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thiscubed's reviews
261 reviews
Opal by Maggie Stiefvater
5.0
This was such a great short story. I loved seeing things from Opal's point of view and the way she saw Ronan and Adam. Speaking of Ronan and Adam, I'm so happy that they're still together and like communicating and comforting each other when necessary. I just love them so much and I felt just as sad as Opal when he talked about leaving even though I know that college is what Adam has always dreamed of and that he and Ronan can work things out. Honestly this just reminded me of how much I love this world and the characters in it.
The Dangerous Art of Blending in by Angelo Surmelis
4.0
this book is a fantastic book about dealing with abuse and learning to stand up to that abuse. evan is a wonderful narrator and really makes you feel everything he's feeling at the time. his relationship with henry is the sun on a stormy day, if that makes sense. i loved pretty much everything about this book. the only drawback is the way that the texting is written. an example of one of the texts is "where ru?" and you can only imagine how much other phrases are butchered needlessly. no one really texts like that, and it did pull me out of the story a couple of times. i would still recommend this book to anyone looking for queer ya books, though. in the author's note we learn that the story is basically biographical, and considering the subject matter, i have to give him major props for writing this. so if you want to support queer stories by queer authors, definitely think about picking up this book.
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
5.0
this book is fantastic and i absolutely adored the representation. like that trans rep? fantastic. kade is my son and i love him so much. i thought the ace rep was good too, especially because the difference between asexuality and aromanticism was explained well. it was a tad confusing when nancy said that she wasn't aro but then said she wasn't interested in dating anyone but after thinking about it there are plenty of people out there who aren't aro that aren't interested in dating so it's not that big of a flaw. plot wise i absolutely loved the murder mystery aspect combined with the fantasy of the different worlds. and i was completely surprised when we found out who the murderer was. i can't wait to read the next two books.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
5.0
this was a great prequel and I really enjoyed learning about Jack and Jill's backstory. I loved the queer rep in it too. overall, I didn't like this as much as the first one, and I'm not quite sure why?? perhaps it's because the pacing is a little different?? it wasn't slow by any means and I was never bored but the pacing was definitely different from the first one. but I do think I enjoyed it enough to give it 5 stars because the writing was truly excellent.
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
5.0
So I absolutely loved getting to spend more time with Kade and Christopher because they are my sons and I love them so much. I also loved the new character of Cora and how she dealed with being deemed fat. She didn't try to change her body like most fat protagonists do, and I really appreciated that? I also loved how the book pointed out the problems that Cora faced because of her weight. The plot of trying to put Sumi back together again was fantastical and really engaging. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and learning more about the worlds and characters. I enjoyed it more than the second one but not quite as much as the first one.
Circe by Madeline Miller
3.0
My depression got the better of me and not only did it take me a while to finish it, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It was sort of slow for me. I know it's a character study but even the exciting events seemed a bit slow? Add on to that the fact that I wasn't too fond of a lot of the pairings that happened (which I understand happened in mythology first so I can't fault the author) and I just wasn't enthralled with this book. What really saved this book in my eyes was the writing. The writing is absolutely beautiful and the way Madeline Miller uses mythology to craft a story is brilliant. This is nothing like The Song of Achilles, but it's as well crafted. I really wish I could've enjoyed this book more.
The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan
5.0
I'm going to give a spoiler free review at the beginning and discuss some spoilers at the end because I have Thoughts™. There will be "SPOILER ALERT" before the spoilers.
Anyway, I have conflicting feelings about this one. I liked it, but it was spoiled for me before I even read it so my experience wasn't what it could have been. The story itself was fine and I thought it was a good introduction to the third emperor (who I won't name because it's technically a spoiler) but there was just something about it that didn't click with me. I think it was because I was waiting for the spoiler to happen and not engaged in what was going on at the moment. I'm not faulting the book for being less enjoyable while knowing spoilers like some might, and I'm really looking forward to the next one, but it's no Hidden Oracle.
SPOILER ALERT
So the thing that was spoiled for me was the fact that Jason dies. Can we talk about how neither Piper or Leo are going to Jason's funeral? Like that really bothers me. They could easily go, why are they not going? They were so close to Jason it would make so much more sense for them to go. And we better fucking get Jason's funeral in all its glory in the next book because that's what Jason deserves. Also I hope we get to hear what actually happened at Camp Jupiter in the next one too. The problem with a single perspective is that you miss some things and that was a big thing to miss so even if it's just Reyna explaining what went down specifically I'd love it. However we probably won't get that. One can dream right?
Anyway, I have conflicting feelings about this one. I liked it, but it was spoiled for me before I even read it so my experience wasn't what it could have been. The story itself was fine and I thought it was a good introduction to the third emperor (who I won't name because it's technically a spoiler) but there was just something about it that didn't click with me. I think it was because I was waiting for the spoiler to happen and not engaged in what was going on at the moment. I'm not faulting the book for being less enjoyable while knowing spoilers like some might, and I'm really looking forward to the next one, but it's no Hidden Oracle.
SPOILER ALERT
So the thing that was spoiled for me was the fact that Jason dies. Can we talk about how neither Piper or Leo are going to Jason's funeral? Like that really bothers me. They could easily go, why are they not going? They were so close to Jason it would make so much more sense for them to go. And we better fucking get Jason's funeral in all its glory in the next book because that's what Jason deserves. Also I hope we get to hear what actually happened at Camp Jupiter in the next one too. The problem with a single perspective is that you miss some things and that was a big thing to miss so even if it's just Reyna explaining what went down specifically I'd love it. However we probably won't get that. One can dream right?
Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann
5.0
easily one of the best books I've read this year with astounding ace representation. I can't tell you how many times I just had to stop bc like damn that shit was too real for me. If this is what it's like to see yourself in fiction, I can't wait for more. However, there's one thing I did have a slight problem with. After they get together they kinda gloss over the fact that Takumi still wants to have sex with Alice. Like I know that he said he wanted to be with her regardless but he never really out right said "I'm okay with us never having sex" which leads me to believe that maybe he isn't okay with that??? Idk fam I really enjoyed this book, and the epilouge was cute but I just never got real closure on that front. Maybe it's supposed to be implied but since he explicitly stated it was important to him, it just makes me a bit worried. But really this book is incredible and I can't thank the author enough for writing such a quality ace character. I can only hope that more authors will write equally as good ace rep.