peachy_reads's reviews
118 reviews

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Xingyin was so incredibly unfocused as a character, it felt like every chapter she was re-learning some facet of her personality and re-realizing that she wanted to save her mother. 

If that wasn’t bad enough, the pacing and narrative flow was WACK. So many things happened so suddenly with no lead up. How are you going to tell me that the lady was talking nonstop about the princes companion competition when this is the first time we’re hearing about it? Even her just leaving the manor for the competition being like “I don’t even know how to get to the palace I’ve never bothered looking around when I live the manor….anyways I’m walking up the giant staircase into the sky now.” AND HER SHOCK THAT THE CELESTIAL EMPRESS WAS THE PRINCE’S MOTHER??? HSE DIDNT THINK OF THAT?? BSFF!

I can’t sit through more of this, I value my life.
Take All of Us by Natalie Leif

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you so much to Leif, Holiday House, and NetGalley for the chance to read this FANTASTIC book early.

I loved this book a lot, particularly what it had to say about being disabled and all of the ways that able bodied people fail us. Being a zombie was essentially an allegory for being disabled and I loved how Ian’s zombism in particular felt like an extension of his disabilities and not like a magical power up, or a way to fix his epilepsy. A lot of the things Angel and Monica had to say made me absolutely sob, so much of it hit incredibly close to home. And I loved how Ian’s understanding of each of them changed as he got to know them: he found a friend in Monica where before he saw only competition of the perfect disabled martyr, he saw past Angel’s affectations to see that she was just a little girl trying her best to get through the situation (the moment in particular when Ian goes from calling her an Alien to just a girl meant so much to me).

The zombies were also COOL AS HELL! I loved how viscerally and horrifically they were described, even them rotting as they were still walking around. The way they found comfort in just being near each other, even if they were all each in their own little worlds was so interesting! I know it was in part because of the way the zombies were formed and such, but it was still an interesting touch! As for how they zombies came to be,,, not sure how much I love that part. It was interesting for sure but other than Ian’s dreams and the big show down, we saw very little of it and it felt a little unexplored for such a neat concept.

The romance was interesting but I don’t know if I’d call it pure cute. I liked how Ian and Eric were together without any misunderstandings between them, but I don’t love that Eric was so down bad to mercy kill his disabled friend or that it was wrapped up so nicely. For the sake of it being a YA “monster” romance I’ll allow it, Eric is just a kid experiencing the worst day of his life, but it was the one point of the allegory that I think fell apart. 
 
The writing style was also phenomenal!! The prose was so gorgeous and Ian’s thought process felt so believably young, incredibly accurate to teenagers. There were a lot of run on sentences, lots of stream of consciousness that helped emphasize the sheer weight of everything Ian was going through. I can’t wait to get my physical copy so I can highlight all my favorite lines!!!

Overall this was SUCH a fantastic read and I’m so great full the youth of today have such amazingly diverse reads, and really have the opportunity to see themselves in stories whether you’re queer or disabled or a little bit dead!
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My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My Darling Dreadful Thing was a dark and mysterious tale of love and obsession and the blurred lines between the two. I adored Ruth and Roos’ sticky codependent relationship, and how it juxtaposed Roos and Agnes’ relationship which, while still dark and creaky, would have been a step in a more positive direction for Roos. 

The gothic atmosphere was so well crafted, helped along but the presence of Ruth and Peter whose creepy ever changing appearances which leant a certain level of surreal-ness to everything. AND THE MYSTERY ELEMENTS! Each reveal made me gasp with horror but it was so delightfully twisted to discover each one.

If this story was comprised solely of the life and Roos as she suffered the mysteries of Rozentuin, it would be a solid 4 stars for me! Roos desperation to please Agnes and the tenuous foundation of their relationship was compelling. I wish I could splice those parts of the story apart from the oddness of of the rest of it,,,

While I loved the writing and the main story of it all, I found myself in turns baffled and frustrated by the interviews with the doctor. At first it was an interesting tilt on the ghostly story to inject a bit of realism, to throw doubt into Roos’ story. But soon it was being used to undermine much of the sense of mystery. We weren’t allowed to sit with any ominous foreshadowing before the Doctor was spelling it out for us, as if we couldn’t draw the conclusions ourselves. 

**SPOILERS** The doctor’s presence was especially redundant during the trial. Any doubt that was created about Roos actual mental health and the realness of the ghosts was ruined when the lawyer outright proved Roos couldn’t have done anything she was accused of, veritably proving the reality of the ghosts and destroying any mystery. From there the story limped on a few more baffling chapters of Roos starting her new life and getting better? Question mark? But still having Ruth and still firmly believing Agnes would come back to her. It felt like, especially with the inclusion of the excerpt of the Doctor’s writing, that the author was still trying to draw back to the doubts about Roos’ mental health and the reality of Ruth, but by that point it felt thoroughly shattered. At least for me!

Anyways while I loved the main story, I didn’t not appreciate the use of the Doctor as a story telling element and felt he greatly diminished much of the appeal of the main storyline. For that I can only give 3.5 stars :/
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Ancient Omens: Part One by Zena

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Comic / Manhua), Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A Bone in His Teeth by Kellen Graves

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So thankful to have the opportunity to read this early!! 

My first version of this review got disappeared so apologies if this isn’t that pretty 🥲

As always, Kellen Graves is amazing at building a fantastically moody atmosphere. The magic was so rich and I was excited to uncover every piece of it! And the underplaying horrific mystery of it all just added to everything. I don’t know if I’d call what happened body horror, but there was certainly horrific things happening to bodies lol. 

I adore the main couple more than words, they were both so lonely and finally found comfort to each other it was perfect. Individually they were also just amazing. Alba was such a badass but I loved that he consistently had these moments of intense vulnerability, it really made him feel well rounded. Eridanys has my whole heart though, I adore him to pieces. Every time he was actively trying to be nicer and kinder to Alba, even while being so aggressive was just adorable. 

The sex scenes were soooo amazing too. TWO!! I love the way Graves is able to develop the characters’ relationship with each sex scene. And the tragic things we learn about both characters during those scenes, and the way they react to each other is just so beautifully heart wrenching. 

As well as just incredibly hot, like good god these guys were INTENSE and obsessed with each other. The underlying violence and the sheer ferocity of their relationship was so delicious and the constant threat of devouring (in all of its varying ways 👀) was just perfect oh my GOD. 

5/5 stars I cannot WAIT to get the physical copy of this!!!
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Guardian: Zhen Hun (Novel) Vol. 1 by priest

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The world and mystery of this book was interesting! But the plot and how we got from point to point, and how information was revealed seemed a little all over the place. I definitely liked it more for the characters and especially the main couple more than anything.

I guessed Shen Wei’s identity pretty quick 😋 I have some guesses about Zhao Yunlan too but we’ll see if I’m right later. 
The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Son Nefes by Nora Sakavic

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0