Review: The Music of What Happens

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trigger warnings for this book: rape, PTSD, abusive parents, mental health issues.

This one's a bit of a tough book for me to rate. I've spent a day after finishing up reading the ARC to let my thoughts collect well enough, and I think I'm going to give it a 3.5 and round up to a 4. I can see why it gets a lot of comparisons to Ari and Dante - the Southwestern setting, a certain retro vibe to it (though it's set in the present day but makes a lot of use of 80s music and an ancient food truck), one tough gay boy and one soft gay boy making an unlikely romance...

Review: The Edge of Everything

The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one's kind of a 3.5, which I'll round down to a 3 mostly because I remember more of the annoying parts of this book better. Namely, Dallas and his job at the House of Huns, which feels more than a little bit culturally appropriative. And the fact that most of the characters tend to be surprisingly forgettable, and the narrative has a way of going around in some kind of anachronic order that makes it strangely hard to follow. But hey, even Dallas has his moments of self-redemption because of his eventual involvement in helping to save Zoe and X's respective bacons - and Zoe and X form a very strong power couple, strong enough to really carry the book and make me interested enough in picking up the sequel as soon as I can.

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Review: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The sequel to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue already has a surprise or two up its sleeve from the word go. I went into it lowkey thinking that we'd start off with Monty and Percy still in Greece after the end of Book 1, even if Felicity was on her way back to Britain - and then, surprise, the boys are rooming together in London and Felicity escapes from a hapless would-be suitor in Edinburgh to come see them. (Naturally, she claims Monty's afflicted with syphilis, which let's be honest, wouldn't be a whit out of place.)

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Normally, I'm not into this kind of contemporary YA - it's almost always a hit or miss for me, usually a miss unless there's some aspect about it that really connects with me in some way. I'm sorry to say that I didn't connect with this one super well, but I can see why it's as popular as it is. It's not a complete 100% fluff-fest with no exceptions, but it's overall very light and airy and easy to devour. I guess it's just not for me? Although, to be honest, I think maybe my one issue was that if I were Lara Jean, I'd give up on trying to find love in this high school and look for the Right One elsewhere. But that's just me, and it's a bit rich of me to say that since I've never had the guts to pursue love like I should have...but I digress. Not my cup of tea, but if it's yours, more power to you!

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Review: Circle of Shadows

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another ARC found at work, and another story greatly enjoyed.

The latest from Evelyn Skye gets a lot of comparisons to the works of Leigh Bardugo and Renée Ahdieh, but I'm also going to offer up some comparison to Julie Kagawa's recent feudal Japanese-inspired dark fantasy, Shadow of the Fox. Especially since both books highlight main characters with some kind of affinity for a certain canid beast. And since both involve some seriously nasty magic that certain nobles shouldn't have hold of, and yet that's how the story really kicks off the drama, no?

Review: Seven Tears at High Tide

Seven Tears at High Tide by C.B. Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wish this book wasn't so hard to find. But eventually my library did get it, even in ebook form, so I've finally gotten to spend a night devouring it all. And while I'm reading it on a cold winter's night, as cold as it gets in the Bay Area, it's a perfectly sweet summertime tale of adorable fairytale love between two queer boys who very much deserve it. In a world where What If It's Us gets all the attention, this is the m/m YA love story I think we all really deserve. Kevin is everything I wish I could've ever had in my life - well, aside from enduring super-crushing heartbreak (not to mention the boy who causes said heartbreak has a certain lowkey racist streak in addition to his other faults), but an incredible support network to help make his life as a bi boy so much easier? I want that. And Morgan, being tasked with fulfilling a human's wish for love and genuinely falling head over heels for the boy in the process? I wish I could've lived that life too. C.B. Lee needs more recognition, stat. And I'm happy to ensure that this is my first good review of 2019 - 20-BI-teen, as the meme goes, so you know I'm hella here for that!

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Review: The Plotters

The Plotters by Un-su Kim
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Starting off my 2019 reviews on a low note, I'm sorry to say. I mean, at least I finished this ARC, but I've now returned it to the pile in the office at work in the hopes that someone else will pick it up and enjoy it more. I guess I was a little disappointed in how cerebral this book really was when the very premise came with a more John Wick-like promise. But I suppose not for nothing is Un-su Kim an international prize-winner, and I will tell you that he's got a gift for keeping me hooked. But there's so little plot, ironic for a book with this title, that I'm really just keeping on going for the pretty - and often pretty vulgar, of course - prose. Too bad, I was hoping for better to start 2019 with. But maybe my next review will be better. I'd certainly hope so since the next ARC in my pile is back in my usual YA wheelhouse.

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