ladygetslit's reviews
821 reviews

Us Against the Likes by Marie Voinson

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adventurous emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

“It’s not the likes that matter, or the followers. You’re the one that matters. And some things just aren’t worth losing yourself over.” 

Us Against the Likes follows Abby, a 19-year-old travel influencer who’s working hard to build her Instagram account—and to prove that she can make a career out of her passion.

Right from the beginning, I could feel the stakes for Abby as she struggles to keep up with content creation, engaging with her followers, managing her anxiety, and navigating a suddenly rocky relationship with her closest confidant, her sister, Lizzie. Abby wants to convince her mom that she can make a living as an influencer, that she didn’t make a mistake by quitting college… but in the process, she twists herself into knots trying to be what other people want her to be. 

I will admit, I wasn’t sure that a book about an influencer was “for” me. I don’t spend a lot of time online in that way, partially because I’m too distractible to put in the kind of work that Abby does! But as I watched her fight to make it in this space, I found myself rooting for her, but also wanting to grab her and shake some sense into her! I think for YA readers, this book has a powerful message: in a world where we’re all chronically online, it can be so easy to lose yourself…but it’s also never too late to find yourself again. 

Truly, this book has a little something for just about every contemporary YA reader: heartfelt (and occasionally difficult) family relationships, adventure vibes (seriously, I wish I could afford to travel!!!), a dash of friends-to-lovers romance, and authentic mental health rep that made me feel so seen. I’m so glad this book is in the world, and I hope you consider reading it! 
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The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beautifully descriptive, best served with an indulgent meal and a cocktail, this book was a slutty bi-for-bi masterpiece. 

I do fully understand criticisms of The Pairing. Both Theo and Kit are at times extremely bougie, by no fault of their own. I mean, only rich people go on European food & wine tours, let’s be honest. But there’s so much heart and hope in these two characters. Theo is such a bi disaster of confusion and yearning to find their place in the world, which is so relatable. Yes, the entire book is about them being too stubborn to admit they’re still in love with each other. But honestly, isn’t the tension half the pleasure anyway?

Is this book for everyone? No. Am I glad this book exists and that I read it? Yes. Yes, I am. 
Funny Story by Emily Henry

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

5.0

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
Nothing wrong with this book, I just wasn’t the target audience. Additionally, I feel Brown’s works get repetitive at a point, and everything powerful to be found is in Daring Greatly. 
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous emotional tense 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? Yes

4.5

There's a lot I could say about this book that wouldn't make sense if you haven't read the rest of the Grishaverse, so I'm going to keep this review short and simple. 

The King of Scars duology is about confronting our darkness, our demons. Every major character has to come to terms with the worst parts of themselves, but at some point that darkness is actually what saves them and others they care about.
Nikolai is terrified of everyone discovering that (a) he's a bastard aka not a "true" king and (b) he's got this whole demon thing inside him. What he discovers is that he has to make himself vulnerable, allow everyone to see his dark side, in order to save everyone he cares about and protect his country.
This is such a powerful metaphor for something I've been thinking about a lot lately: sometimes the scariest, most broken parts of us are exactly what people need to see to come to terms with their own messy parts. 

I docked this book half a star because I'm honestly a little dissatisfied with the ending.
Bardugo spent three books really building up the villainous nature of the Darkling, and I honestly didn't want him to come back at all, but I definitely didn't want him to get a redemption arc.
Overall, this duology was such a satisfying end to the world that started with Shadow and Bone. I truly hope Bardugo eventually revisits this world in the future! 
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King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark emotional slow-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? Yes

4.25

It took me too long to get into the story, but once I did, I was hooked! King of Scars starts off with two storylines that pick up where Crooked Kingdom left off: Nina Zenik and a crew of disguised Grisha are trying to gather intel and rescue Grisha in Fjierda; meanwhile, King Nikolai Lantzov and the inimitable Zoya Nazyalenski navigate the tribulations of running a war-torn country while coping with Nikolai’s teensy little demon problem. 

The strength of this book lies in the world itself and the complexity of the characters. In the Shadow and Bone books, Zoya is… kind of a b****, but here we see that it’s her coping mechanism for all the nasty stuff she’s been through. Nina’s dealing with her grief
from losing Matthias
and trying to find her purpose now that her powers have changed forever. In a way, every character is confronting their demons in this book, but the heaviness is broken up by the hilarious banter between Nikolai and Zoya that has me dying for more. 

Where the book falls short for me is in the pacing. Even though I was invested in the characters, the pacing in the beginning felt too slow, and I wasn’t able to feel intrigued until about 1/3 of the way into the book. Perhaps this is just the nature of a story that relies a lot on political intrigue, which requires a lot of exposition. That being said, the payoff was well worth waiting to get really into this. I read the last 2/3 of the book in 3 days because I could hardly put it down! Overall, this is one of the best books in the Grishaverse and I would read anything Leigh Bardugo writes at this point. 
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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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challenging emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Yellowface was a fascinating look into the inner workings of the publishing industry through the eyes of a white woman who feels like she’s being overlooked in the age of diversity. 

As a white woman who at one point hoped to make it as a published author, this book gave me so much anxiety. I fully understand what Kuang was trying to do with the book, but it was difficult to read, even though it felt like the story flew by. 

In the end, I was left feeling… kind of lost. I feel like the premise—racist white lady tries to take credit for her deceased Asian friend’s writing—forced the book into a box when it could’ve been more complex. 

Overall: worth the read, but it could have gone further in its critique of the publishing industry and racism within the book world in particular. 
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A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous dark tense 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? Yes

4.5

Book 2 of the series got off to a somewhat slow start. I was trying to figure out what Lila was actually up to, and when the royal brothers were gonna get their angsty selves together. But once the plot started rolling, I was absolutely hooked. 

What I loved:
  • Rhy and Kell’s brotherly shenanigans 
  • Alucard is mysterious and slightly sexy (still waiting for the full backstory but I know it’s gonna kill me)
  • Lila is such a boss babe: watching her discover her magic and take the world by a storm was everything I never knew I wanted 
  • Setting up for the third book - I am so glad I already downloaded it 

What didn’t work for me:
  • The pacing in the beginning - I didn’t know why Lila was on a ship and how things were going to tie back together… and I just wanted to get to the tournament already 
  • The pseudo-slow burn between Lila and Kell is a hard pass. I don’t feel the chemistry, and I think they would’ve been better as friends. It felt like she threw in the romance because she was trying to draw That Audience, but the story would be perfectly fine without romance whatsoever. 
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Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

You had me at magical typewriters 😍

The only reason I’m docking this 1/4 star is because I just have so many questions I want answered. Who are these gods really, and why are they actually mad at each other? How do these typewriters actually work? And
where tf is Roman at the end of the book???
I guess I will have to wait for my library hold on Ruthless Vows to come through so I can find out!
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House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

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

4.75

  • Rhun & Lydia: 5 stars
  • Bryce coming into her power: 4 stars
  • Ithan’s wolfy personal growth journey: 3.5 stars
  • Tharion making all the bad decisions: 3 stars
  • Hunt being a whiny baby: 2 stars 
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