atreegrowsinbooks's reviews
276 reviews

I started reading the ebook version of this, and it took me about a month to get through half the book. But I flew through the rest of it so fast once I switched to the audiobook. It’s even narrated by Rehman, which was cool!

I really enjoyed this book even though the first half was slightly slower than the second half. I can see the connections this book had gotten to A Tree Grows In Books. 

I really enjoyed the meandering through Razia’s life and how some chapters skipped time while others were a continuation of the prior one. At first I didn’t see the queerness but after a while it felt like a light switched and I totally got it. Definitely a slower entrance but I think that’s also a reflection on how Razia discovers it herself. Wonderful and oh so sad portrayal of complex families. 

Would recommend 

Thanks to Tin House for the ARC!

I was perhaps not in the right headspace when I first started this poetry collection. I didn't feel as much of a connected to the words, and therefor didn't enjoy the first half of the collection. Once I took some time away from my other heavier books, I was able to spend more time with Allen's words and I believe I better understand the poems. There were a few poems towards the end of this collection that I really enjoyed.

It was overall wonderful to read these poems and I am excited for this collection to come out. Allen is such a talented Indigenous poet, I am looking forward to seeing more people pick this up.

Wow, I can see why this book has been on so many lists of “best books”. This memoir blew me away. Incredibly heartbreaking and heavy. Laymon is a talented writer and narrator. I think I benefited from listening to the audio version since it’s narrated by the author. Would 100% recommend this but there are a lot of heavy topics. 

Another hit by TJ Alexander! This was such a cute queer second chance romance. Exactly what my heart needed right now. I loved the queerness of it, the characters. Again with the funny humor that made me actually laugh and smile so wide. Lately, most of Alexanders books are able to make me laugh, they are great at their humor filled books.

As someone living in a red state, the mention of the flags/etc in Florida made me laugh/cry because its relatable in my state as well.

I wish that Nick's queerness was talked about more. Initially it was mentioned that he was demi, and this is probably the first time I've read a book with a character that thinks they are demi (I need to find more books). And while I know that not everyone has/wants labels, but I still wanted more exploration or inner thoughts about it from Nick.

Overall loved the representation of a trans relationship, enby, queer, and allyship. I loved how cute Eli's parents were to retake photos from when Eli was a kid. The miscommunication was a little annoying, and I would have liked a little more in the book of them being together but otherwise I LOVED THIS.

Completely and utterly blown away by this. My first Emezi and most certainly not the last. 

This was a memoir full of so much emotion. A roller coaster of heartbreak for their own heartbreak, struggles with the world, and how terrible people have treated them. Why do so many people with a sun energy have to deal with people who bring them down. 

I loved being able to listen to Emezi read this. I felt like I was in an author talk, perhaps in a small dark room intensely focused on their reading. I know I’m going to need a physical copy to reread, as there are many many things to take away from this. But for my first read, I think the biggest thing I took away way to believe in yourself 100%. Think and speak what you want into this world. Know that it’ll happen and it’s happening. Be the sun and say your words of truth so that they seep into your being and into reality. 

It’s going a little slow for me, and I’m finding myself wanting to pick up other books. Trying to DNF more. Liked what I read and will likely come back another time when I want a slower paced book

Wow overall a very interesting and informative book. At times I felt like the content was very heavy and dark, and as such had to take breaks from listening to the audio. But was a necessary read. Will be reading more from this author!

I was drawn to this book because I love to see women (especially women of color) in STEM. I can understand what it’s like being a woman in STEM since that’s what field I was in but obviously things are even more difficult for persons of color. 

I thought the premise of this book sounded really cool and I was looking forward to learning about sharks. And there is some information about sharks but not as much as I wanted there to be. I also wanted the writing to be more scientific. The book had more memoir writing than science talk, which is fine. But I felt like those chapters were a little slow. Graham had important background to include to help drive her point across and to help illustrate the struggles that she’s had in the field. But I felt that there was still some content that could have been edited. 

Forever grateful for strong smart women like Graham to be in the STEM field. To be role models for the next generation. 

Thanks to Pantheon and NetGalley for the ARC!

AHHH I loved this book! I think I liked this one just slightly better than its sequel (I read them out of order but you can really read them in either order).

I loved the banter between characters, especially between Simone and Ray. At first Simone got on my nerves. It first appears that she has somewhat of an ego, but we soon learn that she's of course a flawed human and doesn't like change to her workplace. They also struggle with changing pronouns for Ray when Ray comes out as enby at work. Simone struggles with misgendering at first, and those bits are really enjoying. I get that when Simone first meets Ray, they haven't come out so their pronouns are unknown. But, I am glad that the misgendering doesn't take over the story. The slow burn between Ray and Simone is SLOW. You almost don't notice it until right at the end. Personally would have liked a little more burn.

I wish that we got a dual POV in this story, because I'd really like to hear what is going on in Ray's head. We don't get a ton of inner thoughts from them, and I think the story would have benefited from their perspective a bit more.

I thought it was really interesting to have a top surgery be a main plot point. I enjoyed that there are people around Ray that root for them and are on their side. 

Also it goes without saying, but this story was very funny. I laughed so many times. I think the funniness also benefited from having a great narrator! Overall such a cute story, would recommend for those looking for diverse queer romances.

Family both blood and found. Queer and messy. How love and adventure runs through us all but it can look different. The art was interesting. Wanted a little more from the story, didn’t dive as deep into the characters to fully understand their motives.