May 2024 Reads!
Jun. 3rd, 2024 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tjs_whatnotUnder the cut are reviews for:
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Starter Villian by John Sclazi
Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
How to be a Movie Star by T.J. Klune
Gwen and Art are NOT in Love by Lex Croucher
Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green
Upside Down by N.R. Walker
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Seriously, I think there is something wrong with me. I have a full-on traumatic loss happen in real life and the way I see myself through it is to wallow in fictional characters' horrific lives? Why do I do this to myself? And it's Adam Silvera, so of course I saw it coming. Only I was also really not prepared at the same time.
It's a pretty great premise for a book. There is this procedure you can undergo that will erase your memories--or alter them at least-- and our main character wants to undergo it to forget that he accidentally caught gay feelings for his best friend, breaking his girlfriend’s heart, and also sort of putting his life in danger from his homophobic, borderline psychotic friends. If only he could forget that he was gay.
And yeah, things happen and heartaches ensue and the conversion therapy of altered memories doesn't go as planned and it's just… it's a lot.
I've been told that there's an added, less achy ending in later editions, but I, of course, didn't have that version so yeah… all the tears.
Starter Villain by John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Just the whimsical and fun release of a story I needed. I feel bad giving it a 3.5 star rating, when it was just the right level of ridiculous that I needed, but it's just… I think Scalzi does a lot of political posturing and satirizing in his books-- that I enjoy because they align with my own stance on things-- but he does it in such a way that I can't take him too seriously. IDK, it's a hard needle to thread.
Still, the book was a really fun and fast read.
Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I got this book because I wanted to know if my love for Heartstopper (and Nimona) were flukes and if I should add more graphic novels to my TBR. And while this book had a lot of good things going for it, I feel like it could be so much more (and a little less in some places). But still, yes, I think I should add more graphic novels to my list. Any suggestions?
How to be a Movie Star by T.J. Klune ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I was hesitant to read this book for the same reason I was hesitant to continue one of Klune’s other series, Green Creek, after Wolfsong. I just loved those main characters so very much. Ox was so precious to me, but Gustavo Tiberius? He is my ~everything~!
So, we met Gus in How to be Normal and we also met this cute little town that he lives in and we met this cute, city-slicker asexual hipster (Casey) who decides he's going to be important to Gus, whether he wants it or not. Gus puts the grrr into the grumpy/sunshine trope. And yes, I loved Casey and his talk about being ace and how he wasn't broken and there wasn't anything wrong with him and he could still love passionately, I REALLY loved that Gus didn't have to talk about how very autistic he was, how asexual he was, how *not normal* he was, he just…was.
So you can see why I wasn't ready to let him go in “How to be a Movie Star” and instead of him, get this dude character who had very little interactions with Gus-- though what they had were AMAZING!
But OMG! Josiah Erickson is so very precious, so very the opposite of Gus in every way, and like Casey, has decided that Gus is going to be important to him, whether he wants it or not. And their platonic friendship is now my very cosiests Happy Places.
Seriously, if you're like me and love true, real, deep appreciation of platonic love this is theauthorseries for you! Two of my favorite quotes to sum up the Gus and Josy relationship:
❤️❤️
😍😍😍
But there is also a love story for Josiah, a demisexual hipster who values friendships over everything and can only experience attraction after a solid friendship bond has been formed. Then he meets Qbert (Quincy Moore) and he's never wanted to be friends with someone more in his life.
And Qbert? Ahhh, precious Qbert, he is… well, he's pretty much what I imagine Chuck Tingle is, an enigma of vibrantly, in your face and proud avant-garde storyteller, living in the body of a crippling anxiety and depression.
So, like the first book, we get ridiculous characters in a ridiculous town, being just too precious to exist, and we also get these beautiful depictions of different kinds of love, different ways of expressing love, and also how we function with so many things (and a lot of them our own head) trying to keep us down.
I just love it a lot and want everyone to read it, and then come back here and talk nonstop about it. ❤️❤️
Gwen and Art are NOT in Love by Lex Croucher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
This book had A LOT going for it, it had descendants of Arthur Pendragon betrothed against their will to a princess named Gwen, we have Camelot, Knights in shining armor (and of both sexes), we have vulnerable princes who want to do the right thing and be who they are, but it's tied to the supposed ideals of the monarchy. And did I mention that pretty much everyone is queer? 😍😍
My favorite character by far is Arthur and all his relationships are beautiful; the sibling-like goading antagonism, turned begrudging fondness with Princess Gwen, the attraction and goading of Prince Gabriel as they both use completely different methods of dealing with their insecurities-- the prince closes himself off, buries himself in books and learning. Arthur does the exact opposite--self sabotages himself at every turn, never showing his true and real self, pretending that he doesn't care about anything.
And speaking of platonic friendships being my very favorite thing, Arthur and his squire Sidney is just so… I just love them so. I could read an entire book of those two just bopping around the countryside in some Rosencrantz & Guildenstern/ Don Quixote shenanigans. ~sigh~
Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I had this recced to me on a Alexis Hall discord (those exist! YAY!) and I think it's a series, but I'm not sure. I really liked it and am such a sucker for the premise of a reality cooking show being at the center of romance, and yes, that's mostly due to Hall's Baker Takes All series, but there's just something wonderful and removed from reality, but not really that makes it a fun premise. This one had a nonbinary character as one of the MCs and I think it was the first I read and I loved it, but laughed really hard when i listened to another audio, when the book used the term “they” I didn't know which character they were talking about, forgetting that it sometimes isn't used as a singular pronoun. 🤣🤣
Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was super cute and light and YA in the best possible way. It had strong Heartstopper vibes and roadtrip shenanigans. Friends becoming more and *sigh*Upside Down by N.R. Walker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So. Freaking. Adorable. Walker just had such a way of writing just the sweetest, low-angstiest and HOTTEST things and just… *sigh* And this one is hot, but for a very different reason. This one is all about the Ace, baby! One guy is just discovering the term and where he falls in the spectrum, and one guy helps him… and of course they're both adorable and ridiculous and have a great friends group and I just love it a lot! I really like how they negotiate their wants and needs and it all just… works for them… *sighs again*
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Date: 2024-06-03 11:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2024-06-05 05:38 pm (UTC)I ❤️ recs! Half of the books in this month's list started that way. ❤️❤️
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Date: 2024-06-04 12:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-06-05 05:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-06-08 04:41 pm (UTC)I thought Bloom was sweet when I read it, from what I can remember. And I'm a huge graphic novel fan so I'm happy to give recs haha. Based on you liking Nimona and Heartstopper, here's some of my faves with similar fantasy and/or light-hearted vibes:
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag - f/f YA romance involving a selkie! very sweet and the art is so cute.
The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz - f/f princess romance story with Shakespeare-esque crossdressing tomfoolery and lots of cheese puns. super fun, and the art is lovely too.
Mamo by Sas Milledge - a young witch returns to her hometown after her grandmother dies and has to quiet her unsettled spirit that's causing problems for the town. I enjoyed the magical worldbuilding and of course this is another with really lovely art.
The Tea Dragon Society (and sequels) by Kay O'Neill - these books are SO cute and sweet, a super adorable series of fantasy books involving dragons.
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen - a young Vietnamese boy struggles to figure out how to come out to his parents, woven in between gorgeously illustrated fairy tales. this one's more lowkey, very much a character journey but very touching.
Taproot by Keezy Young - I don't know why I associate this with Bloom, I think I read them at the same time? but it's an m/m paranormal human/ghost romance with a bit of mystery thrown in.
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang - another cute YA graphic novel about a crossdressing prince and the girl who makes dresses for him.
okay sorry for going overboard sjdhfjksdf but if you give any of them a try hopefully you enjoy!
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Date: 2024-06-13 03:01 pm (UTC)Thank you! ♥ ♥
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Date: 2024-06-14 10:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-06-14 11:53 pm (UTC)