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vaniavela's reviews
410 reviews
Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Twelve-year-old Nura works long hours in a mica mine. Determined to find a legendary treasure known as "The Demon's Tongue" to help her family out of poverty, she causes a cave-in, resulting in several deaths. Nura, determined to save her friend, lands through a portal in the world of the jinn. Will Nura be able to save herself and her friend?
The writing in Nura and the Immortal Palace is magical. The author describes the setting so vividly, we can imagine ourselves there. The world is glamorous and captivating.
I love the way this book addresses child labor and the importance of education. The author combines these important issues in a middle grade fantasy book with engaging characters.
The world building is simply magical and easily transports the reader into the book. The atmosphere is colorful yet dark and feels like a story I would have loved to read as a child.
Overall, Nura and the Immortal Palace is an impressive middle grade fantasy that takes you on a dark adventure, reflecting of important real world issues.
If you like Ghibli vibes, a dark and twisted portal world, and a fierce protagonist, you need to read it!
CW: child labor, grief, parental death (off the page), fire.
The writing in Nura and the Immortal Palace is magical. The author describes the setting so vividly, we can imagine ourselves there. The world is glamorous and captivating.
I love the way this book addresses child labor and the importance of education. The author combines these important issues in a middle grade fantasy book with engaging characters.
The world building is simply magical and easily transports the reader into the book. The atmosphere is colorful yet dark and feels like a story I would have loved to read as a child.
Overall, Nura and the Immortal Palace is an impressive middle grade fantasy that takes you on a dark adventure, reflecting of important real world issues.
If you like Ghibli vibes, a dark and twisted portal world, and a fierce protagonist, you need to read it!
CW: child labor, grief, parental death (off the page), fire.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Those Who Wait by Haley Cass
emotional
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Outing
Moderate: Biphobia and Lesbophobia
Minor: Emotional abuse
West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
7 psychopaths. None of them trusts the others.
Told in several points of view, we follow Chloe Sevre, who has planned revenge on the man who raped her; Charles, the pretentious and wealthy son of a politician; and Andre, who faked his condition in order to afford the expenses of such a prestigious college education.
The premise of this book was interesting, with complex characters and mystery elements. At first, the book hooks you into the narrative, but the structure falls apart after a few chapters. Especially with such a slow pace. Likewise, I couldn't understand or empathize well with any of the characters as the different perspectives confused me. A book with only one perspective would have been a better choice.
Overall, a unique premise, but a half-hearted execution. It's a good book though, so I'll give the author's future works a read!
tw: murder, death, stalking, rape, sexual assault, gun violence, adult/minor relationship, suicide, blood, brutality, bullying, drug abuse, gore, mental illnesses, racism, sexual content, suicide, violence.
Told in several points of view, we follow Chloe Sevre, who has planned revenge on the man who raped her; Charles, the pretentious and wealthy son of a politician; and Andre, who faked his condition in order to afford the expenses of such a prestigious college education.
The premise of this book was interesting, with complex characters and mystery elements. At first, the book hooks you into the narrative, but the structure falls apart after a few chapters. Especially with such a slow pace. Likewise, I couldn't understand or empathize well with any of the characters as the different perspectives confused me. A book with only one perspective would have been a better choice.
Overall, a unique premise, but a half-hearted execution. It's a good book though, so I'll give the author's future works a read!
tw: murder, death, stalking, rape, sexual assault, gun violence, adult/minor relationship, suicide, blood, brutality, bullying, drug abuse, gore, mental illnesses, racism, sexual content, suicide, violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Blood
All These Bodies by Kendare Blake
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. An impossible explanation.
Michael was an interesting narrator. He was able to separate his emotions from the investigation at such a young age and with no prior experience, which is impressive.
This book focuses on someone who doesn't talk at all, either to defend herself or plead guilty, which was somehow boring and annoying. There are no breakthroughs or investigations, there is just Michael trying to get Marie to talk and Marie refusing to do so.
We never find out what really happened. I wanted answers and instead got an ambiguous ending. The pacing was also slow, which didn't help.
In the end, I'm not sure how I felt about this book. I couldn't even tell if the story included paranormal elements or not. I would have liked some action moments in the story, but that wasn't the case.
This just disappointed me, it had so much potential, but in the end it was poorly executed.
tw: murder, blood, death, adult/minor relationship, animal death, physical abuse, child abuse, rape, sexism, abandonment, underage alcohol consumption, child death, confinement, death of parent, grief, misogyny, violence.
Michael was an interesting narrator. He was able to separate his emotions from the investigation at such a young age and with no prior experience, which is impressive.
This book focuses on someone who doesn't talk at all, either to defend herself or plead guilty, which was somehow boring and annoying. There are no breakthroughs or investigations, there is just Michael trying to get Marie to talk and Marie refusing to do so.
We never find out what really happened. I wanted answers and instead got an ambiguous ending. The pacing was also slow, which didn't help.
In the end, I'm not sure how I felt about this book. I couldn't even tell if the story included paranormal elements or not. I would have liked some action moments in the story, but that wasn't the case.
This just disappointed me, it had so much potential, but in the end it was poorly executed.
tw: murder, blood, death, adult/minor relationship, animal death, physical abuse, child abuse, rape, sexism, abandonment, underage alcohol consumption, child death, confinement, death of parent, grief, misogyny, violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexism
Tink and Wendy by Kelly Ann Jacobson
emotional
sad
medium-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
4.0
What happens when Tinkerbell is in love with Peter Pan and Wendy?
I've never been a big fan of the Peter Pan story, but I really enjoyed this book.
I loved how the chapters changed from Then ( Peter and Tinkerbell met Wendy ) to Now ( Wendy and Peter's granddaughter discover Tinkerbell living in the old Darling house ) to Excerpts from Neverland: A History ( Historical information about Neverland and Tink and Peter's relationship ). This was such a creative and interesting idea and I loved reading these short excerpts.
Kelly Ann Jacobson's writing fits the story perfectly. The descriptions portray the setting and express the characters' feelings in a great way. It was lyrical and touching, blooming beautifully.
I would have liked more Sapphic elements in the story. All the books I've read before feature the typical story of Tink falling in love with Peter Pan, and when I read this premise I was thrilled. While we do get some scenes of Tink and Wendy together, we don't get the epic love story that this book promised. I was disappointed in this aspect.
Also, the plot has some plot holes, which I would have liked to see resolved or better explained.
Overall, the story was good and kept my attention. I would have liked some things to be different, but it's still a good book and I enjoyed it.
trigger warning: addiction, alcoholism, self harm, suicidal thoughts, medical content, grief, death, car crash, teen pregnancy, death of friend's parent, parental abandonment, use of ableist language, multiple deaths.
I've never been a big fan of the Peter Pan story, but I really enjoyed this book.
I loved how the chapters changed from Then ( Peter and Tinkerbell met Wendy ) to Now ( Wendy and Peter's granddaughter discover Tinkerbell living in the old Darling house ) to Excerpts from Neverland: A History ( Historical information about Neverland and Tink and Peter's relationship ). This was such a creative and interesting idea and I loved reading these short excerpts.
Kelly Ann Jacobson's writing fits the story perfectly. The descriptions portray the setting and express the characters' feelings in a great way. It was lyrical and touching, blooming beautifully.
I would have liked more Sapphic elements in the story. All the books I've read before feature the typical story of Tink falling in love with Peter Pan, and when I read this premise I was thrilled. While we do get some scenes of Tink and Wendy together, we don't get the epic love story that this book promised. I was disappointed in this aspect.
Also, the plot has some plot holes, which I would have liked to see resolved or better explained.
Overall, the story was good and kept my attention. I would have liked some things to be different, but it's still a good book and I enjoyed it.
trigger warning: addiction, alcoholism, self harm, suicidal thoughts, medical content, grief, death, car crash, teen pregnancy, death of friend's parent, parental abandonment, use of ableist language, multiple deaths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A reality star and a cupcake-making soccer player pretend to be a couple to save their bakery.
Fake It Til You Bake It is a cute, lighthearted read. Even when the romance moves too fast for my taste, I enjoyed it.
The author's writing is really good. I could picture the desserts perfectly, and I was craving cupcakes non-stop while reading this book.
I love the fake dating trope. If I put aside how insta-love their romance was, I loved it. There is so much chemistry between them, even when they've known each other for a couple of days. They complement each other's personalities, full of flirting and banter. That being said, when they started saying "I love you" to each other after a week I cringed.
I found this charming, and the addition of deep themes like gambling addiction, social media harassment, and family relationships make this book better.
tw: Sexual content, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia.
Fake It Til You Bake It is a cute, lighthearted read. Even when the romance moves too fast for my taste, I enjoyed it.
The author's writing is really good. I could picture the desserts perfectly, and I was craving cupcakes non-stop while reading this book.
I love the fake dating trope. If I put aside how insta-love their romance was, I loved it. There is so much chemistry between them, even when they've known each other for a couple of days. They complement each other's personalities, full of flirting and banter. That being said, when they started saying "I love you" to each other after a week I cringed.
I found this charming, and the addition of deep themes like gambling addiction, social media harassment, and family relationships make this book better.
tw: Sexual content, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Fatphobia
Digging Up Love by Chandra Blumberg
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
Alisha Blake, a baker who works at her grandfather's rural barbecue restaurant in Illinois. Quentin Harris, a paleontologist and professor in Chicago.
Digging for Love is a mix of flirty and tender romance, portraying family conflicts that add depth to this book.
The concept was fresh and original, giving us multi-layered characters. I loved how charmingly this story was portrayed, defying many stereotypes.
It has some of the tropes that I don't enjoy such as the lack of communication, but overall it is a very enjoyable read.
tw: racial micro aggressions, past parental death/abandonment, sexual implications.
Digging for Love is a mix of flirty and tender romance, portraying family conflicts that add depth to this book.
The concept was fresh and original, giving us multi-layered characters. I loved how charmingly this story was portrayed, defying many stereotypes.
It has some of the tropes that I don't enjoy such as the lack of communication, but overall it is a very enjoyable read.
tw: racial micro aggressions, past parental death/abandonment, sexual implications.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Racism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming.
Nora Stephens, a hard-working woman who knows her priorities. When her younger sister begs her to go on vacation to the small town called Sunshine Falls, her world is rocked.
Emily Henry has a refreshing way of writing, combining romance with deep themes, such as interpersonal and family struggles. She manages to give her books more depth, writing multiple realistic conflicts to her characters.
The men in her books are simply fascinating. The chemistry between the main characters is fantastic. They bring the perfect mix of sexual tension and banter.
The dynamic between the sisters was infuriating at times. Libby, even with good intentions, didn't seem to understand that her sister had a job she couldn't throw away. Nora had done several things for her in the past, and even though she hadn't asked for it, there was a lot of miscommunication. Nora wasn't perfect either, she tried to work things out on her own and didn't express her feelings or thoughts.
Emily Henry delivers with this third novel, giving us a hilarious, bookish romance.
TW: death, depression, anxiety, spiraling mental health, strokes, diseases and illnesses, mentions of hospitals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy