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Review: The Floating World by Axie Oh

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The Floating World by Axie Oh

The Floating World (The Floating World #1)
Axie Oh
Feiwel & Friends
Published April 29, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Floating World

From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.

Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.

Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.

Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn’t realize she’s the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined…

My Review

I’m not going to lie; this book had me at Final Fantasy. I may have been waiting my whole life for a book that gave Final Fantasy VII vibes so strongly, and in all the best ways. I may have hummed the Sephiroth theme out loud more than once while reading.

The story mainly alternates between Ren and Sunho’s perspectives. I loved both of them as characters. Sunho has memory gaps that add to the intrigue surrounding him. Ren remembers her past, but she actively avoids thinking about it. A third point of view appears now and then, and his scenes both raise new questions and tie things together.

The story world feels like something straight out of Final Fantasy. It has a clearly defined class system with a shadowy power structure. I loved piecing together what was happening in the mythril mines and figuring out the memories Sunho had lost.

I think this is the first part of a duology. The second part comes out in October and is called The Demon and the Light. I will definitely be reading that!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used rarely.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
One character has the ability to use magic. The story explores a myth about a goddess who lost her wings. Strange creatures referred to as demons attack and kill people.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes. A girl witnesses a murder.

Drug Content
Someone injects others with an experimental substance, sometimes without their consent.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Their Just Desserts by Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , , , , , ,

Their Just Desserts (The Cookie Crumbles #2)
Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow
Quill Tree Books
Published May 13, 2025

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About Their Just Desserts

Perfect for fans of The Great British Baking Show and Clue, this enchanting and rollicking follow-up to The Cookie Crumbles follows two best friends caught up in a twisty mystery when jewels go missing at a high-stakes baking competition.

Baker extraordinaire Laila Thomas and budding journalist Lucy Flores are living it up at the top of the junior high food chain as eighth graders. But between busy schedules and kinda-boyfriends, these two best friends haven’t gotten to hang out as much. So, when Jaden, an ex-competition rival, begs the duo to step back into the world of cooking competitions and crime—the answer is yes.

Jaden is His father is accused of stealing prized jewels on the set of an amateur kids’ holiday baking show. The plan is for Laila to smash the competition while Lucy investigates behind the scenes—but their half-baked plan gets turned totally upside down when Lucy ends up in front of the cameras instead.

As the investigation and competition heat up, Lucy and Laila’s bond is put to the ultimate test. Can they solve this bakeoff mystery, or will they—and their friendship—crack under pressure?

My Review

Where do I even start?! What a fun book. I love all the references to the holidays. The story takes place near Christmas, and Laila and Lucy reminisce about their own treasured holiday traditions: watching holiday-themed murder mysteries and enjoying delicious baked treats. Can’t beat that! The movie descriptions are fabulous. They have that over-the-top holiday movie vibe. Definitely something I’d watch with a cup of hot cocoa and a holiday cookie.

One of the really sweet, subtle things about the book is the way that it explores loneliness. I remember being Laila’s age and having the loneliest time of my life, even though I was constantly surrounded by people. Laila notices her loneliness and struggles to voice her feelings. As she’s working through this, she notices loneliness in others around her, and that helps her see people in a new way. Some characters she viewed as arrogant or aloof actually turn out to be shy and lonely themselves, and recognizing that helpes Laila connect with them.

I also enjoyed the mystery element to the book. The girls race to find missing diamonds and uncover the identity of the thief before police charge a dear friend’s dad with the crime. Putting the baking show and the mystery together worked really well, as both eliminate suspects within a specific timeline. And the baking show added deadlines and pressure to the quest.

This book was an absolute joy to read. I think middle grade readers interested in mysteries or anyone who loves baking will want to check this one out.

Author Q&A with Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow

Don’t miss out on this fabulous Q&A with Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow that I posted last week. I had so much fun learning about some behind-the-scenes story information and the duo’s collaborative process. Be sure to check it out!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to attraction between characters. One character is excited about the possibility of starting a relationship.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a thief stealing diamonds.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

You and Me on Repeat
Mary Shyne
Henry Holt & Co
Published May 13, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You and Me on Repeat

In this swoony and hilarious debut rom-com graphic novel, two former friends are trapped in a time loop together, repeating their high school graduation day over and over and over—for fans of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Pumpkinheads, and Groundhog Day.

Chris O’Brien has a genius plan: If he can share the perfect first kiss with his crush, Andy, then of course he’ll break free from the time loop that has him repeating graduation day over and over…and over.

Alicia Ochoa thinks Chris’s plan is doomed. Valedictorian and a total nerd, she knows it’ll take more than a kiss to escape the loop they’re trapped in together. Besides, Chris may be a hopeless romantic, but Alicia doesn’t think he has a real shot with Andy.

Once close friends, Alicia and Chris have history—lots of it. As they got older, the pair fell out after Chris ditched her for the “cool kids” and left her in the dust. But when you’re looping side by side, you never know if friendship might rekindle or what new feelings could spark along the way.

My Review

This story starts out in the middle, backtracks to the beginning, and then moves forward toward the ending. While it was a little confusing in the first few pages, it helps introduce a lot of elements, like Chris and Andy’s relationship, the time loop, the estrangement between Alicia and Chris, etc.

At first, some of the elements seem disparate. For example, Chris and the other kids on the swim team are mourning the loss of their swim coach, who died in a car accident. Alicia behaves oddly about something that later, once Chris puts the pieces together, makes a lot more sense.

I like the way that the story connects all these dots together. I also thought some of the things Alicia and Chris do during the phase in which they’ve given up on getting out of the time loop were pretty silly.

The time loop also gives Chris a chance to experience parts of Alicia’s life that she would probably have kept hidden otherwise, like her relationships with her siblings. Being so close to Alicia’s family gives Chris an opportunity to confront privilege that he didn’t realize he had. It also helps shed light on why the friendship between them ended and what their moms argued about.

Ultimately, I think this is a perfect book to kick off summer with. Read this while enjoying a bowl of ice cream or lounging by the pool. The story is a lot of fun, and it offers some thoughtful moments as well.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Multiple characters are stuck in a time loop and repeat the same day over and over.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to pranks and hijinks, such as stealing something, knowing that the timeline will reset and the items will return to where they belong the next day.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol and get drunk at a graduation party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Love at Second Sight by F. T. Lukens

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Love at Second Sight
F. T. Lukens
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published April 29, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Love at Second Sight

When a teen has an unexpected vision about a future murder, he must juggle newfound interest from the supernatural community with trying to prevent the murder from happening in this new romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author F.T. Lukens.

Tired of being known as the artsy oddball, fifteen-year-old Cam Reynolds hopes to fly under the radar when he changes high schools as a sophomore. It shouldn’t be too hard, considering he’s a human going to school with kids who have super-cool paranormal powers, like his best friend and witch, Al, and longtime werewolf crush, Miguel.

Then Cam has a psychic glimpse of the future in front of most of the student body, seeing a gruesomely murdered teen girl from the point of view of the killer. When Cam comes to, he knows two things: someone he goes to school with is a future murderer and his life is about to change. No longer a mere human but a clairvoyant, one of the rarest of supernatural beings, Cam finds himself at the center of attention for the first time.

As the most powerful supernatural factions in the city court Cam and his gift, he’ll have to work with his friends, both old and new, to figure out who he can trust. Because the clock is ticking, and Cam and his friends must identify the girl in the vision, find her potential killer, and prevent the murder from happening. Or the next murder Cam sees might be his own.

My Review

This is the third novel by F. T. Lukens I’ve read. I went into this book with them as a favorite author, and that distinction remains. This is probably not the kind of story that I would normally pick up– paranormal isn’t my usual go-to, but for an author I really enjoy (also looking at you, Kalynn Bayron), I’ll give vampires or werewolves a chance.

So one of the really fascinating things in this book is the cultural feelings surrounding people with supernatural abilities in the story world. For example, Cam’s parents are super against any involvement with or participation in the supernatural. They’ve long been against Cam hanging out with his best friend because they’re a witch.

Incidentally, Cam’s parents don’t bat an eye at him being gay or his best friend being nonbinary, so the story world is very queernormative. Instead, some characters fixate on whether someone is a human with no supernatural abilities versus someone with abilities.

Whether someone has an ability isn’t a choice. Cam’s gift manifests in a moment of distress and remains undeniable throughout the rest of the book. Yet his parents act as though erasing this part of his identity would be better for him and for them. It’s a pretty powerful metaphor, and it’s used well.

The characters, especially Cam, are engaging and easy to root for. I think Lukens has always written standalone novels, but I found myself really hoping this one would be the start of a series. I would absolutely return to this story world for more hijinks and investigations with Cam’s crew at the helm.

If you like a good murder mystery, especially one with a clever social commentary woven in, you won’t want to miss Love at Second Sight.

Content Notes for Love at Second Sight

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have supernatural/paranormal abilities. Some characters are werewolves, sprites, witches, or fae. Cam sees visions of the future. Another character sees and can interact with ghosts.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Cam sees visions of a girl who has been attacked and is close to dying. Boys get into a fight in a hallway at school. References to a car accident and near car accident.

Some characters react hatefully toward people with paranormal gifts or identities.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Fragments That Remain by Mackenzie Angeconeb

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Poetry, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

The Fragments That Remain
Mackenzie Angeconeb
Cormorant Books
Published March 8, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Fragments That Remain

First-year college student Andy can’t afford to slow down. Study, volunteer, work, make new friends, fall in love ― whatever it takes to keep her from obsessing over her brother Ally’s death, which was ruled suicide by overdose. Navigating a new life chapter without her “honorary twin,” Andy writes letters to him as she strives to embrace her bisexuality and her Indigenous identity. Once she discovers Ally’s hidden poems, Andy pours over them to make sense of her brother’s life ― and his death.

Back in senior year, Ally dreamed of being a poet. His parents encouraged him to write as a hobby, but they always expected him to inherit the family-owned bookshop with his sister. Ally wrote to cope with his emptiness, until he turned to drugs to fill the void.

Reaching for her brother through unanswered words, Andy must reckon with living a once-shared life alone.

My Review

This novel is divided into three parts. Andy’s letters to her brother make up the first and last parts of the book. The middle part is made up of poems her brother Ally wrote and left in a box she finds partway through the story.

The letters read like diary entries. They show Andy processing her brother’s death, dealing with grief, and her struggle to form new connections with others. At times, Andy circles between grief and depression, vividly describing her emotional pain. When she discovers the poems, she wrestles with wanting to know Ally’s thoughts and worrying she’ll discover something she can’t unknow.

I found her journey easily relatable. She had a lot of guilt over her brother’s death. At one point, she experiences rejection and has an explosively angry reaction. She doesn’t become violent, but she feels incredibly betrayed and says some hurtful (ace-phobic) things. As she processes her feelings and reflects on her behavior, she realizes she acted badly and apologizes.

I love her mom’s reaction when she tells her parents she’s dating a girl. Her mom is so chill about it that her dad thinks maybe she doesn’t realize what Andy is telling them, so he repeats it, and her mom is like, yeah, I know, but what’s her name? It is a sweet moment.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book. I think readers who enjoy stories that reflect on unexpected tragedy or address the fallout of addiction or loss will want to read The Fragments That Remain.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing, references to sex (not shown on-scene).

Spiritual Content
Andy reads her letters aloud and thinks of it as reading them to her brother’s spirit. Vague reference to praying to whatever gods are listening.

Violent Content
References to drug overdose/death by suicide.

Drug Content
References to drug use.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Loveboat, Taipei (Loveboat, Taipei #1)
Abigail Hing Wen
HarperTeen
Published January 7, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Loveboat, Taipei

“Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers. “Best kept secret. Zero supervision.”

And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turn. Gone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop.

But not every student is quite what they seem:

Ever is working toward becoming a doctor but nurses a secret passion for dance.

Rick Woo is the Yale-bound child prodigy bane of Ever’s existence whose perfection hides a secret.

Boy-crazy, fashion-obsessed Sophie Ha turns out to have more to her than meets the eye.

And under sexy Xavier Yeh’s shell is buried a shameful truth he’ll never admit.

When these students’ lives collide, it’s guaranteed to be a summer Ever will never forget.

“A unique story from an exciting and authentic new voice.” —Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes

“Equal parts surprising, original, and intelligent. An intense rush of rebellion and romance.” —Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval

“Fresh as a first kiss.” —Stacey Lee, award-winning author of Outrun the Moon

“Fresh, fun, heartfelt, and totally addictive, a story about finding your place—and your people—where you least expected.” —Kelly Loy Gilbert, author of the William C. Morris Award finalist Conviction

My Review

It took me SO LONG to finally read this book! Loveboat, Taipei was one of the books I bought during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but I didn’t get around to reading it until much later, obviously.

I knew very little about the book going into reading it. I knew that it had been made into a movie and was the first in a series, but I didn’t even realize it wasn’t set on a boat until I started reading the book.

If I’d realized this was a book about a dancer, I think I would have picked it up sooner since that’s an easy sell for me. I loved the descriptions of Ever dancing and choreographing. Her need to move her body and find spaces to dance really resonated with me as a former dancer. I remember feeling that way, and the author captured it perfectly. It was like I could feel the tension in Ever’s body when she needed to dance.

The whole book is told from Ever’s point of view. She and Sophie quickly become friends, and Ever feels attraction toward Xavier and Rick in different ways and for different reasons, which she explores as the story unfolds.

Glamour Photos

There’s a scene in the book in which Ever and Sophie go to get glamour photos from a photographer. Sophie poses nude in one of the photos, and at first Ever is shocked.

Her parents’ expectations and rules have been such a straitjacket for her that she decides she’ll break all the rules during the summer program. So, with this in mind, she poses for her own photo.

Normally, I think that would have made me uncomfortable. A teenager posing nude in front of a photographer that she doesn’t know doesn’t seem particularly safe. Is it asking for trouble, having nude photos of oneself? I don’t know. Seems risky.

Abigail Hing Wen did such a great job showing Ever’s thought process during that moment and crafting this scene in which Ever takes back ownership of something so basic (her body) in this moment. It’s one of the most empowering scenes in the book. I loved the empowerment of that moment, and I think it is captured beautifully.

Romance

While the focus of the story, and I think the more compelling storyline is Ever’s experience finding herself and deciding on the terms by which she wants to live her life, there is a romantic arc in the story, too. At first, I had strong feelings for one of the possible guys and against the other. But as the story progressed, I started to see and understand both boys better, and I actually rooted for each of them at different moments.

Conclusion

I absolutely see why this book has gotten the acclaim that it has, and it deserves all the attention and more, in my opinion. I loved it and can’t wait to continue with the series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs and other profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Ever sees an adult split up a couple who were in the process of making out. He is exposed when this happens. Ever and Sophie do a glamour photo shoot with a professional photographer, which culminates in nude photos. Ever poses for the photo as a demonstration of empowerment, taking ownership of her body and intending for no one else to see the photo.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Ever sees the end of a fistfight between two people. Someone is injured in an accident involving a car and a pedestrian. Characters practice stick fighting.

A boy chases a girl, threatening to harm her and shouting slurs at her after giving her a black eye earlier in the book. The girl reports him to authorities, and he receives consequences.

Ever feels faint whenever she sees blood. She helps bandage someone up a few times, and it’s clearly hard for her.

Drug Content
Ever and other teens drink alcohol. The legal drinking age is 18. It’s implied that they’re drinking legally. Ever gets drunk and passes out and is embarrassed about her behavior later.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.