madeline's reviews
776 reviews

This was a solid debut that could have used some more editing - it's about 75 pages too long and has some quirks that just don't work, like the translated colloquialisms. It's the kind of fantasy I would have loved at 16, though, and I think it'll certainly find its audience.

Thank you Wednesday and NetGalley for the ARC/ALC!

This memoir was incredible - poignant and thoughtful and laugh out loud funny. I think this will resonate with anyone raised Irish Catholic, particularly those of us from large, loud families. In true Irish form, O'Reilly tells some really sad, poignant stories with a lot of dry humor, and it's such a delight to read. I had a great time, and I can't wait to share this book with my family!

Thank you Little, Brown and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was supremely enjoyable, and you can't help but love GUP and the kids. I will say that I think that Clara's portrayal was a bit misogynistic, and it really irritated me how Patrick's siblings totally dismissed his pain from

losing his partner Joe - Joe's family was presented as the homophobic side but honestly Patrick's siblings' lack of acknowledgment that he had essentially lost his spouse really rubbed me the wrong way

. So cute, and laugh out loud funny, though, and the perfect poolside read.

Thank you Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a super fun read, set in a new-to-me-in-romance world, fitness influencing. Crystal and Scott were both interesting and nuanced characters. I will admit that I found both the premise for them ""not being able to date"" and also the black moment a bit tenuous - I wouldn't call it a miscommunication trope, but I would say some better communication and more empathy would have gone a long way. Still, it was a great time, and I can't wait to see who from this cast of characters gets the next book!

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is such a well-done novella: it's perfectly paced, and you get the opportunity to know the hero, the heroine, AND them as a unit. Like, a masterclass in how to structure a novella. I would have liked to know a little more about Bennett's second job and how he got into it, but hey, it's a novella.

The third-act breakup though? Disappointing. What I would love to see in a grovel scene is the person who messed up naming how they did so, apologizing for it, and specifically saying how they'll change their behavior rather than a *waves hands* grand gesture. Like, it was a perfect, perfect read until someone messes up, and it's such a clear, fundamental messing up that it's astounding to me that they were like "wow why did the other person get so mad?"

This is great, though, such a lot of fun! Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC. 

 Phoebe Walsh is in Florida to do two things: clean out her dad’s house and finish her dissertation on true crime literature. Not on the list: improve her relationship with her brother, adopt a cat, fall in love with the neighbor. She knows that the second you stop being vigilant, that’s when the criminal (or genuinely nice guy next door) gets you, and she’s determined to get out of Florida in possession of her heart, but Sam’s going to make that really difficult…

I was kind of primed to dislike this book - I was a longtime true crime lover who began to realize the really problematic aspects of the genre a few years ago, which I talk about a little more in this review. And do I wish that Thompson had taken some of her thoughts about true crime a little further? Yeah. But did I have a fantastic time reading this book? 100%!

My overall sentiment towards the book is really just “see it through,” honestly. I would have liked to see Phoebe’s relationships with her parents fleshed out a bit more, I would have liked to see some more meat to Sam, I would have liked a little more critical thinking about true crime and the way it affects the way aficionados build relationships, but this is a debut, and it is a great one. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

 

 Cassie Harris is the best boudoir photographer in Chicago, and she loves that her job makes people of all shapes, sizes, and genders feel sexy in their own skin. She also loves that her best friend Dana is about to launch her own lingerie line, and that Cassie will be photographing Dana in the apparel for the national ad campaign - until that comes to a screeching halt. Dana has to go on bedrest for her pregnancy, the advertising agency isn’t sure if Cassie is the right photographer for the job, and all of the sudden, Cassie is the model and art director, and her competitor Reid Montgomery is behind the lens. Things between them get hot, both on set and off, but does Reid have Cassie’s best interests at heart?

This was a fine and charming debut, but it loses one star for plot reasons and one for personal.

The plot: Reid

is paid a bonus by the ad agency to “keep an eye on Cassie,” because they wanted to hire him for the campaign and Dana wouldn’t allow it. They prefer their known, white man photographer to the unknown, loud and unapologetic Black woman photographer. And Reid keeps this a secret from Cassie<i> until, like, the eighty percent mark

. That is TOO LONG to keep a secret! I can’t trust Reid to be a good partner if he’s keeping a secret about

Cassie’s employer being racist and sexist

for that long. No thank you. 

Also, he’s the most irritating kind of bad boy: he wears a leather jacket and wears a motorcycle helmet to… ride his bicycle. That’s someone who thinks he is cool and is not.

The personal: this book has huuuuuuuge Naperville energy. The girls that get it, get it. Most of the book takes place in River North, arguably one of the most boring neighborhoods in the city. You cannot tell me that Cassie wouldn’t prefer living on Southport, at a minimum. She’s an Uptown girl! An Edgewater girl! A Hyde Park girl! I totally missed that this was a Chicago book until I opened it (the skyline is literally on the cover, Maddie) and was excited for a taste of home while I am exiled in Missouri and instead it feels like the author goes into the city twice a year. Fine! She didn’t get anything wrong, she just didn’t get it right, you know? Also, Cassie’s parents are like big landlords and that is not a vibe.

Anyways, I did really love this giant bunch of hot, messy people, and I’d read more in this series.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

racism, sexism

I had such a good time with this book - one chapter in sweet Elvis's narration and I was happily along for the ride. It's so delightfully atmospheric, like a film noir that's taking place under a disco ball, almost, mixing some classic tropes with the ambiance of Mexico in the 1970s. If this were a movie from that decade, it'd be a cult classic now. What fun.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a pretty one-to-one retelling of Pretty Woman, swapping out a sex worker for a ballerina (who, yes, historically could likely have been a sex worker but this one is not) and therefore saving the author the complicated work of having a sex worker heroine. It's fine! It's a fine book. I didn't always buy the chemistry, and Lysander is kind of a flat character.

There were two elements where I think Howard was making an attempt at increasing representation in the novel that really didn't work for me. In the author's note and, like, three brief statements  in the book, there are allusions to the fact that Lysander is neurodivergent. None of that is ever explored, and honestly I'm tired of this kind of disingenuous representation where someone is *insert marginalized identity* simply because the author states that they are once and it's not ever brought up or thought about. Something similar happens when Neve and Lysander discuss children - her periods are irregular from dance, which is a real thing! But it feels yucky to be like "oh my periods are irregular because I'm soooooo slim and slender from ballet" and not because "I work really hard to keep my body at both peak performance and peak aesthetics and sometimes that means I don't nourish myself adequately," you know?

Anyways, I suppose those are maybe minor issues. But I do feel like they're worth bringing up. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book - I just like others of hers more.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the ARC! 

I think this book walked the line between YA and NA really well - often my critique of a book that tries to is that it would be more successful in one camp or the other, but the balance here was well done. Csilla, Tamas, and Azriel were so richly and tenderly drawn, and you can't help but hope that the attempted revolution will go differently.

It took me a minute to understand that the fantastical elements working in the book were actually fantastical, and not just metaphors, and I wish that had been more cleanly done. But overall, what an entrancing read, and oh man, that ending.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!