georgia_sara93's reviews
407 reviews

I'll Be Waiting For You by Mariko Turk

dark emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Last year, Natalie’s best friend Imogen dies from an undiagnosed heart condition. The two best friends were always different, Imogen was always humble and intelligent, Natalie brave and happy to jumper into danger, but they shared a strong love of horror. So when the opportunity arises for Natalie to complete her project at Harlow House, the most haunted place in Boulder where the best friends spent their holidays together every year, Natalie jumps at the chance. Too bad Natalie’s arch rival Leander from school is also completing his project at the Harlow Hotel. But will these enemies turn to lovers?

What a beautifully done YA story about grief!! My favourite topic in all the world! Horrible and complicated to feel, but the beauty of the connection it represents is unreal. Looking at psychics these two teens unpacked what their perceived reality about it, but for this reader, something I do believe in, even if I don’t really speak about it. I loved the mix of looking at grief and adding in a gentle romance in a way that can only be done so well in a YA for me. If you’re looking for something beautiful and a bit different, this is the perfect book for that. 😍😍

The Vintners Muse by Jennifer Westgarth

emotional funny relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

When Shannon’s freshly dumped and then made redundant at work by the same man she uses it as an excuse to go stay with her best friend Ally who’d recently moved to the Clare Valley in South Australia from their home town in Perth, Western Australia. Too bad Ally’s boyfriend Mark is the brother of Shannon’s fling from the previous year - Ethan. But close proximity can change feelings pretty quickly, especially when you’re living on a stunning winery…

What a cute lil romance for this SA gal! It’s always fun reading novels from fellow locals! The romance and the spice was served perfectly in this book for me! And I loved the perspective on a character with dementia and focusing on the moments eliciting joy rather than staying stuck in the memories. 🥰 ya gal loves some positive reframing! 

Cross the Line by Simone Soltani

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Dev and Willow grew up together. Dev’s now a F1 driver and thanks to a spiteful ex-employee is in a bit of a celebrity scandal. Willow loves sports but thanks to chronic pain can’t engage in it how she wanted growing up. So when the right job opportunity strikes to work in F1 she takes it. But it’s not just cars that are racing, it’ll be hearts too!

So I never expected I would get into a book about F1 driving but holy smokes did this one do it for me! And the diversity was beautifully added in and omg I want Dev to sing Bollywood song to me 😍😍😍 this was about to be a 4.5⭐️ but a homophonic quip at the end dropped it for me. I’m delighted knowing this is part of a series so I can get more of this 😍😍😍

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Yara’s been cursed by the Evil Eye. She’s married to a man who provides for his family, she has two beautiful daughters, she’s freer than most American Palestinian women she knows being able to have gone to college and later work. But she still feels restricted in life. 

This was a beautiful and moving story about trauma and the effects of intergenerational trauma. The writing it beautiful, the reflections on discovering yourself when you’ve always felt trapped are beautifully done. This book flooded my feed when it first came out, but little since, and I’d love to see it popping up more again as it deserves the praise it’s received. 

Always Isn't Forever by J.C. Cervantes

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Ruby and Hart have loved each other since they were children. But in a bid to make more money for their sailboat, Hart dies in a tragic accident. But due to divine intervention Hart gets a second chance in the body of bad boy Jameson. Now Hart has little time to find his way back to Ruby. 

Younger me as a teen would honestly have frothed this book about soul mates who met as children! And I think many people will LOVE this book. But unfortunately for me I think I was the wrong age for this youthful soulmates story and found it too young for my preferred taste. If you love YA and soulmates you’ll love this!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC! 

The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Calla’s and her mother left Alaska 24 years ago. Calla hasn’t spoken to her Alaskan bush pilot father in 12 years. And now he’s sick and she has a chance to reconnect. Her mother warned her about falling in love with Alaskan bush pilots, or as she prefers to refer to them as “sky cowboys”. But sometimes people surprise you, and for Calla that person is the yeti Jonah.

So finding this book was thanks to a book bingo I chose to do, and the prompt was “set in the arctic”. Which let me tell you, finding a book that felt like my jam, that was set in the arctic with what was meant to be help from Google was hard. And when I started this book I wasn’t too sure if I’d even enjoy it, especially the first time “sky cowboys was referenced” 🤣 but man, the way Tucker writes about the scenes of Alaska in this book… I think I need to book my own trip asap! 

I Don't by Clementine Ford

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Clementine Ford is a feminist and in her latest book, she looks at the history and current sociopolitical worlds of marriage with a lens focused on middle class white people. Throughout the book Ford provides numerous references for statistics and historical facts whilst also providing a manifesto like voice to her writing. For those who enjoyed, in particular Fight Like A Girl, you will find a somewhat similar voice here. Ford doesn’t hold back, looking at history, the financial implications and choices that are made, statistics on divorce, pregnancy and divorce, the all too commonly overlooked domestic violence and a chapter on the engagement ring industry alone. Although for me personally, it did not sway me into wanting to marry my current partner (no need for congratulations yet, we’re still to formally get engaged rather than verbally affirm marriage is a entity we’d like to engage in), it was interesting to learn more about the history of the wedding industry and reflect on different aspects of how or why I may want to choose to make this choice. And ultimately, Ford is not telling people they cannot make the decision for marriage for themselves, but I felt, rather reflect on why each aspect is important given in white middle class society we are encouraged to blindly follow the narrative of marriage and what is “normal” regarding it. For Ford that meant realising she does not want to marry and that’s amazing and after reading this book I can see why she has chosen that for herself. I highly recommend this book for all people, those wanting to, or not wanting to marry, learn more about one of the most expensive industries for white middle class populations and reflect more within your own choices on the matter.

My Dream for You by Jasmin McGaughey, Ash Barty

emotional hopeful fast-paced

5.0

 The art work is stunning and the writing by Barty is beautiful. She wrote this for her first child and it beautifully captures all the lovely things a parent has opportunity to share with their child through life. If you’re in need of a picture book for any reason - I highly recommend this beautiful book! 💕

Human Acts by Han Kang

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

In 1980 there was a 10 day massacre following a student being shot at a university based protest in Gwangju, South Korea. This book follows experiences fictionalised of some of those who loved him. 

This book is dark, it is heavy, and all based in a dark reality I still know little about. But ultimately, as the title suggests, it was based on human acts. This was a 12 recommended by 12 friends. And it’s one I think that’s going to sit with me for a long time. I studied history at school, at university and still major historical events like this I only learn about by chance after a novel is written. This only happened 44 years ago. Welcome to being educated in the Western world I guess. Want history outside of a white lens? Work harder to find it I guess. Thanks for the recommendation @readbysez 

This is one I don’t know if I can numerically rate. 

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

4 generations of family, all starting from Palestine. On the night before of Alia’s wedding, her mother reads her future in a coffee cup. Holding some details to herself, all the events pass soon in the Six Day War of 1967. Forced to move about, the story shows different lives of the family and the impact from the invasion of Palestine all those generations back. 

This book is beautifully written. The impacts of colonisation from just the 20th century and the ongoing impacts that have been continuing including to right now and the current genocide occurring in Palestine. The impacts of trauma and intergenerational trauma are hard to move past. As the blurb of my book asks it ultimately boils down to - where do you go when you can’t go home?

Big thanks to Mostly Books for making this a Blind Date With A Book for me to nab! 😍