btwnprintedpgs's reviews
1269 reviews

This was such a cute read and such a beautiful love letter to Vietnamese culture and food.

Lan and Vivi meet in Saigon. Lan is a food blogger who feels stuck between her dream of travelling and the obligation to stay home and take care of her mother after her father's death four years ago. Vivi is studying abroad - her parents think she's in Singapore, but she's actually in her Motherland of Vietnam, looking for her mother's family. I loved the dynamic these two had and how they supported each other and challenged one another to be brave and chase what they want in order to achieve their dreams.

I loved this book for two main reasons. The first is the way this story brings Saigon to life. The food descriptions, their little adventures around the district, the new year celebration they go to together, I loved reading about this lively city. I also appreciated that it delved a bit into th generational traumas of war and the impact of colonialism and war within the Vietnamese community and culture. It wasn't heavy handed, but the stories and experiences really brought heart to the story and to the people of Vietnam.

I also loved the family dynamics within the story - the filiel piety element, the moments of grief, the pain of generational trauma and secretive parents - it gave so much life to the characters and their relationships. There was so much depth in such a short story and it's truly a testament to the writer's skill.

My only criticism for this book is the near insta love and the abrupt ending, but everything else was so well done that the story was a hit for me! All in all, would recommend for a quick cute romance full of culture and beautiful relationships.

TW: grief, injury detail; mentions death of a parent

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5

eARC gifted via Edelweiss by Henry Holt and Co. via Macmillan in exchange for an honest review. 

I haven't had a YA thriller hook me in a while, so this was a great surprise. A fast-paced thriller/mystery with an added layer of in-game puzzle solving makes this book feel similar to Slay crossed with Love 020.

I will say that this book takes on a lot, but it does it well, overall. We have the foundational thriller - someone dies and now our MCs have to race against the clock to solve the mystery and save the people and things they care about. Then, we have the gaming elements superimposed over the real world mystery. Adding in Marina's secret past, a dash of romance, and nods to Chinese history and Asian culture (particularly filiel piety and Asian guilt culture), this story held my attention right from the start.

I really love books that mix with video games, and Kelsea Yu did it in a way that felt organic and necessary to the story. I liked how the video game aspects built on the secrets, the mystery, and the character development - it was an essential part of the story and was fleshed out so well!

Additionally, I enjoyed our MCs - all four had distinct personalities and lives and the way they became friends through life and video games felt so true to life.

All in all, a twisty thriller of a book that had me flying through the pages! I'm so excited for more people to pick this one up.

Rep: Chinese lesbian MC, queer SC, Trans SC

TW: gaslighting, injury detail, murder, blood, stalking, mutilation, child abuse, gun violence, kidnapping, drugging, fire/fire injury; mentions transphobia, death of a child, death, animal abuse, suicidal ideation

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Bloomsbury YA via Colored Pages Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. 

I adored this book. I've only read a couple books with Deaf/HOH rep and I'm so happy to see that there are more books coming out to share the Deaf and HOH experience.

One of the highlights was the way Lilah's experience showed the differences within society for a Deaf/HOH person - the technology, the aids, the discrimination, the general lack of knowledge people have, and the lack of space people give to people within the disabled community. It's a lot and there was a lot of learn, even as a reader.

The camp was a fantastic way to showcase how different people's needs and views are around disabilities. Meeting and getting to know the campers and counsellors with Lilah opened up avenues to share different experiences and give us insight into the good and bad within the community.

Outside of the rep, I loved the relationships Lilah builds with everyone. Her hesitance and feelings of not being enough of one thing or the other were relatable, and I loved that she opened herself up to the experience and the chance to learn more and rediscover a community for herself. I also appreciated that there were moments of possible drama, but a lot of the characters were open to learning and listening and communicating with each other.

All in all, this is a cozy summer camp read with some amazing rep throughout that will have you rooting for the cast!

Rep: Deaf/HOH MC, Deaf MMC, Deaf and HOH secondary and tertiary characters, blind secondary and tertiary characters

TW: ableism, discrimination, bullying, violence; mentions appropriation, injury

ARC gifted by Penguin Teen Canada in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book had more dialogue in it than any other book I've ever read. This felt like as if bunch of quips and chaotic mewling got dressed up in a trench coat and decided to be a book. The plot was tissue paper thin, the characters a bit over-the-top, and the dialogue a bit repetitive at times, and yet I had a fantastic time reading it.

One of the biggest mysteries carried over from A Taste of Gold and Iron was their secret ship magic. How do the Arasti sail all year round, while every other nation is grounded for 5 to 6 weeks a year? This tale endeavours to answer that question, and it does, but in the weirdest and most roundabout way

There is an underlying plot for sure, but much of the story focuses on Avra and how much he really wants attention, specifically Tev's attention. Much of his jokes are crass and sexual in nature, but there is no spice whatsoever. There is a note of polyamory, and I enjoyed seeing the navigation of those relationships, but it very much leaves readers on the "will they, won't they" side of things. In the end though, we do see Avra figure out how to be a good friend and a mewling simp, rather than just the latter, and we find a cast of characters who put up with him because he is genuinely a good and loyal person.

I will say though, this book is funny as hell. I enjoyed the chaotic quips, the stupid songs, and the silly banter. It all was so easy to read and it made me laugh out loud very often. However, we cannot get by on quips alone, and there were points in the book where I asked myself, "Where on earth is this going?" It felt like a long book where nothing much was getting done, outside of a few side quests, but in the end it all came together well and that's either very masterful, or everything else was simply an Avra-shaped distraction.

All in all, a fun time, but not necessarily a productive time. Very much a fantasy book of good dumb fun and comedic dialogue, and a huge switch in tone from A Taste of Gold and Iron. I'd definitely say, if you're looking for the political intrigue and solemn tones of book 1, this is not the place to look (though Avra is very good at politics when he wants to be).

Rep: queer normative world; non-binary gay MC, gay MC, pan MC, polyamorous relationship, sapphic secondary character 

TW: death of an animal (not dog), violence, bullying, sexual content, death; mentions murder, cults, classism.

Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 4/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Tordotcom via Tor Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. 

I feel like romances that are about 500 pages should either hit it out of the park, or just not be 500 pages, and this landed in the middle.

I feel like this could've been so much shorter. The author could have trimmed some of the extras that didn't add much to the story (I'm looking at you team building exercises that basically did nothing). Some of the team stuff was just a general lack of communication, and a lack of accountability. I liked the overall arc of the story - Ryder and Gigi helping each other grow and accept their own emotions and pasts; the smorgasbord team that's cobbled together becoming one in the end; the dreams realized and shattered. It was all solid, and I enjoyed the characters and the banter, but at the end of the day, I feel like I could've had all that even if the story was tightened up a bit. I'd reread this book in a heartbeat if it didn't have all the superfluous stuff (yes, that's a callback to the book cause that moment made me laugh).

I also hated how much sexism there was. Dumb comments from Ryder about females only being figure skaters, some other comments from other people about "crazy" women, and the fact that half the characters were f-boys who could just get anyone to sleep with them. Idk, it all felt a bit toxic, but I guess sports are generally just a bit toxic at any given time. That part was not for me, but I guess it was to be expected.

As a whole, I enjoyed the cast. I liked all characters and the different personalities they brought to the table, and I loved the romance arc! In the end, it was very much all devotion, and love, and emotion, and that worked very well. It was just some of the other pieces that really fell short for me. I'll likely read on in the series, as I like Gigi's friends enough to be curious about their stories, but it may be more of a skim going forward, because that's entirely too many pages for a romance for me.

TW: death of a parent, incarcerated parent, alcohol consumption, infidelity, sexism, injury detail; mentions cyber bullying, defamation 

The Prospects has so much heart to it, as well as a lot of trans and queer joy!

I'll start off saying that baseball is not my sport. There's a lot of story that goes into that and I was not there for it, but I did learn a thing or two. I loved Gene and Luis's love for the sport though. Seeing them sync up their playing with each other and slowly open up to one another was endearing and heartwarming and I appreciated seeing that relationship grow.

There were a few things in the book that I wasn't a fan of. First off, Luis's magical ever allowed dog, Dodger, is literally everywhere with them including hotels, people's houses, planes, ubers, restaurants, etc. I'm all for accessibility, but there is no world in which an emotional support dog is so ubiquitously accepted. I don't know if this was a dream scenario type thing, but I was surprised to see that there were never any hoops that they needed to jump through (or even permission asked) for this dog to come in. I also didn't love that we never really found out why they didn't like each other to start. Like what made they so abrasive at the beginning?? That never really felt resolved for me.

Otherwise, this book is pure joy and love and acceptance of self, I adored the characters and the stories and they chased their dreams, accepted their realities, and found success and happiness at the end of the day. This book is so important as there is so much self-love and acceptance in it that I feel like it can really help people understand that their body is okay, who they are is okay, and that was the real beauty of this story.

Rep: Trans gay MC with ADHD; gay MC with anxiety and mild paralysis; queer side characters

TW: transphobia, homophobia, bullying, panic attack, injury (sports related); mentions car accident

ARC gifted by Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review. 

I feel like this book gave way too much of the middle grader sass - everyone kept complaining about everything and I understand what the author was trying to do, but it made it very hard and frustrating to read for the first quarter. Once we got back into the adventure and the mythology, it felt a lot better.

I really do think this book is important due to how it builds relationships - we don't know what other people are going through, we never know what will hurt others, and we never know what others will need from us to help support them if we don't ask. It was a strong testament to their friendships and relationships in the way they supported each other (even when everyone protested way too much).

Seeing everything come together in the end was nice and the overall story had the same energy as book one, which was fun and challenging in the best way. This is another great book, just wasn't as much for me as book one.

TW: bullying, injury detail, violence; mentions parent neglect

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Penguin Teen Canada in exchange for an honest review. 

A story full of Hawaiian culture, mythology, and joy! Anna goes on an adventure as she lands in her native home denying the existence of Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess, after a mishap during her science class on the mainland. As she begins to reconnect with her roots and learn more about Pele and the other legends that exist on the islands, after her best friend is kidnapped, she finds herself embracing the part of her identity that she's long been denying.

This was a wild time and I really felt for Anna as she figured out who she was and who she wanted to be. There was a lot of reaching into her Hawaiian roots, but also acknowledging the hardships she's dealt with being biracial and not "enough" of either culture. I liked how she grew through the story and how her love for her friends and family shined through.

There was a weird bit of time and travel circling which I didn't love - she spent so much time getting somewhere only to loop back around in second and then loop around again I another second. Felt like an aside that didn't seem necessary, but it did show off the magic of the land, I guess.

I did like the overall message of the story, as well as Anna's growth through it all. Her understanding herself and what friendship is and means all came together at the end and what she grapple with helped through her final trials.

I'm curious to see what happens in her finals weeks of her summer vacation in Hawaii, and can't wait to dive back into their world of myth and magic again.

Rep: Biracial MC

TW: kidnapping, injury details, fire/fire injury, bullying, violence; mentions racism

ARC gifted by Penguin Teen Canada in exchange for an honest review. 

Between the questioning, the toxic gatekeeping, the fantastic friendships, and cute romance, this was very much a great read. This is shockingly my first book by Becky Albertalli, though I've heard about the forced outing among other things, and I love that this book exists and ensures that people can see that there's no one right way (or any right way) to be queer, nor right or wrong time to come out. Loved this so much - I'd put it in the same category as Cool for the Summer, Loveless, and Ophelia After All.

Also, the way Imogen's people pleasing and anxiety-esque internal dialogue was so relatable, omg.

Rep: Jewish and questioning MC; lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, non binary secondary/tertiary characters

TW: biphobia, bullying, alcohol consumption, underage drinking; mentions lesbophobia, transphobia 

Okay, but why was this so cute and funny. Who gave them the right??

Cute art, funny inner and outer dialogue, and I loved how well established the relationships felt. The way both the MCs share how their history led them to their insecurities and flaws really gave them life. The miscommunication trope was a bit much here, but the fact of the matter is that some people really do need someone to sit down and tell them, "some people need words." Some people just don't get it and I like that the characters reached out to their friends to figure things out.

Adorable, would reread.

Rep: Viet American MC, Black MC, sapphic

TW: bullying

ARC gifted by a friend (who originally got it from the publisher).