• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    ON THE ROCKS by Georgia Beers | ARC Review

    7th December 2021
    Cover of On the Rocks (Georgia Beers)

    ON THE ROCKS (A Swizzle Stick Romance #2) by Georgia Beers

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    3.5 stars rounding up.

    This is the second book I’ve read this month featuring an elementary school teacher main (the other one is Marry Me by Melissa Brayden; my review here), and gosh, why aren’t there more books with frazzled teachers and trouble-making kids?

    Vanessa Martini (33) knows what she wants in a woman: not her students’ mom, not under 35 years old. But when she met Grace Chapman (29, bisexual), mother of the headache named Oliver, they connected better than expected. Too good, actually. Could the worst timing of Grace going through divorce while Oliver is in Vanessa’s class turn out to be the best time for them to date?

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers | ARC Review

    13th July 2021

    A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1) by Becky Chambers

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    This is so cute and it makes me so happy! Sibling Dex (29, agender, they/them) and Splendid Speckled Mosscap (agender, it/its) are the only travel duo I need, aka the burnt-out cleric and the impossibly inquisitive robot.

    This novella reads like a prequel as we are introduced to the world Panga, a moon of planet Motan, as well as the human religion Sacred Six (Parent Gods: Bosh, God of the Cycle, Grylon, God of the Inanimate, Trikilli, God of the Threads; Child Gods: Samafar, Chal, Allalae). Chambers’ writing is very descriptive, and the world comes to life as Sibling Dex starts out as a garden monk, switches vocation to a tea monk, and decides to take a break altogether and embark on a journey to Hart’s Brow Mountain outside of human settlement.

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  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Plain Bad Heroines by emily m. danforth

    5th March 2021
    Cover of Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

    Plain Bad Heroines by emily m. danforth, read by Xe Sands

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

    Content warnings: death (including drowning), gore, insect (yellow jacket), hallucination, internet trolls, alcohol (recreational, abuse), fat-shaming, murder, manipulation, PTSD (maybe)

    I listened to the audiobook of Danforth’s Plain Bad Heroines narrated by Xe Sands. The narration itself was, without a doubt, 5 stars. I don’t think I would enjoy the book as much if not for Sands’ performance since her voice, always with a slight tremor and purposefully distorted in hallucinations as well as under curses, made this horror story feel creepier than it would have been on paper.

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  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

    26th February 2021
    Cover of Record of a Spaceborn Few (Becky Chambers)

    Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    ‘I am seventy-nine years old. If I want dessert twice . . . I get dessert twice.’

    Tamsin

    Content warnings: catastrophic spaceship accident resulting in ~44k deaths, bodies, death of prominent character, equivalent of underage smoking of weed?, PTSD?

    When I read a few reviews stating that there is virtually no plot in this installment, I was excited that it must be very character-driven. Sadly, there were a bit too many characters, similar to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (my review here) but with looser bonds. Since it took me a month to read the book, that could also be a reason why I failed to connect with any of the characters and felt that the plot dragged a little. That being said, I love the pureness of them all and also the philosophical questions Record of a Spaceborn Few decides to tackle.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Clinch by Nicole Disney | ARC Review

    11th January 2021
    Cover of The Clinch (Nicole Disney)

    The Clinch by Nicole Disney

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warnings: graphic sex, blood, d slur, homophobia/homomisia, child abuse, minor character drug addiction, mention of prostitution, recreational drinking, uses of ableist language, hospitalization

    Written in present tense, The Clinch is an incredibly vivid rivals-to-lovers sports romance, charged with immediacy.

    Eden Bauer (27, gay) holds an undefeated record and is the reigning UFC featherweight championship. When newbie pro Brooklyn Shaw (22, biracial, Black) challenges Eden for a title match, Eden reluctantly agrees. Their rivalry is strong, but when post-match Brooklyn comes knocking on the door of Eden’s gym, will they be able to put aside their differences and work together?

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