btwnprintedpgs's reviews
1269 reviews

No one talk to me.

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Okay, I've taken a breath. Review below.

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No one is more disappointed than me that I didn't absolutely love the heck out of this book. Ann Liang is one of my favourite authors, but this just didn't work out for me for a few reasons, which I'll get into.

This is sold as an adult historical fantasy romance. I'm not sure which part of this book qualified it as adult other than the ages of the characters (which was more New Adult than Adult, and I wonder why the cast was so young for what they needed to do), but it felt more YA in its overall storytelling and themes. To temper expectations, this is 80% historical, 15% romance, and 5% fantasy. The historical aspect was really interesting. I feel like she set up the war and the political theory side of the story really well. The two fighting kingdoms are well established, the impact of the war on our MC's village was clear, and the message at the end was really effective. Everything was pretty solid in that area, though it did get a little lost in the middle.

The romance is something I had a lot of issues with. I cared more about the unhinged villain king than I did the LI, and that's because the LI is basically not in this book, which is a wild choice. I did feel the tension when he was in certain scenes, but as a whole, he was forgotten by the MC and by me as a result. Fuchai, on the other hand, was absolutely unhinged, but his story arc was extremely interesting and I loved how everything played out for his character. That packed such a punch for me, that everything that happens with the LI felt inconsequential to Xishi's life and journey.

The last piece, fantasy, was barely present. However, it is the key to understanding why much of the story feels a bit disconnected. I can't say much else without spoiling, but while I found it interesting, it felt too little too late by the time that reveal happens, and by then I was already fully disconnected from the MC.

As a whole, the pacing of the story was off, the world building itself was very limited, and the relationships just weren't developed well enough for me to be invested in everything (outside of Fuchai), and it just left me disappointed. That being said, maybe this book will be for you as I've seen so many people absolutely loving it. However, it just didn't work for me in the end.

TW: death, blood, death of a child, war, violence, injury detail, sexism, alcohol consumption, suicide; mentions torture, murder

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 1.5/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Pacing: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed diving back into this world again! We return to Kurara and her companions after the events of Rebel Skies, as they adventure to find answers and learn more about shikigami and themselves (I'm trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible 🤫).

The story is fast-paced, full of action, lots of answers, but also new questions (that reveal at the end???). And while I love Kurara, I think the star of this book was Princess Tsukimi. Her POV in the interludes really lent themselves to her character development as we better understand her motivations for everything. There was so much mystery and dread when it came to her in Rebel Skies, so it was cool to see behind the curtain of her status and the rumours surrounding her.

Ann Sei Lin is amazing at world-building, and I loved the new settings and characters that were introduced through this installment. The development of the shikigami was cool to see, too, and I'm very excited for the finale!

TW: violence, manipulation, fire/fire injury; mentions death, grief

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

ARC gifted by Tundra Books and Penguin Teen via Colored Pages Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I liked the peek at Imogen's past relationships and how they started and ended and their impact on her and her views of love. Enter her high school crush, Eliot, who is as intense and lovable as ever, and we get quiet moments, knee taps, and so much delicious tension. I loved the build up of the book and how everything played out. I even teared up at one point because there was just so much heart and love in this story that I couldn't stop myself. I loved the community of people they have, how they support and rely on (and gossip about) each other, it truly lent itself to the heart in this book and I adored them.

At times, I did feel like there were a lot of names to figure out and digest. Though I enjoyed the community participation, keeping track of everyone was a bit tough at first. There also felt like there was just a little thing missing. I'm not fully sure what, but it niggles at my brain.

All in all though, I loved this story and I fell into it so quickly. Imogen is easy to love, even if all her 17 exes didn't think so.

TW: infidelity, injury detail, sexual content, parent who needs a caretaker, death of a parent, grief; mentions parental neglect

I can see why a lot of people took issue with this book. I'm not Muslim, but I know what is haram and what isn't, and saying "technically" to skirt the rules doesn't mean you're not absolutely skirting them... The fact that a number of things were mentioned to be haram in the first place, but still done by the FMC baffled me. I understand why the author had that note at the beginning because I know that the way this story is put together would definitely be scandalous to a lot of Muslim people. I'm going to let other voices shine here, because I'm not own voice, but I will say the amount of touching and kissing in this book was a surprise to me.

I am also disappointed by the infidelity element of this story. Both characters had no regard for her engagement and it was frustrating. Beyond that, it felt entirely against type for anything to go so far with two character who are seemingly devoted to their religion and beliefs. It felt like a betrayal on multiple levels and made me respect both of them a lot less.

The two standouts were her therapy sessions - yay for positive POC therapy sessions - and the beautiful descriptions of their travel. Unfortunately, this book as a whole though was a miss for me.

TW: infidelity, vomit, robbery/kidnapping; mentions divorced parents, divorce.

Plot: 1/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 2/5

ARC gifted by HCC Frenzy in exchange for an honest review.

This is right up there with Front Desk for me. I love Zoe's tenacity, and while I didn't agree with her methods (i.e., lying) she did what she set out to do.

Zoe is a busy twelve year old - she's interning at a bakery because she wants to go on a kid's baking show, she's connecting with her incarcerated biological father for the first time, and she's learning about systemic racism in a society that is built around biases. It's a lot, and she handles everything so well.

The way I cried a bunch of times on the subway as I read this book. I loved seeing her relationship with Marcus develop, and her friendship grows with her friends along the way as well. She's a talented and tenacious kid, and I absolutely love her.

I also liked the presence of the Innocence Project and showing that law and life have so much nuance. The characters and the story evolved so well, and though it wraps up fairly easily, I appreciated that it showed those layers and nuances to kids in an easily digestible manner.

I'm excited that I read this after the release of book two - I can't wait to spend more time with these characters!

TW: incarcerated parent, bullying, systemic racism

Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies promises to be full of vibrant characters, high stake hijinks, and a love triangle. Does it achieve these lofty goals? Yes and no.

I quite enjoyed the fast-pace of this novel, with our characters constantly on the move as they work to help our MC's ex escape from her family's clutches. With strong relationship building, heartwarming moments, and scenes full of action movie cuts, this book will have you on the edge of your seat. I truly loved the overall vibe of the story, the mystery of the pursuit for these golden coins, as well as the softer moments of connection between Tan and the other characters - Winter, Rebecca, and Sana - as they adventure through the Bay area.

That being said, this is a very plot-driven book. Those softer moments are lovely, but the characters as a whole are very one note - Winter is an aspiring actress who has a dead father, Tan is an expert code cracker at 16, Sana is 5-going-on-11 in craftiness, and Rebecca is a frustrating heiress running from her abusive family. At the end of the day, I feel like Rebecca was the only character to truly grow from the events of the book, giving more main character energy than the rest of the cast.

Additionally, this book asked for a lot of suspension of belief. A sixteen year old knowing more about code cracking than his professional parents, or a PhD student? A bunch of children outsmarting goons for hire? A helicopter in a highly populated area of the city? Geographically incorrect landmarks (I don't know whether this was intentional or a huge editing oversight)?? There were also consistency issues that bothered me, and as a whole, I felt like this needed to go through a couple more edits and a thorough dig through Google Maps.

All in all, this was a brain-off, vibes only kind of read that just didn't meet expectations for me. That being said, I'm not the target audience, so someone younger who doesn't know the Bay Area really well would probably be fine with this. I was just so bothered by these details that I couldn't get on board with it all at the end of the day.

TW: kidnapping, hostage taking, violence, threats of gun violence, injury detail; mentions domestic abuse, toxic family, threats of deportation, death of a parent

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 2/5
Overall: 2/5

eARC and finished copy gifted via NetGalley by Feiwel & Friends via Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to DNF this story about 35% in - the beginning was exciting and dark and full of action, and then we hit this absolute lull of information dumping and vague travel through the forest. Then we get to a school and suddenly we're bombarded by names and people and things that are all new to me. It was a lot, especially since I'm a Canadianized CBC who knows nothing about these legends and gods. It was hard to digest everything, even though I really wanted to.

That being said, I'm glad I stuck it out - there's a lull for about 15% of the story, but it picks up again and then it's non-stop go-go-go from there. Then the gods, the mystery, and everything start to fall into place. I feel like if we had more showing instead of telling from the start I would've adjusted better, but as they go through all these things and discover everything that's going on, all that lore starts to make more sense and is explained better. These things also helped to unravel who these characters are - Zen, who's desperate to be good and protect the people he loves, even if he has to make bad deals for that to happen; Lan, who's headstrong and hates rules, trying to find a way to save the world without losing herself in the process; along with the masters and disciples of the school.

I loved the lyrical writing - it's very flowery and aligns with the style of storytelling I'm used to from these stories. Though, at times, it was a bit odd *queue the Star Wars reference, or Bible reference, whichever is to your taste* but I loved that it contributed to a lot of the world building and painted us a picture of the characters so well in that moment.

One thing I did feel was that this mimicked her original trilogy a bit - girl with untapped power meets a man who can help her somehow, an escape from an army, and a group coming together to train and change the regime - and I couldn't help seeing the parallels as I read. I think Amelie's writing has improved a lot since her debut, but I couldn't help hear an echo of it as I read Song.

All in all, I enjoyed this story and I'm very curious about what book 2 holds for us now that the world and lore has been well established!

TW: death of a parent, sexual assault, violence, death, blood, injury detail, war, torture, suicide, grief; mentions loss of family in war, imprisonment, mutilation

I am so surprised by how much I loved this book. Everything about Beatrice's character development was so good and I loved being in her head as she figured out who she is outside of her ordered four walls. 

I will say at first, everyone felt a bit stereotyped and they got attached super fast. Not that that's surprising for a summer camp read, but the book at times felt like a bubble and the real world wasn't knocking. It was very sweet how the friendships developed and felt like a large part of the story, but there still felt like there was something missing in them. That being said, I appreciated the support that they provided Bea as she ventured out of her comfort zone time and time again. I loved their unconditional love and appreciation of Bea as a smart human being, but also someone totally out of her depth. Their love and help were an integral part of Bea's growth. 

I absolutely loved Bea and her journey. Being in her head as she dissected and processed new social interactions and events felt very relatable. As someone who was involuntarily sheltered, I kind of loved seeing her approach to new things, and appreciated how cautious she was with her heart, because same. I found a lot of my young self in her, and enjoyed seeing her open herself up to new people and new experiences. Her unintentional banter and chemistry with the other characters brought a humanity to herself and the other characters. This element was what truly brought the whole cast to life for me and it's definitely where Kaylor's writing shines. 

The Shakespearean themes were a lot of fun - the plays, the acting, the romance, the games - there's just something about the Bard that brings people together. As a Shakespeare kid, I enjoyed revisiting the plays throughout the story. 

All in all, I loved this book and I am so excited to see more from this author! 

TW: bullying, underage drinking 

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Wednesday Books via St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. 

How do I recover from this?? Like???

- Explores the experience of undocumented people, and those adjacent and sympathetic to them
- Ander's art comes alive through the descriptions and whoever designed this book cover understood the assignment
- The romance is so full of heart and the community they have around them is so giving and loving and powerful and I adored every character in this book
- Not me crying at 1AM at work doing inventory, nope
- Moves us through the characters' lives as they begin to understand what they want from life and how to get it - there's strength in knowing that not every path is linear
- Very queer cast, with no shame and only pride in their identities; sex positive, fade to black
- There was a line that said Boy Meets World was a Boomer thing, and I need them to hold on a Millennial Minute, because we definitely claim that show, not the Boomers

TW: racism, grief, deportation, ICE, alcohol consumption; mentions loss of a parent, death of a grandparent 

Y'all, prepare to be sick of me because I am absolutely obsessed with this book. I thought I was feral for This Time It's Real, but this book may have just topped it for me. I Am Not Jessica Chan is a book for every person who's ever thought the grass is greener on the other side, anyone who's ever experienced visceral wanting, and anyone who's currently dealing with gifted kid burnout.

Jenna has always compared herself, and been compared by everyone else, to her cousin Jessica. Whenever she does well, Jessica does better, and Jessica is lauded for it. Always in her shadow, Jenna wants after everything Jessica has - smarts, recognition, admiration of their peers, and the effortless grace and beauty Jessica exudes. So when she wishes upon shooting star to BE Jessica Chen, she gets her wish. She wakes up in Jessica's body. However, Jessica's picture perfect life isn't what it seems and as Jenna learns more about Jessica, and the longer she's apart from her own self, she starts to realize that maybe it's not all sunshine and roses being Jessica Chen.

I absolutely loved the character development in this story - we get to spend time in Jenna's POV, but also get to understand Jessica better as Jenna lives her life. It puts everything into such perspective, from the Chinese family life, to gifted kid burnout, to the fleeting feeling of success and clout. I found it so interesting to learn about two very different characters in this way and Ann Liang's writing supported this type of character development so well.

And it wouldn't be an Ann Liang book without the MMC yearning after our MC. I loved Aaron Cai so much. He surprised me. Where he starts the book kind of disconnected from both Jenna and Jessica, I easily fell in love to him as he opened up more to Jenna and showed his vulnerable side. I need a man to love me like Aaron Cai, because damn if he's not one of my favourite Ann Liang characters to date.

With a hint of Freaky Friday, a dash of The Picture of Dorian Gray, a slice of filial piety, and self-discovery mixed with love, and you have I Am Not Jessica Chen. An absolute masterpiece that will speak to stressed Asian kids everywhere. I am obsessed.

TW: racism, micro-agressions, injury detail, burnout

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

eARC gifted via Edelweiss by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.