Maggie reviews Things Hoped For by Chencia C. Higgins
Maggie reviews Things Hoped For by Chencia C. Higgins
I picked up Things Hoped For at the beginning of the year, out of a list of f/f romance coming out this year, I believe. Or maybe Black romance authors? Perhaps Black LGBT authors. There were a lot of lists floating around Twitter in March/April, and I bought a lot of books, both to support authors and because I suddenly had a lot more reading time on my hands. I was excited to see a butch woman…
I’m ashamed to admit I have always preferred boy bands to girl groups. I was a massive One Direction fan back in the day, and still have so much love for each of the boys (especially Harry <3). However, despite my unfamiliarity with the girl group/pop genre as a whole, when I saw The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes as an option for my August Book of the Month, I knew I had to give it a try.The…
If you’re looking for something to make you smile just as much as it makes you think, Lyla Lee’s debut I’ll Be the One is the perfect book for you. It’s categorized as young adult romance, but don’t let that put you off. I’m in my forties and I loved every second I spent with these characters.
Skye Shin has grown up knowing she wants to be a K-Pop star. She’s devoted every spare moment to…
Why couldn’t I be more like my drums? Drums are strong. You can play them with all your might, yet they’re almost impossible to break. They absorb each blow, but they don’t take it quietly. The harder you hit them, the harder they yell.
[image description: three photos of Leah On the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli against a brown, yellow, and black watercolour-esque patterned blanket. One shows the cover, one open, and one without the cover, book propped spine-up.
Danika reviews Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
When I finished Fat Angie, I felt a bit conflicted about it. I liked the character and thought the language use was interesting, but it was so dark that I felt like I couldn’t find even a glimmer of hope. Despite the many strong elements of the novel–who can resist queer girls kissing to the theme song of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?–I finished it feeling exhausted by the emotional weight of…
Who doesn’t love a “getting the band back together” book, especially when it’s literal? … The three of them have a lot to work through, but I was relieved to see that they do talk about their problems. They air their grievances in a reasonable time frame–this isn’t one of those “Why don’t they just talk??” books where the only conflict is miscommunication. The problem is that they have a lot to work through, and it takes time, and more than just one conversation. They have to keep bumping up against these ghosts from the past and processing it again. I loved the realism of their relationships with each other, which are flawed and difficult, but also are the grounding forces in their lives.
… I highly recommend this to anyone. I appreciated how layered and complex the relationships all are here, and I felt like I really got to know Hanna, Jules, and Dia. There’s also, of course, the thread of music running through, which is what they are all passionate about, so there’s another entry point into this story. Also, there’s an adorable toddler who is a fan of a dog named Waffles, so what more could you want? Of course, this whole review is for naught, because you should all be picking it up based on that gorgeous cover alone.
“Something tugs in my chest. I feel strangely offbeat” Leah on the Offbeat is the second book in the Creekwood series by Becky Albertalli and it follows
