caffeinatedfae's reviews
992 reviews

I know this isn't my typical type of book, but when I saw this book offered on Amazon Vine, I knew I needed to pick it up. When I grew up in the 90's & 2000's books like this didn't exist (that I know of), but I'm glad that the next generation can go into a bookstore and find an LGBTQ+ affirming book to help them through the rough parts of life. 

This book is exactly what I would have loved my younger self to read. Heck, I probably wouldn't have hid in the closet for 31 years if I had a book that talked openly and joyfully about being LGBTQ+. This book has everything you could want, from dealing with bullies to finding the community and a small section on consent and when you're ready to go all the way in a relationship and how to do it safely. 

This is a great book that deals with more challenging topics (bullying, homophobia, etc.) but also has joy and love in it. This is not full of tragic stories but still tells (age-appropriate) history without trauma dumping. Being Gay in our world can be terrifying, so I was happy that this book celebrates the joy of being gay. 

 DNF'd at the 12% mark.

I went into this book blind. I had no idea who Brandon Leake was outside of the author bio on Libro.fm. I love poetry and have read quite a few poetry books this year, so I figured this would be a perfect short book. Unfortunately, this book is incredibly religious and was definitely not for me. 

CW: Graphic description of abuse, Graphic sexual assault, Pregnancy, Graphic Violence.

This book has been all over my FYP since October. Now that my KU subscription is ending, I figured it was time to read. His Darkest Craving was a decent paranormal read featuring the spirit of the forest and an abuse survivor. The characters were interesting but a bit two-dimensional for me. I liked both Cruce and Sophie, but I found that their role in the book defined them both. Cruce was cursed, Sophie was an abuse survivor, and that made up their personality. I would have loved to get to know them more in-depth. 

My other issue with the book was that I didn't feel invested in the storyline. It was a bit predictable, and I wasn't as engaged as usual. This could be due to my lack of investment in the characters. 

All in all, I liked the idea of the book but wish there was more to it. Nevertheless, it's a solid 3-star read.  

CW: Gendered talk about the planets, Placidus house system

Can I say how much I love astrology? As some of you have probably realized by now, I pick up hobbies and fall in love with them or grow bored with them. Astrology is one of those things I decided last year to dive into when I found a GIANT book at a local metaphysical store. Now, I haven't read that book (yet), but I've been deep-diving into some smaller books. So when I saw What's Your Sign up on Netgalley as an audiobook, I knew I needed to buy the book. My lovely cousin recommended the Sanctuary app when I was in Utah visiting family, so when I saw that the minds behind the Sanctuary App wrote this book, I jumped at the chance to read it. 

What's Your Sign is one of those astrology books that I would recommend to anyone that wants to get a basic yet still in-depth rundown on astrology. This book walks you through the planets, the houses, transits, and the signs. In addition, this book broke down the more complex concepts and explained them in a way that I could understand. 

The audiobook's narration was pretty good, but I will say, I think you should buy the physical/digital book instead or in addition. I found myself wanting to highlight sections, take notes, and refer to past sections, which is hard to do when reading an audiobook. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I know the Scorpio section was pretty dead-on when it came to me and the Virgo Moon & Cancer Rising section was also pretty accurate. So if you're interested in astrology, this might be the perfect book for you! 

CW: Death, Mention of Suicide

This was such a mind trip. I've read a few of Iain S. Thomas' books when they were listed under the name "pleasefindthis." I remember the first time I read this book (in physical format) and its uniqueness. I was browsing Libro.fm when this book showed up and I took it as a sign to listen to the audiobook format. I have to say, it made this book feel more "real."

The poetry and concept of this book are unique and it feels like the author is breaking the 4th wall and talking directly to you. It's a unique book that is sure to make you question everything.

I've always been in love with Faeries (as you can tell by my username so when I saw this book sitting on the shelves of a bookstore, I knew I needed it. Brian Froud's artwork is some of the best I have seen. It's truly inspiring to see his portrayals of the fae. The Artwork alone is worth 5 stars but I loved the little tidbit of information he threw in as well. All in all, it's gorgeous. 

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is one of those books that is a bit hard to read and stay engaged. It literally is a dictionary, so make sure to pace yourself. I really enjoyed the words & I loved that language is fluid and that hopefully, we'll see people use some of these new words in the future. My big issue with this book is that some of them already exist. I know that definitions change (think thong as in undergarments and thong as a flip-flop shoe), but if you're already making up words, why not do something new and not try to change the definition of a word? I also have a love/hate relationship with how the book was formatted. I loved that the words were broken into sections, but I still struggled with them not being alphabetized. But, at the end of the day, I enjoyed this book and loved most of the new words. I'm glad I read this book, and I'll definitely keep a copy to look through. 

 
Content Warnings: Graphic violence, gore, horror elements, Consensual non-consent, breath play, bloodplay, spit, needles, masochism, fear play, public play, BDSM elements.

As you all know by now, I'm one of Harley's biggest fans when it comes to her erotica. Ever since I read The Dare, I haven't shut up about how much I love her novellas and shorts. So, when I heard that Her Soul To Take was a full-length novel, my life became complete. I've been (very obviously) stuck in a reading rut lately. I haven't been reading as much, and it's been taking me AGES to read a book. Imagine my surprise when outside of me being hypercritical in the first chapter (this is the first sign of a reading rut), I couldn't help but turn the page. I devoured this book and could not put this book down. It was that good.

You can always tell that I love a book because I can never seem to write a review for it. I just can't seem to put into words how much I enjoyed it. The book started off a bit slow, but I was hooked by the end of chapter 3. The plot was nothing that I have experienced before. The creepy horror aspects paired with the erotica and romance had me a bit worried, but they worked surprisingly well. The horror aspects of this book really fit with Harley's erotica style. The harder kinks work incredibly well with the plot and the characters. I highly suggest that you note the content warnings when it comes to anything Harley writes but especially this book. It wouldn't be a Harley LaRoux book without talking about the erotica, which was explosive, to say the least. Seriously, this book might just make you have to go to confession. I've read Demon romances before, but... damn.

As always, Harley's characters were well written, and I loved watching Leon and Rae interact. I will admit, at times, I wanted to yell at Rae for being an idiot, but she was idiotic in a realistic way. I never thought that her reactions were not natural, even though they were not the choices I would have made. I also loved that Leon wasn't all-powerful. Many books with supernatural characters have the main hero as the mightiest of them all, and I loved that that wasn't Leon. Leon truly is a cinnamon roll for Rae, and I just loved it.

All in all, this book is incredible. It kept me wanting to turn the page & brought back the feel of reading for me. Seriously, it was fantastic. The horror aspects were great, and the romance aspect of it was incredible. Seriously, it's excellent, and I can't wait for it to be out in the world so I can shove it down everyone's throats.