just_one_more_paige's reviews
1511 reviews

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

This was in a "free ARCs for staff" pile at the library sometime last year. I loved the title, and it sounded pretty intriguing, so I grabbed it. Just now got to it. And let me just say, having not seen a single other review for it anywhere on bookstagram, that it is definitely not getting the hype it deserves.

Y'all. I was into this story. Like, I am not here to comment on its historical accuracy or anything. As you know, this like 1970s/80s (ish) time that is too late for history classes to cover but too early for me to have lived/remember personally, is a time period I don't know a lot about. And I am working on learning, of course. But I do want to preface this review with a caveat/cyoa announcement that if the history (of Cuba and Castro and revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries and Nicaragua/sandinistas and US policies around "drug cartels" and general interference in those movements) is not all presented correctly, I don't know enough (yet) to comment. Regardless of accuracy though, this is definitely a period with a lot of built up "mythology" around it, on all sides. And I really appreciated this perspective, of a “real person/people” living those events and that time period, someone(s) just “caught up in the flow of history,” as opposed to running/deciding it.

Other than the historical aspects, Tell It to Me Singing had a very telenovela-like drama and storyline, page-turningly so, and was also super compelling in a very real life sense. There was a look at Cuban-American culture and family and sense of history and place and unsettlement that might appeal to readers of Chanel Cleeton (see my review of Next Year in Havana) or books like Of Women and Salt. Side note here: shoutout to Ramírez for making a clear and open nod to the oft under-acknowledged conservative lean of this Cuban-American community. All in all, the cultural placement just felt very present. The intergenerational secrets and cycles, full of drama enough to keep me interested, but *just* likely enough to be believable, had me all the way invested.

And the humanity. My goodness. *chef's kiss* Ramírez has written an entire cast of characters that is flawed but good. There's not really a single unlikable one on the list, despite them not always making the best choices or struggling to be the best version of themselves/to live their own truths. We can all relate and empathize with that level of complex and messy choices and relationships. But you can also see how they're all trying their best/giving best intent, so you can' help but fall for them. It's just a great depiction of truthful humanity.

Content Warnings

Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad

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challenging emotional reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Continuing my life goal of reading all the Aspen Words Literary Prize winners, I have finally made it to last year's: Enter Ghost. A bit late to it, but I had to wait for my library to order and process it, so here we finally are! (If interested, please check out my reviews of previous winners, from 2018 to 2024, too: Exit West, An American Marriage, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, The Night Watchman, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - my favorite of the winners so far, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak.)

Oh, y'all. The power in the novel was absolutely in the everyday-ness, the “it is what it is” narrative tone, with which this story is told. There is something incredibly telling in the normalization of state and colonial violence and terror that suffuses every scene and interaction, but is just taken in stride, that is incredibly affecting/heartbreaking. This just shouldn't be anyone's norm, and yet... The way generations have experienced such vastly different reactions (devastation, hope, fight, distance, despair, resignation, etc.) to this occupation, but in a bigger picture, it’s only been 75 (ish) years and a single person could have lived through it all. It’s almost unfathomable, deeply upsetting, and Hammad just paints that reality so clearly. Related, she shows with great nuance the way that people can experience the same exact thing and interpret it and grow out of it so differently....and the internal/familial clashes that can result from those differences, even with a shared hope/belief in the same future. And she uses this story to try and subvert that "normal" life under occupation narrative, taking the script of how that story "should" look (or how the broader society thinks it looks) and creating something unique with it.

The writing style itself, telling the story as a drama (a play script) as things get serious/emotional, is a fascinating choice. It's like the dissociation necessary to survive this type of daily trauma is shown on page with the distance that style creates. In fact, as that stylistic choice develops over the course of the novel, the interplay of reality and the script/stage drama (the real and unreal) is pretty wild. And since the play in question is Hamlet, the presence of ghosts is an unsurprising inclusion. Hammad addresses what ghosts do we carry with us (real and fabricated), which ghosts do we choose to acknowledge/address versus which we choose to ignore, which ones do we choose to let go, and which ones continue to haunt us. None of it is new, conceptually, but it is deeply and emotionally unpacked.

The internal secrets and silences and protection (of self and others) that cause a family under pressure/in trauma to crack and separate in conjunction with the greater societal environment/witnessing is a lot in this novel. Hammad's message on the cyclicality in that hits throughout, but especially in those final moments, is heavvvvvyyyyyy. It's subtle, literarily, but very affecting. Perfectly on point.

“My dear, if we let disaster stand in our way, we will never do anything. Every day here is a disaster.”

“Resilience was not the same as detachment.”

“Even if I cannot live in it, my soul will reawaken if there is a Palestinian state.”

“…when you read a novel about the occupation and feel understood, or watch a film and feel seen, your anger, which is like a wound, is dressed for a brief time and you can go on enduring, a bit more easily, and so time goes on running like an open faucet [...] and while there are moments in these concerts and poetry readings and lectures and plays when you might feel connected to the other people in this room, to the people behind the screen, you might feel a kind of flowering in the chest at this sight of your community's resistance embalmed in art, some beauty created out of despair, all of this means that in the end you, or at least the middle classes, are less likely to fight the fight because despair has been relieved, momentarily…”

“We haunt them. They want to kill us but we will not die. Even now we’ve lost nearly everything.”

“They get away with so much. We at least have to try. We might fail. Lots of people have failed before us. Basically everybody failed, actually.”

“Human relationships are not social services, and love has nothing to do with deserving…”

Content Warnings

Queen B by Juno Dawson

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adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

As I am eagerly awaiting the third book in the HMRC trilogy (Her Majesty's Royal Coven and The Shadow Cabinet were both great), I saw this sort of prequel narrative about Anne Boleyn, the OG witch, and her efforts to start a coven and grab some long-deserved power for women. That, like this whole world that Dawson has built, is so far up my alley that I cannot even handle it. I have been obsessed with Anne Boleyn since...forever ago, since childhood. I’ve always been drawn to the story of this treacherously charismatic woman of ambition, and the rumors of witchcraft that surrounded her. To mix that "history" with actual magic, and queer witches at that?! Yyyyaaasssssss, please.

This novella wasn't super deep on its own - it was too short for that, really - but it definitely added to the world Dawson has begun with HMRC in a way that I super enjoyed. This reframing of Anne Boleyn to actually have been a witch, but to have made the choice to die meekly to continue the greater work to set up witches, women, into a more protected and powerful and influential future, as they have always deserved and always lacked, is lovely. It gives her an agency in her own story in a way that it has never gotten in a "retelling" that I've read. And it provides a positive spin on her typically frowned upon ambition (a frowning that somehow is never applied equally to men with similar actions/wants). It's a harsh, but powerful, reclaiming.

I also couldn't help but love the extra pieces, like the female friendships and queer storylines (three cheers for this Anne Boleyn who was only ever using Henry VIII to further her own ambitions, despite what his inflated ego had him thinking). Satisfying AF. And heartwarming in other ways. It was a light plot, but it had action and emotion and it did, as I said, add nicely to the origin story that we hear of in the HRMC series, but with it's own narrative voice now.

Honestly, this is sort of a fluff spin off piece, but it maintains the quality queer and feminine strength of Dawson’s whole HMRC world. I read it in a single day and I recommend it as a solid entry in the cannon.

“To live unafraid would be a luxury.”

“As it is now, if you name a woman a witch with enough conviction, she is a woman no more, let alone a lady. We should all be afeared.”

“Her hue was cornflower blue, an air witch. On a promising June morning, she was January skies.”

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The Wicked King by Holly Black

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

Book two! I jumped into this immediately after finishing the first. I was right, they were a perfect choice for a busy vacation read - definitely entertaining but without the need for full and undivided attention or long stretches of reading at a time.

I appreciated very much that, for the most part, this book avoided the major second book slump. It did absolutely serve as a connector, plot-wise, between the opening and the finale. But it did so while holding its own with drama and plot movement. Jude and Cardan both grew into the roles they chose (or had chosen for them) at the end of the first book - learning a lot about themselves, separately and together, along the way. There was enough drama and exciting moments to keep me engaged throughout. And I thought the ending offered a twist of trust and betrayal and revenge in mirror of the first that was really good. It weirdly left us in almost the same place that we started the whole saga (though of course with a variety of different alliances and betrayals having changed the interpersonal landscape quite a bit), so that's actually a bit of an odd circular feel. But the way we got there was a well-crafted journey and I'm in it for the full ride.

I also want to shout out (I mentioned it in my review of the first book, but it is a highlight enough that I want to say it again) that I love the classic fae magic and aspects. In particular, the way that fae can’t lie, but can still deceive, in contrast with how Jude/humans can lie, but still have feelings/trust that leave them stuck in bad bargains and deals. It is so creative in wording and writing/plot development.

All in all, ready to see how Black pulls everything together in the final installation, after so many machinations and maneuvering.

Content Warnings

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

This is one of those series that I have had on my TBR for years, waiting for a time when I need something fast and easy... We recently road-tripped to FL (to visit a few National Parks - Everglades and Biscayne - and spend a few days at Disney with our nieces), which was the perfect "busy vacay needs low stakes fantasy escapist story" time for me to finally pick it up.

This was a solid start to a series. It jumped in pretty predictably - the "special" (because she's human in a fae world, not because she's the chosen one...at least a little bit) MC, Jude, and the prince, Cardan, who you know is going to be the grey antihero character butting heads as we are introduced to the world and characters and unfolding plot. I will say, this prince is actually quite cruel to Jude and her sister, not just nominal meanness, and I am curious (and hesitant) how Black will pull it around to make me cheer for him/them. Like, I know that teasing your crush is a thing (and they are super young), and also that often “being treated badly myself” is used as an excuse for treating others badly, but this feels like a lot. We'll see if he gets a believable redemption arc.

Anyways, like I said, a solid start...if markedly on the YA side. And yea, that’s how it’s marketed. But recently the YA line has been blurred with the new adult line and some YA novels lean more mature. This one is very YA, as far as dialogue, character choices/motivations, etc. It's got simple, but clean, writing. With classic fae world folklore. Which, for me, is a plus. I do love the classic stuff when it comes to fair folk, like the fact that they cannot lie, the dangerous reality of making bargains with them, the variety of types of fae, the normalized brutality in their day to day lives, and the gorgeous natural-world magics. In this particular story, the fairy deal/bargain plot device plays a prominent role and I am appreciating the breadth of creativity with it.

The plot itself was also pretty basic. Not bad, just basic - a struggle for power and the machinations of winning it. Until the end. There was a solid twist that I maybe should have, but didn’t, see coming. To that end, I enjoyed the sort of alternate fairy tale perspective. Like, we usually get the story of the human who is secretly fae royalty hidden away in the human world for safety finding out about their true identity/destiny. THis is, at least in part, the story of how they got there. I found that interesting and unexpected! We'll see where the story takes us from here.

“What if the way I am is the way I am? What if, when everything else is different, I’m not?”

Content Warnings

Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

I absolutely adored the first book by Rowland that I read a few years ago, A Taste of Gold and Iron, and I should have looked into more by her sooner, but here we are (as always, more books than time). Anyways, I finally grabbed this one from the library and holy shit I will immediately be reading more and more and more of Rowland’s works. She is up there now, for me, with Freya Marske as an absolute master class in queer romantasy that is as full in world-building as it is in heart-filling.

Y’all, I am telling you, I would live in this book forever. The writing is downright freaking *hilarious.* The dialogue, the internal thoughts (omg like for real, Tam’s internal thoughts are some of the most entertaining I have ever read), the “I refuse to see what’s right in front of my nose” vibes…it’s all exactly on point.

The world-building is simple, but I was fascinated by the pantheon of deities and the way the belief system worked. The folklore and mythology around said deities is explored and detailed throughout the novel, unfolding as the story does, nuanced without being overwhelming. I was especially bought into the relation of the areas of specialization of the gods with the development of the story/characters, exploring the duality of all natures and concepts. This wasn’t necessarily even the main focus of the story, but seriously, it was so great that I find myself really needing to give it real space in this review.

Speaking of the main focus of the story. OMG Tam and Lyford. They jumped in with the spice hard to start and then settled into something with an aching amount of vulnerability and sweetness and tenderness. A smart and touching “grouchy and giving” opposites attract (showcasing the duality of their specific goddess to perfection). And the way they each learn to grow, into themselves and into each other, is beautiful. It’s a story of how we often have a hand in creating our own ruts, but that means we also have all the tools to get ourselves out of them…but it’s done in such a comforting way, not a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” kind of way, and I loved it so much.

This book was lighthearted and diverting AF, and yet gave so much. The story completely touched my soul. And having finished it, I am SO FULL of joy and love. Oh my goodness, it’s almost too much sweetness, but Rowland tempered it with just the right amount of prickly perfection. GAH. Everything.

“Think about the things you want. Go home. Tell people what those things are. Flourish and prosper.”

Content Warnings

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I found this book originally on a stack of ARCs that was sent to the library and set out for staff to grab. I have had a bit of a soft spot for magical realism (recent highlights of the genre for me including The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, Eartheater) for a long time, which only grew after studying Spanish language and literature in college. So, I was of course intrigued by the blurb, and decided to grab it for myself.

From the first pages, the narrative style was familiar and I sank right into the storytelling. There is something about the vibe/tone of Spanish-speaking/heritage magical realism that is so immediately recognizable and comfortable, and Gonzalez James’ writing nailed it. This was a dramatic family drama told in two different timelines, intertwined with a history of American/Spanish colonization of Mexico - the land and the people – and equally mashed with elements of classic adventure Westerns. (Please beware, on that front, there is very graphic violence and injury description throughout.)

There is an almost fable-like quality to the timeline in the more distant past (late 1800s) following legendary bandito Antonio Sonoro, in which he robs trains, survives shootings (thus, earning the nickname Tragabalas, the Bullet Swallower), murders(?), and generally running from/escaping the law. And in a more recent timeline, we follow Antonio’s grandson, famous actor and singer Jaime Antonio, as he learns the truth of his family’s (violent and terrible) history. And as the story unfolds towards the finale, we get to see the sort of subtly unique way that the family “curse” is resolved, and they find redemption for their history of cruelty.

This was a steadier/slower style read, so keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up. But I would say it’s well worth it. And I was really happy with the way it all came together and was resolved in the end.

“Kindness is its own reward […] but cruelty is a self-inflicted wound.”

“No man lives free from history.”

“So he was enemy number one, the boogeyman embodying Texas’s collective guilts and fears, and it was all a cover up for a land grab.”

“How inadequate was love when it couldn’t stop suffering?”

Content Warnings

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This second books remains just as well written a romantasy as the first. And again I say, thank goodness for that. In a slew of poorly written market-flooding romantasies, this is a breath of well-written fresh air. It had a really steady forward pace, like there was constantly a new journey/reveal/plan/battle, etc. Non-stop, but steady. The romance piece, between Oraya and Raihn, was very parallel to the first one. At times, I was frustrated that they were re-living the same song and dance/push and pull. BUT more than that, I was actually impressed with the way Broadbent kwpt it as nuanced and compelling as she did, not falling for the easy "get back together," because Raihn's choice(s) at the end of the first book did put him into that much of a trust hole with Oraya. Speaking of her: I loved her trajectory. Learning and coming to trust her own power, on her own, coming to terms with her past, and owning her future in a way that worked for her, not as dictated by how she was raised. Really great character development. A plot I was totally invested in. Lots of drama. World-building that makes sense (I do really enjoy some visits from gods and gods coming to get invested in human affairs as tropes). And few, but very solid, spicy scene(s). I'm also glad that this wraps up Oraya and Raihn's stories as a duology. But I am definitely planning to continue the series to see what other stories we get - especially knowing that Mische's is next!

Content Warnings

The Rivals by Jane Pek

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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? No

4.0

Content Warnings

These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedji Xaviere

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It was maybe a "this is too real" time to try and read this novel. But, I'd been waiting for it at the library and it came in and I have been wanting to read it so, I went for it anyways. ANd it was hard, and heavy, and emotional and, as expected, much too real. And for all that, I'm really glad that I read it.

Ooooof this book was heartbreaking. Like for real, horribly, beautifully, aptly titled. A heartfelt set of "letters" from our narrator, Bessem, to her (lost) love, Fatima. These two women live in a country (Cameroon), where queer relationships are punishable by law. After Fatima's older brother finds out about the depth of their relationship, and a police raid at a local gay bar, Fatima disappears. Bessem doesn't know if she's run away, jailed, sent away by her family, dead...and she spends years both not knowing and afraid to look into it further.

This narration, addressed to Fatima (in a sort of meandering conversational style, like one writing to a pen pal), traces their story through Bessem's eyes, from their first sighting of each other through dating and marriage, the night that ended it all, and the years since, as Bessem leads a quiet life as a professor, sometimes dating other women, but never moving on from Fatima. The tangibleness of the stories and memories and all the shared moments, big and small, tender and at odds, make their relationship so real, for the reader. It's the exact same things that make any love story...extraordinary in their unremarkableness. So full of that everyday stuff that makes a life.

The slight mystery that loosely frames this reflective storytelling style, that of what really happened to Fatima, provides just enough plot to keep things moving. And, while it shouldn't be a surprise based on the title (and cover design....omg that cover hits), the ending is devastating for all that you spend the entirety of the short novel knowing it's coming. My heart broke over and over while reading, not just for that ending, but also for all the shame and fear and hiding and hate that persist and permeate throughout.

Again, it was maybe a little too real for the current state of the US "government," but an absolutely necessary and important story, gorgeously written. Well worth the emotional turmoil it puts you through.

“Being with someone you only half like is better than being alone…”

“The world can force you to live a lie, but ostracizing your kind for public approval is a personal choice.”

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just_one_more_paige's reviews 1511 reviews

just_one_more_paige's reviews
1511 reviews