armontheroad's reviews
571 reviews

Lakelore is one of those books I cannot talk about without crying my eyes out. Anna-Marie McLemore is brilliant and I cannot wait to make my way through their entire backlist. This book was done so beautifully! The magical realism was perfection. The in-depth discussions about ADHD and Dyslexia were amazing! I adored the T4T (trans for trans) relationship between two neurodivergent (ND) Latine characters. The trans rep in this made me sob. This book means so much to me as a ND Latino in a T4T relationship!! Lakelore is a book I desperately wish I had when I was a teenager. For a book so short, it packs a major punch! Would suggest everyone interested in this book to pick it up!

CWs/TWs: racism, bullying, physical assault, ableism, sexual harassment, misgendering, etc.

CW/TW: Discussions of sexual assault, rape, and slavery.

This was fine. It’s pitched as a ‘lighthearted’ love story but there is a theme of sexual assault and rape throughout the entire novel. This bothered me because do not pitch your story as 'lighthearted', not give any trigger warnings, and then make the protagonist a survivor dealing with thinking about his time as a slave where he was repeatedly taken advantage of. Nothing is on page or graphic, thankfully. Also, it was a *choice* to have your protagonist be a white escaped slave. The romance was fun, there's on page sex, and I liked the ending of the book. 

This was around 30 pages of fun. If you’re looking for a smutty pirate romance, this is not that. There is one sex scene in this and it is not detailed at all. This very much is just a quick love story. I thought it was good but I honestly cannot remember anything from my reading journey. I could see myself re-reading this, though! So, 3.5, I think.

I was just so bored!! I know this book could do a lot for people looking for a fun pirate/merman romance but for me it was just *dull*.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blackwater was a very fun time! If you’re looking for a YA supernatural graphic novel with ghosts, werewolves, and an Achillean romance, this is for you! I adored the fact both our protagonists were chronically ill. We have Eli who is a trans boy with an autoimmune disorder that leaves him isolated from his family and peers. Then there is popular Tony who is an asthmatic Boricua hiding his chronic illness at school so he can continue to be popular. Eli can see ghosts and Tony becomes a werewolf after being bitten by one in the woods. 

Not going to lie, I didn’t know if I could get on board with the romance after something Eli does at the start of the book, but I’m really glad I could. Romance aside, I really appreciated the friend group that is formed!! 

My only criticism is the art style. The art style isn’t for me but that has no impact on my review. However, the graphic novel is in black and white. This usually isn’t an issue but in this volume, it was very difficult to see what was going on, especially when we were following our characters of color. Other than that, I think this is worth your time! Cannot wait to have this in my book collection and desperately hope we get another volume in this world!

CWs/TWs: Gun violence, animal death, homophobia, ableism, bullying, alcoholism. 

I deeply appreciate this book and cannot get into how much it means without crying. My only critique is that a book about queer identities leaves out trans people in the language that is used around gender. I really wish cis authors would stop referring to people as “male and female” because it is trans and intersex exclusive and dehumanizing to loads of people of color. That alone wasn’t enough of a reason for me to not give this five stars. I adored this was NOT a romance! Cannot believe how many important conversations Racquel Marie managed to pack into this quick novel but I am thoroughly impressed! Cannot wait to read more from her. 

CWs/TWs: TERF language (moderate), toxic friendship (major), racism (moderate), homophobia (moderate), the fetishization of sapphics (minor), toxic family relationship (moderate). 

The art in this book is truly stunning!! I can see what the author was trying to go for, but as a cis white woman writing this, it felt flat. As a trans Latino, I have lots of thoughts on THE WITCH BOY. For starters, why do white people continue to feel the need to make their protagonists half white and then insist that because said character is half white they are okay to tell their story? I hate to sound like a dickhead, but your character being half-white does not take away from the fact they are a person of color and you are not. So, no, you do not have the right to tell their stories. It felt especially odd considering we see the entire family tree and there were several other white characters our protagonist’s age that she could have picked to tell this story from. Secondly, as a cis writer, conversations around gender are almost always going to miss the mark. I was assuming this was going to be a trans storyline, considering all the themes and conversations that were had, but this was not a trans storyline. I understand what Ostertag was going for, there were just other ways for her to get her story across, in my opinion. Lastly, I want to say it made me really uncomfortable the only Black character we have is there to help our lead. This is a thing lots of white writers do, where they try to look inclusive but really this is a trope that stems from racism. I highly suggest going to see what other reviewers of color, especially Black and trans reviewers, thought of this graphic novel. At the end of the day, I did not hate this! I thought the art was beautiful and I can appreciate the story that was actually told. 

This book was kindly sent to me (unsolicited) by the publishers. All thoughts in my reviewer are my own.

THE MARVELLERS is a masterpiece of our time!! I wish I had this Middle-Grade Fantasy when I was growing up, but I am beyond ecstatic that today’s young readers will have this in their libraries! Dhonielle Clayton is a master at her craft. This world is one you are enthralled and excited about from the very beginning. THE MARVELLERS yanks you into their eccentric world and you will not want to leave! 

As with all good stories set in magical schools, not everything is as it seems. Ella deals with a LOT in this book. Watching her try to navigate this new world whilst being true to her own heritage, dealing with microaggressions left and right, on top of all the other horrible things she is put through for being the first Conjurer to a Marvellian school was hard to read about at times. I can clearly see the pull of inspiration our real-world had on Clayton’s writing and I am deeply grateful for her commentary. Recommending this book solely as a “fun magical fantasy school” would be dishonest! Clayton writes about a lot of serious topics in this middle grade. Although the story has loads of fun, lighthearted moments, it is also about Ella dealing with being profiled and verbally attacked on a daily basis.

I will leave this by saying, I truly believe this is a novel every single person should pick up!! There were a few twists that I did not expect, characters I fell fast in love with, and a world I do not want to see an end to. THE MARVELLERS is brilliant! I am still reeling from the ending and desperately hoping that we get more books in this series! THE MARVELLERS is *the* story to heal your inner child!!

CWs/TWs: kidnapping (minor), blood (moderate), death (minor), medical content (minor), microaggressions (major), racism (major), etc.

IN DEEPER WATERS was lots of fun! I loved all of the political threads, the family dynamics, the magic, and the romance! The relationship between Tal and Athlen was very adorable and had me, literally, punching the air and screaming. I love the discussions on betrayal and healing from your past trauma. The only thing that negatively stuck out to me was Shay. I adored Shay’s character so much! She was a badass who I loved to watch. However, it rubbed me the wrong way that Shay (a brown girl) is sworn to follow the royal families orders no matter what. In a *very* white fantasy world, it was odd that the recurring brown girl was there to protect and help the white royals no matter what. If you are another reviewer of color who has read this book, I would love to hear your thoughts on Shay’s character! Overall, I really liked this book. It was lots of fun, whilst still managing to handle darker themes well. Loads of action! If you’re looking for an Achillean Little Mermaid retelling, this has to be on your list!!

CWs/TWs: kidnapping, torture (moderate), blood (minor), vomit (minor), death (minor), medical content (minor).

Listen, Helen Hoang has a grip on me that I never want her to shake! Did I, once again, sob my eyes out over her characters? Yes. Did I also laugh so hard that I probably should have taken my inhaler? Yes. Hoang creates these authentic characters who leave you with no choice but to care deeply about them! I thoroughly loved this. I adored seeing our characters grow, I loved how Esme learned to be proud of herself and be independent, I adored Khai in ways I cannot put into words without having an Autistic meltdown. However, I want people to be aware of some of the content before going into this novel. From the synopsis, you are aware that Khai doesn’t believe he can love because he doesn’t experience grief. Grief is an underlining theme throughout this story and it should be made aware that the cause of his grieving is the person he cares most about being in a fatal vehicle accident. There are a few lines that rubbed me the wrong way: Esme commenting how she doesn’t care if she “looks like a prostitute” and Khai saying he “looks like a drug addict”. These are very, very minor sentences in this book but I want readers to be aware they exist before their reading experience. Overall, I adored this and will pick up anything Helen Hoang writes!

CWs/TWs: Sexual content (moderate), grief (moderate), car accident (minor), vomit (minor).