As a girly who also has both anxiety and relationship OCD, this book hit me so hard. I was reading Phoebe's dialogue, but it honestly felt like I was looking in a mirror at my own thoughts at a lot of points. This book entered my life at a time that I needed it most, and I'm so grateful that Brooke Averick wrote this novel.

Phoebe's characteristics make you fall in love with her in the first 30 pages. She's so witty, kind, and compassionate towards the people around her, basically to everyone but herself. I love seeing her grow and find love for herself throughout this book, and reading those last few pages made me sob because of how I've had such similar thoughts and feelings about these types of things. Her friends are also amazing, and I also really loved her relationship with all of them, but especially with Jonathan. We see throughout the novel that they really are all going through their own things, and in the end it was great to see them all together conquering their problems and/or fears together.

I don't know when the last time I felt this many emotions while reading a book, until this one. I laughed, I cried, and I just felt so seen. This book is actually going to get a 6 star from me because it was just that good. Brooke just gets it, and I'm so happy that Phoebe is out in the world for the folks like me who resonate so much with her and what her story is about.

Overall, would recommend everyone read this not only for the love story of it all, but to understand what it's like for someone who does experience anxiety and relationship OCD together.

Every time I finish a Hunger Games book, I am kicking myself in the foot at how I didn't read these sooner!! Mockingjay is no exception. This book was so amazing and I am so glad that I am finally getting around to reading these because of how much this book still holds up today, and how we can look at what Katniss goes through, and relate it to what is going on in the world at the moment.

Also, this book tore me apart in ways that I didn't expect because I've only seen the main 4 movies previous to reading this for the first time. I love how much more in depth of an experience we get with Katniss being our narrator, and not really looking at this from and outside perspective. I've said this for all of the books, but for this one it truly makes you more wary of the resistance leaders like Coin, and gives you more of a perspective of where Katniss's head was at throughout the whole thing.

Overall, this book made me feel so many feelings even though I knew what the main things that were gonna happen because of the movie lol. I feel like it added a whole new layer to what I already know as the Hunger Games, and I am now so STOKED to read the prequels for the first time not knowing anything going into them other than who they are about!! 🤭

Thank you so much to Bindery Books, NetGalley, and Barbara Truelove for the ARC!!

I need you all to stop what you are doing on September 8th, 2026, and read this book. This is my second Barbara Truelove book, and I cannot get enough of them! She writes stories with so much camp, horror, and lovable characters, which you wouldn't think could fit all into one book but do 🙂‍↕️

This story is about Lucy who when after experiencing a traumatic death, gets a second chance at "life" by haunting a doll and teaming up with people along the way to get her revenge. I absolutely loved how this story played out, and Truelove's comedy, along with the tragedy, throughout this whole book is what made me love it! She just knows how to write a good story and make it fun, queer, and meaningful.

The characters in this book were such a delight, and I love how we see them grow throughout the novel. It was interesting to see how Lucy handled being a ghost haunting a doll and trying to communicate with people who were still alive. I loved the work arounds and the creativity that came along with that.

Overall, I think if you loved her previous book, you will definitely love this one. This one does involve a little bit more description of the horror so I would read some content warnings beforehand, but it is so worth it in the end. Highly suggest this book!! 😊