• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    I KISSED SHARA WHEELER by Casey McQuiston | ALC Review

    Cover of I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston: an illustration of a young blond woman holding a pink envelop covered in lipstick prints on matcha green background.

    I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston, read by Natalie Naudus

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.


    AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

    Chloe and Shara are both so terrible, and I love them dearly.

    When Shara Wheeler disappeared after prom, her nemesis (kind of, they are fighting for valedictorian) Chloe Green (lesbian), boyfriend Smith Parker, and neighbor Rory Heron embark on a journey of tracking her down. What do they have in common? They all kissed Shara. In the small-town Christian high school run by Shara’s father, Chloe has to figure out this puzzle Shara left behind without being caught, and maybe she will find out more about Willowgrove, too.

  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    BLAINE FOR THE WIN by Robbie Couch | ARC Review

    Illustrated cover of Blaine for the Win (Robbie Couch).

    BLAINE FOR THE WIN by Robbie Couch

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.


    I couldn’t put down Blaine for the Win and finished it in two sittings. The vibe of it reminds me of TJ Klune’s The Extraordinaries (my review) but without superpowers.

    Blaine Bowers (~16, achillean) cannot believe he got dumped by Joey Oliver (gay). On their one-year anniversary. At the fanciest restaurant ever. Joey said he didn’t want to date the mural painter who isn’t the kind of Serious Guy he needs to become President of the United States one day. Blaine will win him back by showing that he can ditch his mural painting gigs and be serious… by signing up to run for senior class president? Enlisting the help of his best friends Trish MacIntosh (sapphic, Black) and Camilla (sapphic) as well as the not-friend-only-acquaintance Danny Nguyen (bi, Vietnamese American) for an insider perspective from the student council, Blaine is ready to prove himself to be worthy of Joey. As the race kicks off, is winning Joey back still going to be Blaine’s goal?

  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin | ARC Review

    Cover of What Unbreakable Looks Like (Kate McLaughlin)

    What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin


    Lex was trafficked, and in that life, she was Poppy. When Lex’s aunt Krys came to take her home after the police’s rescue, she had the chance to live as Lex again. But soon, her new boyfriend and his friends sexually assaulted her. Would Lex decide to own her past and fight back as an activist?