this was a very fluffy YA contemp with great Deaf rep and gives a lot of insight into the Deaf experience.

I honestly would’ve read and enjoyed it if it didn’t even have the romance aspect bc it dug in a lot more into the experiences and nuances than even a lot of the other rep I’ve already read.

the romance itself was cute but mostly ok! a very fanfic-y plot that’s quite unrealistic, it will prob be enjoyed by young fans.

however, this does lead to my main complaint that i do think should be addressed: the name of the mmc really should be changed. a bleach blonde « ethereal » korean-kiwi named Felix 😅 for a book that touches on the topic of bad parasocial fan/stan behavior, it feels hypocritical to make what feels like blatant fanfic of a band member. whether intentional or not, it’s pretty known to be a big no-no to take fanfic tradpub w the exact person and i think as is crosses the line. a simple name change would suffice so i’m not sure why it’s stayed as is.

another small complaint i have is the resolution between natalie and her mom. it was so brief and underwhelming and really i thought her mom was still way in the wrong. it would’ve been nice to get a more satisfying make up between them.

overall, a very light read and bonus for the queer mc’s!

wow, went into this pretty blind and it was unexpectedly sweet, funny, heartwarming, and, more often than i anticipated, tear jerking 🥹

an interesting blend of paranormal and scifi, shizuka satomi has a year left to deliver a last soul promised to a demon who briefly brought back the violin prodigy’s playing abilities.

enter katrina nguyen, a mixed runaway trans girl who’s raw talent snags shizuka’s ears. shizuka takes her in and begins to mentor her, but will she really be able to condemn katrina’s soul?

at the same time, another runaway catches shizuka’s heart; an intergalactic refugee and current donut shop owner, lan tran (her real form is purple).

at first i wasn’t sure how i was going to feel about this. the three POVs, paranormal and scifi? but i found the characters complimented each other so well and it really was an excellent found family. i really felt for all three mc’s as they grappled with their own struggles: katrina as a trans girl thrust into spotlight, shizuka facing the demons of her past and present (pun intended), lan assuming responsibility not only for her family but for entire planets, far away from her home and everything she once knew.

even some of the side characters had such poignant moments of mirrored connection, like lan’s holographic daughter shirley finding solace with katrina.

one of my favorite aspects of the book was the reverence for music and the crafting of instruments. i absolutely love when art characters go off in their ramblings and passionate ravings, the name dropping of iconic artists and analysis of their artistry, the in the know of the top tier of these industries.

the violin shop scenes when lucy matía is working through the construction and repairs of violins offered so much insight into how these instruments work far beyond string tuning in ways i had never considered, even as a music lover.

a bonus was all the delicious food descriptions not just made by shizuka’s housekeeper astrid, but all the different hole in the walls and family-run restaurants all over san gabriel valley.

my only complaint w this book is i didn't quite understand the point of markus’s plotline. i feel like it could’ve been removed and the minor conflict it catalyzed could have been created another way. maybe i’ll understand its point from other reviews though.

overall, a beautiful read 🎻

“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”

I was STRESSED I was RIVETED I was LOCKED IN. 

Laia experiences the meaning of applying for a job you’re under qualified for. No but fr I really appreciated that she didn’t magically get things right or have perfect luck in her mission. It was raw and gritty in her journey undercover as someone enslaved to possibly the most heartless headmaster ever. 

Elias has a heart of gold, someone get this guy back to his real family bc he deserves it. 

Luckily I love love triangles so I was eating it up on both sides. Helene was a fascinating character to experience. Cook has me coming up w CONSPIRACIES. Izzi, you’re our girl. 

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Rebecca Yarros ripped this off, but she absolutely had this on her FW pinterest board while writing. Except this was more brutal. 

That one battle scene? Omg. Potentially the most brutal experience in a YA fantasy? 

I’m RUNNING to the next book

But there are two kinds of guilt, girl: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.

very cool alchemy concept in an alternate Los Angeles, very lackluster romance.

the first 30% following sam and ari’s shared childhood should’ve been much shorter. i also just personally didn’t really buy into them being crazy in love esp as 15 yos.

we jump ahead to them meeting as adults in rival alchemy syndicates, but they immediately recognize each other and realize they’re “enemies”. zero build up or tension to their reunion to reignite the supposed loves of their lives. even their covert meetup is dry and gave nothing.

the magic system is interesting but this story ends up being magic mafia that makes, sells, and does magic drugs. no exploration in the diff syndicates and their dynamics except that the 2 in LA want to overtake the other. i would like to see more of the magic world explored and expanded on in the next book beyond sand.

so unfortunately i was pretty disappointed on being sold on as Romeo & Juliet but i want to see where it goes.