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justinlife's reviews
890 reviews
Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
Ok, I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. YA books are a bit overwrought and I thought I was going to get more of that. I’m rating it so high because towards the end of the book you get to see a couple having silly moments and being silly together. I don’t see that often in m/m romance. It felt familiar and it made want to go back and read that part of the story again.
The story of having a crush on someone unavailable is so relatable that it’s almost cringe worthy seeing it play out. The characters are young so you already know they think they know everything and they make some great mistakes. Fortunately, Brown’s voice keeps the story level and is just wrought enough.
This was low stakes and overall a fun read. I enjoyed the world Brown created and if he were to revisit it, id read it.
The story of having a crush on someone unavailable is so relatable that it’s almost cringe worthy seeing it play out. The characters are young so you already know they think they know everything and they make some great mistakes. Fortunately, Brown’s voice keeps the story level and is just wrought enough.
This was low stakes and overall a fun read. I enjoyed the world Brown created and if he were to revisit it, id read it.
Magical Boy, Volume 1 by The Kao
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was adorable and felt like a love letter to The Kai’s younger self. It’s sweet and a story we don’t typically see. I enjoyed this for what it was. I think it struggles in print form as some of the text bubbles feel confusing.
Blue Skies by Nic Starr
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.25
The last of the series that was mostly enjoyable. I do love a small town series and this was cute. I mostly liked it. While it was (surprise) another age gap romance, this one focused on the grumpy/happy trope. While this works for the majority of the book, toward the end it felt like the separate characters became one and it was harder to tell apart.
Overall though I liked it. It was cute and cozy. One of the better ones of the series. I appreciated there were more characters from previous books here
Overall though I liked it. It was cute and cozy. One of the better ones of the series. I appreciated there were more characters from previous books here
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-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? No
3.5
I’ll give credit where credit is due- this book is well written. Her writing kept me interested, but the subject matter wasn’t something I wanted to read about.
This book about surviving the 80s AIDS epidemic and shifts from present day to the past. We follow Fiona in present day as she’s trying to find her daughter and in the 80s chapters we follow Yale, a friend of her brother who died at the beginning. We see Yale work at opening an art exhibit while managing the loss and fear of the time.
As someone who grew up slightly after the main loss and dealt with decades of queer media focusing on this, I am not the audience for this book. This book is meant for someone who hasn’t seen the movies, watched the documentaries, or read books about it. It’s to expose people about a sad part of our past and offer a glimpse into the ignorance, fear, bigotry and what people did to survive and how they helped those that couldn’t. It’s about how that trauma lingers.
Her writing is great and I’ll give props to her research. While some scenes felt like a way to show that research rather than tell the story, I think she accomplished the goal of presenting the world.
I will never read this book again and if it opens people’s eyes to the horrors of that time then the book is a success.
This book about surviving the 80s AIDS epidemic and shifts from present day to the past. We follow Fiona in present day as she’s trying to find her daughter and in the 80s chapters we follow Yale, a friend of her brother who died at the beginning. We see Yale work at opening an art exhibit while managing the loss and fear of the time.
As someone who grew up slightly after the main loss and dealt with decades of queer media focusing on this, I am not the audience for this book. This book is meant for someone who hasn’t seen the movies, watched the documentaries, or read books about it. It’s to expose people about a sad part of our past and offer a glimpse into the ignorance, fear, bigotry and what people did to survive and how they helped those that couldn’t. It’s about how that trauma lingers.
Her writing is great and I’ll give props to her research. While some scenes felt like a way to show that research rather than tell the story, I think she accomplished the goal of presenting the world.
I will never read this book again and if it opens people’s eyes to the horrors of that time then the book is a success.
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This was more interesting than I originally thought. I thought I was getting a silly little romance about holiday princes. I wasn’t expecting a critique of resource hoarding and in a sense capitalism. It’s an odd book and mostly light but some interesting perspectives that I wasn’t expecting. Overall though I really liked it and could see myself coming back to this one.
Meeting Mr. Adorkable by Ali Ryecart
1.0
Ugh.
This was the worst of the series. It didn’t help that it was almost double the size of the others but it didn’t make sense why it needed to be. It felt needlessly wordy. The characters were cute, I guess and some supporting characters did some heavy lifting to get me to the finish line.
My main complaint about the book is that one of the characters was British and it felt like the author was trying to get all the Britishisms in to make the characters make sense.
I also was annoyed that with a series of books, this was the second/third age gap romance. It felt like all the authors could’ve picked a trope and went with it, but three of the five so far have had this. Ugh.
This was the worst of the series. It didn’t help that it was almost double the size of the others but it didn’t make sense why it needed to be. It felt needlessly wordy. The characters were cute, I guess and some supporting characters did some heavy lifting to get me to the finish line.
My main complaint about the book is that one of the characters was British and it felt like the author was trying to get all the Britishisms in to make the characters make sense.
I also was annoyed that with a series of books, this was the second/third age gap romance. It felt like all the authors could’ve picked a trope and went with it, but three of the five so far have had this. Ugh.
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a delightful graphic novel of a sweet soul who got a hockey scholarship. He’s a short gay boy who loves to bake. The chapters are done in vignettes so each one ends with a little want of more. The characters are fun and the art is expressive.
It’s really cute, low stakes fun. I’ll probably read volume two.
It’s really cute, low stakes fun. I’ll probably read volume two.
Hidden Systems: Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day by Dan Nott
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I think this is an important graphic novel that everyone should read at least once. This book serves as a reminder that while all these systems and infrastructures exist, we still participate with it and use them.
Nott does a great job of showing the scale of the systems, a brief history of how they were formed, and how we live in them. He challenges the reader to look forward, to create better, to understand that the systems aren’t stagnant and won’t ever be, and that we have opportunities to advocate for what the next iteration looks like.
I think this book would be difficult for those who see things as stagnant, want things to stay the same or revert to the past, and those who don’t want to be accountable for how our society functions and how it can negatively impact other people and ecosystems.
Nott focuses on systems of electricity, communication (internet, etc) and water. He uses light blues and soft colors which help make the information palatable. It’s tough information to swallow- to see behind the curtain and recognize how our society is held together.
It’s worth it though. While it’s true that most of the pollution and solutions are outside of us, we can recognize and reduce our own part and look to participate less in systems that only benefit the wealthy. We can also advocate and be a part of creating what the future looks like. We are not bystanders.
This book calls for a need to change while recognizing how difficult that change can be. It a book that’s curious and allows those curiosities to develop.
This is a fantastic book.
Nott does a great job of showing the scale of the systems, a brief history of how they were formed, and how we live in them. He challenges the reader to look forward, to create better, to understand that the systems aren’t stagnant and won’t ever be, and that we have opportunities to advocate for what the next iteration looks like.
I think this book would be difficult for those who see things as stagnant, want things to stay the same or revert to the past, and those who don’t want to be accountable for how our society functions and how it can negatively impact other people and ecosystems.
Nott focuses on systems of electricity, communication (internet, etc) and water. He uses light blues and soft colors which help make the information palatable. It’s tough information to swallow- to see behind the curtain and recognize how our society is held together.
It’s worth it though. While it’s true that most of the pollution and solutions are outside of us, we can recognize and reduce our own part and look to participate less in systems that only benefit the wealthy. We can also advocate and be a part of creating what the future looks like. We are not bystanders.
This book calls for a need to change while recognizing how difficult that change can be. It a book that’s curious and allows those curiosities to develop.
This is a fantastic book.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This book really had a chokehold on American society when it came out. I never read it and figured it was time. I can see why people gravitated towards it. It was post Y2K, just after 9/11, pre-Mayan calendar ending, post x-files, W Bush era, in the middle of the Catholic Church scandal, and the internet wasn’t as immediate as it is now. It makes sense with that context why people would find this enthralling.
Dan Brown does a lot of lifting here. He makes the reader believe the theories and includes just enough history to make the reader be like “wait, was that right? Did that happen?” Kudos, girl.
Overall, though, I thought the book was just ok. It didn’t fully pull me in and I didn’t want to continue reading it. I had this checked out from the library so long that my account got suspended. I just didn’t want to pick it up. That’s not the feeling I want from a modern adventure thriller.
There were at least two moments where I wanted to throw the book because of a ridiculous turn of events. My eyes couldn’t roll back far enough.
I think, though, at the time, I would’ve been like “WHOA, that’s so crazy!” Anyways, remembering the context and the culture at the time helped keep my inner critic in check, but he still came out.
It was fun and dumb and ridiculous and truly surprising that this had the effect it did on culture.
Dan Brown does a lot of lifting here. He makes the reader believe the theories and includes just enough history to make the reader be like “wait, was that right? Did that happen?” Kudos, girl.
Overall, though, I thought the book was just ok. It didn’t fully pull me in and I didn’t want to continue reading it. I had this checked out from the library so long that my account got suspended. I just didn’t want to pick it up. That’s not the feeling I want from a modern adventure thriller.
There were at least two moments where I wanted to throw the book because of a ridiculous turn of events. My eyes couldn’t roll back far enough.
I think, though, at the time, I would’ve been like “WHOA, that’s so crazy!” Anyways, remembering the context and the culture at the time helped keep my inner critic in check, but he still came out.
It was fun and dumb and ridiculous and truly surprising that this had the effect it did on culture.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
RIP, girl!
You would’ve loved MySpace!
You would’ve loved MySpace!