Short AF Book Review | Grief Eater

 

Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Grief Eater" by Emma Osborne. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"Visceral, gritty, and unforgiving. GRIEF EATER is a zombie story like you've never read before.

When Kristina rises from her violent death, she's not the same fragile woman wher family once abandoned. She's rageful, powerful, and hungry - for the blood of the ones who were supposed to love her. With a newfound craving to see vengeance and grief served, she launches into a once - in - an - undead - lifetime journey across blood - slicked highways to the scorched Australian bush and her hometown. As her body fails and her mind fractures, she's left with one final question: Is she here to forgive, or to feed?

A transgressive, gory examination of queer identity and found family, GRIEF EATER sinks its teeth into trauma and what it means to be devoured by grief."

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

So the reason I wanted to read "Grief Eater" is honestly because I saw this on Netgalley and the cover and description caught my eye. Friends, this was such an incredible read. I was shocked at how much story, and emotion, and world building this book managed to fit in just 89 pages. This book was frightening, heartbreaking, and was so, so bittersweet. I have never felt more emotionally attached to a zombie in my life than I have towards Kristina. I have also never felt such an emotional turmoil of whether or not I should be rooting for what the main character is doing, and I honestly think that is the whole point of the book. I could not put this book down, and actually ended up reading it in one sitting. If you want a devistatingly heartbreaking book that is centered around queer identity, grief, trauma and found family, I would 100% recommend picking up this book.

I gave this book a 4/5 star rating on Goodreads.

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | The Sunbearer Trials

Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "The Sunbearer Trials" by Aiden Thomar. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where teen semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this electric new Mexican - inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, The New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys.

'Only the most powerful and honorable semidoses get chosen. I'm just a Jade. I'm not a real hero.'

As each new decade begins, the Sun's power must be replenished so that Sol can keep travelling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidoses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all - they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years.

Teo, a 17 - year - old Jade semidios and the trans son of Quetzzal, goddess of birds, has never worried about the Trials... or rather, he's only worried for others. His best friend Niya - daughter of Tierra, the god of earth - is one of the strongest heroes of their generation and is much too likely to be chosen this year. He also can't help but worry (reluctantly, and under protest) for Aurello, a powerful Gold semidios and Teo's friend - turned - rival who is a shoo - in for the Trials. Teo wouldn't mind taking Aurelio down a notch or two, but a one - in - ten chance of death is a bit too close for Teo's taste.

But then, for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses a semidios who isn't a Gold. In fact, he chooses two: Xio, the 13 - year - old child of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck, and... Teo. Now they must compete in five mysterious trials, against opponents who are both more powerful and better trained, for fame, glory, and their own survival."

So the reason I wanted to read this is because this has been recommended to me by so many people through queer booktok, and as y'all know I love queer storytelling. Friends, this story was mostly so much fun. I honestly loved every minute of it. First of all, I loved getting to meet all the Semidioses and learning about their powers and their friendships/relationships with each other. It made it so easy to fall in love with all the characters, even the ones that weren't that likeable, and feel every bit of emotion that they were going through. The author had such a way of describing what everything look/felt/sounds/smelled like, that I actually was able to picture the scenes so clearly in my head. There were so many references, and lighthearted jokes in this book that had me truly cackling. However, with that being said, THIS BOOK BROKE MY HEART. I was not expecting how hurt and confused I was going to be by the end of the book, and honestly, it made me SO excited for the second one. That excited in fact, that I instantly bought the second book, and will be reading it ASAP. If you want a fun, heartwrenching, beautiful queer YA fantasy to read, I would 1000% recommend this one.

I gave this book a 5/5 star rating on Goodreads.

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | Deep End

 Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Deep End" by Ali Hazelwood. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"A competative diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A junior at Stanford and a student - athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships - at least, that's what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all - around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It's how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well - guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the presure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes  that her heart might be treading into dangerous water..."

So the reason I wanted to read this is because Ali Hazelwood is truly one of booktoks favourites and I thought I'd jump right in the deep end with this book. Pun intended. Friends, I understand why her books are so loved. First off, this book had every bit of wit and banter I could possibly want. I highlighted so many bits on my kindle just for the pure cackles that this book got out of me. Secondly, I cried just as much as I laughed. We truly got to get so emotionally invested with these characters and there were so many beautiful bittersweet moments throughout the story I couldn't help but shed a few tears. I also knew Ali was smart but I didn't realise just how smart until I had to start googling specific terms and phrases just to figure out what was going on. I will say, this is quite a smutty book and can definitely deal with some topics that are triggering, so please, if you're going to read this, read the trigger warnings. I genuinely would recommend this to anyone and everyone who wants a good romance, and I can't wait to pick up more of Ali Hazelwood's works.

I gave this book a 5/5 star rating on Goodreads.

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | The Priory Of The Orange Tree

Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "The Priory Of The Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House Of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction - but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady - in - waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tane has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep."

So the reason I wanted to read this is because as y'all know I love a good queer fantasy, and this, by far is one of almost every person I've spoke to's favourites. I am not going to lie to you friends, I soft DNFd this book 3 times before I actually finished it. I even ended up having to listen to the audiobook whilst reading it on my Kindle to get my brain to take in what was happening. This book is so hard to get into, with jumping around between each and every character, sometimes even in between chapters. To all the (sometimes not needed) world building and knowledge it tries to give to you all in the beginning. If this book was not so loved, I would of 100% fully DNFd it. Now, am I glad that I didn't? Yes. Do I feel like I needed to read all of those 350 pages before getting to "the good stuff"? No. The important part however, is I fell in love with the 2 characters that possibly mattered the most. I cannot tell you, how much the second half of this book made me laugh, made me cry. I was gripped with everything that was happening and truly was rooting for Ead. The end of the journey was beautiful, suspenseful, and devistatingly bittersweet and I absolutely ended up loving this book. Could I recommend this book to everyone? Unfortunately not, not everyone would have the patience to carry on. However if you do love a good fantasy, and find yourself the time and the patience to do so. Please read this.

I gave this book a 4/5 star rating on Goodreads.

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | Wuthering Heights

Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"Considered lurid and shocking by mid - 19th - century standards, Wuthering Heights was initially thought to be such a publishing risk that it's author, Emily Bronte, was asked to pay some of the publication costs.

Wuthering Heights is a wild, passionate story of the intense and almost demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is bullied and humilated by Catherine's brother Hindley and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years later as a wealthy and polished man. He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his former miseries. The action of the story is chaotic and unremittingly violent, but the accomplished handling of a complex structure, the evocate descriptions of th lonely moorland setting and the poetic grandeur of vision combine to make this unique novel a masterpiece of English literature."

So the reason 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.

I gave this book a 2/5 star rating on Goodreads!

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | On Starlit Shores

  Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "On Starlit Shores" by Bex Glendining. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"In this YA urban fantasy graphic novel, Alex must return to the town where she was born to unravel the magical mysteries her late grandmother left behind.

Alex Wilson hasn't been back to Indigo Harbor, the seaside village where she grew up, in years. In fact, she can barely remember anything about it. But when her grandmother dies unexpectedly, Alex will have to return to her childhood home to say goodbye.

Accompanied by her best friend, Grim, Alex travels back to her hometown and begins cleaning out her grandmother's house, but the longer they stay, the stranger things get. Indigo harbour isn't your average town - there are falling stars, witches running tea shops, and a name that comes up again and again: Elizabeth. Who was this woman, and how did she know Alex's grandmother?

As she explores the town and sorts through her grandmother's belongings, Alex reconnects with her past and tries with increasing desperation to uncover the greatest secret of all, the identity of the mysterious Elizabeth. Tackling grief, acceptance, and how to honor a loved one's life, Bex Glendining has crafted a beautiful and moving graphic novel perfect for the readers who loved The Dark Matter of Mona Star, Girl From the Sea, and the Magic Fish"

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.

I gave this book a 5/5 star rating on Goodreads!

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | The Lamb

Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "The Lamb" by Lucy Rose. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"A folk tale. A horror story. A love story. An enchantment.

Margot and Mama have lived in the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot isn't at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white - toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make a bid for freedom.

With this tender coming - of - age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts - and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it."

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.

I gave this book a 4/5 star rating on Goodreads.

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!