simonlorden's reviews
1248 reviews

 I received an ARC through NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

Evie is a university student who doesn't remember her life before she was four years old, when her mother disappeared. When an old friend shows up, she learns that her mother is from a magical parallel world, where she was hunted by a dark cult who is looking for the family heirloom Evie has.

There wasn't anything objectively wrong with this book, but it wasn't right for me. I kept waiting for that spark of uniqueness or excitement, and it just never came. The characters are okay, but no big love. The love triangle with the two brothers was sort of awkward. The magic system is interesting, but why do they keep insisting on calling it not-magic. I think the Blair-Evie relationship could be interesting in the future, but we haven't really gotten there in this book yet. There's a lot of potential, but it didn't hit the right points with me.

It might hit better with people who like art history, since there is a plotline involving a real-life artist and famous paintings. 

I received this ARC through NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

(Mild spoilers ahead, but I kept it vague.)

I've been struggling with my last few reads, so this has been a breath of fresh air. I'm a sucker for ghost stories where an outsider arrives in an old place that is haunted, and has to figure out who the ghost is and what skeletons are hiding in the closet (literally). And this is that, with a healthy dose of family drama, some teenage drama (and trauma) and all that in a Jamaican setting. Lots of mystery, friendship, Jamaican patois language, maybe even romance?!

I initially thought that the reveal of Carina's "crime" was underwhelming, but now I feel like that was part of the point. She's just a teenage girl, and there's bigger monsters here. I also wanted there to be something romantic between Carina and Dante, but I guess that didn't work out, huh?

I liked that Carina struggles with her identity - she's Jamaican, but she's never been to Jamaica, and in the past she'd clung to stereotypes to feel connected to her culture, which was interesting.

Overall an interesting read, the mystery and the characters were both very intriguing, and the setting/atmosphere also. 

the first half of the book was a struggle, but then it took me in. El, who was born to be a supervillain but she loves her mother so much and she's so traumatized but she still wants to love. Orion, who is just a complete idiot apparently. Also a sentient murder school.

I've loved everything I read by this author, but this series is possibly my favorite. The absolute scoundrels and gentleman of uncertain fortune are just too entertaining.

Of course, it's very much wish fulfillment. Duke Severn has more power than a human being should ever have, frankly - but since he's the good guy, and this is a fictional story, it's still cathartic to read him throwing his power around to help others.

It also had some great romantic chemistry, only one bed, somnophilia and praise kink, which was a really nice collection of my favorite things.

And the boys from the first book show up at the end, which was the best ending.

A nice end to the trilogy. Everyone is where they belong at the end, I think. I liked that in this book we also dealt a bit with Will's trauma and how that influences their relationship, since until now the obstacles mainly came from Kim.

Also the murderous brother and the abusive family gave some Whyborne & Griffin vibes, while Kim's shady character in general has been reminding me of Hither Page. 

Kim is a shady lying bastard, but we love him like that. Will stands up for himself, and he kind of has a point. Will commiserates with Kim's fiancé Phoebe about Kim being a lying bastard. Phoebe and Will's best friend Maisie hang out and hopefully become a couple later on or something.

That ending was very much ouch. It's a whole mess, and Kim probably didn't do the right thing, but there wasn't a good way to do this. Phoebe

giving back the ring

broke me, though.

man, this invisible man is an asshole

Didn't notice this was second in a series, so I was feeling like I missed something, but it sums up most of what happened so it's fine. I like that they helped a young teenage mother, and Peter tips his workers.

I received an ARC through NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

Okay, this graphic novel pulled me in. I'm not Catholic or religious myself, so your mileage may vary. This book is about a Catholic boy's self-discovery journey, who finds comfort and community in his church, but also realizes he's gay, and has trouble reconciling those two facts.

The graphic novel leads us through the discovery featuring Catholic saints and people from the Bible who defied gender norms or had devoted love with members of their own sex, while also being devoutly religious. It tells us that the Bible can have several interpretations, and if the interpretation you choose teaches you to hate, that tells you more about yourself than about God and Jesus. It also features present-time queer people, including a nonbinary drag performer who struggles with their own relationship to church and their late mother.

It is also very catchy and approachable to a modern audience, although it's been a while since I was a teenager. The colors are beautiful, the people really look like people - I'm in love with Mark's freckles on his arms in particular, such a lovely detail. 

Occasionally went a bit over the line into cringe, but still an amazing Chanuka romcom story. Ben's brother sets him up on 8 blind dates for Chanuka, and they all go spectacularly wrong, but he is rescued by the super cute bartender, Nova.