jediprincess's reviews
376 reviews

too much info for me rn, will slowly come back to it!

I devoured this book, cannot wait to read the next one!

have to return to the library but tbh it didn’t really grab me anyway so I might just leave it for awhile

this is just not catching my attention… maybe I’ll try some other time 

Wren Martin Ruins It All is an adorable love story that pulled the heartstrings. Wren Martin is asexual and has given up on dating anytime soon. He becomes the president of student council due to a (high school level) scandal and vows to end the big Valentine’s Day dance (it’s not fair to students who can’t afford ticket price/formal clothes, a “social minefield” for poor, gay, & trans kids, and the money that goes towards it could help the whole school instead of being used for a single night). This falls through when a suggestion by the perfect Leo Reyes has an app that promotes platonic friendship, Buddy, sponsoring the big dance. Wren reluctantly agrees and on the sky downloads the app to do some “research.” I think we all know where this is going!

The story is fairly predictable, I think there was only one major thing that caught me off guard (in a good way!) but it was such a cute read that that fact didn’t ruin the book for me! It was refreshing to have a main character who knew he was asexual and had a positive relationship with that part of himself and not agonize over his sexuality. It is ultimately a story about queer joy! It felt like a queer-norm world in the way that high school feels so insular to the rest of the world sometimes.

The characters were all wonderful — I loved how grumpy Wren was and how Ryan was always bribing him to do things/go places. The character growth from Wren was spectacular, I felt like he really matured. Their friendships and interactions definitely felt real and as if I were back in high school, it is written really well! 

Overall I truly enjoyed this novel and hope others love it! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the ARC in exchange for a honest review!

I was disappointed by this. I was expecting a lot more from it, esp with all the hype surrounding it. It took me over two months to read because the first 80% of the book was so slow. I kinda think it would have been better as a novella. The magic system was fun, the romance barely made sense, and the best characters were not the two main POV characters. Tbh would have DNF’d if not for it being a book club read.

Mirabelle,  — a half-Egyptian, half-French Canadian, dress shopkeeper in Montreal, obsessed with her skin-care routine — returns to her mother’s home in California for her funeral. There she is drawn into a mysterious, elite spa where her mother seems to have been a member in her final months.  

This took me a long time to read. I think that I wasn’t sure where the story was going and couldn’t see the vision on how it was to become a horror, but once I did, wow! The descent into Mirabelle’s involvement with the spa crept up on me and each chapter had me more and more invested. The horror elements of Rouge are spectacular, I was so uncomfortable as I continued reading. 

Rouge is ultimately a story of grief surrounding the mother-daughter relationship. Mirabelle’s past and present intertwine to showcase the impossible beauty standards pressed upon young girls, how white supremacy shows itself in the beauty industry (and from your own family), desire, envy, and obsession (it wouldn’t be a Mona Awad novel without those three!) to create a surreal horror that was captivating to read! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!