Short AF Book Review | Listen Closely | ARC Received By Netgalley

Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Listen Closely" by Leon Egan. 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 to please keep that in mind!)

"A heartwarming, cozy YA romance, perfect for fans of You've Got Mail, from the highly - acclaimed author of Lover Birds.

Jude's smile is magnificent. Their sharp edges melted away into a rare and beautiful joy. The flash illuminates them as their photo is taken, and for just a second, they glow. It feels like lightning has struck.

When Jude and Aiden are paired up together for an internship at a local radio station, things are awkward. Jude is quiet, withdrawn, has one friend, and is suspicious of everyone. Aiden is charming, outgoing, and popular, with a seemingly easy confidence and golden retriever energy.

But after they discover a shared love of podcast dreams, Jude and Aiden realise that they have more in common than they first realised - especially after Aiden reveals that he is a huge fan of Jude's own podcast, The Night Merchant.

With a wonderful and original meet - cute premise, an adorable couple with a grumpy x sunshine dynamic and gorgeous chemistry, and themes of forced proximity, found family, and mistaken identity, Listen Closely is an irresistible, heartwarming, swoon - worthy romance and a beautiful coming - of - age story - perfect for fans of You've Got Mail, Heartstopper, and Rainbow Rowell."

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

So the reason I wanted to read this is because I. LOVE. QUEER. BOOKS. I think at this point we already know. What really did surprise me however is I did not realise that I'd already DNF'd "Lover Birds", Leon's other book. Why did this surprise me you ask? Well, one it's before they changed their name, but two I absolutely adored this book. Friends, I'm so glad I got another chance to read Leon's works. This book was SO good. It hit every single trope that I wanted from a queer book. For example, the found family in this book genuinely made my heart so happy. Was there bad communication at times? Yes. Was there times where I genuinely did not know what was going to happen between everyone? Absolutely. However it was executed so perfectly and genuinely felt like such a real and authentic friend group. I loved that this book was dual POV. Getting to see both Jude's and Aiden's side of the stories was incredible, and seeing what emotions they brought out in each other made it feel so much more real. This book had me cackling with the witty banter (I see you with the black mould joke), but also broke my heart at times whilst talking about real life queer issues, and just Aiden's and Jude's thoughts and feelings in general. If you're going to read this I definitely recommend grabbing a pack of tissues for both the happy and sad tears. I loved the grumpy x sunshine theme. I loved listening to Jude & Aiden talk about their separate experiences as trans people. And I especially loved that we have yet another beautiful story around queer love. I will 100% be grabbing myself a copy of this one when I ger paid.

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

This book is already out!

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 | Florrie | ARC Received By Netgalley

Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Florrie" by Anna Trench. 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 to please keep that in mind!)

"The story of female footballer Florrie and the amazing hidden history of the women's game come to life in this debut graphic novel about football, friendship and falling in love.

'A really great graphic novel... beautifully drawn and very well written' ALISON BECHDEL

'If you put Alison Bechdel's Fun Home in football kit, you might come up with something like Florrie' ZING TSJENG

When Florrie's great - niece discovers she was a footballer in the early twentieth century, she unearths a secret history both on and off the pitch.

Boxes from the attic contain photos, objects and letters, revealing football games and love affairs in Norfolk, London and Paris. Florrie's adventures touch on both invented and real huge crowd matches in London and Preston, international fixtures, dances at lesbian club Le Monocle in Paris and the devastating consequences of the FA's 1921 ban on women's football.

This is a story of self - discovery, friendship and queer love, alongside huge (and little known) historical moments for the women's game. In Florrie, Anna Trench brings readers a beautifully drawn, evocative and warm - hearted love - song to an unforgettable woman and sport.

'Bright with the feeling of liberation, and the risks and joys of following your heart' SEAN HEWITT

'Charming and incredibly moving' RACHEL RAMSAY"

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

So the reason I wanted to read this is as you all know I love queer graphic novels and genuinely thought this sounded like such an interesting read. Friends, I'm so glad I was granted to read this book. This book INSTANTLY had me in tears. The story was so beautifully written and illustrated and I genuinely read this in less than an hours sitting. This had everything I wanted from a queer graphic novel, such as strong female relationships and powerful women. To see the history of women's football in England was so interesting to read about as I had no idea before this. I genuinely loved the correlation between what was happening to Florrie in real life in regards to her queerness and relationships as well as what was happening to her with her passion of football. This book was honestly very bittersweet and I would 100% recommend reading this with a pack of tissues. I will definitely be getting a copy of this when it's out, and would absolutely recommend this to anyone and everyone who just wants a good, bittersweet queer graphic novel.

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

This book is already out!

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 | Amelia, If Only | ARC Received By Netgalley

 Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Amelia, If Only" by Becky Albertalli. 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 to please keep that in mind!) 

"Amelia Applebaum isn't in love with Walter Holland. He just happens to be her favourite moderately famous, chaotically bisexual Youtuber. Who she just happened to invite to prom (But it's fine. No, for real. If you delete the post, it didn't happen)

Okay, maybe her friends are right: She's slightly parasocially infatuated. But Amelia just knows sparks would fly - if only she could connect with Walter for real.

If only he would host a meet and greet.

If only it were just a short road trip away.

And if only Amelia could talk her best friends into making it the perfect last hurrah before graduation - even her newly single, always - cynical, guitar - toting best friend Natalie.

One thing's for sure: All roads lead to butterflies.

But what if Amelia's butterflies aren't for Walter at all?"

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

So the reason I wanted to read this is genuinely because I loved "Simon Vs. The Homosapien's Agenda" by Becky Albertalli so the moment I saw this on Netgalley I knew I wanted to read it. Friends, I'm ecstatic that I got to read this. This book had EVERYTHING I wanted from a queer YA romance. Firstly, the female friendship within this book (heck the friendship group in general) was beautiful. I loved how they were all supportive of each other, and mostly good at communication. I loved the witty banter between them all and this book genuinely had me cackling in the middle of the night because of how funny some of it's moments were. The romance in this book was so obvious but such a nice slow burn which had me giggling and kicking my feet throughout most of it. The pages when it came to the reddit/twitter threads as well as interviews were so fun and I loved how they added to the story so it felt like we could become part of the "fanbase", and as someone who's been in multiple fandoms in her lifetime, was very realistic. This definitely gave me 2010 queer discourse vibes at times but in the best way. All in all, I loved this book so much, It was such a nice fresh breath of air to read a cute little gay YA and I would definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone. Also, I did not know this was a second in a series, but by the looks of it they're interconnected standalones so I will definitely be picking up the first in this series as soon as possible.

I gave this book a 5/5 star rating!

This book is already out!

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!