chidimmadesiree's reviews
663 reviews

THIS WAS SO SWEET! I put this book down during the summer and for some reason I never picked it back up. Thankfully when I decided to read this book again from the start I found that I absolutely devoured this romance. To my delight Talia Hibbert delivered such a cute, fluffy read. I loved seeing Eve and Jacob together and how their dynamics were so opposite of each other. Seeing all the sisters and their love interests together at the end was so amazing and made me wistfully remember the good times I had with this series.

QUINN AND CARTER ARE MY BABIES! This book was just stunning. I never wanted to put this book down, I was literally reading this while blow drying my hair. It was just everything I love from a ya contemporary. It had lists, fun road trips, shy main character breaking out of her shell with discovering who she really is, and of course a fluffy romance. I really came to love both Quinn and Carter as separate characters and especially together. The blackmail aspect of this book made the beginning of this book really intriguing while the romance/self-discovery drove home the middle and end. I do wish the author had more nuance when discussing the Black experience and I think too much grace was given to some of the racist white characters in this book. But other than that I loved everything else about this book, I was giddy at parts and tearing up at other parts. I’m begging for Black authors to write more books with Black main characters and Black love interests it wouldn’t kill them. ONE OF THE BEST YA BOOKS I READ IN A WHILE

I don’t think I’ve ugly cried over a book as much I did as I read the last pages of this stunning memoir. I mean gasping for air, eyes bloodshot red amount of crying. This book was just heartbreaking, but so eye opening and enlightening at the same time. Being able to enter someone’s world who possessed a brilliant mind and a big heart was truly amazing. Reading about his struggles in living his life even with death looming over him and not being able to accomplish what he originally planned for his life was soul crushing but also made me want to go out and live the life I’ve always wanted to. This book really hit me hard and I found myself sobbing through many parts, but I feel so happy that Paul Kalanithi was strong enough to write this masterpiece as he lived the last year of his life. I hope that many people can experience a voice of someone as brave and passionate as he was.

I’ve been wanting to get into Nina Lacour’s books for what seems like forever and I will say that the best thing about this book was her writing. I fully believe that Nina Lacour’s writing saved this book but that still wasn’t enough for me to love this book. The premise of this book was interesting but even though there was a lot of things going on at times it felt like nothing was progressing in the story. This book could have been so much more exciting but it made interesting ideas seem mundane. Like the characters were traveling all over L.A. and finding out about the granddaughter of a dead American movie star but somehow it felt boring. The romance was very sweet but I felt like this relationship didn’t feel real which is kind of ironic because the whole point of this book was to emphasize that life is not like scenes in a movie but real moments that can never be altered. I’m very happy that I finally read this but I feel that I didn’t read it in the right time in my life and I would have loved this in middle school. Hopefully I enjoy We are Okay better because this book had potential but I was left feeling nothing after I finished it.

This felt like a classic isolation thriller. It reminded me of the meta slasher film, Scream, because of the characters knowing so much about the mystery genre such as the rules, thinking the killer must be one of them, and never splitting up but still being outsmarted by the killer. The twist did shock me and there was a lot of elements of this book where I thought the author was smart in how he executed the story. I never suspected the killer nor the ending of this book and that’s all I can ask for with a thriller.

The way Nina LaCour weaves this crushing weight of loneliness throughout this entire story is so beautifully done. I found myself relating to the main character so much because it’s so weird to be in college surrounded by thousands of people but somehow still feel alone. This depiction of grief was very refreshing because it wasn’t just sadness or anger but the main character, Marin, not even being able to face her emotions and not being able to talk about how she was feeling. Her first instinct being to run away and leave everything behind to make it all disappear was very relatable to me. I ended this story with tears in my eyes and just wishing for Marin to find peace. This book was just so devastating but in the best of ways. I finally get why everyone gushes about Nina LaCour.

THIS BOOK DRAGGED ON! I’m so annoyed because I really did love the romance in this book but the author wanted there to be a million things going on in the mix for reasons I don’t know. There were too many different plot lines that took up so much time that just wasn’t necessary and took away from what this book should have been focused on, the growing romance between Britta and Wes. If this book would have shaved 80 pages off by removing the pointless secondary plot lines it would have been so much better. So let’s talk about the Britta and Wes’s love story. So I get it miscommunication should almost be expected in every romance novel but I felt that it happened too many times in this book. It wasn’t just one big instance of miscommunication but multiple and that’s when you lose me because I can’t help but to get frustrated. Britta and Wes together were the best part of this book. Their banter, texts to one another, and chemistry were all SO GOOD. If only Denise Williams took out all the fluff and highlighted their cuteness what could have been. Also I felt the fat representation was positive but very realistic not everyone can be happy in their body everyday with no insecurities but confidence should be present too. I felt that was shown very well in Britta. Very disappointed because I absolutely loved everything about this author’s debut novel.

FINALLY SOME GOOD FUCKING FOOD! After reading a
handful of adult romances so far this year, none that blew me away, I can finally say that I loved everything about this book. This book drew me in and I found myself captivated reading it. Usually I hate me some miscommunication but this author handled it so well in my opinion. THE MISCOMMUNICATION WASN’T FOR A DUMB REASON! Most romance authors struggle to find a reason for a third act breakup so they just sloppily incorporate miscommunication but Tia Williams just can’t relate. It actually felt justifiable for them not to have talked to each other for fifteen years. Shane and Gia’s instant spark when they reconnected felt real and I believed in their love story almost instantly. I loved hearing about their tragic whirlwind romance in high school and history repeating itself in present day. Shane and Gia felt like real people with real problems and not like characters in a book. They were fleshed out characters who could stand on their own and were interesting with or without the romance. Tia Williams beautifully concocted this magical story that somehow weaved in so many deep issues but at its core was a breathtaking love story.

THIS BOOK WAS SUCH A FUN TIME! Opposites attract sapphics in love at college what more can I say. I loved seeing Molly and Alex’s brewing friendship and them coming to terms with their feelings for each other. They interactions were so cute and I thought it was important how open and authentic they were with each other. Molly and Alex both pining for other girls during this book because they were too dumb to realize what was in front of them was kind of hilarious. These two not realizing they were in love with the other was funny to read, but just made the ending so much more worth it. I loved their banter and I felt that their moments could be fluffy but also vulnerable at times. Such a YA cute rom!

The best part about my reading experience was having a brief understanding of what Dr. Marsh was talking about due to learning about the brain in my anatomy class at the time of reading this. But honestly I loved the way this book gave you an overview of a brain condition but made it actually engaging by adding anecdotes. You got to see inside the mind of a neurosurgeon who constantly has the lives of patients in his hands and the deaths on his conscious. Dr. Marsh had his flaws and biases that he fully let show in this book which I thought was commendable because I saw him as a human being. Reading from a neurosurgeon is so interesting because you get to see the many stereotypes they represent on paper: God-complex, hard worker, arrogant, but also them being vulnerable and recognizing that they don’t know it all. Books by doctors never cease to amaze me.