Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda 〰️

This book is just so wholesome and adorable and filled with cute moments that made me actually laugh out loud. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I found it extremely relatable. I thankfully never experience any homophobia with my family and friends, so I can't relate to those aspects, but I can for sure relate to the nerves of coming out for the first time. And the second. And every time after that. (Because sadly coming out is never a one and done thing).

The emails between Simon and Blue were just too cute. I had a similar relationship with someone at that age so it was all very realistic to me. The dialogue in both emails and spoken was great.

I do feel like Nick could have had a bigger role, however. He wasn't in the story much other than to be the straight love interest to a secondary character. I think he was mentioned more than actually present in the story. I would have loved to see Simon hang out with his friends more. He talks about them a lot but he mostly pines over Blue.

Overall, this is a great debut by Albertalli. I've read her later books and love those, and when I realized I haven't read her earlier works (or seen the movie!) I knew I had to get on that. It didn't disappoint.

If you love a cute YA romance with witty banter and a coming out story, this is a great book for you. And if you really loved it, they made a movie! Love, Simon. (I'm glad they made the title shorter because this one was a mouthful). I haven't seen the movie (yet!) but I will soon!

Book Review: White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

White Smoke

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White Smoke 〰️

I pre-ordered this book during Halloween, and now that it's October once again, I finally got a chance to dig into it. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.

This book is everything I love in horror movies and more. I was legit on the edge of my seat reading this. The buildup to everything and pacing was spot on. Jackson knows how to deliver a killer story. I do hope this does become a movie or something someday. I would watch the hell out of it.

And in a twist, this book wasn't even supernatural at all! But it was still written like it was, and when the truth was found out, it was still all believable.

I loved the random bed bug facts throughout the book, and it was interesting to see them come into play at the end. Mari had some significant character growth (and not just with the bugs). She learns she is deserving of love and how to be a better sister/daughter. I loved reading about her growth.

I will say, however, that the last chapter felt rushed and a bit unfinished. Although a lot of horror movies I've watched are also kind of like that, so I guess it's normal. I still wanted more resolve, though. But besides that, it was my only negative about the book, and that's a small one at that.

I'm glad I finally got the chance to read this; it was well worth the wait. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves horror and spooky things in general. Great characters, world-building and engaging writing. This book has it all. Could you give it a go and pick up a copy today?

Book Review: Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Before I begin, is it just me, or did Leah gain weight since the first book, and I didn't notice? Like, maybe I missed it in Simon's book, but I had no idea she was a plus-size character. I love the body representation; I just must not have noticed that in her character description cause when I was reading this book, I was a bit thrown off by her being a bigger girl. But she owns it, and I love that.

Anyway, that aside, I loved this book. I love a good sapphic romance. Also, I love the bi representation. We need more of that in media, I think.

Leah did come off a bit too teen antsy for me, but that's her character, so Albertalli nailed that. I would have liked to see her do a bit of the nerdy stuff she's always telling us about than just, well, telling us she's into nerdy things. My inner nerd needs it. But still, I enjoyed reading her much more than Molly in book two. She felt more fleshed out as a character.

One nitpick I will say, however, is that Leah telling Abby she can't be a little bi and that she has to label herself properly irked me. It's Abby's choice on how she wants to be labelled. If Abby is only 5% into girls and 95% into guys, she's still bi. No one should tell you how you identify.

That being said, this was a cute read and a worthy sequel to Love, Simon. It was nice to see the OG cast again, and fun to read little cameo's to characters in the second book. This book was a much better fit for the Simonverse than book two. (Which, it being a sequel and featuring the main cast again, wasn't hard to do).

Book Review: When the Corn is Waist High by Jeremy Scott

When the Corn is Waist High

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When the Corn is Waist High 〰️

When the Corn is Waist High by Jeremy Scott

Okay, so not going to lie; it took me a while to get into this book. It was an insta-buy for me because I love the author and his other works. But when I started the read, the pacing felt very slow. I kept reading because the MC was interesting enough to keep me engaged.

Then the plot twist happened.

When it was revealed that the MC (of which this story was told in first-person POV) was the killer behind everything, I was hooked. It was terrific how Scott managed to keep the information that the MC was a killer from us despite having it be in first-person. But if you look back, everything made sense, and if I were to re-read the book, I'm sure some clues pointed to it.

At first, I didn't like Solomon for his actions (cheating with a married woman), but he was such a well-written character that I overlooked that fact. And then when he shanked her after she discovered his murder stuff, well, my face dropped. But like I said, I was invested. Now I wanted to know how the bok would end with him trying to catch the killer, but the killer was himself!

And boy, did I not see the ending coming. Okay, so I predicted a bit that he would plant the evidence on someone else, and he did. I didn't think he'd get away with it, but he did, and it made sense. But what really blew my mind was the even bigger double twist of the story that happened right at the end. I did <i>not</i> see that coming. All I know is that I'll be thinking about that last chapter for days.

For the twists, I recommend it—you for sure need to see how the MC did everything and why. The pacing picked up once the first twist was revealed, so that was great. And the MC is really fun to read. Scott really knows how to write his characters.

Book Review: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The Starless Sea

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The Starless Sea 〰️

The stories! Oh! The stories this book tells. Literally! So many stories and yet they somehow all fit together at the end.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The easiest way to describe how good this book was, (especially after reading Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus), is that now anything Morgenstern writes will be an automatic insta-buy for me. I absolutely LOVE her writing style. It's so unique I could pick up her books with no cover, start reading, and know it was her writing it.

The sheer amount of imagination to have like a bazillion different stories all being told at once and yet somehow all intertwine in the end is something I find incredible. The author essentially wrote like 50 novels in one yet none of it felt out of place.

Morgenstern's description of literally everything in this book is astounding. I could vividly smell all the books, see all the elaborate stories, and taste the honey on my tongue. Plus there were cats. Lots of cats. I love cats so that makes this book A-Okay in my books. Not to mention that the MC is gay makes my LGBT heart squeal for representation.

Honestly, I don't want to divulge too much of the book because I think people need to experience this for themselves. It's not just reading a book. It really is an experience. I just wish I could learn a little bit more about how the underworld library Starless Sea came to be, but that's just a small nitpick. The rest of the worldbuilding was great. Though now that I think of it, I would have liked to see what happens when <sspoiler>Kat opens her door and if Zachary and Dorian eventually make out to the top world. </spoiler> But it still had a great ending.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story.

My year in Books (GoodReads)

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Book Review: You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

Kepnes has done it again. Somehow she made Joe even more likable if that's the right word. Somehow she made it so that we wanted Joe to have that happy ending, that he really was "a good guy", because in this book he kinda is, for the most part.

Sure he did some stalking, as in previous books, but nowhere near to the level he was at before. He kept his promise to himself that he would win MK over the old fashion. (Well, again, for the most part). But while there were deaths, surprisingly none were from Joe himself! He's racked up quite the body count over the last two books but he actually didn't harm or kill anyone. (Even though he did mean to kill Phil, but he didn't follow through so, good guy? haha. How Kepnes makes me rout for Joe makes me question my morality).

I like how this book "returned to form", so to speak. In the first book, he would narrate using the pronoun "you" all the time for Beck, but in the second book when he met Love, it was written (still in Joe's voice so props for that), like any other first-person POV. "Love did this." "Love said that." As opposed to something like "You looked at me like this." or "You did this thing." I liked that it was focused on "You" again. The series is called, "You" after all.

I didn't like how some events were glossed over so fast. Mostly stuff at the beginning and the end.

The last book ended with Joe madly in love with Love and him being in jail and this book starts out with him in a completely different city, out of jail, and in love with a new character. Sure we get some explanation but not gonna lie, when I started this book I thought I missed a book in between. (We do learn more about what happened later but I was just so shocked at the contrast of the last book ending compared to the start of the third one). Also, Kepnes brings to light some heavy stuff in regards to Nomi right in the last few chapters and it happens so fast and suddenly it's the epilogue. SOmehow Kepnes did end the series nicely (assuming it's a trilogy), but I would have liked to see it extended just a bit more.

All in all, great series. The narration was unique and truly welcomed. Loved this book (and the other two), from start to finish.

For anyone looking for a good read, I recommend this series.

Now to see if the Netflix version lives up to the books haha.

You Love Me

by Caroline Kepnes

Book Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Unclear how Kepnes does it, but like her first novel, YOU, she's done it again. She makes you empathize with Joe. Somehow she makes you see things from his perspective (besides the obvious first-person POV). By this I mean somehow we see Joe's horrible actions as justified and we feel for him as a character. We somehow don't want him to be caught for or all his murders, we want him to be with the girl of his dreams and we want the best for him. How Kepnes makes me like a serial killer/stalker is beyond me.

Again, like the previous book, this one was very well written, giving our MC Joe plenty of personality. It was, however, written (in my opinion), slightly different than the first. He wasn't "talking" to anyone this time. (Like saying "YOU did this thing and YOU did this other thing"). It was just Joe narrating his life. I expected this book to follow the writing style of the first one, with a new "you", being other Amy or Love. But it didn't. I'm not mad. It works. It still sounds just like Joe would sound.

I'm happy to know that there is a third book, because the way this one ended, though perfect for Joe's behavior, does leave me wanting to read more. Although I can't possibly imagine how Joe is getting out of trouble this time, or even how the third book will end. My guess is another jail for good or death haha. But I won't know until I read it.

All in all, this series so far is hella enjoyable and to anyone who likes a good thriller out there, I highly. recommend this series.

Now. onto the third book!