forevermorepages's reviews
811 reviews

That was better than I thought it would be in the beginning, with some wonderfully heartwarming scenes by the ending that had me feeling things. However, I'm still hung up on how the novel doesn't really go into Keira's creation of SLAY. There's no denying that she has computer programming talent, but it makes it seem like the process to create a VR video game is simple, when in fact, it's definitely not. I wish I had gotten to see her process of creating it or at least read something about a young female of color coding an entire video game because it's rare that we see women, let alone women of color, do STEM. That could have been a wonderful facet to the novel, but it wasn't even touched upon.

As well, I was confused between Malcolm and Keira's perspectives on issues about race; it seemed that sometimes their opinions were conflicting even within themselves, like the author forgot who believed in what at points.

My favorite part was definitely anything with Cicada (she sounds amazing and I want to be her best friend) or the dueling. A game like this sounds like so much fun to play and I love how rooted in her culture it was.

-Book Hugger

I received a copy of this via NetGalley from the publishers in exchange for an honest review

I don't know why 1. each book of this series takes forever to read or 2. I have somehow read all four books on the plane (not in their entirety, but still).

Alas, I'm so sad this series is over and while this one may have disappointed me in more ways than one, it's still an incredible look at American history and paranormal activity that I wish everyone would read.

Review to come.

-Book Hugger

I actually almost teared up at one point, which is surprising because it wasn't at a particularly sad scene; it just made me feel things.

I'll be honest and say that this book was weird for me, not because of the topics it handles, but because of how explicitly it talks about sex. I can't entirely say I was comfortable with that, but I do accept that it was both positive and informative, which is how these talks should be in young adult literature.

But the topic—HIV and AIDs—was something I wasn't weird about. I am extremely passionate about the AIDs crisis, so much so that I've been reading whatever comes my way about that period. While this book doesn't take place in the 80s or the 90s, it addresses the stigma that AIDs and HIV still carry, and how it affects people in the contemporary.

I do wish the novel had addressed the association between sexuality and the stigma around AIDs/HIV more (it did, just not a whole lot), but the discussion about HIV and AIDs was still incredibly important as is.

I'm very grateful I was allowed to read an ARC of this. Even though some parts of it didn't jive with me (and there were so many writing inconsistencies that I kept hyper-focusing on—probably because it's an ARC, I hope), I really enjoyed my time in Simone's world. Also can I have Miles, please? He's such a sweetheart, the world doesn't deserve him.

-Book Hugger

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review

check out my blog at bookhuggerreviews.com

I just finished Before the Devil Breaks You and even though my emotions are high, I can assuredly say that this is my favorite book of 2019, aside from my reread of Radio Silence. Just...I cried through the last fifty or so pages. She really...did that. Wow.

(Side note: I wrote this on the plane when I finished the book, but it's now almost a week after that.)

What makes this series especially unique is the layer of politics, history, and activism that underlies the supernatural. As Bray says in her author’s note, “This is a book about ghosts. For we live in a haunted house.” 

I have been passionately against eugenics for a long time, but I have never found a book to tackle it at all, let alone with historical attention, until I read this series. And man, does Before the Devil Breaks You take this discussion to a whole ‘nother level. 

I love history, so much so that I’m going to a university situated at the center of United State’s Civil War history. I want to read a million more books like The Diviners quartet that bring historical awareness to young adult literature and the paranormal fantasy genre. With that said, I hesitate to call this young adult because it’s far more mature than most YA books are. However, given that it addresses coming of age themes, I suppose I will resign myself to assigning it this genre title. But really? It’s the YA book for those of us disillusioned from YA. 

I think even if the characters were a pile of poo, I would still love this series, this novel, but alas, they are masterpieces themselves. Evie is so flawed, but trying so hard, and I see myself in her greatest flaws, and I can’t really hate her if I am her, can I? And Sam...Sam my outgoing yet withdrawn man. Marry me, please. Theta, who I love with all of my unruly heart. Memphis, who has the kindness and strength and humility of ten thousand people. Jericho, who never feels quite human, who could use some space to learn and love himself. Mabel, flawed Mabel, who I grew to care for, even if she’s so naive. Ling, who I just want to hug and hold and well, she doesn’t need that, because she’s so strong, so brilliant. Henry, who I can’t believe I didn’t mention earlier, because he’s one of my most favorites...and he deserves the entire universe and more. I love this cast...so much. They all deserve the universe. And I just want their happiness (that's all). 

I love Libba Bray for making me feel at home in her pages. I love the flawless diversity, the complete and utter strength in her pages, the push against any crime to the human race. This novel carries such weight. And, as all historical fiction is, it is just as important today as in the era about which it was written. We cannot move forward if we forget the mistakes of our past. We will only stumble and make the same mistakes. History will be repeated unless we stop it.

Thank you, Libba Bray, for writing a novel as powerful as this one. I won’t forget it soon.

Also?? What the heck was that ending? Unfair is what. 

-Book Hugger

The rating is subject to change because while I absolutely loved this, I only started seeing it as a five star read within the last 100 pages. Review to come.

-Book Hugger

I'm having trouble articulating my feelings for this book right now, but I think it boils down to the fact that everything moved so quickly. There was little lead-up in the beginning to his father deciding to be an astronaut and them moving to Texas, and it was explained mostly later through conversations, which felt stilted. There was little build-up to Cal and Leon's relationship; it was immediate attraction and almost seemed unspoken that they would get together. I love a good slow-burn, so that was disappointing to me; I wanted to see some "will they, won't they" action but that never came. It was always "they will, not they won't."

Furthermore, I felt like the plot needed more development. This was first and foremost a romance, and I think a lot more could have been done with the NASA, reality TV aspect, considering it was very underdeveloped.

This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy the book; it was fun, cute, and light. I just wished that it had done more. The one thing I did love was the discussion about fixing people, especially people with mental health problems, like depression. As someone who always wants to fix other people, I am glad that this novel pointed out how unhealthy that is for both yourself and the person you want to fix. It tackled all the different sides of this issue, especially how for Cal it meant that he bore everyone else's burdens. This book actually helped me to realize that yeah, I do that too. I have already accepted for a long time that I'm a fixer, but I didn't realize how much it weighed on me personally.

Overall, this book needs a lot more work and I wish I could say that it was better. However, I think its lightness, cuteness, and exploration of mental health were on point, to say the least.

-Book Hugger

This will not be posted on my blog, but for more reviews check out bookhuggerreviews.com

:)

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

buddy read with marlene

I'm probably not going to do a full review on this one, so in a nutshell, this is how I felt:
-this book didn't have enough suspense
-I didn't really care for the characters
-the ending was...awful?? and the lead-up to it was pretty bad, tbh.
-I liked Anna, maybe? Idk?
-it didn't really add anything to the genre
-without the formatting of having news articles, interviews, and text messages it would have been nothing at all special
-the text talk was HORRIBLE. I actually laughed.
-I will admit that the plot was vaguely interesting? kind of? mostly disappointing.
-uhhh the main is going to Yale and she's SO SMART but yet there's an actual line where she's describing the court setting and says "something called a writ of habeas corpus" like honey....you should know what that is. I know what that is and I'm not going to Yale.
-end rant?

All in all, I don't regret reading this. I love buddy reads. I think I was just expecting more out of this book to be honest.

-Book Hugger

Full and better reviews on my blog: http://bookhuggerreviews.com

Honestly, this was surprisingly good! I won't be writing a full review but my only problems were with the writing (kinda cheesy at times and the dialogue was a tad weird) and the odd teacher-student friendships that felt vaguely inappropriate...idk I'm not here for that. Otherwise, it was a sweet, cute little book that eased my hangover from finishing On the Come Up

-Book Hugger