booktribe's reviews
552 reviews

If you’re looking for an adorable, funny, coming of age story, then you’ll love this one! I absolutely LOVE the bucket list trope, and this story did not disappoint! Everything about this was fun, from the chapter titles to Aisha’s inner monologue. Aisha and Quentin had amazing chemistry, funny banter, and so many cute moments! I also loved the self love message of this novel that teens (as well as adults honestly) can really relate to.

If you enjoyed the bucket-list aspect of Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, but are looking for a fluffy young adult version, this book is perfect for you!

This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year! I am a huge fan of vampires and dark academia, so taking those two elements and making it Black, I KNEW I would love this, and it didn’t disappoint! 

The mystery in this story kept me intrigued the whole time. It was slow burn mystery done right. From the first chapter all the way to the end I was hooked. I loved the characters so much! They were morally grey characters done perfectly! I’m not usually an enemies to lovers girl, and it did take me a minute to get into the romance, the transition from hate to attraction seemed abrupt to me, but by the end of the book I loved Kidan & Susenyos together! And I had so much love for both the main & side characters!

The story had so many great elements such as gothic vibes & a sentient house. The ending perfectly tied up everything we needed in this book, whilst simultaneously setting up for an exciting sequel! I can see this becoming a tv series one day👀 I can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you Little Brown Books for Young Readers for the review copy! All opinions are my own.

CWs: parental abuse, death, gore, murder, sexual content, strong language, suicide ideation, and violence.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024! I love Black romance and I am definitely a science girl, so I was so excited to read a Black, STEM-centered romance! However, this book fell flat for me. I stopped reading at 59% in.

I did enjoy all the talk about marine biology. I liked all the shark facts sprinkled throughout the story. And I loved seeing positive blerd (Black nerd) representation! I also enjoyed the characters separately as people and the little sweet things that they’d do that showed that they still cared for each other.

However, the story felt incredibly repetitive to me. I felt like we were going around in circles with constant miscommunication from the characters. All the miscommunication made the characters feel very juvenile. Literally every problem in this novel could’ve been avoided if they’d just been honest with each other, from the initial breakup to the awkward workplace interactions. But, these grown adults were incapable of having a conversation. The scenes were too long and repetitive. I feel like the same things kept happening over and over again. And so many scenes was unnecessarily long, like chaptersss long. That just made the book start to drag for me, so I won’t be continuing the story. 

But, if you’re someone who enjoys more slow burn romances and isn’t bothered by the constant miscommunication trope, you may enjoy this one! It had a really sweet vibe, it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Canary Street Press for this arc. All opinions are my own.

I was incredibly excited for this book! I love the idea of two spies falling in love whilst pulling off a heist! However, this fell flat for me. I stopped reading at 38% in.

Firstly, there were a couple of things that I did enjoy. I liked that the characters were older, in their forties. It’s always refreshing to see older protagonists in romance. I also enjoyed the spy/heist aspect of the book! However, the romance couldn’t keep me interested. The characters lacked chemistry. I didn’t enjoy seeing them together, and the male love interest was just bland to me. I also felt that the pacing was off and the scenes were too long. It was one of those reading experiences where I felt like I had read wayyy more than I actually had because the story was dragging.

This one just wasn’t for me. While reading, I had put it on pause to focus on other books, and then I just realized that I had no desire to continue. But, I am still interested in checking out other books by Charish Reid and hopefully I’ll enjoy another one better!

Thank you NetGalley and Canary Street Press for this arc. All opinions are my own.

P.S. even though this book wasn’t for me, I absolutely loved that a cuddling scene was included! I feel like I don’t see them enough of them in romances, which is shocking, so romance authors, write in more cuddling scenes please🥰

Mariana Enriquez is one of my favorite authors of all time and her newly translated horror story collection, A Sunny Place for Shady People, did not disappoint!

Her books are always so atmospheric and her writing is always so gorgeous & engrossing. Her stories always include social commentary, as well as straight horror, so it adds another layer and makes them even more gut wrenching. And I want to give it up for the translator as well, Megan McDowell, because she does an amazing job at bringing these stories to life in English!

My favorite stories were Black Eyes & Face of Disgrace! Black Eyes was TOP TIER! One of the best stories I’ve EVER read! Incredibly scary! The Refrigerator Cemetery, Julie, and My Sad Dead were favorites of mine as well. There were a few that weren’t for me like, A Local Artist & The Suffering Woman, but overall I really enjoyed the collection. There were spirits, murders, body horror, just everything that you’d want in a collection of horror stories!

Thank you Hogarth and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

~ individual story ratings ~

📖 My Sad Dead: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 A Sunny Place for Shady People: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (cw: drug addiction)

📖 Face of Disgrace: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (cw: rape, suicide)

📖 Julie: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (cw: fatohobia)

📖 Night Birds: ⭐️⭐️ (cw: animal death)

📖 Metamorphosis: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (cw: animal death)

📖 Hyena Hymns: ⭐️⭐️

📖 Different Colors Made of Tears: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 The Suffering Woman: DNF

📖 The Refrigerator Cemetery: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 A Local Artist: DNF

📖 Black Eyes: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (cw: rape mentioned)

average rating: 3 stars

official rating: 3.75 rounded up to 4 stars

Unlike anything I’ve read before! Such a gory, gross, fun book! My only complaint is that I want more! I wish some of the chapters had been a little longer & we’d really dived into some of the stories. But, I enjoyed this so much!

I’m bored and I don’t think the payoff will be worth the build up.

Too gross for me. I don’t mind slasher gore, but I couldn’t take all the 💩 stuff, dead animals, etc. just not for me.