I am almost done with the 2022 genre bingo, weirdly enough. I would have never thought I’d be at this point so soon. I have no idea yet what I will read for he last prompt. I am pretty surely not finishing the spring reding challenge in time, since I paused two non-fiction books I was reading for it, due to all my thesis work. I will continue doing it but with longer times. My whole reason for doing these challenges is to find motivation to read books I already own but I haven’t read yet, and to go out of my comfort zone aswell.
I was going to read another book for this prompt, a non-fiction, but since as I said I have paused non-fiction reads that don’t concern uni at the moment I decided to switch. I am actually happy I chose this one for this prompt, I unfortunately haven’t had that much good bisexual representation in the stuff I consume, and haveing a book that represents a character that identifies as me felt really good. What can I say about this book? It’s insanely popular for a reason, it’s absolutely addictive, you cannot help but to fall in love with the characters, and overall it feels realistic. The feelings the characters feel are complicated, and not idealized, I just really loved this book. It kept me glued to the pages, and I am pretty sure I will reread it multiple times in the future.
The reason I picked this manga for this prompt is not necessarily the fact that I have never heard anyone talk about it. The thing is I do not read mangas, so even if people talk about this a lot I would have no idea. I decided to pick this book for the underhyped prompt, because I had no hype whatsoever for it. So the lack of hype comes all from me. I was gifted this book recently, and it was quite unexpected. I do love comics, and I love graphic novels, but I never read mangas. I generally prefer other art styles, and I rever really got into this very peculiar comic art. So this read was a completly new experience. I was really unsure going into this, because as I said I have never really like this type of read. I decided to use this prompt and my lack of hype to motivate myself in going out of my comfort zone. I did enjoy it more than I though, I am even considering getting the next volumes to continue the story. I am happy I used this challenge to read something I would have never picked up for myself.
i haven’t posted about my progress in a while and now i’m ¾ of the way through the challenge oops. the prompts i’ve ticked off in this month and a half of intense reading are:
•romance:the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society — describing this as a romance novel is a bit reductive i know, but the romance is pretty relevant to the plot, so i think it counts. this was lent to me, but i loved it so much i’m considering buying my own copy for a future reread.
•sci-fi:on a sunbeam — another one i don’t own but i wish i did tbh. i really liked the plot and the characters and the art is so beautiful (the color schemes!!!)
•dystopia:fahrenheit 451 — i’ve been meaning to read this since forever! and i’m happy that i finally did because it’s a very good book.
•fantasy:a natural history of dragons — as i said in my april wrap-up, this book is amazing. the plot is great, the setting and characters even better. a scientific approach to dragons!! and four more books in the series? sign me up.
•non-fiction:84, charing cross road — this is very much up the same alley as the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, so it’s really no surprise i loved this one as well.
•lgbtq+:this is how you lose the time war — another great one! i said this already but. the writing in this! i highlighted so much lol. (btw, this and on a sunbeam could both work for each other’s prompt, there’s no particular reason why i put them this way).
Book review:She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
Written by wife and wife co-authors, She Gets the Girl is a fluffy hate-to-love lesbian romance in which two girls practice date with the aim of winning the girls of their dreams, but end up falling in love with each other in the process.
The book follows two girls, Alex and Molly, as they navigate the turbulent first few weeks of college, and explore the ups and downs of college relationships. While I felt that some parts of She Gets the Girl were weaker than others, I did enjoy the commentary on young adult relationships. In particular, Lippincott and Derrick do a fantastic job of showing Alex’s unhealthy relationship with a girl who treats her poorly, and examining how Alex’s low self-esteem and strained family relationships have led her to believe she’s not deserving of anything more than that.
There were certain parts of She Gets the Girl that I wasn’t as keen on - for example, in their first meeting Alex virgin-shames Molly in front of a large audience of strangers, humiliating her, and I felt that this was brushed off too easily. I would have also liked to see Alex and Molly’s very different home lives explored a little more; it seemed like an interesting possible conflict for the two girls to work through, but this was never fully developed.
Overall, though, She Gets the Girl is a sweet trope-filled new adult romance which is sure to appeal to fans of the genre.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of She Gets the Girl. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. She Gets the Girl will be released on April 5th 2022.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Rating: 3 stars | ★★★✰✰ Review cross-posted to Goodreads
A charming magical adventure set in the early 1900s. When Robin Blyth reluctantly accepts a new government position he finds himself unexpectedly swept up in magical conspiracies, deadly curses and a passionate whirlwind romance.
I chose to read A Marvellous Light on a whim, knowing very little about it other than the fact that it had a beautiful cover and had been blurbed by the author of The House In the Cerulean Sea. I’m pleased to report that it was everything I could have hoped for: a beautifully written queer romance wrapped up in the complications of magical intrigue and Edwardian sensibilities.
Told from the dual third-person perspectives of ordinary civil servant Robin Blyth and Edwin Courcey, the haughty magician forced to take Robin into his protection, A Marvellous Light centres around the mysterious disappearance of a liason between the ordinary and magical worlds. Robin and Edwin have a classic mutual-annoyance-to-friends-to-lovers relationship and their burgeoning feelings are definitely the heart of the book. The pace of the mystery slowed considerably after the first few chapters, but I didn’t really mind since this gave us more time to focus on Robin and Edwin getting to know each other.
One thing that definitely stood out to me in this novel is the worldbuiding. It’s a testament to debut author Marske’s skill that the magic of her world feels refreshingly original. Magicians in A Marvellous Light use gestures called cradles to weave together the requirements of their spells. It’s an entirely new way of approaching magic, but there’s a logic to the rules and regulations of Marske’s secret magical society that keeps it from becoming confusing.
All in all, there’s a lot to love about this novel and I’m excited to read more from Marske in the future!
Many thanks to Tor Books for providing a copy of A Marvellous Light. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publisher: Tor Books Rating: 4 stars | ★★★★✰ Review cross-posted to Goodreads
Let me preface this review by saying that I really, really wanted to like this book. May the Best Man Win is a queer contemporary romance in which a newly-out trans boy challenges his ex-boyfriend for the title of Homecoming King - only for old feelings to re-emerge as their rivalry spins out of control.
Summarised like that, this book sounds pretty perfect. Which makes the experience of reading May the Best Man Win that much more disappointing.
My main gripe with this novel was the lack of likeable characters. Both protagonists were arseholes to each other and everyone around them; they were even willing to get their “friends” expelled to cover their own backs. I’m usually all for flawed protagonists and enemies-to-lovers storylines, but there was no character growth. Even while admitting that they’d been self-centered, awful friends, both Jeremy and Lukas continued to be self-centered, awful friends. If this book had been written from the perspective of any other character, Jeremy and Lukas would have been the clear villains of the story.
Maybe it’s because I’m not American, but I also didn’t really feel connected with the Homecoming event storyline. Honestly, I’m still not sure what ‘Homecoming’ is, even though it’s all anyone talks about for the entire book - to the extent that it started to seem farcical. Winning a school popularity contest is such a big deal that at multiple times the main characters bemoan the fact their future university places depend on them being crowned, which… seems like a stretch.
The one saving grace is that Jeremy and Lukas both have legitimate reasons for acting out and both boys are aware that their actions are shitty. The bad part is that the secondary characters all forgive them far too easily and the narrative tries to make us root for them as a couple even after they’ve been awful to each other.
Many thanks to Roaring Brook Press for providing a copy of May the Best Man Win. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press Rating: 1 star | ★✰✰✰✰ Review cross-posted to Goodreads
