Everything's tougher than it has to be: BOTH THINGS ARE TRUE.

Both Things Are True by Kathleen Barber
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Vanessa is happy as a yoga influencer (apparently those exist), but feels unsure about her future with her cryptocurrency fiancé. But any happiness and her romantic future ends when her fiancé and his company is involved in major, headline-drawing fraud. He flees the country, leaving her reputation in shatters too.

I have to admit it felt like time was going backwards reading this book. The more I read, the more it felt like was left. It never ended. Vanessa is a rather insufferable main character. She's the absolute worst communicator, with no ability to be a grownup in anyway. Ha, I'm always late, ha, I run on my bad knee and wonder why it doesn't heal, ha I sit around and cry to my sister, who has her own problems... it was endless. There's also much yoga talk. Just too much.

At the same time, nothing happens, just the occasional teasing encounter with Sam, her old boyfriend (technically ex-husband, the two married in Vegas and then hastily split). Sam now magically lives in her building, but has his life together, and is about to launch his own company. Association with Vanessa could taint his company's debut forever, so Sam is hesitant about reuniting. (I would have run too, Sam. I liked Sam. Poor Sam.)

Vanessa turns things around, of course, but by then, it's pretty hard to care about her. There's also very little explanation or follow-up about once major plot points, such as what happens with the fiancé and his fraud.

Overall, this was not a winner for me. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing in return for an unbiased review.

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I may be standing here but I’m a million miles away: THE RIPPLE EFFECT.

The Ripple Effect by Maggie North
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

This felt like the longest book ever. It takes a lot of talent to turn a romance into a never-ending tale.

I didn't realize this book was part of one of those "stand-alone romance series." Usually it's easy to pick up anywhere with those type of stories. With RIPPLE, I felt dropped into the middle of a tale with zero context. I have no idea if reading Liz's story (the first book) would have helped this, but it drove me insane, as it felt as if there were constant gaps in the narrative.

Nothing about this book felt grounded in reality, from the plot to the romance. Former ER doctor Stellar truly can't find a job in medicine? She really won't move away from the area solely because of her ties to her best friend (Liz)--whom we barely even encounter in this book? Again, perhaps knowing more about their relationship from the first book would have helped, because living a broke, depressed existence as a delivery driver when you could move on and return to being a PHYSICIAN seemed insane.

Stellar had a one night stand a year ago with psychologist Lyle, whom everyone rudely calls McHuge due to his size. Seriously? Now she's forced (she feels) to work as a camp physician (really more of a hard laborer) at The Love Boat, Lyle's start-up therapy camp that revolves around white water rafting. (Yes, you read that right.)

BUT THEN, The Love Boat is attacked in the press and is in jeopardy before it even opens. The ONLY way to save it, everyone, the ONLY WAY, is for Lyle and Stellar to pretend to be engaged and deeply in love. The fake romance plot seemed extra unhinged for two people who hated each other. Lyle and Stellar do not have the best chemistry and Stellar is difficult to like. There's a side plot involving Stellar's estranged sister that doesn't seem necessary but probably would have been the more interesting story.

Overall, the pieces never really seem to fit here, between the fake romance, trying to save The Love Boat, and Stellar and Lyle's own personal struggles. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin in return for an unbiased review.

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I've kicked myself at times because I've lied: DISCONTENT.

Discontent by Beatriz Serrano
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. Working in a corporate job myself, I was hoping to find a book that resonates with that aspect of my life. And there are definitely amazing flashes of brilliance here, with some hilarious lines that truly spoke to me.

But wow, pieces of this story are so depressing. Marisa works for an ad agency in Spain. She's fallen into the job, sticking with it since an internship. She now manages employees, but performs her job mainly by delegation and stealing work from others. When she can, she spends her workdays watching YouTube videos and escaping to museums.

Marisa has a particularly bleak outlook on life and honestly, she's an unlikable character. There's little to find redeemable about her. I get it, the book is satire and so is she, but sometimes her choices and personality made me cringe.

I enjoyed the pieces that truly related to corporate work, but some parts just felt too much and awfully depressing. 2.5 stars.

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I want to come over it's a need I can't explain: HOTTER IN THE HAMPTONS.

Hotter in the Hamptons: A Novel by Tinx
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I really don't know how to describe my feelings about this book.

First of all, I have no idea who Tinx is, nor do I want to. But if this book is modeled after her, she did not do herself a lot of favors.

Our main character Lola is a fashion influencer; she started out posting her own vintage designs but has morphed into shilling anything from her sponsors. When she gets canceled for something said while going live, her fancy influencer life starts to fall apart. She and her boyfriend break up and--to make things even worse--journalist Aly Ray Carter writes a scathing piece about Lola, calling her vapid (and more). After that, no one will touch her.

Lola does little to nothing to convince us that she is not the vapid influencer Aly writes about. She cares about very little but money, status, and notoriety. She's also a terrible friend, especially to her BFF, Ryan, who stars as the stereotypical gay best friend, but is also way too forgiving of this girl. (She can't even remember the name of his boyfriend, or to show up to meet him for dinner.)

Meanwhile, as Lola and Ryan flee to the Hamptons, they find out they are staying right next door to Aly. Aly and Lola become romantically entangled, leading to some very spicy scenes and Lola's downright refusal to accept that she could be bisexual.

Here's where the book gets extra confusing: everyone is allowed to come out on their own terms. No one has to label themselves as anything against their wishes. As the book progresses, some pretty awful stuff does happen to Lola, and no one should be outed against their wishes. At the same time, her cluelessness about what the queer community faces (her best friend is gay for god's sake) is just insane. In many ways, this sums up my feelings for this story: vacillating between sympathy for Lola and then wanting to shake sense into her.

I'm not really sure the point of this story. Putting aside the money and bad decisions, Lola was just someone trying to figure herself out. (Yes, she does this badly for the most part.) The NYC elite come off looking as bad as ever, here, and you'll find yourself grateful to be a poor, normal person with zero social status.

Not really a book I'd recommend, but I didn't completely hate it, either. So confusing! 2.5ish stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Bloom Books in return for an unbiased review.

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The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me: NOWHERE.

Nowhere by Allison Gunn
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It seemed to have some trouble finding itself, mixing Appalachia folklore/horror with a depressed and messed up grieving family. Rachel Kennan is the police chief of a small Virginian town--she and her family are outsiders to the locals, even with the death of their young son, Aiden. Aiden died in a car accident while his father, Finn, was driving drunk. Younger daughter Lucy survived, and Rachel and Finn are making it day-to-day for their daughters, even though Rachel resents Finn so completely for the loss of their son.

Gunn mixes Rachel and Finn's grief with a story rooted in local folklore: a terrifying thing/spirit in the woods, luring children into the forest, igniting hatred and violence throughout the town.

This is a truly horrible and dark story--it does not commit fully to horror or its character-driven plot, but either way, it's violent and awful, full of blood and gore. The characters are pretty mean and terrible, too. Even with the loss of her son, it's impossible to sympathize with Rachel, who comes across as a cheater and a mean, hateful person. She and Finn are terrible parents; honestly, it's not surprising their children want to turn into demons.

This story made me cringe many times and not because of its creepiness. It would have benefited from committing to a character-driven tale, focusing on Rachel and Finn's grief and outsider status in town and deeper points about exclusion of what is different leading to hate. Or, it could have gone fully into the horror story, really embracing the kids and demons. Blending both is a lot, making the plot feel choppy, uneven, and long.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Atria Books in return for an unbiased review.

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I'd love you to love me: BIG NAME FAN.

Big Name Fan by Ruthie Knox
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was really excited for this one, but wow, it was hard to get into. There are so many characters--none of them fleshed out--and so much going on.

This seemed like a lighthearted romance, but instead much of the story is focused around on-set TV politics and a complicated account about a makeup artist, Jen, on the set of said show, Craven's Daughter, who died before the book even begins. Our protagonists Sam and Bex starred on Craven's Daughter five years ago, but it ended abruptly without a series finale. The show took advantage of Bex and Sam's on-screen chemistry, but behind the scenes, Sam quit when Bex couldn't return Sam's romantic feelings.

There's much going on: Bex's complicated history raising her younger sisters after the death of their parents; Jen's death; Bex and Sam's relationship (or lack thereof); a fan fiction plot; and the reunion episode of Craven's Daughter. I loved the message about how the show and its higher ups exploited the women's chemistry but that the fans and queer folks deserved more.

But otherwise, much felt lacking. Bex and Sam feel like cardboard characters--Bex is a quiet doormat, not a vivid theater actress. Sam is supposed to be the attractive lesbian, I guess? And nothing else? There is so much Hollywood shop talk and a million characters to keep track of. And Bex and Sam's romance is slow burn, if it's even a romance at all.

There was something about the prose that made me feel like I had to constantly reread sentences to grasp what was happening-maybe because there were so many characters. I would have loved more focus on Sam and Bex and what made them who they were. But the focus on queer positivity was great. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Kensington Publishing and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.


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Where the love light gleams: SOME LIKE IT COLD.

Some Like It Cold by Elle McNicoll
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

This one had a fun premise, but lost a few things in execution!

Jasper is the black sheep of her family, thanks to her autism, which her mom has basically had her hide since childhood. Her family aims for perfection and focuses on her older sister, Christine, who is getting married on New Year's Eve. Jasper reluctantly returns home to Lake Pristine for the wedding festivities, with the secret knowledge that she's dropping out of college with dreams of going into interior design.

SOME LIKE IT COLD has a lot of good points to make about neurodivergence and autism, but good grief, it gets repetitive, as if it's beating us over the head with Jasper's diagnosis! It doles out symptoms like we're reading from WebMD, rather than learning about an actual human. Her sister Christine is horrible with no true redeemable qualities, making it difficult to root for the sisters to reconcile.

Jasper's love interest is Arthur, who has remained in Lake Pristine to run his late father's movie house. The two were childhood enemies, but with Jasper's return this childhood hatred turns into a spark. This is quite confusing, as it seems like they truly hated each other, and the story never makes clear how that hate actually manifests as unrequited love.

The story has some cute points, including its picaresque small town holiday setting and Jasper's friendship with Arthur's little sister, but it's bogged down by repetition and a lack of forward momentum. There's also far more telling than showing with the prose, making the book feel very long. Note that this is characterized as YA, but both Jasper and Arthur come across as older.

Overall, this has some fun Christmas aspects, but I couldn't quite get past all the flaws. 2.5 stars.

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The kind of man it feels good to be around: WHAT WE FIND.

What We Find by Robyn Carr
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I picked this up off my shelves as part of a "read my shelves" project, but didn't find it too enthralling. Neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan flees to Colorado and her father's camp/general store after a series of traumatic events and lawsuits upend her personal and professional life. Once there, there's more upheaval, and she finds herself caring for her older father, Sully, who's been running the campsite for years. She meets Cal, who is staying at the camp, and waiting until the weather warms to hike the trails. The two grow close as they help Sully take care of things.

There's nothing wrong with WHAT WE FIND, it's just that nothing really happens. Maggie cares for her father and meets Cal. Repeat. There's no real depth to either Maggie or Cal, making it hard to get attached to either one. Maggie is supposedly facing bankruptcy thanks to issues with malpractice lawsuits and trouble with her medical partners, yet she can escape for months and continue to keep her home in Denver. The middle of the story is bogged down by a tangent related to Maggie's lawsuit.

The scenic descriptions in this one are good, and I enjoyed Maggie's gruff but kind father, but overall, this bland story wasn't a real winner for me.

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I never mean to do bad things to you: DEAR HANNA.

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Much like BABY TEETH, I left DEAR HANNA wishing for more. There's nothing wrong with this book, per se, but it also seems like nothing really happens, though our protagonist (antagonist?) Hanna tries. All grown up, with the childhood attempts at murdering her Mommy in the past, Hanna is now married to Jacob, a man 20-ish years her senior with a pre-teen daughter. Jacob does not know much about Hanna's past, just that her brother, Gustav "Goose" is now in a boarding school, just like Hanna was as a child. Hanna feels safe with Jacob and Joelle, his daughter, until Joelle grows into a teenager and her decisions threaten the small life Hanna's made for herself. Hanna returns to her old habits, attempting to control the behavior and outcomes of the people around her--no matter the cost.

The problem is, so much of what Hanna does is predictable, or rather lame, not scary. Yes, she's a sociopath, but not an effective one. We get a look into grown up Hanna's psyche and that's about it--lots of thoughts and ponderings. The chapters where Hanna exchanges letters with her brother are actually more interesting, as she often says what she really thinks to her own sibling.

HANNA looks into the dynamics of motherhood and marriage, exploring both Hanna's past and her present, and, of course, highlights the perils of untreated mental illness. We see how far someone can go to convince others that they are fine (and how easily we may want to believe it). Some of the book is creepy, and there's a twist or two, but mostly it's rather simple and predictable. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in return for an unbiased review.

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You come regular like seasons shadowing my dreams: THE PAIRING.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

So much food and wine talk

I love Casey McQuiston, but I have to admit that THE PAIRING was not for me. Others will enjoy it more, so take my review as such. Theo and Kit are childhood best friends and former lovers. After a terrible fight and subsequent breakup on the way to vacation in Europe, they have each forged their own lives: Theo in the U.S.; Kit in Paris. But they encounter one another four years later... using the non-refundable trip voucher for the European tour they were about to take when they split.

There's a lot of great things about THE PAIRING, particularly it's bisexual characters and the book's frank look at sexuality, queer love, gender norms, and gender fluidity. There's also just so much damn description. If you want endless talk about food and wine and the European countryside, you'll love THE PAIRING. If you are looking for some actual plot or forward momentum, you're less in luck.

I found myself skimming over more talk of wine pairings, as I just could.not.take.it.anymore. I get that there was a whole "vibe" for this story, but it was not one I enjoyed. I wanted to hear more about Theo and Kit, their past, and see them interacting in the present.

The two make a pact to see who can sleep with the most people on the trip, while ignoring their own chemistry. It takes a while to even get to this point, with so much lead up (have I mentioned the wine?). All the description makes it difficult to care for Kit and Theo as a couple, especially since most of their romance occurs before this story starts. Many of the side characters have little depth, serving just to act as a foil in the one night stand competition, and everyone seems young and ready to eat and party. There's no differentiation or room for anything else. A side plot with Theo's family being wealthy and famous seems unnecessary and irritating.

Theo and Kit's sexual tension and escapades are fun, albeit somewhat repetitive, much like the endless food and wine. I preferred the focus on gender positivity and Theo feeling comfortable in their body. In the end, though, I never found myself wanting to read this book, and often flipped rapidly through scenes. Hopefully others more into the European bacchanal style will enjoy it. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin in return for an unbiased review. Look for THE PAIRING on August 6th, 2024!

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These days have made a change in me: BETTER LEFT UNSENT.

Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

The premise of this has promise: Millie keeps all her true thoughts (rants to her boss, real opinions about her BFF's husband, reviews on poor vacation experiences, feelings about her parents, responses to crushes) in her email drafts. It helps her release stress. The system works well until one day a server error at work releases all the drafts at once, sending the emails off to their quite surprised (and sometimes angry) recipients.

When you dive into this more, it seems flimsy. Who would write these sorts of things at work?! Why would you actually put the recipient's email address in the To line of the draft?! It makes more sense when you meet Millie, who, honestly, is a bit of an idiot and comes across as a clueless doormat, making it too hard to root for her. She's suffering from a breakup several years ago with Owen, who still works at her company, and one of her emails threatens to end Owen's current engagement. Millie's inability to recognize that Owen is a complete psychopath is incredibly frustrating. Her endless focus on her emails may be even more frustrating. Her relationship with Jack, her love interest, has little pep, as they barely have any scenes together. It's a shame, because Jack is funny and the two have good chemistry. There's also a side plot with Millie's parents that seems completely unnecessary.

I love Lia Louis' books and there was some fun in this one, but overall, it didn't work for me. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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I turned myself in with you: ANNIE LEBLANC IS NOT DEAD YET.

Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

This is a strange little book. Wilson enters her town's contest to, you know, earn the right to bring someone back from the dead for 30 days. She picks her best friend, Annie, trying to overlook the fact that the two weren't friends at all in the last year of Annie's life. But when she gets Annie "back," she seems to gloss over that fact, falling back with Wilson like the old days and confusing her to no end.

So I'm fine with a book about someone coming back from the dead being quirky; in fact, you'd expect it. Instead, ANNIE LEBLANC seems like a standard YA story about friend drama--it just happens that one of those friends is dead. Nothing seems to happen! Wilson is an OK main character, if a bit in her head, but I didn't even like Annie, or Ryan, the third friend in their trio, or Wilson's mom Jody.

Wilson spends her life being responsible for her mom and her little sister, feeling lonely with no friends after a blow up with Annie and Ryan. The book drags out the reveal of why she and Annie and Ryan fought and it still doesn't make sense. Wilson seems to think she's found a loophole to keep Annie alive, so she works diligently to achieve it, while being rather clueless. Meanwhile, there's a million miscommunications, and it appears as if this gang never once interacted with one another or another human.

I'm glad the story has lesbian/bisexual rep and enjoyed the themes of friendship (albeit awkward ones!) and family, but this plot missed overall for me. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in return for an unbiased review.

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After all it was a great big world: SINGLE-MINDED.

Single-Minded by Lisa Daily
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I'm amazed and grateful at how far attitudes toward the queer community have come in most literature since 2017.

Reading this book, I kept thinking I had gotten the publication date wrong and surely it was published in 2007, but nope, 2017. Alex's life is upended when she finds out that her husband is gay--and that evidence of him cheating is splashed across ESPN. What follows is a lot of jokes about gaydar and the absolute only way gay men should act (complete stereotypes). Almost worse is her immediate assumption (along with her friends) that she then must find another man to be happy. To do so, she must complete a ridiculous dating gauntlet (the "Naughty Nine") to find a real relationship.

Is it the 1950s? Can we not be happy with ourselves? Do we truly need a man for happiness? Are gay men only defined by spandex and good taste in clothing? Good grief.

Perhaps this book would appeal to divorced people new to the dating scene, but I sort of hope not. It makes you grateful not be dating, for sure (Alex experiences some horrors). There are some funny moments, yes, but many others are just cringeworthy. Much of the story wound up being fairly predictable. This one didn't really work well for me. 2.5 stars.



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I start thinking that I am sinking inside a hollow fortress: THE FICTION WRITER.

The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Olivia Fitzgerald's stalled writing career leads her to take a ghostwriting job with Henry "Ash" Asherwood, a mysterious billionaire. He's drawn to her recently failed novel, Becky, based on Rebecca, and wants her to tell the story of his late grandmother and Daphne du Maurier (the author of Rebecca). But at Ash's fancy Malibu estate, nothing is as it seems. Is Ash telling the truth about his family's past, and can Olivia trust him?

This was an... interesting... read. Made me want to re-read Rebecca, but perhaps not this story! Olivia and Ash were incredibly annoying characters. Olivia had an amazing inability to stand up for herself, letting Ash dictate everything, resulting in some very poor decisions and judgements. About 25% in, it felt as if there was no forward progress on the book whatsoever, as Ash and Olivia just hung out in Malibu and did... nothing. Except drink and talk . And did I mention make poor decisions?

Yes, Olivia consistently drinks too much, with the book focusing constantly on her drinking and oh, did it happen to mention Ash was the "sexiest man alive?" Maybe once or twice or a hundred times. The gothic mystery wrapped in layers of meta seems like it would be intriguing, but ultimately winds up confusing, with too many layers of Rebecca and retellings and stories within stories. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Park Row in return for an unbiased review.

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Ode to the girls who don't marry well: VLADIMIR.

Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sometimes I think a book is just too intelligent for me, and VLADIMIR is one of those. This book might have made more sense if discussed in a group, or dissected in class, but when I read it alone, I just wanted it to be over. I did not find our unnamed protagonist, a professor in her fifties, to be either likable nor nuanced. Her husband, John, heads the English department at their small college, but is swept up in scandal. He's been accused of sleeping with several of his students. Our professor finds herself unnaturally focused on a new, younger professor Vladimir. She shares, ad nauseum, her inappropriate thoughts about him, while focusing on all the things she hates about herself. She also hates John, and their marriage, and it seems, many of her students, Vladimir's wife, eating properly, and much more.

VLADIMIR seems like it's saying a lot of smart things about society, academia, feminism, and more. I think a lot of it went over my head. I didn't enjoy the plot and while it has some sort of crazy twist, it felt forced and unbelievable. This one was not my cup of tea. 2.5 stars.

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I'll leave the luggage of all your lies behind: WITH TEETH.

With Teeth by Kristen Arnett
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Sammie dreams of a perfect life with her wife Monica and their son, Samson. But it seems like that life always slips through her grasp. She can never bond with Samson, who grows from a strange kid to an angry teen. She tries--driving him to swim lessons, cooking meals, and working on school projects--but it's never enough for Samson, or Monica.

"How strange that she always wanted to be home, Sammie thought--because when she finally got there, it felt like she was being smothered under a pillow."

I'm sure WITH TEETH is a wonderful piece of literature that makes deep statements about its topics--motherhood, marriage, and more--but for me, this was a really weird book. It did not seem to be doing us lesbians any favors, either, with its portrayal of two rather bad mothers and their messed up marriage. The ending was totally confusing, leaving me frustrated. There are some great gems in the book--it really does offer great insight into motherhood and marriage, but overall, I didn't enjoy it. 2.5 stars.



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But your want-me-back eyes, get-me-back smile: HAPPY PLACE.

Happy Place by Emily Henry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Harriet is headed back to her favorite place in the world, a Maine cottage belonging to her college friend Sabrina. She's spent over a decade returning to this beloved place with her college pals. But now she's back at the cottage with her fiance, Wyn. Sounds great, right? The only problem... Wyn and Harriet broke up six months ago--and haven't told their best friends yet.

I have loved many Emily Henry books and while I liked pieces of this one, it was not my favorite. Sacrilege, I know! I did not care for present-day Wyn or Harriet much at all. Honestly I did not like most of the characters. It seemed like Henry dropped in our token lesbians, Cleo and Kimmie, who were the only sane ones. How did these people last so long as friends? All they did was drink, fight, and not communicate with one another. Basically all the issues in the book could have been avoided if they just talked! And Harriet--all she did was whine, whine, whine. I wanted to shake some sense into her.

Our story is told in present-day sections and then flips to the past, as Harriet and Wyn meet and fall in love. I enjoyed those pieces and always felt annoyed when we came back to the bickering present. Sure, there were sexy moments and the lingering wanting between Harriet and Wyn was beautifully tense at times, but mostly they were frustrating.

I wanted Kimmie and Cleo to leave the rest of these folks in the dust and head back to their lovely farm. Still, there were sections of the book I liked, so 2.5 stars, rounded to 3 here.


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But I think its very dangerous if we do not take what's ours: THE VICIOUS CIRCLE.

The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Sveta is quite surprised when her uncle Paul passes away and leaves his Mexican villa Xanadu to her instead of his wife, Kali. It's been a while since Sveta and Paul were in touch, and Paul was a wealthy self-help guru known for his famous videos and teachings. Sveta accompanies Paul's lawyer to Xanadu, where she finds Kali and a group of Paul's faithful followers. At first, she finds the group inspirational, but soon she starts to see a dark side to their teachings. Trapped in the jungle with no escape, Sveta starts to question why she inherited Xanadu--and what lengths those around her will go to stop her.

Ugh, this book just didn't work for me. It featured an overdone cult plot that brought nothing new: a tale of a current cult mixed with the tale of an old cult. Sveta inherits this exotic place from her uncle and is fascinated by it at first, but soon realizes it's a scary cult led by his creepy wife. By now she's trapped in the jungle with no way out--shocking. No real surprises occur, and I kept waiting for something, anything to happen other than for Sveta to sneak around and get spooked by the folks at Xanadu. The lush setting is exotic, sure, but that's about all this book has going for it. There's a weird side plot involving Sveta and whether she's sticking with her boyfriend that adds nothing. Honestly, everything in CIRCLE just seemed over the top and weird. Still, many others enjoyed it, so hopefully you'll like it more than me! 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from William Morrow/Scene of the Crime and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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Strung out on a feeling, my hands are tied: BURN DOWN, RISE UP.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

As more teens disappear from the Bronx, sixteen-year-old Raquel tries not to let it get to her. But when the most recent disappearance hits close to home (the cousin of her friend Charlize), she starts to wonder what is really going on. Things get even worse when a mysterious illness befalls her mom, putting her in the hospital in a contained ward. Raquel and Charlize work together to find out what's going on and soon discover that everything may be linked to a horrifying urban legend called the Echo Game, where people disappear under the subway. Quickly, Raquel isn't sure if they'll be able to save anyone--including themselves.

I seem to be an outlier but this one just didn't work for me. There were potential glimmers of real brilliance, but simplistic writing and lots of plot holes marred it all. Now I'm sure some of it is that I do not read a lot of fantasy and horror, but this book was just strange. I actually liked the idea of the plot (weird game luring people into a strange underworld, basically), but the writing was just basic and the story had so many plot holes, even if it was a horror tale. You can tell a good fantasy story without leaving gaps in the plot or failing to wrap up loose ends. The Echo/train challenge could have been really great--especially because the way it was linked to the history of Bronx was well-done--but overall, it was mostly just confusing and fizzled out at the end.

I really liked Raquel's friendship with Aaron, another schoolmate, but there's no real backstory to her sapphic friendship with Charlize, which was such a bummer. So much wasted potential there. The book's strength is its exploration of the history of the Bronx and its examination of the racism the area has faced and continues to face. Unfortunately, the overall story was fairly uneven and just didn't work for me. Others enjoyed it and hopefully you will too. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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You're not easy to love: ISLAND TIME.

Island Time: A Novel by Georgia Clark
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Kelly and Lee families couldn't be more different. But their daughters are married, so they are vacationing together on a remote tropical island off the coast of Queensland for a few days. Then a volcano eruption completely derails everyone's plans, stranding the families on the island for six weeks with two employees. While there, everyone is forced to do some intense reckoning about their lives, loves, and futures.

Oh I wanted to like this book--I always try to champion LGBTQIA books--but I just couldn't get into this one. It felt so LONG. Like, so long you guys. I kept thinking I'd read most of it, and then I'd see I wasn't even 25% done. It felt like so much of this book could have been shortened or benefited from a deep edit.

There are a lot of people in ISLAND TIME and truly, none of them seem that nice or interesting. The Kelly family consists of Julia and Gene (parents) and their daughters Amelia and Matty. The daughters come across as spoiled brats. We rehash their problems over and over. As for the Lees, we have parents Randall and Ludmilla and their daughter Parker (married to Matty). There are also two island employees, including Liss (also queer). I wanted to feel an affinity for more people with so many queer characters (I didn't mind Liss too much), but everyone came across as self-centered or annoying. There's a large natural disaster, people elsewhere have died, the natural life and vegetation of this island is in peril, but wow, these folks seem to care less. Also, somehow there is power and enough food for six weeks (copious, fancy food), which just didn't make things seem realistic at all.

Everyone has issues in ISLAND--so many issues. Personal issues. Work issues. Romantic issues. So many issues. They rehash these issues over and over. And then again. Often you might want characters to fix their issues because you care for them, but in this book, I often felt like I didn't care if they resolved them or not, because they just irritated me.

ISLAND does discuss the indigenous people of Australia in depth. I feel like I learned a lot there, as well as about some of the animals and plant life of the country. That, I appreciated.

Overall, this book just didn't work for me. I'm glad there were queer characters, but their relationships felt stilted or full of insta-love, and mostly, everything was just long and drawn out. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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