Tag Archives: Romance

Review: I’ll Stop the World by Lauren Thoman

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Historical, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,
I'll Stop the World by Lauren Thoman cover shows a person's silhouetted reflection in the surface of water with raindrops falling across the image.

I’ll Stop the World
Lauren Thoman
Mindy’s Book Studio
Published April 1, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About I’ll Stop the World

The end and the beginning become one in a heart-pounding coming-of-age mystery about the power of friendship, fate, and inexplicable second chances.

Is it the right place at the wrong time? Or the wrong place at the right time?

Trapped in a dead-end town, Justin Warren has had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents. The unsolved crime happened long before Justin was born, but the ripple effects are still felt after thirty-eight years. Justin always knew he wouldn’t have much of a future. He just never imagined that his life might take him backward.

In a cosmic twist of fate, Justin’s choices send him crashing into the path of determined optimist Rose Yin. Justin and Rose live in the same town and attend the same school, but have never met―because Rose lives in 1985. Justin won’t be born for another twenty years. And his grandparents are still alive―for now.

In a series of events that reverberate through multiple lifetimes, Justin and Rose have a week to get Justin unstuck in time and put each of them in control of their futures―by solving a murder that hasn’t even happened yet.

CW: I’LL STOP THE WORLD contains depictions of emotional abuse, alcoholism and excessive drinking, underage drinking, smoking, racism, discussions of homophobia, and violent bullying.

My Review

I picked up this book for its Back to the Future vibes, and definitely found myself intrigued by the premise. I’ve enjoyed other books set in the 1980s and even another 1980s time-travel one called SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND. (Another book title that gets a song stuck in my head.)

What I Expected

I thought from the back cover copy that this book would be a romance with scenes alternating between the points of view of Rose and Justin. And the book does have a lot of scenes from their perspectives. There’s obviously some attraction between them, but the story never really centers a romance between the two of them.

I liked that the time-travel component does have a puzzle to it, and it’s not easy for Rose and Justin to solve. It’s a scavenger hunt mystery, where they unearth clues all along the way but only realize how those clues fit together at a critical moment in the story.

Not What I Expected

One of the things I did not expect about this book, though, is the number of point-of-view characters it contains. There are at least seven different characters with scenes from their points of view. Some only have a few scenes, but others, like Rose’s sister, appear more regularly.

There are also multiple timelines represented in the book, which makes sense since it’s a time-travel story. In the beginning, the most recent scenes chronologically were told in the present tense, while the scenes in the 1980s were told in the past tense. I expected the last scene, which returns to the present again, to be told in the present tense, so it was a little unexpected that it was in the past tense again.

I also didn’t expect a romance plot centered around Rose’s sister Lisa. I liked that the story explored what it was like for her to navigate her feelings for her friend and find the courage to speak up about her identity.

Conclusion

Overall, I think there’s a lot to love about this book. It’s got a diverse cast of characters and explores different kinds of relationships and complex characters. I love the 1980s time travel and 80s music vibes. I do wish that a few of the peripheral scenes from some of the minor characters had been trimmed in favor of having Rose or Justin discover information in an active way, but I still enjoyed the story with its broad cast of characters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Lisa and Charlene are lesbians and in a secret romance with each other. Lisa is also Black. Rose is Asian American. References to sex, specifically that a boy and girl aren’t having it.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Justin inexplicably travels back in time to 1985.

Violent Content
Some scenes show a parent/guardian saying hateful or abusive things to their child. A few scenes show a group of kids bullying another child. In a couple of scenes, the kids beat up another kid. In one scene, they make a boy eat something they’ve dropped into a toilet.

Drug Content
A couple of adult characters are alcoholics. Justin drinks alcohol at a party and tries to drive himself home while intoxicated. Two adults take a drink of alcohol to celebrate something.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of I’LL STOP THE WORLD in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Every Time You Go Away by

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

Every Time You Go Away
Abigail Johnson
Inkyard Press
Published December 5, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Every Time You Go Away

Perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven, Abigail Johnson draws a searing and lyrical portrait of grief, forgiveness, and the kind of love that blooms in the aftermath.

Eight years ago, Ethan and Rebecca met, two trouble-making kids sharing secrets and first kisses in a treehouse, until Ethan’s mom returned to take him away. Each and every visit, his only goodbye was a flower on Rebecca’s windowsill.

Three years ago, Ethan left for the last time to take care of his mother, who’s struggled with addiction his whole life.

Two years ago, Rebecca was in a car accident that killed her father. She’s been learning to navigate life as a wheelchair user ever since.

Now, they discover if their hardships have torn them apart…or will bring them closer than ever.

My Review

The story alternates points of view between Ethan and Rebecca, with some chapters taking place in the present (labeled now) and some in the past (labeled before). While the timeline is never as clearly laid out in the narrative as it is in the book’s cover copy, I didn’t have any trouble putting things in some kind of order. I’m not sure I was always completely right about how I assembled the events together, but I think it was close enough that everything still made sense.

I loved the scenes in which Rebecca describes making jewelry. It was easy to feel her love for her craft and to picture some of the pieces she worked on. I thought it was cool the way her work played into the story with the different pieces creating or representing connections to other people.

Ethan’s interest in plants was cool, too. It didn’t really ever become as central a thing as Rebecca’s jewelry-making did, but it was still a cool, not often explored area of interest.

Rebecca is a wheelchair user and has been since the car accident that killed her dad. Because of the straightforwardness of the narrative, I found it easy to picture moments like transferring to a car or what it was like when someone touched her leg, and she couldn’t feel it. Her paralysis was present in the story, but it isn’t a story about paralysis, if that makes sense. I felt like the author did a perfect job crafting the balance between helping readers picture Rebecca and her environment and the impact it would have on her experience without making it seem intrusive or artificial.

I also really appreciated that there was more than one wheelchair user in the story. Amelia, Rebecca’s friend, mentor, and employer, also uses a wheelchair. This created moments in which two people could talk about their lives and experiences and offer two different perspectives. I loved that.

All of that is kind of background to the central story here, which is the romance between Rebecca and Ethan. While they both came to the relationship with barriers of trauma, it was cool watching them figure out how to navigate those things. I loved watching their feelings blossom and rooting for them to find their way to each other through the miasma of hurt and grief around them.

Conclusion

All in all, this is absolutely the kind of book I would have loved myself in high school. It’s sweet but pretty real about the fact that life deals hardships to teens just as much as anyone else. I really enjoyed this one, and I think fans of THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME by Jennifer E. Smith or LOVE AND OLIVES by Jenna Evans Welch will want to check it out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
I think the main characters are white. Rebecca and another character are wheelchair users. Ethan’s mom has alcohol/drug use disorder. Ethan is a neglect and abuse survivor.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Brief references to neglect and abuse of a child. Two boys get into a fight and fall into the mud.

Drug Content
A teenager drinks alcohol in a couple of scenes. An adult gives alcohol to a child in one scene, and that behavior is also referenced in other scenes. References to a boy witnessing drug use and even being given drugs himself by an adult (doesn’t happen on scene). An adult smokes cigarettes.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

The Hunting Moon (The Luminaries #2)
Susan Dennard
Tor Teen
Published November 7, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Hunting Moon

The highly anticipated sequel to THE LUMINARIES by New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard.

Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.

The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.

Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer that’s killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.

On top of that, following her dad’s convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.

Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.

As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminary—and also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.

My Review

I loved the first book in this series, so I’ve had this sequel on my reading list since I finished THE LUMINARIES. Susan Dennard has a choose-your-own adventure-type story about these characters on her social media (maybe it’s on her Substack now?), which I followed for a while, but I’ve lost track of it lately. It was a lot of fun, though.

All that to say, the Luminary world stayed fresh in my mind, and I was excited to start reading book two in the series. It was easy to dive right back in. THE HUNTING MOON begins pretty much exactly where THE LUMINARIES ends, as Winnie deals with the aftermath of her trial.

One thing that stood out to me was how the supernatural creatures’ existences are integrated into the story. Like, Winnie often makes comparisons to things based on monsters’ attributes in the story. I liked that and felt like it kept the story anchored in the alternate world in which Winnie lives.

Also– Winnie and Jay. Omg. The tension. And the way they’re both like, “You don’t like me, so whatever.” I couldn’t read fast enough. They’re so sweet and so innocent. I love it so much!

The only thing I felt disappointed about is that I felt like Winnie didn’t make as much progress toward clearing her dad’s name as I expected. From how the first book ended, I thought the second book would be the quest to clear his name and that she would at least make contact with him. That’s not the direction the story goes, though much of what happens is in service of ultimately clearing his name.

Conclusion

I liked the story in this book– it just wasn’t the one I expected to find. The mystery of the werewolf takes center stage, which is another thing that I wanted to know more about, so that easily held my attention.

All in all, I am still a hardcore Luminaries fan. I’m excited to see where the series goes from here, and I will probably try to reconnect with the live and unfolding adventure on the author’s social media again.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some discussion of kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to shapeshift or perform magic. Winnie lives in a world where supernatural creatures exist and some attack humans.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some battle scenes between monsters and humans. Winnie is part of a clean-up crew that helps collect the remains of dead monsters or people who’ve been killed by them.

Drug Content
Teens drink beer at a party. Winnie drinks a compound that helps her heal but also makes her seem high.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything but help support this blog.

Review: Valiant Ladies by Melissa Grey

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

Valiant Ladies
Melissa Grey
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 14, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Valiant Ladies

Two teen vigilantes set off on an action-packed investigation to expose corruption and deliver justice in Valiant Ladies, Melissa Grey’s YA historical novel inspired by real seventeenth century Latinx teenagers known as the Valiant Ladies of Potosí.

By day Eustaquia “Kiki” de Sonza and Ana Lezama de Urinza are proper young seventeenth-century ladies. But when night falls, they trade in their silks and lace for swords and muskets, venturing out into the vibrant, bustling, crime-ridden streets of Potosí in the Spanish Empire’s Viceroyalty of Peru. They pass their time fighting, gambling, and falling desperately in love with one another.

Then, on the night Kiki’s engagement to the Viceroy’s son is announced, her older brother―heir to her family’s fortune―is murdered. The girls immediately embark on a whirlwind investigation that takes them from the lowliest brothels of Potosí to the highest echelons of the Spanish aristocracy.

My Review

Okay, so the premise completely sold me on reading this book. It pretty much had me at “real seventeenth-century Latinx teenagers known as the Valiant Ladies of Potosí.” I also really liked THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT by Melissa Grey, so I was excited to read another book by her.

The cover copy also mentions them taking on the patriarchy, and like, I guess they do fight some individual men. I kept waiting for that to solidify into a larger conspiracy or something. For them to have a more overt victory over a system that oppressed women. I don’t know. Maybe I missed something.

I liked Ana and Kiki’s characters. I felt like the romantic storyline was a little uneven. There was a lot of focus on it at the beginning and then almost no focus on it for a while and then lots of focus on it again. I don’t know if that was supposed to be because Kiki got engaged, and so Ana backed way off, and Kiki repressed her feelings? It wasn’t really clear to me, but maybe I missed some more subtle clues.

Unanswered Questions

There are several places in the story where the girls make choices that really don’t make sense to me. At one point, they go to a brothel looking for a girl who lives there. This is the same place Ana grew up, so the girls are familiar with it. For some reason, they go at night. Guards won’t let them in. They get caught when they break into the girl’s room (which they find completely destroyed). The owner (who raised Ana) asks the girls to leave quietly.

Instead of asking her what happened to the obviously destroyed room and where the girl is, they attack the guards and kill one of them. It just seemed weird to me that it didn’t occur to them to ask the owner what was going on or to assume maybe she hired guards to protect the rest of the girls. At the least, they might want to know why the room was destroyed or what happened.

There are some other places where it felt like maybe some scenes got deleted, and the information in them maybe didn’t make it back into the surviving part of the story if that makes sense? When Kiki’s brother is murdered, for some reason, everyone assumes he died by suicide, but no one really explains why they think this? It was kind of odd. There were other instances where characters made assumptions that didn’t really make sense to me, too. It left me wondering if these were things that had been more obvious to the author but just weren’t as clear to me.

I’m not sure what happened.

Conclusion

On the whole, I love that this book raises awareness about Ana Lezama de Urinza and Dona Eustaquia de Sonza. If you’re interested in knowing more about them, Broads You Should Know has a podcast episode on them.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are Latinx. The main characters, Anna and Kiki, are attracted to women.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and attraction between two girls. Ana grew up in a brothel. Both girls are friends with a sex worker.

Spiritual Content
A family seeks to have a loved one buried, but the church refuses since it’s believed that the man died by suicide. References to demonic rituals. Kiki and Ana attend a funeral service at a church.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and battle scenes. Ana and Kiki fight criminals together. A group of men attack Ana. One punches her in the face. They find the body of a murdered young woman. A woman reveals scars that indicate someone tortured her. Men kidnap two women, threatening them.

Ana attacks a man who then sends his accomplices to beat her up. Ana discovers a man’s body hanging from a tree.

Drug Content
Several characters drink alcohol, including Ana. While drunk, she makes some choices she regrets later.

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

Review: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Poetry, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Clap When You Land
Elizabeth Acevedo
Quill Tree Books
Published May 5, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Clap When You Land

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

My Review

CLAP WHEN YOU LAND is the third book by Elizabeth Acevedo that I’ve read, and she just wows me every time. Some of the lines in this novel in verse were so achingly beautiful. They crafted tender images of grief, the strength of the bonds of family, and the beauty of the beach.

I loved both Camino and Yahaira’s stories, and I am so glad the book told both. I loved the way their connection developed, even though it was under such difficult circumstances.

My favorite scene is one late in the book, in which a man has attacked a female character. Three other women, all family members by blood or choice, stand together and force the man to leave. There was so much power in that scene. I loved the way that they lent one another strength and that because they joined together, their strength was multiplied. There was something truly beautiful and fierce about it that I feel like I’m going to remember for a very long time.

CLAP WHEN YOU LAND was a deeply compelling story of sisterhood and grief and a beautiful tribute to the Dominican Republic. I think fans of DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE by Maika and Maritza Moulite or NEVER LOOK BACK by Lilliam Rivera will love this book.

Content Notes for Clap When You Land

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Yahaira is Dominican American, living in New York. She’s in a relationship with a girl. Camino is Dominican and living in the Dominican Republic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. A man stalks a girl as she goes to and from the beach. He obviously has sinister intentions, and she feels she can’t escape him. Brief description of a man assaulting a girl on a train. She’s shaken and traumatized afterward. In one scene, a man attacks a girl in the dark, tearing open her blouse.

Spiritual Content
Families gather and pray after Yahaira and Camino’s dad’s death and attend church services. Camino’s aunt also consults the saints using other spiritual practices.

Violent Content
Some details about the plane crash

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol.

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

Review: With or Without You by Eric Smith

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

With or Without You
Eric Smith
Inkyard Press
Published November 7, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About With or Without You

New from Eric Smith comes a delightful YA rom-com about two teens caught in the middle of their families’ orchestrated rivalry between their Philly cheesesteak food trucks.

All’s fair in love and (food truck) war.

Everyone knows Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz hate each other.

According to many viral videos of their public shouting matches, the Plazas and Ortiz families have a well-known food truck rivalry. Jordan and Cindy have spent all of high school making cheesesteaks and slinging insults at each other across their shared Philadelphia street.

But the truth? They’re in love, and it’s all just an act for the tourists.

When the fake feud lands them a reality TV show pilot, Jordan and Cindy find themselves having to lie on a much bigger scale. Trapped between pursuing their dreams or their love, can they find a way to have their cheesesteak and eat it too?

My Review

I think my favorite thing about this book is that it gives you a standalone romance storyline, but the kind of plot you don’t usually get unless you read a series. Jordan and Cindy are together at the start of the story, so there’s none of the figuring out if the other person has feelings. It’s all about the tension between the public rivalry between Cindy and Jordan and their families and their private lives, which include a romantic relationship.

There’s a lot of cool stuff happening in this book, too. From loads of musical references to very different approaches to food truck fare and ingredients, I felt like I got the characters and could easily picture their reactions to things that happened.

I also think the story has a great balance in focus on its characters. Both Jordan’s and Cindy’s parents have unique personalities, but none of them dominate the story. Understanding their characters helps us better understand Cindy and Jordan, but they also feel like fully developed characters on their own.

One of my favorite things about the book (besides the excellent breakdown of a perfect breakfast sandwich) is the banter between the characters. I loved the snarky comments and goofy exchanges with friends. Those scenes felt natural and made me laugh out loud more than once.

I think readers who enjoy books about food and friendships or reality TV and sweet romance will find so much to love in this fun tribute to Philadelphia and food truck life.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Both Cindy and Jordan are Latine and American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A boy calls a girl some unkind names. Banter escalates into a bit of a scuffle, but it’s quickly defused.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of WITH OR WITHOUT YOU in exchange for my honest review.