krystalicia_'s reviews
185 reviews

CAKEWALK by Douglas Bell

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

K. Ancrum really knows how to suck me in with these amazing friend groups and tough to crack people turned lovers and I’m here 👏🏼 for 👏🏼 it 👏🏼. 

One thing about me, I do not care about space books and science fiction, so before I started this book, I was a little hesitant. Let me just say, that feeling very quickly went away as we started learning about Ryann and her family, friends, and hidden power to make outcasts join her little gang of misfits. Once stone faced Alexandria got thrown into the mix, it was game over for me.

Again, I fully recognize this is a fully self-indulgent 5 star review, but honestly the legitimate giddiness I felt when we got to revisit The Wicker King lovers in all their poly-am glory was unmatched and the fact that there were small nods to that book throughout warmed my heart. Like the toy factory making a reappearance? We love to see it.

That being said, I will once again own up to my biases. Was this book perfect? No. Did I think that the decisions and desires to go to space for various characters made sense? Absolutely not. Would I still read this book again in a heartbeat because I adore every single one of the characters in this universe with my whole heart and the literal last page made me cry? Yes to all of that. Read this for a good time and some great characters.
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie

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emotional inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.5

Ok this review is going to be a little confusing because I liked this book, but not for the intended audience if that makes sense.

This story follows Ophelia in a coming of age story about self discovery. She loves flowers, her friends, her parents, and love. She just loves love, or more appropriately, the idea of love I think. She’s always been described as boy crazy, but when she realizes she has feelings for a girl, it sends her spiraling. 

The premise and plot of the story were solid. I enjoyed most of the characters, their friend dynamics were interesting and believable, but for some reason the tone seemed like it was geared more towards younger teens rather than young adults and older teens, which felt strange since the characters were seniors in high school. Because of the tone, I struggled staying engaged because the context of what was happening and the way it was being said didn’t match in my head.

That being said, it was a solid debut and I’d be interested to continue reading from this author!
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

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challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

Could this be a contender for one of my favorite books of the year? I think so. Let me start with saying this is the me of the few times where I like almost all of the characters? Each person was so complex and thought out that it made it easy to relate to them and want the best for them (well, most of them anyway).

This book touched on so many thing, but you know what my favorite part to read about was? COMPLEX 👏🏼 FAMILY 👏🏼 DYNAMICS👏🏼 If you read this, you can 100% that Blanca is a total bad ass. But you know what else she is? A manipulative mother that I COULDN’T stand. My skin would crawl every time we read one of her letters, but my god were they beautifully written with some powerful story telling. 

I loved Prieto and him dealing with his own issues with abandonment as he fully came into his identity. Hate politics, but I do love him.

Olga too was a dope characters. I love seeing how two people raised together can diverge and see things so differently. She is truly the embodiment of making the broken system work for her and truly love that for her. 
Let The Game Commence by David Palin

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adventurous dark 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? Yes
I don’t know what I was expecting, but I can assure you it wasn’t that! This book was such a wild ride, filled with deceit, lust, and a whole slew of terrible characters that you truly want nothing but the worst for. Palin truly excelled at showing each character at their absolute worst, bringing satisfaction when they play a game that literally changes the rest of their lives.

A couple of things I really enjoyed about this book:
  1. The game itself isn’t too long and it allows for the fall out of the game to really play out for each character 
  2. There are some thoroughly surprising twists. You think you know everything about each of the characters, but they still surprises you

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Thank you Love Books Tours, David Palin, and Matthew James Publishing for a gifted copy of this book. 
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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emotional informative 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

5.0

Love doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about this book. I had heard it was good, but I wasn’t expecting it to hook me in so deep. I loved watching Lily grow as a character. From accepting her sexuality to cutting off toxic friends to sticking up for herself to her family, Lily always felt real and I could imagine myself in her position and the internal battle she was going through. 

I’m typically not into historical fiction, but this is truly the shit I eat up. As a daughter of immigrants, I love hearing about that experience from others, and the historical context surrounding Lily’s family makes it so rich to read. I loved learning about her home in Chinatown, but reading about perspective of the Chinese communism propaganda from a Chinese family added an extra appreciation to Lily’s story. 

I would honestly love to see a novella of Lily going to Forbidden City. Reading the constant microaggressions she experienced within her new community of white lesbians was infuriating. I would have loved to see her flourish in a diverse queer community where she didn’t feel the constant pressure of being “othered” in a space that was supposed to make her feel safe.
Private Way by Ladette Randolph

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.
I unfortunately had to DNF this book at around 53%. I tried on multiple occasions to get through this book but it proved to be difficult time and time again. I think the book was attempting to be quirky and modern, but instead the characters ended up being either extremely annoying or unrememberable which usually could be fine, but it doesn't seem like that was the purpose of the book. In fact, I was really struggling to understand what the purpose of the book was. I assumed it was more focused on a found family trope which I typically adore, but I don't think it was done super well here. I hope that the book picked up in the second half, though I don't think it would have been something I would have particularly ever enjoyed. 
We'd Know By Then by Kirsten Bohling

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Let me just say: I’m a simple reader: I see a beautiful cover, I must read!! This book was a quick, cozy read and perfect for a nerd like me that likes to mix two of her favorite things: reading and fandom culture. I’ve never read a novel that used the “color at first sight” love trope so I was instantly intrigued. 

The first half of the book was super fun and I pretty much breezed through it. While I didn’t particularly like any of the characters (Brighton’s decision making made me want to tear my hair out), it’s clear that that soulmate chemistry was something special and still made me root for the couples to have their happy ending.

I quickly realized this wasn’t the book for me, but I can definitely see it’s appeal. It’s fluffy, whimsical, and has the appeal of fan fiction while still allowing for it to feel like something completely new and fresh. For those that like a pretty wholesome romance as well as a book that’s not afraid to touch on some darker topics (grief, death, toxic relationships), this could be a pretty solid choice for you!

_________

Thank you to Love Books Tours, Kirsten Bohling, and Lake Country Press for a DRC of this gorgeous book.
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

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emotional 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

4.25

Ok let me start by saying I heard this book was going to make me sob but when I was 250 pages in and didn’t even feel my eyes getting wet, I assumed I was aged out of the group that would get emotional over this. HOWEVER, did I spend 5 minutes clinging to my husband sobbing after reading the last 3 pages? Absolutely.

This story in its purest form is about grief: how you deal with grief, how grief impacts your relationships and your thoughts processes and how clinging on to the past stops you from moving on and creating/continuing meaningful connections you have in the present. Did I hurt for Julie? Yes, but I didn’t particularly like her. Her decisions bothered me and because we’re reading from her perspective, her grief is prioritized. It was irritating to have her basically come to terms with “oh yea, a lot of people actually really love Sam and this is probably hitting them very hard as well.” Again, we focus on her grief which makes sense, but idk just felt like she wanted a monopoly on grieving Sam.

Anyway, rant over. TLDR: this book is as sad as they say it is. Have a support human/animal on standby when you finish.
Every Variable of Us by Charles A. Bush

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adventurous challenging funny lighthearted 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

I love this. I love Lex. I love Aamani. I love their little nerd group. I just love love. 
So this book covers some intense topics, including child abuse, drug abuse, homophobia, xenophobia, racism, violence, and sexual abuse. Parts of this were rough, but I honestly loved the grittiness. I loved being inside Alexis’s head and I appreciate the author showing her learning and growing as a person as the book progressed. Because we live in such PC culture, we don’t often get to see characters realize that her assumptions about other people and cultures are a product of her environment, but not how she really sees them. Watching her life fall apart was heartbreaking, but watching her finally be able to rely on others and create a path for a future she wants (with the woman she wants!!!), ugh my whole heart. Would highly recommend!! A beautiful love story about two women from different cultures fighting to be themselves when everyone around them tells them not to be. Love it!

Thank you to NetGalley, North Star Editions, and Flux for an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!