armontheroad's reviews
627 reviews

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by asha bandele, Patrisse Khan-Cullors

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

No words can be spun to discuss this book in a way that does it justice. I'll just leave you with this; When They Call You A Terrorist is a must-read for everyone.

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She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I cannot remember the last time I was so emotionally devastated by a piece of literature.

The prose in this is so stunning. The book is unbelievably tender. For such a short work, it packs one major punch. I could have finished this in one sitting but had to keep taking breaks to weep.

Could have done without the Harry Potter reference but the book was such a masterpiece I'll let it slide this time in my star rating.

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Nayra and the Djinn by Iasmin Omar Ata

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adventurous reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The art in this is beautiful!!

The pacing was a little weird and I really didn't care for the 'resolution' we got with the bully but eh

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Gypsy, Roma & Traveller LGBTQ+ Spoken History Archive Book by Daniel Baker

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informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

Loved the range of who was interviewed!!

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Prime Deceptions by Valerie Valdes

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Sadly this was an unengaging slog for me.

I'm unsure if I feel this way because this is just the second book in a series or if this is just an unengaging slog. A great shame because I do care for these characters. It's just hard when scenes that can easily be summed up in a few sentences drag for several chapters. 

I might finish this series to see if it gets better from here, but we will see.

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The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THIS WAS AMAZING!!

Aiden Thomas ONCE AGAIN writes a book that leaves me screaming and unable to predict the plot twist!!

The world-building was incredible. I loved all of the characters, the outfits, and the conversations had in this. The little references in this add another layer to my love for this book. I cannot wait to read the sequel and see how this story concludes!!

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Sordidez by E.G. Condé

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challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

E.G. Condé is a brilliant voice; no words can explain what this book means to me!!

🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷

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Plantains and Our Becoming: Poems by Melania Luisa Marte

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

More stunning poems that make me cry!!

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That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming

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adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Well, I finished it.

I feel so horrible about my dislike of this book. It was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and it simply fell flat. 

For starters, can we not recommend this book as a 'cozy fantasy' when it has a huge graphic slavery plotline right in the middle of it?! A bunch of smaller things added to my dislike of this novel, but the main thing was the discussions around slavery and slaves.
Saying that slaves are just horny men that cannot control themselves around women was a WILD THING to read from a Black author!!
 

I really didn't care for the relationship in this novel, either. I know it was supposed to be attractive how 'protective' he was of our main character but it bordered a little too closely on an abusive relationship!! I mean, their meet cute is
literally him trying to attack her
!! 

This doesn't even touch upon the weird tension between the inn owners, the random group of muggers
who are also rapists
, and a bunch of little things that just made me highly uncomfortable. Recommending this book as 'cozy' because the main character uses humor as a coping mechanism for her life is WILD!! This is about as cozy as roasting marshmallows over a burning house.

An utter disappointment. 

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The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The outing was.... a lot. I really don't like people saying this is a cozy light-hearted read with that graphic outing scene in there being so traumatic.

Other than that, I loved the characters and seeing them grow into themselves and each other!! Also, the dresses were drawn so beautifully. 

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