taliaissmart's reviews
2252 reviews

If Gideon is an iron-pumping, sweaty, sexy workout and Harrow is a cold shower of blood and bone dust, Nona is a soft towel and a massage. Yes, there is someone in Harrow’s body who is not Harrow, but she’s soft and funny and loyal and perfectly, effervescently Nona. Sure, there’s a conflict brewing between the Lyctors and their Emperor Undying, with Resurrection Beasts on the horizon and rebel factions plotting their next move. But Nona’s planning her birthday party, goddamnit!

This book—this series—is a blessing. Let go and let Jod.

In her older-YA debut, Ali Hazelwood takes on the male-dominated world of competitive chess.

Since her father's abrupt exit from her life, former chess prodigy Mallory Greenleaf has turned her back on the game she loves, putting all her time and attention into providing for her chronically ill mother & younger sisters instead. All that changes when she participates in a charity tournament and ends up beating the current world champ, bad boy Nolan Sawyer. Within a few weeks, she's been recruited to a woman-led club & adopted as an icon by female chess players worldwide--developments Mallory isn't ready to let her family see. Can Mallory find the bravery to let her walls down, embrace the game in her own right, and maybe let in some love?

One of my favorite things about this book was its subversion of typical gender roles re: sexuality. Mallory is established as the more experienced & sex-eager partner, whereas Nolan takes time to establish emotional connection before feeling sexual attraction. Both approaches are portrayed with respect--and the characters hold space for each others' preferences. Delightful!

A fascinating exploration of the ways our perceived weaknesses can actually function as strengths and vice versa. I can certainly see why Gladwell is criticized for over-generalizing based on anecdotal evidence; however, I took his assertions with a grain of salt and found that there was still much to learn and gain from this read.

Set during a city-wide summer blackout in Dallas, interior designer Elizabeth gets locked in her office building with her ex, Tom.

The wildest thing about this book is how intensely irredeemable the male protagonist is. He's hyper-masculine and obsessed with pushing Elizabeth's boundaries (making her share past trauma that she really doesn't want to talk about while withholding all details about his own past, etc).

I liked the audiobook narrator a lot--she was very believable in the role of buttoned-up 90s girlboss. I thought it was a compelling story/time capsule if not a romantically appealing one.

This one is for the philosophy heads and/or people who have read all of Diderot/Henry James/Faulkner...I am neither of these.

made even less sense than the other one

never in my life did I think I would witness classic characters Tom & Jerry receive so many mail deliveries by drone. but here we are. late stage capitalist hellscape etc

everything about it was bizarre including the formatting and the intended audience (?) but I kinda fw it

Wasn’t enjoying. Flat characters, nothing happening.

Middle grade set on a border island that's half-US and half-Canada, starring an expat American kid recovering from tuberculosis and a Canadian girl who's obsessed with Prohibition-era gangsters and solving the death (murder?) of her last dog. She also has a new dog, but that one doesn't really interest her.

Despite all of these elements, the story crawls. I found the characters irritating and the pace mind-numbing.

Muir has an incredible talent for prying her readers' hands off the wheel. I am as sure of her clear, crystalline knowledge of this world as I am of the fact that she will not let me see the big picture until she wants me to.

Harrow is a thorny hero to get to know, and in this book, it is her fracturing realities that frame the plot's ascension to godly heights.

A delicacy.