Scan barcode
pucksandpaperbacks's reviews
657 reviews
Sugar, Spice and Christmas Nice by Anne Hagan
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This was fine. Personally, I think it was too rushed. I liked the conflict added to save the bakery and Layla's brother changing his holiday plans. However, this is set in an Italian bakery in Philadelphia and as a fellow Italian-American from Philly, this didn't feel much like an Italian bakery. They sold cakes, cupcakes and cookies. But there was more of an emphasis and scenes where they're decorating cakes and cupcakes. I wish there had been more detail to incorporate Italian pastries, atleast cannolis were briefly mentioned. I did enjoy Destiny's storyline being a young, budding baker and her joy was infectious. I really liked her as a character!
The romance was sooo rushed! Paige and Layla dated for over four years but things got complicated when they had to be long-distance during their college years. The book states "Trust had been broken, words said that couldn't be taken back" and that's pretty much everything we know about the break-up.
There's also a scene where Layla receives a box with Paige's old letters and memories from their relationship that is so unnecessary becausePaige says it wasn't her and must've been her mom who sent it. Then, Paige confesses she wants to get back together and they just get back together!?!?! I wish the plot point about the breakup had been more fleshed out because I was not rooting for this couple to get back together knowing they had barely addressed the cause of their breakup. Thus, the end really bothered me because Layla decides she's back to Baltimore with Paige for grad school to continue her pursuit of becoming a writer . Last, Paige proposes to Layla at the very end. This all happened in the same year and few days. I'd prefer to have had some flashbacks where we see these scenes more spaced out because the characters made a lot of big decisions very quickly and it irked me.
The romance was sooo rushed! Paige and Layla dated for over four years but things got complicated when they had to be long-distance during their college years. The book states "Trust had been broken, words said that couldn't be taken back" and that's pretty much everything we know about the break-up.
There's also a scene where Layla receives a box with Paige's old letters and memories from their relationship that is so unnecessary because
Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns
CW: death of a parent, car accident (on-page, detailed), racism, deportation, grief, drug use.
The Cookie Crumbles by Alechia Dow, Tracy Badua
CW: grief, loss of a parent to cancer, mention of chemotherapy; character experiences a migrane; mention of character in a coma; tampering with medicine
Brooms by Jasmine Walls
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-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? N/A
CW: racism, misogyny, sexism, colonization, scene where a gun is present and fired, police, and graphic mention of residential schools.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation
Wed, Read & Dead by V.M. Burns
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
CW: Blackmailing, gambling, alcohol, alcoholism, mention of murder by strangling, car accident death (briefly mentioned, not graphic or in detail), mention of child abuse in detail, foster care; scene where a gun is put to a child's head, but not triggered; grief, loss of spouse; fatphobia and comments/descriptions about character's weight and weight gain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Grief
Minor: Car accident and War
Blackmailing, gambling, alcohol, alcoholism, mention of murder by strangling, car accident death (briefly mentioned, not graphic or in detail), mention of child abuse in detail, foster care; scene where a gun is put to a child's head, but not triggered; grief, loss of spouse; fatphobia and comments/descriptions about character's weight and weight gain.
Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Transphobia and Outing
microagressions, mention of dieting and losing weight, ableist r-slur
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
I loved Camp Damascus, but there's something about the way Tingle discussed the "bury your gays" trope & Hollywood's homophobia and erasure of queer media as a whole that made me love this more. The subtle mentions of Camp Damascus were great, too.
Bury Your Gays is dark, gory, and it talks heavily about homophobia and childhood trauma. I loved learning about each of Misha's characters and how they related to periods in his life & seeing them come alive. Fantastic!
Bury Your Gays is dark, gory, and it talks heavily about homophobia and childhood trauma. I loved learning about each of Misha's characters and how they related to periods in his life & seeing them come alive. Fantastic!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Violence, and Blood
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
I found out that it involves kidnapping of BIPOC children w/o their consent or knowledge. Therefore, I don't feel comfortable continuing it.
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Highly recommend this queer thrilling horror especially to folks who are queer and have deconstructed from evangelicalism. I loved this book so much for the creepy undertones and commentary on being queer and unpacking your religious trauma. However, it is definitely dark and as it is a horror, there's horror elements of mayflies and the "pray the gay away" mentality as the book is about conversion therapy.
The audiobook was great.
Rep: Autistic, queer MC.
The audiobook was great.
Rep: Autistic, queer MC.