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jae_28's reviews
149 reviews
Believe in Me by Alexandria House
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Here I go again with ‘25’s review.
Although I’m not who I was last year (let alone four years ago) this excellent, brilliant, magnificent piece of art is STILL 5 STARS. If I could give it 95 more stars I would. Something has happened to my brain since I reread it a few months ago that had me itching, crying, and damn near having a mental break at 1:30 in the morning. I’d finished it an hour before and for some reason, I couldn’t function enough to sleep. I always thought this first book was the tame one. Turns out I was wrong. I read this book thrice before, knew what was coming, but SOMEHOW all of it hit me HARDER.
People ask what the purpose of annotating books is. Why mark it up? This was my first time with the paperback and I decided I wanted to go in on it, line for line. I wrote down my thoughts, made connections, and my mind ran a mile a minute with epiphanies (without my consent). A pen and some tabs forced me to slow down; to sit with my love, joy, anger, sadness, and so many other feelings, until it was all bubbling under my skin with nowhere to go. I felt these words so deeply, watched some of my favorite episodes (scenes if you will) over and over again, and caught innumerable details I’d skimmed over before. “Two hours left in book” turned into five; I spent half an hour reading five pages because I was having essential critical conversations with myself. The second book kept butting in and I’d sit there for another five minutes making connections and staring off into nothing. Am I painting the picture?
There are only two books I’ve bestowed the title of ‘perfection’ upon and this is one of them. There’s nothing to critique. Nothing I would change (not that I can anyway). And nothing that could’ve put this book higher than it already was. I ended this with tears in my eyes, because yeah it was amazing but now I have to reread Bloodmarked and that’s the one that scares me. If Legendborn did that to me all of a sudden, Bloodmarked plans to fuck me over ten times worse…
Let’s lock in people.
Although I’m not who I was last year (let alone four years ago) this excellent, brilliant, magnificent piece of art is STILL 5 STARS. If I could give it 95 more stars I would. Something has happened to my brain since I reread it a few months ago that had me itching, crying, and damn near having a mental break at 1:30 in the morning. I’d finished it an hour before and for some reason, I couldn’t function enough to sleep. I always thought this first book was the tame one. Turns out I was wrong. I read this book thrice before, knew what was coming, but SOMEHOW all of it hit me HARDER.
People ask what the purpose of annotating books is. Why mark it up? This was my first time with the paperback and I decided I wanted to go in on it, line for line. I wrote down my thoughts, made connections, and my mind ran a mile a minute with epiphanies (without my consent). A pen and some tabs forced me to slow down; to sit with my love, joy, anger, sadness, and so many other feelings, until it was all bubbling under my skin with nowhere to go. I felt these words so deeply, watched some of my favorite episodes (scenes if you will) over and over again, and caught innumerable details I’d skimmed over before. “Two hours left in book” turned into five; I spent half an hour reading five pages because I was having essential critical conversations with myself. The second book kept butting in and I’d sit there for another five minutes making connections and staring off into nothing. Am I painting the picture?
There are only two books I’ve bestowed the title of ‘perfection’ upon and this is one of them. There’s nothing to critique. Nothing I would change (not that I can anyway). And nothing that could’ve put this book higher than it already was. I ended this with tears in my eyes, because yeah it was amazing but now I have to reread Bloodmarked and that’s the one that scares me. If Legendborn did that to me all of a sudden, Bloodmarked plans to fuck me over ten times worse…
Let’s lock in people.
Stay with Me by Alexandria House
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Between the Lines by Christina C. Jones
emotional
reflective
medium-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
Behind The Scenes by Christina C. Jones
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
Cool. Awkward. Black. by Karen Strong
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
10/10! 100% recommend! The title reflects the contents of this anthology perfectly. It’s just the kind of book I needed this month. There’s magic, the supernatural, paranormal, feels, comedy, anime, aliens! So much nerdiness that made me laugh, cry, and maybe even have a little existential crisis. This was the best time! I was introduced to great authors and got to read works from some of my favorites. The introduction alone told me I’d love it here and fun was definitely had. I wish there were more new/adult anthologies with themes like this. Maybe it’s time to put my research cap on.
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.75
It wasn’t what I expected at all, but it was an experience. I don’t know what to say about it... It tied in pretty well, I had no clue what to expect, and in the end I understood the vision. We follow Zelu as she maneuvers life with her family, career, disability, and aspirations. There’s also a back and forth between reality and creation which was expertly done. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the kind of story that hooked me. Maybe it was the audiobook, maybe I’ll try again in the future. And despite all those insufferable people in the story, I don’t think Rusted Robots needed a second book anyway lol.
The First Family by Granger
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Where do I even start here. I was depressed after finishing this book. The feeling was so sudden and unexpected. I actually shut down, so all the shit that made me angry didn’t matter because I obviously loved the damn book. I can’t wait for book three and thanked the book gods that I only have to sit through this week for it. The world is so fascinating and filled with depth. I feel like I’m strolling alongside the characters, feeling what they feel and on the edge of my seat for what’s coming. It’s been such an adventure and not a lot of time has passed in the book itself.
Unfortunately, I still don’t care for most of the men in here. Several times, I prayed for the flood because of them alone. It’s been hard. I still have issues following POVs (still think most of them outside of the main crew are unnecessary) and have to use context clues to figure out whose head I’m in. This book was kind of similar to the first in terms of plot execution. I started out thinking, ‘yes, they’re about to get into it’ when the crew started talking about finding out who was doing the killing. That didn’t happen. The characters aren’t moving the story forward in that regard. They started off strong then it just faded into the background. Asha gave me the vibe that she didn’t even GAD anymore, she just wanted to move on and that’s what the plot felt like. It was the same thing with Quan; they were supposed to help him, but that fell on the backburner and he somehow ended up not needing their help, but they’re not trying to figure out what has him turning back and forth… What made important parts of the book anti-climactic were the constant foreshadows, and that conversation at the end between Bellamy and the random writer. Instead of the characters doing the work, the writer just outright tells us all the answers. It would’ve worked if Bellamy found out the truth but the reader was still left in the dark until the third book.
I suggest going into this series for the vibes and experience. It’s entertaining, the characters are complex, and the story touches on important topics. However, the plot happens to the characters and things are conveniently fixed or taken care of before they can do anything. I’d say the side characters do more of the heavy lifting, while our mains are along for the ride. That’s the best way I can put it, and despite that, I really enjoy it!
Unfortunately, I still don’t care for most of the men in here. Several times, I prayed for the flood because of them alone. It’s been hard. I still have issues following POVs (still think most of them outside of the main crew are unnecessary) and have to use context clues to figure out whose head I’m in. This book was kind of similar to the first in terms of plot execution. I started out thinking, ‘yes, they’re about to get into it’ when the crew started talking about finding out who was doing the killing. That didn’t happen. The characters aren’t moving the story forward in that regard. They started off strong then it just faded into the background. Asha gave me the vibe that she didn’t even GAD anymore, she just wanted to move on and that’s what the plot felt like. It was the same thing with Quan; they were supposed to help him, but that fell on the backburner and he somehow ended up not needing their help, but they’re not trying to figure out what has him turning back and forth… What made important parts of the book anti-climactic were the constant foreshadows, and that conversation at the end between Bellamy and the random writer. Instead of the characters doing the work, the writer just outright tells us all the answers. It would’ve worked if Bellamy found out the truth but the reader was still left in the dark until the third book.
I suggest going into this series for the vibes and experience. It’s entertaining, the characters are complex, and the story touches on important topics. However, the plot happens to the characters and things are conveniently fixed or taken care of before they can do anything. I’d say the side characters do more of the heavy lifting, while our mains are along for the ride. That’s the best way I can put it, and despite that, I really enjoy it!
We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
Not only did I find out at the end of this book that the author is ARMY, the book was gorgeously done and was already five stars the second I started it. I didn’t know what I was getting into with this one, I just knew I needed an audiobook to get me through the day and chose something on my Library saved list. The second I started, I shook my head with a laugh because I knew I needed the physical ASAP. It had all my favorite things; nature, black girl magic, fae, colors and metaphors that lit up my brain and made me smile, uncertainty, and the kind of language that made me believe this world was real on some other plane. The care and passion poured into every word created something wonderful and whole even in its sadness and heartbreak. I loved this and I can’t wait to read it again.
Femme Like Her by Fiona Zedde
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I had a time over here! Let’s start off by saying, justice for Scottie, she deserved so much better. I honestly thought this book would be all fluffy and unserious but we got into some deep stuff. These characters have a lot going on and I finished the book feeling like we only got a small part of it all. I wished the conclusion had more depth, and I’m so sorry, but Nailah should’ve been on her knees, ugly crying to get that lady back. It felt like Scottie was doing all the chasing and when it was time for it to be reciprocated, she was still the one chasing. The ending was pretty shallow and rushed IMO. The way they were talking made me feel like someone was about to die, then it ended and I was like… Oh?! Overall, great book; engaging (and rage-inducing at times) great messages, and a decent amount of deranged activity.