I received Grandmother’s Devil through the LibraryThing member giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.

While I loved the ideas behind these short stories and I enjoyed the content, the writing was not my favorite. I found it to be very “telling” as opposed to “showing.”

I also found myself getting a little bit bored in the excessive detail. I got a pretty clear image from Malin’s descriptions, but I felt like there was a lot that could have been narrowed down. In “Grand-Mère Le Cigare,” the food from Christmas Eve dinner is written out course by course. While it certainly sounded delicious, it was just a lot to read and didn’t really contribute anything to the story.

However, I did enjoy this collection. “Grandmother, Naked” was probably my favorite piece. I really liked the concept of a grandmother doing nude art modeling and being confident in herself. It was an uplifting and humorous piece, and I would like to read it again.

"We are being punished by the world for just one simple reason: for having been produced by the same woman."

This book is probably one of the most depressing books I have ever read. It broke my heart over and over again, but I couldn't put it down once I started.

The incest theme is something that I'm sure has scared off several readers. I had heard some good things about it when I was in high school, which made my curiosity win over. With the description and the appearance of this book on several forbidden romance lists, I feel like it gives off the feeling of a sexy book. When I think of "forbidden romance," I think of a sexily illicit romance, with the forbidden aspect adding to the sexiness. That was not this book at all. I had read a few early review that broke this expectation and made me want to read it. So if fear of a book trying pass off incest as sexy is keeping you from reading this, then you have nothing to fear.

The situation with Lochan and Maya is sad. Having taken care of their younger siblings since they were eleven and twelve, they have grown up as essentially co-parents. The complete absence of their father and the frequent disappearances of their mother, Lochan and Maya are in charge of the house, the bills, getting the kids to school and fed. This causes them to live in the way a couple would live together. They never had the opportunity to grow up as siblings. With this background, it makes their romantic love almost inevitable.

As I read, I couldn't show more help but view the romance as a product of their family life. The romance itself caused them such unimaginable stress, which kept me on the edge of my seat. As much as I was rooting for the characters, I also found myself torn between wanting Lochan and Maya to make things work and wanting all of the kids to be rescued from the situation their alcoholic mother was putting them in.

Forbidden will make you question your morals and remind you to always get the full story before jumping into judgment. It will also tear you to pieces. I will warn, there are some very sexually explicit scenes in this novel, so if the thought of incestuous sex is something you can't stomach at all, I would not recommend picking it up. While it is not a sexy novel, it could still be immensely uncomfortable for some. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who is willing to put social standards aside to try to see a different point of view. This is a depressing and very necessary novel. show less

I received Miracles and Conundrums of the Secondary Planets through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.

"Already at the age of eight, she knew the truth about clocks: how they pretend that time goes on forever, when it really stops abruptly. All it takes is a lamb chop, or one small cell gone haywire."

I took this quote from the short story "Invasive Species," which was, by far, my favorite short story in this collection. It was probably my favorite Appel story altogether. After weeks of only having time for reading textbooks for class, this story drew a strong emotional response from me (aka I cried... a lot). Dealing with a mother who is about to lose a child to cancer, this particular piece does a wonderful job of portraying grief.

The story that gave this collection its title was about an alien working in a Latvian restaurant, observing the citizens of earth. It was a humorous story and got me in the mood to enter the collection. While I'm not much of an alien lover, I was able to really love the way Appel wrote about an alien. What really did it for me was the ways in which he highlighted the struggles of a being living in a strange world. Red Ziggy's grasp on numbers and human languages, his over-use of proverb-sounding sayings, and his confusion at human decisions made for a fun and light read, that seemed to me a very realistic depiction of how aliens would feel on earth.

Overall, I was not disappointed by this book. I can't help show more but go into a Jacob M. Appel collection without expecting something great, and I haven't been let down yet. show less

3/5 stars. This was not my favorite look into the life of Lara Jean Covey. As much as I loved the first two in the series, I wish it had been kept at that. It would have made a very impactful duology. Reading this book felt like an after-thought. P.S., I Still Love You ended in a very conclusive and happy way. This book just added a bunch of unnecessary problems where Peter and Lara Jean end up breaking up and getting back together... again.

That being said, I did enjoy it. While it was nowhere near as good as the first two, it was still a fun and light read. Was I happy to spend more time with one of my favorite YA couples? Hell yes. Will I read this book again? Mmm... probably not.

“I’m a close approximation she is guiding surreptitiously toward a me that exists in her mind’s eye. What would I be without her?”

I really loved this book. So much, in fact, that it was almost a five-star read for me. What kept me from that final star? There are a couple of things.

One: Henry’s relationship with Clare as a child just kind of weirded me out. I was trying as hard as I could to remember that she was already his wife and that he wasn’t in love with the child Clare. But he made it really hard. He was jealous over a 12 year old’s crush on Paul McCartney. It was more than a little weird, and it honestly was really gross to me. Luckily enough, the vast majority of the book does not take place when Clare is a child.

Two: The punk band listing. I don’t mind at all when characters talk about bands they love, especially when they are well-known bands. Many of the ones that Henry loves are big enough that the name is familiar, even if I haven’t listened to some of them. However, the talking about the bands is entirely unnatural. There were some conversations in which it was multiple paragraphs of just spouting band names with no real dialogue around it. It wasn’t how most people talk about the music they love, and it brought me out of the story.

Other than that, I was in love with this novel. Henry and Clare’s relationship was deeply detailed and heartfelt. Clare’s constant anxiety over Henry’s frequent disappearances was realistic and easy to show more understand. In the time that I’m writing this, with Covid-19 keeping people apart, it was extremely relatable to me.

If you want a fast-paced romance that makes you fall in love, this is the book for you. show less

“What value is a stranger’s life, / Really, when love is at stake?”

I received this book through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll be honest, I’m not great at reviewing poems. Something about them just makes it hard for me to put my thoughts on them into words. But, I’m going to do my best. Poetry are very subjective, and just because I find that one does not go deeper than surface level, doesn’t mean that you will not.

I loved “Caveat.” I felt that the dry, sarcastic humor was entertaining and added a deep feeling of pent up anger to the poem.

I liked the others. While this was not my favorite poetry collection, I found it an enjoyable read. The poems offered looks into the lives of people around the characters of his poems. Some offered more “hidden” meanings and deep emotions, but many also seemed not to go deeper than surface level. This was fine, as the poems were well written and conveyed their meaning in a way that was enjoyable. Appel has a way of writing where every word seems very intentional, telling the reader everything they need to know.

There were several poems about the Holocaust included in this collection. I found these to be some of his best poems. The connections seemed almost as if someone was sitting in front of me, telling me of their personal family history.

This would be good for someone looking to delve into some modern poetry.

“I probably didn’t notice because sadness is like a spiderweb. You don’t see it until you’re caught up in it, and then you have to claw at yourself to try to break free.”

Part of the reason I loved this book so much is because it got me really reading after several months of trying to fit books in between classes. The chapters came in manageable sizes and I was able to tear through this book very quickly, despite having just started my summer semester.

I really loved it. It was not at all what I was expecting in the best way possible, as have been a lot of books I’ve loved recently. This one got me feeling. It got me feeling a LOT. I had to cry for most of it, and that was great. I love a book that makes me feel everything, so I couldn’t help but love this one.

I couldn’t help but root for Quinn and Graham’s relationship. They were lovable and relatable characters. They were imperfect and real. The alternation of “Then” and “Now” chapters made this book all the more compelling. Having the parallels of their beautiful beginning and their struggle to make things work in marriage was heartbreaking and made it impossible to stop reading. How can you stop reading when you see them happy one moment, and the next, you have no clue if their marriage will survive?

If you’re looking for a quick romance or a novel that will make you feel something, this is definitely the book for you.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Member Review program.

I was conflicted in my rating of this book. For one thing, I absolutely loved his stories and how brutally honest they were. On the other hand, I didn't love the way the poetry flowed. I usually love free-verse, but this read more like a paragraph to me.

While the poetry was not my favorite, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and my glimpse into working as a psychiatric nurse.

I want to start this review by saying that my opinion of this book has nothing to do with my agreement or disagreement with the issues discussed. While I am all for protecting our environment and making the changes necessary, this belief did not make me like this little paperback collection of speeches. It also does not reflect my opinions on Greta herself.

My first issue with this book was the complete lack of sources. I realize that this is a collection of speeches, however, they are of a scientific nature and are being published as a book... in print. I think that with the publishing of the speeches as a book, citations needed to be added. Without them, it is hard to view things as credible facts. Even as speeches, anything presented as a fact really should come with a reference to where it was found. Her more recent speeches are better about this, as she often says where the information is from before she states a number. However, her earlier speeches are severely lacking in source material. This book is being marketed as non-fiction and science. As such, I was shocked by the lack of sources.

A few examples:
"...a number of leading climate scientists wrote that we have at most three years to reverse growth in greenhouse gases..." Who are these scientists? Where did this information come from? To not be 100% specific in a speech is one thing, but the sourcing should have been considered when making a book.
"If people knew that the scientists say that we have a 5 show more percent chance..." Again, which scientists? It is hard for me to believe information to be credible when a very specific number is thrown out with a vague reference to an unspecified group of scientists.

And these two examples are just on the first page. There are many facts thrown out with no real source. This may not bother some people, as it is a collection of speeches. But to me, it makes sense that someone who decides to publish a collection of their speeches (ones that are marketed as non fiction and science, and have numbers and facts loaded into them, I mean) and distribute it as a book would add sources to said book. Why did I have to search the data being presented as fact and
do a LOT of fact-checking while reading a book that is being marketed as nonfiction?

Another glaring issue with this is how hypocritical some of it is. She condemns activists who travel great distances because they are using valuable resources to travel. However, in a later speech, she lists off all of the different forms of traveling she has to do. To me, this seems hypocritical. Why condemn others for the thing you do?

"Wherever I Go I Seem to Be Surrounded By Fairy Tales" is one of the last speeches included in this book and it left me a little confused. On page 89, she states "...a 50 per cent chance of staying below a 1.5 degree C global temperature rise." However, page 92 (same speech) says "...to have a 67 per cent chance of staying below a 1.5 degree C global temperature rise.... Which is it? She gives the same date: 1 January 2018. She also gives the same amount of CO2 emissions left: 420 gigatonnes. So which percentage is it? This difference in numbers within the same speech, without any source listed, makes it hard to find the information credible.

As excited as I was to read this, and as much as I wanted to love it, it just didn't rub me the right way. show less

I received this book through the LibraryThing Meber Giveaway program.

Another fun-filled read from Appel. His books never fail to entertain me. While not my favorite of his collections, I found the short stories within to be light and easy to read.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.
Mermaid Moon was not at all what I was expecting to be, which is – I think – one of the biggest reasons I loved it the way that I did.
I want to start this by saying that there is an afterword at the end of the book in which Susann Cokal goes into the history and the inspirations behind her story. I would personally recommend reading this before the rest of the book. It adds a certain depth to the story.
The buildup was a little slow (after you read the prologue and have gotten into the beginning of the story, the prologue isn’t even close to slow); and trying to pull myself from a reading slump was probably not the best time to pick up something that started quite as slowly as it did. I must admit that it was a little hard to get into. It starts when Sanna is already on land in search of her mother, and then goes back to describe the process of how this was decided. While I typically love stories written in this way, I needed a bit more to break up the massive chunk of history that came along with this. Don’t get me wrong, it was well-written and interesting… It was just a lot.
About a quarter of the way in, however, my reading slump was broken. I just couldn’t put the book down. It’s the first novel I’ve read that was told from the perspective of a mermaid. Actually, it was my first novel about mermaids since my childhood. I love mermaids, but it has always been hard for me to find a show more mermaid book that I’m interested in reading. I was impressed with the amount of mermaid culture Cokal was able to capture in just under 500 pages. I put the book down feeling as if I actually learned something.
I enjoyed the way she wrote the matriarchal society of the mermaids. It was interesting to read something based on a culture in which women hold the power. I also must admit that I enjoyed her inclusion of mermaid anatomy. It was a very neat take on something that’s always boggled me a little.
Sanna’s adventure was action-packed and didn’t have time for any boring moments. Each moment was filled with suspense, keeping me at the edge of my seat. This is a book I would definitely want to read again. If you’re in search of a thrilling fantasy without a lot of romance, you should consider this as your next read. show less

I received this book through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway.

This book received three out of five stars for me. It was enjoyable, but not my favorite piece. I thought that some of the stories were hard to follow and felt out of place.

However, I enjoyed most of them. My favorite was “Perfect Marraige.” The tension of two people, utterly dissatisfied yet unwilling to speak out about it, felt all too real and left a lasting impression on me.

"And it occurs to me that I do not have to be fearless. Sometimes worry stays beneath your fur, in the small spaces that fear likes to hide - but I do believe that, with the right human by your side, it's possible to leap fearlessly into the unknown."

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

This is a middle-grade book exploring the concept of divorce through a dog's eyes. Cosmo is a thirteen year old golden-retriever, just trying to make sure he and his boy, Max, stay together through his parents' divorce.

I thought this book was adorable. I also think this is a really good book for kids to read somewhere between third and eighth grades. Especially for kids whose parents are getting divorced. Reading about divorce from a dog's point of view could help them, not only to feel less alone, but also to cope with it in a healthy way. It could also help children to open up to their parents about how they feel. In the story, Max is terrified that he and Cosmo will be separated in the split, so they enter a dance contest to try to prove they are inseparable. What they don't know, is that his parents wouldn't separate them regardless of if they win the competition or not. This aspect of the story could encourage children to talk to their parents, that way they can avoid issues like this in their own lives.

This book could also be very helpful to parents going through a divorce, as it would allow them to see it through their kids' eyes. Cosmo mentions a show more few times that the parents arguing in front of the kids is causing them unnecessary stress (and ruining their night). It would give parents a new perspective on how to go through a divorce while putting as little stress as possible on their children.

I feel like the dog point of view was handled very well. Throughout the novel, Cosmo has thoughts that you could only imagine a dog thinking. He believes that Max's Uncle Reggie has bull dog blood in him. He says that he and Max have so much in common, that fur is the only way people can tell them apart. He even compares the squeak of a sneaker to his favorite squeaky toy.

Over-all the book is very cute and was a very fun read. I would honestly recommend it to people of all ages. It has good representation and is a cute story. show less

I really loved this book. As a nonbinary person in North Carolina, I loved reading a book about a nonbinary person in North Carolina written by a nonbinary person in North Carolina. It made me feel so much less alone. I read this book so fast. It’s definitely one of my favorites now.

“Why had he assumed time was some sort of infinite resource? Now the hourglass had busted open, and what he’s always assumed was just a bunch of sand turned out to be a million tiny diamonds.”

I really was surprised by this book. I’m not sure why, but I was kind of expecting not to love this. But I did. It was amazing.

This book really got me thinking about what I would do if I had two months to live. I also felt like the characters were really realistic. I found myself entirely wrapped up in the story. It helped that the author created an album to go with it. I played the music while reading to become totally immersed.

Definitely recommend.

I won a copy of Storm Cloud Haze through LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
I found this book to be really inspiring. While I don’t have a tumor like the author does, I found that I was able to relate to this book a lot. I have a chronic illness that is hard to diagnose, and I have also felt as if doctors were passing me around as if I didn’t have a serious condition. Reading Storm Cloud Haze made me feel less alone and misunderstood. I truly enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to people branching out into memoirs and poetry. I sat down and read the whole thing in about an hour, so it’s great if you want a quick read.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program.

Jacob M. Appel did it again. I hit a massive reading slump, and his short stories ripped me out of it. Appel is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.

Einstein’s Beach House is light-hearted and fun to read. His characters have compelling personalities, which makes it feel like you’re standing right there, watching the scene play out in front of you.

I would recommend this to anyone. It’s perfect for a light summer read, or to read a short story between books for school.

Review to come

I received this book from the LibraryThing Memeber Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.

I was torn about this book. On one hand, it was funny and an overall enjoyable read. On the other, I was really disappointed in it, because it wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

I’ll focus on the positives first. The story was quite comedic. As Arnold transitions from a man who refused to stand up to God Bless America for no reason at all, to committing crime just for fun, there are a lot of moments that made me laugh. The whole book was a wild ride, and I enjoyed hopping on.

The characters were also really well developed. They felt very real and believable. They all had their own lives and quirks that made them easy to remember.

However, this book was not what I thought. In reading the summary, I was expecting more of a satire. Instead, it started as a satire, then quickly turned extremely unrealistic and just came out as a comedy. I was hoping for a nice blend of the two. I think my review would he higher if I knew what to expect going in. I was expecting something rather serious. I had a little trouble wrapping my head around how overdone the excitement over his sitting was until it started to become obvious it was more just comedy than satire.

I also wasn’t a fan of the way Arnold was towards Cassandra. There was a lot of buildup towards an affair, and then nothing happened. Because there was no affair, I mostly just got really angry with Arnold to be constantly show more comparing her to his wife.

I was also a little bothered by all the comparisons between small issues with massive problems; such as when he compared people giving him dirty looks at the baseball game to the Nuremberg trials. Or comparing killing plants to the Holocaust (more than once, might I add). Maybe it was just a specific humor that wasn’t meant for me.

Overall, I didn’t LOVE this book, but I didn’t hate it either. I love Appel’s short stories, and I honestly wish this was a short story. It read a lot like his short stories, but was very long. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good laugh. And I will consider re-reading it now that I know it isn’t serious. show less

“Matt knew that in the grand scheme of things, his situation wasn’t a tragedy... But knowing that others were worse off than him was no consolation.”

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

This book was okay. It was by no means a bad book, but it wasn’t the best either.

The book follows teen football player Matt Barnes. He has a life-altering injury that keeps him from playing football. With his scholarship and plans gone, Matt volunteers for an organization called The Justice Project. This organization works to get the wrongly convicted out of jail.

First, I want to talk about the good aspects of the books. It was a fast read; it was compelling enough that I wanted to read through it with very few breaks. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it, I genuinely couldn’t figure out who the real murderer was.

This book also provided some comfort to me. I have a fairly recent diagnosis for a chronic illness. The diagnosis transformed my life, essentially forcing me to quit my career at the very beginning. This made reading about Matt’s injury feel a lot more personal, and reading about him finding something new for himself really helped me.

However, there were a few things I didn’t really love about it. One of these was the word “said.” This dialogue tag was used to a fault. Sometimes, there was no need for dialogue tags during long conversations, but there was still a “said.” After a while, I got a little tired of the word show more “said.”

I also thought that all the wrong turns on Ray’s case were a little over-done. There were at least three times when Sonya and Matt were convinced they found the real murderer, only to find out they were wrong and get really disappointed. In normal cases, this would be fine. However, it was a fairly short book, and it was a big deal every time.

At the end of the day, I did enjoy this book, it just wasn’t my favorite. I would definitely recommend it to people looking for a gentle introduction to thrillers. show less

I won this book through LibraryThing’s Member Giveaway.

I enjoyed this book. I have been wanting to branch out into poetry more, and this was a good place to start. The only thing I really had any issues with, was that it was hard to follow in some places. I got lost reading a few of the poems. But I really enjoyed most of the book.

I was sent this through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program. While some parts of this book were very helpful, it was also quite repetitive. It was okay, but it could have been so much better. I was interested in this book because I would like to be able to make a little money on YouTube, and thought that this would help. However, only one or two of the pointers really felt useful. The rest was kind of common-sense or just repetition from previous chapters.

I received an ARC of The String through the Library Things Early Reviewers program.

When I first started this novel, I thought that the writing style wasn't going to be for me. However, I got into my groove and fell in love with it after the first three chapters. Breakey's writing had me at the edge of my seat for the entire 300 page journey. The book follows a university cop named Markus Haas. When The Conductor, a sociopath who is controlling most of a college campus through fear, threatens to kill his girlfriend and her daughters, Haas refuses to play his game. The Conductor uses the string he has created against itself to try to get back at Haas. Haas tries to save the love of his life while figuring out who The Conductor is and stopping him.

I love puzzles, and reading this book was like trying to solve one. The complexity of the string created by The Conductor was fascinating, and made me want to figure it out myself. There were small hints throughout the book as to who The Conductor really was, but they were extremely hard to put together. His identity was a surprise to me, and I'm glad for it.

This book was very dark and twisty, and just kept pulling me forward. I enjoyed the switches in perspective as well. It was nice to have both first person and third person perspectives that alternated; I liked being able to get into the story and also get an observational point-of-view.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark crime novels.

"after you shout
your open mouth
will breathe in
the light for which
you've hungered
and your backbone
will unfurl until
you can again dance
to the beat
of your steadfast
heart"

I really loved this book. As my favorite author since I was only 12 (7 years!), Laurie Halse Anderson never disappoints me. I have read Speak so many times, I don't even remember the number. I already know that Shout is about to join it.

The writing style is fast, making it easy to devour the book. I wish I had had the time to sit and read it all in one sitting. I read it over the course of three days, but it only took about two-two and a half hours in all for me to read it.

So far this is one of the first books about rape that was extremely relatable, but that I didn't find triggering. It motivated me to want to share my own story and shout my own truth.

"I was not tempted by pot or any other illegal drugs because, believe it or not, there were none."

Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive was sent to me for review through OnlineBookClub.

This was honestly my first true crime story. I've been trying to read more nonfiction, and thought this book might be a good way to do so. I couldn't have been more right.

I really love the way that this book expresses Dan "Tito" Davis' fear as he travels through South America. He included the absolute terror he had whenever he had to show his fake papers. He also added in the kinds of thoughts that flooded his mind during these incidents. This made the book feel more realistic.

Dan Davis also includes a lot of history about meth and White Crosses. As someone who loves to learn, this really satisfied my curiosity. It gave me a better feel for the kind of trouble he was in as a fugitive drug-dealer, and taught me something that I never even realized I wanted to know.

There weren't many things that I didn't like about this book, but there were a few things that I feel are important to mention. One of these things is the length of the book. Because it's a fairly short book covering around 30 or so years, a lot of it felt crammed in and rushed. Some of the chapters covered a couple years of his life, so when crazy events happened, they seemingly happened all in a row (though sometimes they actually took years to happen or had years between them). This made some of the events show more less believable and made me question whether they were actually true or not.

Another thing that really bothered me was the ending. I felt that the ending was too abrupt. I invested quite a bit of time into reading this book, only for the ending to leave me wanting a lot more information. It just didn't wrap up the story at all.

I also found some grammar issues that were too hard to ignore. Throughout the book, there were a few places where paragraphs were repeated in slightly different manners, as if he rewrote a paragraph during the editing process and then forgot to delete the original. This made me really confused at first, as it took a while to realize that this is what happened.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone in need of adventure. show less

"That's why I started wallowing- because being miserable when you're wallowing is way easier than being miserable while you're having fun."

I was sent this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

I do want to point out that the author had a few LGBT characters into this novel, and I was really excited to finally see an FTM character pop-up, however there were a few problems I had with the inclusion of LGBT characters. I didn't necessarily love the way Cam's gayness was approached by Poppy. Poppy and Cam are twins, and are very close to each other. When Cam came out, she claims to have been extremely supportive. However, when he starts to try out makeup and dressing in heels, she gets upset that he doesn't want to box anymore. Instead of just encouraging him to keep his old hobbies while also exploring himself through new ones, she kind of just pouts about him not wanting to "be himself anymore." At one point Poppy says, "My sweet Cam. He'd come out of the closet only to squish himself into a box. I hated that." While this is partly true, she doesn't encourage him to step out of a box, but instead wants to put him in the box of the person he always was. And she doesn't, at any point, see how this is a problem, so there is no growth in her character in this aspect.

One thing I did enjoy about the LGBT inclusion was this quote: "Cam couldn't see it, but he was being defined by his sexuality. It's like how gay characters on TV can't just happen to be gay - their show more homosexuality has to be part of some comedic shtick. Like that's all they're about as human beings." I felt that this quote called attention to a very real problem in books, one that has always bothered me. But, on the next page (and for the rest of the book), this book essentially does the same thing until the end, when Cam comes out wearing makeup and boxing gear. Poppy is then really happy that he has gotten back into boxing, but not so much the combination it seemed.

Having a trans boy in this book was refreshing. It's hard to find books that have trans characters in them. For the most part, I think Smith handled this really well. Lewis was well accepted by all, and was not made to seem like being trans was his only aspect. However, he ended up not being fleshed out very well and kind of came out flat.

Next, I want to address Poppy's attitude. Poppy is an extremely judgmental person; she just assumes she knows everything about everyone she meets. This is mentioned by a few characters, who get annoyed by how much she judges them. But, she never grows from this. She mentions a few times that maybe she does judge quickly, but she never makes an effort to fix it, and just continues to do it until the very end.

The way she reacts to the negative comments on her photos was also highly unrealistic. A few comments changed her entire personality. She went from being a really fun girl to giving up her passion for vintage clothes, giving up her love of roller-derby, and torturing herself by watching videos of horribly graphic things whenever she is sad. To me this screams that there is something more than a few negative comments going on, but this is never addressed. Within the last few pages, Lewis tells her how beautiful the picture that got negative comments is, and she just up and changes her life to go back to how she used to be.

I also want to talk about her relationship with Buck. She meets him on page 38 and is kissing him by page 45. After about five days of knowing him, and a few explosive arguments later, she is referring to him as her boyfriend. It just moved so fast, that it was entirely unrealistic. He mad so many negative comments about her weight, and she just treated it as if it was a normal fight within a relationship, but they were basically strangers. It made no sense that it would move so fast, or that she would let a stranger call her the Pillsbury Dough Boy and still thinks she loves him. Also, what kind of parents are okay with their 16 year-old daughter dating a 20 year old? That just seemed so stretched. There was no chemistry, and it was just not fun to read.

The last thing I want to mention is the sexual assault on Cam. I'm going to just ignore the way that Poppy handled it and made it about herself the whole time - because I would go on for way too long - and just address it in general. I wish it hadn't been included. It was not handled well and felt as though it was just thrown in there to create drama. I feel like writing about rape is important, as it draws attention to a serious issue that needs to be addressed. But this just added it as an afterthought to show how Poppy feels about her brother and to bring drama to the book. I just didn't like that at all.

Overall, I was really disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to a cute, quick contemporary novel, but instead I was just really not into it. show less

“...I suddenly knew that I had fallen in love-the sort of love where you feel the sun from both sides.”

I received this book through the LibraryThing Member Giveawy program.

I was, yet again, impressed by Appel’s stories. In this collection, all of the stories revolved around affairs, and yet each was unique. I can’t help but love looking into the more secret side of people’s lives, so these stories are right up my alley.

Each story is the perfect length for waiting rooms at the doctor’s office (which is a frequent spot for me), so I never get bored.

This is my second book by Jacob M. Appel. My first was Scouting for the Reaper. I loved that both collections had mostly realistic stories, and then had a final story with a fantastical element to it.

"But instead, I felt the opposite. Mired down. Like I had let myself fall deeper into the swamp of bad feeling that I had been wallowing in the last few weeks."

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

I want to start this review off with everything I enjoyed about this book. While there were a few issues I had with Rape Jokes, it was not enough to keep me from giving it a four star rating. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, and one that I feel was important.

The first thing I loved about this book was how accurate and relatable it was. The novel addresses how hard it is to say the word rape after the event happens, how even a comforting touch becomes panic-inducing, the constant searching for some sign you gave that could have been seen as a "yes," and the mixed feelings of sadness and relief when you meet someone who has been through the same thing. I felt that Edie didn't filter any of the thoughts and feelings that happen after such an event. It made it easier to read and gave a realistic portrayal of people's minds after rape. I found the rape scene at the beginning to be slightly triggering to me, but being able to read a novel like this was, overall, therapeutic. It really gave me a character to relate to. I also think it's important for people who haven't been through such an event to read books like this, as it gives them a better understanding of friends and family who have been through this.

I also really enjoyed the show more relationships that Edie had throughout the novel. Her friends were very supportive, and i genuinely enjoyed reading their interactions. I also loved Philip. He was very understanding. At first, Edie had a difficult time admitting to him what had happened, but in the end he was very supportive of her. This not only made the novel more realistic but gave it a more positive note.

Farther along in the novel, Edie is assaulted by her co-worker, Dominic, as well. I liked that MacGregor included this. When you read it, it seems like an unlikely event. However, multiple sexual assaults happening to one person isn't that uncommon. It makes the reader think about their first opinions more deeply.

One thing I was not a fan of was the sex. I'm not opposed to reading sexy scenes in a book, but to me it seemed very out of place. Of course, getting back into her sexual life was a major part of the novel, but I just didn't feel that it was well done. I didn't love how detailed it was. I guess a part of that was the shock factor: how one can go from feeling sexy and excited to being in a complete panic or in pain the next. But, the scenes that were written just didn't sit right with me.

I also don't love the name Rape Jokes. In the summary on the back, it says that Edie uses humor to help her deal with her situation. However, Edie never really jokes at all during the book. There is no real indication that she uses her humor to help herself get through her rough times. There is a certain shock factor to the name Rape Jokes, but it was more of a negative shock than a positive one.

Overall, I loved the book. I would recommend this to anyone who needs comfort in finding a situation they can relate to, or to anyone who wants to open their eyes a little more as to what other people are going through. show less

“But then she pressed her body firmly into his, accepting all that they would soon share together-the love, the taxes, and life’s other, all too certain, inevitabilities.”

I received this book through the LibraryThing member giveaway.

Scouting for the Reaper is a collection of short stories that revolve around secrets. My favorite part of this book is the meaning behind the title. Scouting for the Reaper sounds grim, but is really just a play on a headstone salesman’s daughter dressing up as a girl scout. This made me laugh quite a bit.

Overall, I found this collection to be quite enjoyable. Appel is a great writer, and i was captivated from the first story. Because the stories are so short, it’s hard to go into much detail without spoiling the book completely, so I will try my best to keep my review more broad.

The only story in the collection that I wasn’t a huge fan of was Rods and Cones. I still read it quite quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I found Roberta’s obsession with fixing her rabbit’s blindness to be a little over-done and confusing. It was obvious she had trouble letting go of things, but I would have liked to know just what had happened that made her get so hung up on the rabbit. I feel like there was an underlying cause that just wasn’t explained enough.

I also just wanted to say that I got a bit confused when I started the short story, Scouting for the Reaper, about who the characters were. Natalie and Gordon were also characters in show more the first story, Choose Your Own Genetics. They also were father and daughter in both.

The Vermin Episode was my favorite short story. The shock and the humor in it made it impossible for me not to love it.

I also loved the way Appel wrote his characters. He shows enough of their inner thoughts to give you a good feel for who they are, but wraps them in enough mystery that you wonder what their lives are like outside of the events in the stories. Many of the side characters are shrouded in enough secrecy, that the endings of their stories are more up to the reader. Such as in Creve Coeur. The father, Charlie, may or may not be having an affair with his ex-fiancée. The ending leaves it in such a way that I felt I understood the whole story, but it could have also been interpreted to mean something entirely different.

Overall, this was one of the best books I’ve read for review so far, and I cannot wait to read more of Appel’s work. show less

I don’t know how to feel about this. The ACOTAR series has been my favorite fantasy series since I started reading the first book. But this one... this one really disappointed me.

I enjoyed some of the cute moments, and loved having a chance to have a glimpse at their lives. It just felt so rushed. It read like a fanfic to me. Or like Sarah was trying to write this book just to get one last, *quick* book in about Feyre and Rhys. And as much as I love Feyre and Rhys, and I loved seeing them find happiness and security here, it just felt very forced here. I would have rather seen a more complete view of the other characters develop in this book, and have Feyre and Rhys take a smaller role to prepare for the rest of the series.

For a book that was only 230 pages, sex was mentioned quite a lot... but not in a good way. Having absolutely loved the other books, I know SJM can write better sex scenes than these. I thoroughly enjoyed many of the ones in all three of the others. The couple of sex scenes here just felt awkward and rushed, though. And the build-up was horrible. Rhys didn’t think about anything else. Rhysand has been my favorite from the start, but I got so tired of his horny mind during A Court of Frost and Starlight. It just seemed so overdone and not entirely fitting to his character or to the story. And the word “mate.” While it has been used plenty of times between Feyre and Rhys since they got together, those were MUCH larger books. When it appeared in show more the other books, it was a word usually used in a sexy way, something used every so often to heighten tensions and show that they had a stronger bond than humans could ever find. But in this book, it was used a lot. And in unnecessary moments.

The shopping was also a big issue for me. I mean, yeah, it was sweet to see how the characters think and what kinds of gifts they buy or appreciate. But there was so much shopping. Like, that was most of the book.

I wanted to see Mor come into herself more, to accept her own sexuality more. I wasn’t necessarily disappointed that this didn’t happen in this book (being a part of the lgbt community, I know it isn’t easy and appreciate that it’s not perfect with the High Fae either), I still would have liked to see that brought up more.

I will say though, being able to see these beloved characters have a happy Winter Solstice was wonderful. I also loved seeing more development with Cassian and Nesta, I just wish there had been more.

I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it. I love this series and I was so excited to read ACOFAS, but I’m leaving it disappointed. Even kind of mad. show less