don't think the St. Rosetta's series is for me. 

Another foray into historical romance was a success! Meg from @meggatzabookclub recommended this to me. If you're even slightly interested in the genre, this lady will have a recommendation for you based on your taste! 

I really enjoyed this novel. It is technically the second novel in the series but it can easily be read as a standalone. I know because I haven't read the first one yet! This wasn't your run-of-the-mill romance. (At least, I don't think it was. It's a massive genre and I've only read a couple books so far!) The story is also a mystery. Someone is blackmailing Sylvia and Rafe is Crown Agent so it was a lot of fun to figure out who the villain was. 

The spice level was alright. About 2-3 chili peppers? I ended up being more intrigued by the tension between Rafe and Sylvia, not only romantically but the main conflict revolves around how they both have goals that are in conflict with one another. I was quite convinced at several points that Sullivan wasn't going to be able to make a romance work between the two of them, despite knowing the book was a romance! While I expected romantic tension, the tension from the mystery was a lot of fun. The suspense added a fun element to the story. I also really loved the relationship between Sylvia and Georgiana. We love strong female friendships here. 

I was really intrigued by Sylvia and Rafe's past, especially Sylvia's past as a "political radical." I was excited for a character who had strong and progressive morals, I was hoping for a little bit more from her past. The same can kind of be said of Rafe. I feel like there was just something missing with the character development. I can't quite put my finger on it. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and will probably pick up other novels in this series and by Sullivan. They're fun and quick reads. I read this mostly over a weekend away on my phone and appreciated how easy it was to put down. Maybe this is a weird thing but I didn't want anyone to think I was purposely avoiding socializing so having the book on my phone made it look like I was just scrolling and, since this was such an easy read, I could just pick it back up later, regardless of where I stopped. I think these will definitely be my go-tos for travel now! 

“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”

“I'm oxygen and he's dying to breathe.”

“Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.”

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I've read this author's contemporary novels and Mafi's writing feels a little too dramatic for this 31 year old. However, her writing is perfect for students in high school. She really captures the angst of most teenagers in a really great way. 😄 So, I didn't intend to pick this up but then my niece started the first one and loved it so we agreed to read the rest of the series together. I'm really glad we decided to do this. My niece is at the perfect age for a book like this. She will be a sophomore in high school next year. It's been fun to discuss with her and hear her thoughts. 

I think the thing I liked most about this novel was how the writing progressed. I really liked feeling like I was in Juliette's brain. (Much like I enjoyed Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi). I loved how the writing reflected her head space. As she slowly came back to herself, the writing style became less and less chaotic. 

I think my biggest gripe is about character development. The love interest felt... flat? He seems like a sweet character but he didn't feel real. For some reason, I'm really suspicious of his motives. I also didn't love insta-love. Maybe I feel suspicious because of how vulnerable Juliette was in the beginning. 

I also enjoyed the intrigue and mystery. I was really drawn into what was really going on and liked the twists and turns the story took. I'm very curious to see where this goes next. I know people seem to love Warner but he's a total asshole in this book so I'm definitely not sure how people like him.