Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
I love a good little graphic novel and Doughnuts and Doom does not disappoint. For starters, what a title!
But our story follows Margot who has troubles being a witch in public or under stress, she just wants to get her license and be able to do her own life. But as she gets a craving for doughnuts to cheer herself up, she accidentally casts a curse on Elena who just wants to be a rock star and make it.
Their lives now accidentally entwined due to Margot’s chaos and her magic being a little out of control, we keep getting some interesting interactions and a cute story.
One of my favourite things is that there are a lot of raw feelings depicted here, the frustration, the anxiety, the fears, they are here and they’re not “positive” or made pretty, instead they cause chaos, they harm, and then our characters have to figure out a way to make things work, or to find a way to keep going.
A feel good lovely graphic novel that will have you craving doughnuts and maybe a good soundtrack in the background to listen too while reading.
I bought this one on one of their sales after they had released it as I wanted the book. I am not the biggest fan of romance (I have my moments when I want a romance book but I tend to be picky and need to be in the mood for it).
If however, unlike me, you are a Romance avid reader, I can say Afterlight has come leaps and bounds with their boxes and they are a lovely choice.
As you can see from the picture, this isn’t a hugely big contents box, but rather a love letter to romance, and in this case it was all about Lizzie Huxley-Jones book, Make You Mine This Christmas, a cute love story that now has a “sequel” (don’t quote me on that, it is another book similar to this, I haven’t read it yet). I am bad at this reviewing romance part, woops.
Anyway, it came with a print, author letter and some nice socks which are super soft and cute! I like how little it comes with because then it iisn’t adding clutter or unwanted items, and it feels extra cosy, so if you are looking for present ideas for your Romance lover, why not try Afterlight?
Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.
Since it is Halloween and I finally managed to schedule posts for the blog without breaking it (fingers crossed honestly, so much woe and drama to be able to schedule stuff) why not post a good spooky book?
Sixteen souls is many things, for starters, it gives Wednesday and the Addams kinda vibes in some ways, but there is also angst and cuteness, and many ghosts, and a plot for evil, and romance and intrigue, and queerness. Honestly, there is a lot of goodness, but in a way, despite the fact I read this ages ago, it feels like it is also cosy in many ways.
It is weird to say a book is cosy when it deals with soukls, evil plots and all that, but the writing makes it in a way like a cosy spooky hug, and also, it makes me want to go back to York and just wander around it and enjoy the many quirky places.
I like that there’s a plethora of ghosts with personalities and Charlie isn’t the happiest about dealing with all the ghosts but he’s also accepted his lot in life and made friends, something about when life gives you lemons and all that I think but in ghost form. But it is one thing to complain about ghosts messing up things or causing drama and another to have your ghosts and what you are familiar with suddenly go weird and wrong.
Charlie felt like one of those reluctant heroes who will anyway do the right thing because he’s soft, but then also the twists in this book are good and I really enjoyed the vibes perfectly and the story , plus now there’s a sequel/tie in which I have yet to read but looking forward to as I own it.
Read this is you enjoyed watching Wednesday and the Addams, or if you like cosy mysteries with a dollop of queer (not the full cosy vibes), or if you want a York ghosts vibe too.
Ownership: Review copy provided upon request from the publisher
Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.
If you have read This is How You Lose the Time War, then you will find this book a close and similar read, but also a completely different read all in itself.
It is in itself a story full of stories, where two people, Regan and Aldo, meet up at the Art Institute in Chicago. Partly because both are trying to find answers, and they suddenly appear to find it here.
Without spoiling much, this book deals with big topics including mental heath and other issues, as both characters have their own quirks and challenges. Regan tries to find answers in chaos and being rash and impulsive, whereas Aldo goes into routine and other ways to cope. So their whole meet up is a collision course and also, like a supernova, creates something very interesting.
If you have read Olivie’s books before, then you will be familiar with her style, but if you are not, be aware this is a character driven book, with a lot of heavy “in my own head” chapter or monologue like conversations. There is a lot of thought processing and figuring things out, which is in itself fascinating, but may not be for everyone.
As for the love story part of it, it may not be your conventional love story, which is where it reminds me a lot of This is How You Lose the Time War, even though this is not a book about time travelling or such a complex setup, in this case the complexity comes from the characters and the conversations and interactions.
Overall, an interesting read that makes you think and reflect on things and ponder a lot and very enjoyable.
Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.
Illumicrate is a book subscription box, it usually features fantasy and sci-fi but not exclusively young adult, sometimes it features adult too. It usually contains a new release, a pin and several bookish goodies.
I am slowly catching up, just 6 months behind, right? But let us investigate the contents nevertheless and see what I liked and didn’t like or what my thoughts were, starting from the book at the bottom left:
A Marvellous Light with an interesting jacket made of like a plastic see-through version.
Starcrossed Lovers calendar, I admit in general I don’t really use wall calendars so this was wasted on me and I am less into quotes but still, I appreciate the free calendar in case it would be used.
Gorgeous pin flag, one of my favourite ones sent so far, with a beautiful design, even if I don’t use them. You can totally see a theme of me not hanging things.
One of my favourite items in the box, is a pencil tin, I love the tins that protect pencils, and this one is creepy awesome and with a great quote.
A Winternight trilogy inspired mug is one of my favourite ones now. But in general, I love the mugs and this is the other favourite item.
The collectible pin which is now not a thing but still, lovely to see it.
Lovely box overall, however rnow I am here thinking about how sometimes they don’t consider we don’t all have loads of space to hang things or won our house and therefore in a rented place you cant really fillt he walls of items, so I do wish here were alternatives to hanging things like a desk calendar which would limit the hanging items here to just the one? But this is me just thinking of more possibilities that fit more people.
Lily Hu has questions, particularly about herself and why the idea of two women falling in love makes her heart race, or why she clips certain butch female looks, but she is Chinese-American in the 1950s where it is dangerous to seem a little too different and to risk her father’s deportation.
So Lily keeps her questions quiet until she starts hanging out with Kathleen Miller, who is not afraid to go to the Telegraph Club with Lily and hang out there to watch a show. As her world and friendships shift, and priorities change, Lily suddenly is asking more and more questions and saying no to things she might have just shrugged away, and yes to things she would have just wished she did say yes to before.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club, is a trip through the US at the time of red-scare paranoia, and particularly what it means to be defining your sexuality alongside your identity and how you fit in this world and country. The story is written with that everyday type of writing that makes you go through the day of Lily and through things as they happen and it all feels luscious and mundane at the same time.
There are so many details about what being in a country that sees you as different in not only one way feels, and what finding the deep secrets you didn’t even dare admit you kept suddenly are more accept or have somewhere to be not a secret anymore and how liberating that can be but also the risks of letting the truth show.
Wonderful read, and highly recommended overall. It is a very different feel to Malinda Lo’s fantasy books but it still ahs the beauty of being an easy read and yet telling a big story, like an epic poem that everyone knows the lines to and can recite as if it was what everyone does.
Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma
Rating:
Read before: No
Ownership: Received a copy from the publisher after requesting it.
As per usual, just because a copy was provided by the publisher, it doesn’t influence my review and all thoughts here are my own.
Want a wholesome romance that you can actually wish you had and it is healthy rather than pining for the bad boy in the story? Add dancing and food to it and you have got Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance.
As I read this book, I kept loving it more and more with each new thing. We meet Radha first as she is in the finals for dancing and she finds out her mom is sleeping with one of the judges which then affects her confidence and means everyone thinks she’s made it by cheating rather than her own talent. Talk about a punch in the gut.
This destroys her love for dancing and causes her huge anxiety, as she has lost her dance joy. She moves schools and agrees with her mum that she will dance for one year only and then she is free to do whatever career she wants, as she is sure she doesn’t want to dance anymore.
Introduce Jai, who also likes dancing and suddenly desperately needs Radha’s help to make it to the Nationals of dancing.
This is a fun romance, with a lot of dancing, food making, negotiating boundaries and life, and a relationship. But it is also about having a healthy relationship where both sides are part of it and it isn’t just the bad boy and the girl pining after him. Honestly, one of the best and healthiest couples of YA I have read in a long time.
Goodbye, my Rose Garden by Dr. Pepperco (Full Series)
Rating:
Read before: No
Ownership: Bought for my personal collection
Series: Goodbye, my Rose Garden, 3 volumes total.
I have been reading a lot of series, particularly graphic novels and manga, and sometimes it is hard to review a single book without adding spoilers, so now I will be adding some Full Series reviews.
Today I will talk about Goodbye, my Rose Garden. It is a female to female (F/F) series set in semi Victorian era England and focuses on Hanako, who dreams of becoming a novelist. Of course, this is not an easy path so she finds a job as a personal maid to a young noblewoman/lady. This seems to be a wonderful job since the lady, Alice Douglas, likes reading and encourages Hanako’s dream until she makes a very unusual request. Hanako has to kill Alice and end her suffering as she doesn’t deserve to be alive.
Initially, Hanako refuses but agrees to consider it if necessary. And so the story develops into a slow burn romance where Hanako feels it is not suitable to fall for her employer and therefore should tread lightly, but also, she is her personal maid and as such should do her best to help her lady. Alongside this, she has to figure out if she can convince Alice to bail out of the request to kill her, or why she thinks she should be killed. Add to that the path of attempting to become a novelist, Alice’s jealous fiance, and Hanako’s own past, and it is a soft romance with some high stakes.
I usually try the first volume of a series and decide, and wasn’t sure what to expect, but honestly, as I read I knew I had to get the rest. Goodbye, my Rose Garden packs a lot in very little space and it also does a good job of keeping all the plot lines and subplots going rather than abandoning them or half forgetting they are there, which was part fo what made it much dearer for me.
If you want a soft F/F manga set in early twentieth-century England, that focuses on the love of reading and on roses and just being dedicated to living life, this is the one for you.
Let’s start this by saying that when Harper had this on their list I had to request it because it had been on my preorders list for ages. So I got a free review copy in the hopes of a review from the publisher and thats all. It doesn’t affect my review at all.
So now unto the true review. We start with Nozomi, who despite being rejected by her crush, she is taking a positive spin and trying to make the most of having to go to San Francisco and spend time with her uncle and brother helping at an art gallery. So when she meets the cutest girl, willow, who has just had a breakup and consoles her, then fate means she is close to her almost daily, she is ready to turn her life into a room com and there is a lot of positive vibes.
And come on Willow is the “ideal perfect girl” Nozomi wants, so when Willow proposes fake dating to make her ex jealous, Nozomi says yes hoping that the fake dating makes her fall for her, but life isn’t a rom-com at all and Nozomi is about to learn a lot of lessons about life, trying to make fake dating work out and that sometimes things may be different than what we think.
I enjoyed this interesting spin on a rom-com and happy go lucky girls. Nozomi tries SO hard to be positive and hope and she gets so wrapped up in her made up world that sometimes it is harsh when the real one comes breaking up all her plans including her family barging in. But it was also refreshing to see a family involved in her life and trying to make it easier or help cushion the fall.
The book made me laugh, and then it made me cry a little, and in the end I liked how it ended because it felt right and it fit what the book was trying to say.
If you like rom-coms and you like romances, this is a good book for you. It does have mentions of dementia, and family issues, alongside slight homophobia, and some mention of death, but it deals with things as a challenge and a growing forward rather than just staying, choices matter.
Short disclaimer first, I received a copy of the book for free from the publisher so I could be part of the blog tour and provide a review (I only read hard copies). This doesn’t change or influence my opinion except maybe it adds a book I may not have considered if it hadn’t been brought up to me for consideration.
Now to the actual blog tour review, because apparently I have lived under a rock and hadn’t read any of Kristin’s books before so this a new author to me and new stories to read.
This is a book a little outside of my usual books but not something I wouldn’t have read when I was younger. It is a dystopia with romance and a lot of finding yourself, being a rebel and just figuring things out. When I heard the premise I immediately was of two minds, it could be quite interesting to read or too close to the present (this is basically post-pandemic semi dystopia where the Key control the areas and have brought technology to help combat this ugly virus, plus genetic modifications, so it isn’t fully dystopia but really close and touching is a no-no). Thankfully, it was done well and it only barely reminded me of the present situation (needing that escape sometimes is key and I didn’t want to try and enjoy a story that was too close to real life and therefore not a different place).
We meet our main characters, Elodie and Aiden, and Blair. I have to say that Elodie at first frustrated me a little, but as the story goes, I warmed up to her and she provided a good panorama to a relatively cushioned life under the Key even if she isn’t aware of how protected she has been up to now by not questioning the rules and having family in the right places (but also, she doesn’t know how fragile the balance is).
Then we have Aiden, who is not fitting in well with how the Key want him to integrate into society and is on the last chance to be able to do something with his life (because in this world you’re matched to your partner, and you have your career chosen after taking some tests, nothing or barely anything is left to chance, and even old books and stories are banned). And then Blair who is the side that wants to move up the ranks inside the Key and to do more, achieve and not lose power are her intense desires.
I have to say that overall I enjoyed the story and was curious as to what would come. I think it dragged a little to try to make it into more than one book (I didn’t realise it wasn’t a standalone until I saw how much of the book was left and how little actual action ahd happened). But the dragging of the plot does provide a good setting and background. However, I do think the plot could’ve gone further if we had skipped the story bits Elodie reads (those I definitely did not like and would skim read).
Still, it was interesting to see how touch had been banned, the webs of lies and how people manipulate or rise through ranks and amke their place by “following rules” without ever questioning and calling themselves loyal. Yet at the same time, that position is always so fragile even if the players do not know it.
So, what’s the prospect? If you are a fan of the young adult fiction from 5-10 years ago, this is the book for you. It has that vibe with a fresher look, like when a trend comes back, and it ha some interesting concepts of technology, power and characters, and now I am very curious as to what actually happens next and what is in Zone Seven.
