• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    HEAT WAVE by TJ Klune | ARC Review

    20th August 2023
    Cover of Heat Wave (TJ Klune)

    HEAT WAVE (The Extraordinaries #3) by TJ Klune

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    I started reading Heat Wave some time last summer and got stuck about a third into the book when I ran into elements of mind control. This is primarily a personal preference, but I have to admit that mind control is one of the things I’d rather not read about.

    The first two books of The Extraordinaries trilogy (The Extraordinaries & Flash Fire) were such a fun and wild ride as we follow Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz along their adventure. I love these precious babies! If you also love fierce, disaster queer teens, you’d especially love the epilogue of this series like I did.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    FLASH FIRE by TJ Klune | ARC Review

    13th August 2023
    Cover of Flash Fire (TJ Klune)

    FLASH FIRE (The Extraordinaries #2) by TJ Klune

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    This review contains MAJOR spoilers (in spoiler tags) for The Extraordinaries (book 1). There are no spoilers for this sequel.

    Cute Mutants meets One Last Stop (kind of) but achillean.

    First and foremost, I love how queer this book is! There are mentions of different gay cultures, discussions of safe sex, etc. It is written by a queer author for queer teens. Also, I love the friend group so much! The ever chaotic Nick (17, gay, ADHD), his hot boyfriend Seth (17, bisexual), Jazz (17), and Gibby (18, lesbian). I also love some new Extraordinaries, especially the drag queen Miss Conduct. She brings having super powers as an analogy for being queer to the next level.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    IF I WERE A WEAPON by Skye Kilaen | ARC Review

    11th January 2022
    Cover of If I Were a Weapon (Skye Kilaen)

    IF I WERE A WEAPON (All These Gifts #1) by Skye Kilaen

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    This was such a thrilling read! Ever since SJ Whitby got me hooked on their Cute Mutants series (my review of Vol 1), I’ve been obsessed with superpowered queer people. And Kilaen gave us an adult story of nanite alien–infected sapphics that is at times cute, somewhat dark, and mostly exhilarating.

    Deneve Wilder (she/her, bi/pan) can see the future. Sort of. When her nanites lead her to Austin (oooooh shiny), she didn’t expect to end up staying with Jolie Betancourt (she/her, bi/pan), another powered woman who wants nothing to do with her. But the nanites insist. Soon, both women find themselves in danger greater than either of them has every been in before.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Cute Mutants Vol 3: The Demon Queer Saga by SJ Whitby | ARC Review

    19th December 2020
    Cover of Cute Mutants Vol 3: The Demon Queer Saga (SJ Whitby)

    Cute Mutants Vol 3: The Demon Queer Saga (Cute Mutants Vol 3) by SJ Whitby

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    This review contains minor spoilers to Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride and Cute Mutants Vol 2: Young, Gifted & Queer.

    Content warnings: hate crime against LGBTQ+ people, homophobia/homomisia, trans/non-binary discrimination, misgendering, murder, death, gore, outing, religious extremism/cult, brainwash/mind control, gunshot wounds, bombing, fire, dismembering, mention of conversion therapy

    If you haven’t heard me scream about how much joy the previous two books have brought me, please check out my reviews for Vol 1 (here) and Vol 2 (here).

    This third installment of the series is way heavier than the first two. While the previous books were mostly happy and warm, Cute Mutants Vol 3: The Demon Queer Saga certainly took a darker turn and I am left worried, in shock, and wanting more upon finishing. I feel like a restless parent or older sibling concerned about these teens, and Cute Mutants Vol 4: The Sisterhood of Evil Mutants cannot come fast enough. As the powers of the Cute Mutants grow, their world becomes darker and more shady organizations are coming after them. Everything escalates quicker and turns more dangerous and deadly.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Cute Mutants Vol 2: Young, Gifted & Queer by SJ Whitby | ARC Review

    15th December 2020
    Cover of Cute Mutants Vol 2: Young, Gifted & Queer (SJ Whitby)

    Cute Mutants Vol 2: Young, Gifted & Queer (Cute Mutants Vol 2) by SJ Whitby

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    This review contains minor spoilers to Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride.

    Content warnings: kidnapping, self injury, dismembering, reference to HP series, acid attack, misgendering, homophobia, death, death of prominent character, murder, blood, gore, forced hospitalization, forced captivity, nonconsensual medical experiment, mind control, manipulation/threats, talking people into suicide, mention of deceased family member, off-page amputation

    Do you ever feel like there is something missing in your life, like, maybe an ancient, noble Japanese sword who is by your side at all times? Even if you didn’t, I’m sure you do now. In this sequel of Cute Mutants, you can live vicariously through the mutants and see Onimaru “Oni” Kunitsuna (鬼丸國綱) work his magic.

    At the end of Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride (my review here), Yaxley Corporation coerced the Cute Mutants into joining their training programs. Since we all know that powerful corporates and the government are often shady and cannot be trusted, nothing goes smoothly as the gang struggles to do what is truly right under Yaxley’s incessant tracking and fights fiercely to keep each other safe and alive.

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