As someone from England, the quickest way to get me to DNF is to write british slang where it absolutely doesn't belong or make sense. A "Lad" is not the same as a "Fuckboy"

So the resson I wanted to read this is obviously because with the movie coming out this book has been talked about a lot on booktok especiallty regarding the differences between the movie and the book, so I thought I'd give it a read because how everyone described it sounded interesting. Friends, I could not of been more wrong. This book was so incredibly dull and how anyone sees this for a beautiful romance is beyond me. The only reason I ended up giving this book a 2 star rating instead of a 1 is because I do think the discussions of class, culture and race within this book were extremely important at the time it was written, and a lot of it still holds up now. As for everything else though, let's just say I finished this book out of spite and nothing else. I honestly hate how romantasized this story has been portrayed, and I don't know if it's because I don't like men in general, or if it's because Heathcliffe was absolutely abhorrent, but I cannot see the appeal. Do I think this book deserves it's flowers due to it being written by a woman in a time where it was not acceptable for her to do so, and writing about topics that would not be typically expected from her. Absolutely. Will I be absorbing any more media in regards to this book other than the book itself, absolutely not.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because y'all know I love graphic novels, and this one showed up in the queer liberation library's graphic novel section and the cover caught my attention. Friends, I cried through every single page of this book. This graphic novel is a beautiful story of loss, the worryment of forgetting the people you've loved and lost, and how grief can be absolutely devestating but also beautiful, especially through the memories of others. I lost my own Oma in June of last year, and honestly, so much of this book reminded me of how it felt to lose her. To wish that I'd gone to see her more, to wish that I'd of gotten more time with her, just something I feel that everyone who is close with the people they've lost feels. So as you can imagine, by the end of this book I was a blubbering mess. The artwork was stunning, and somber, and just all in all the perfect fit for the story. The message this graphic novel was trying to portray shone through loud and bright. I definitely would recommend this graphic novel to absolutely everyone and anyone, but please also have a packet of tissues sat next to you whilst you read.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because it has been all over booktok and the moment I found out it was sapphic I knew I had to get my hands on it. Friends, I don't know how I could ever possibly describe this book. This was a rollercoaster of a story that was beautiful, heartbreaking and absolutely terrifying. I was really caught with my feelings reading this book because obviously I could see everything that was horrifying happening within the story, but also how beautiful and flowery the "romance" in the very same book is described. There were so many moments in this book that truly caught me off guard. Everything about this book was made to keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. The language used, the shortness of the chapters, the way we saw the outside world compared to Margot's actual home. I adore when horror isn't just about jump scares, and making you feel terrified. I adore when horror truly makes you think and feel, and "The Lamb" certainly does do that. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a flowery, beautiful, horrifying queer story to read. I can't wait to see what Lucy writes next.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because it was featured in the Queer Liberation Library's graphic novel section, and as y'all know I love a good queer graphic novel. Friends, this graphic novel was so stinking cute. I loved every minute of reading it and ended up finishing it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. The artwork in this was gorgeous, and colourful and so fun to read and look at. I loved how diverse the cast of characters within the friendship group was and seeing them truly find themselves within one another. I love how much this graphic novel focused on the power of friendship and how true friends will always come together when it really matters. I love how much it also focused on how hard it can be to find yourself as a teenager, and that it's absolutely okay to not know. This was honestly just such a cute and easy read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who just wants a quick, fun read.

So the reason I wanted to read this is obviously because y'all know I love queer literature and this is by far one of booktok's favourite sapphic books. I'm not going to lie friends, I was a little 50/50 with this one. I've not read a lot of science fiction due to usually not being interested in it, and also because it honestly confuses me at times. I think that's how I felt about most of this book, confused. I didn't really understand what was going on with the war, how the time travel worked or anything like that. That did not, however, stop me from caring about our main characters and their letters between each other. This book is short, and the chapters are very short, and honestly the letters were the main thing that kept me reading. I did not care about anything else that was going on in the book other than the letters, and what was happening between the main characters. Was this story, beautiful and heartbreaking? Absolutely. Did that mean I understood what was happening through most of it outside of the romance. Absolutely not. Now all of that is absolutely a me problem, and not an issue with the writing. However, would I recommend this to anyone who doesn't necessarily like sci - fi? Probably not. But that didn't make me love the ending as a whole any less.

I received this book as an ARC on Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because as you all know, "The No - Girlfriend Rule", my favourite book, the book that initially was my gateway into reading queer stories, is by the same author. So the moment I saw that they were writing a new book I knew I had to get my hands on it. Friends, I really enjoyed every single minute of reading this book. The one thing that Christen does well is make sure that almost everyone has someone they can relate to in their books. The diversity in their stories is honestly something all authors should aspire to. I feel like every time I'm reading a story by them I'm included and spending time within the friendship groups that has been formed. I love that they seem to use their own experiences and emotions to write from, and it makes it so much easier to empathise with each and every one of their characters. I love that their characters prove you can be loveable and flawed at the same time, and it doesn't have to be one way or another. If Christen keeps writing this way they're forever going to be on my auto - buy list. I definitely would recommend this to anyone and everyone who just wants a cute, cozy, queer romance.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because I recently finished The Ruinous Love Trilogy by the same author and wanted to read her new series. Friends, Brynne has only gone and done it again. This book was hilarious, heartbreaking, and just left me wanting more. I loved every single minute of reading this book. The wittiness and banter I expect from Brynne's books was there, this book was definitely a lot spicier than the previous series, but honestly, even though I'm not the biggest fan of spice it wasn't that off - putting. I feel like it all melded well within the story and even added to it at times in a way that possibly couldn't have been achieved without it. My favourite thing always about Brynne's characters is the sarcasm that runs through them, and friends, this book was no different. The enemies to lovers trope was strong in this one, and definitely added to the humour throughout the book. She also managed to throw my favourite trope of found family in this book and I don't know whether what our main character had been through or what she is currently going through hurt more. The cliffhanger this book left us on was something I truly was not expecting, and I am so excited for Harvest Season to come out. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. Please, as always, check the trigger warnings before you read!

So the reason I wanted to read this is because as everyone knows this is one of the first published sapphic horrors, so you know my gay ass had to sit down and read it. Friends, two things I did not expect, one: that this book was written by a man. Two: I wasn't expecting the level of queerness for the timeframe it was written in. I never want to hear another person say "queer people did not exist back in my day" ever again. This book was so flowery and even though I can imagine that this book was a lot scarier back when it was written I was low key rooting for Carmilla and Laura. Now, do I feel like the author meant to have written it in a way that was meant to make me feel as such? Absolutely not. I can very much acknowledge that me being a lesbian seeing this as a heartbreaking love story vs the possibility that it was a man writing a lesbian woman as a monster as some form of metaphor can very much contradict itself. However, I'd much rather the former to be the truth. I definitely would recommend giving this one a read, but obviously keep in mind you could interpret this book in a very different way. Which I guess is what I love about reading in general.

Cant believe a fantasy book from 2023 got me with a HP jumpscare

So the reason I wanted to read this is because this has been recommended to me so much on booktok due to loving graphic novels, so I thought I'd give it a go. Friends, I was a little 50/50 on this one, but more towards liking it than not. I really enjoyed the message of "you are not alone" that this graphic novel was trying to portray and all of the recources that were given in regards to mental health. I 100% feel like if I'd of read this book at a younger age I definitely would have loved it a lot more. The art was cute, and the message was really pushed towards the reader. The only thing that made me dislike this a little was that I thought that this was a bit slow. I don't know if that's because all of the books I've been reading lately have been so fast paced and exciting or if it's just genuinely the way the graphic novel was meant to be written. Probably the latter as this graphic novel is towards young adults mental health. I will absolutely still be picking up the next books in the series because I really want to see where "The Sad Ghost Club" goes, and it wasn't a bad first volume, I just feel like I wanted more, and hopefully I will get that when it comes to the next books in the series. I would absolutely recommend this still to anyone who wants a good graphic novel about mental health, and knowing you're not alone in whatever you're going through.

Unfortunately I ended up DNFing this because I felt so uncomfortable with some of the way the characters were used

Friends, I'm not going to lie, unless it's for an ARC or interwoven standalones I typically don't write reviews for book sequels, but I feel like I'd be doing this series, and you guys a disservice if I didn't. It's not very often I prefer the second book to the first one, but this one truly was a ride and a half. I loved every single minute of reading this book and struggled to put it down for the 3 days I was reading it. Everything I loved within the first book, the strong female leads, the relationships that unfolded, the sarcasm and witty banter, all got 1000 times better in this second book. I love myself a good enemies to lovers and this one truly ticked all the right boxes for me. I laughed so much throughout this book, I cried so much throughout this book. I just felt every single emotion these characters were feeling with them. I loved that we kept the same points of view as the first book because it meant we got the full picture of everything that was happening within the story. Please, if you get the chance to, pick up this duology. Give an indie author a chance. You absolutely will not regret it. I'd recommend this to everyone and anyone who loves a good romantasy series.