miyaosamu's reviews
312 reviews

Chainsaw Man, Vol. 2: Chainsaw vs Bat by Tatsuki Fujimoto

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
aki my emo beloved already, denji is such a whore in an endearing hilarious way, and power's chaotic rambles
well, cant wait for this trio to cause me pain :')
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

undoubtedly pure ya romcom excellency i tell you! just can’t believe i’m never gonna have an ‘enemy’ irritating neighbor like wes who’s actually been in love with liz since their childhood days. with the amount of film romcom references and range of music tastes, this was such a feel good book when one needs their wholesome romance fix. wesliz had me grinning like an idiot from beginning to end, and the per usual format angst conflict worked so well with how it led to THAT last chapter before the epilogue. 
Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

this was simply such a delightful read with everything i expected going into this young adult novel of a girl going about her first teenage experiences and socializations out of her comfort zone in a shakespearean theater camp! bea being a homeschooled sixteen year old who got into oxford, it's pretty reasonable why her parents did this wanting her to get out and experience the real world. she was a bit unbearable to me at times with her overanalyzing, though not as much as shelby was, but bea was definitely understandable due to her upbringing how she expected life to cater to her and thought she could prepare for every possible situation, right off the bat, i adored bea and nik's dynamic instantly. nikhil shah being the resident golden boy with genuine admirable acting talent, whose parents founded the camp, and bea basically being the resident genius made for such an electric banter/argument chemistry that was right up my alley. they truly had me reading with the biggest grin on my face. with bea, with a checklist from her parents and her new friends adding to the list making it more daring, this overall story concept is something i think would be such a good romcom movie. though i do wish we got more from the ending and an epilogue, but that's just a personal preference. long story short is a book i would highly recommend to anyone in need of a quick, teen cliché, leisurely summer read!! 
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

tracy deonn emotionally drained me the life out of me with this one...

finishing bloodmarked had me rooted to my spot at a loss for words in processing everything that happened. deonn continues amaze me, demonstrating her craft in consistently building this elaborate world and thorough in what goes on in every order and system of the various kind of people that live among normal humans. i was so overwhelmed but in the best way possible honestly, mesmerized in deonn’s fascinating details that were not in the previous and had me thinking about what more possibly could we not know yet. right away, readers are instantly captivated being hooked into bree matthews’ story resuming. had me on the edge of my seat not wanting to put it down with its thrill though at the same time dragging it out as i did not want it to end so soon, it’s been a year since i’ve read and reread legendborn and in that time my attachments grew immensely in my heart. came to that conclusion with the insane amount of physical reactions i had while reading bloodmarked. like truly lost my mind at particular moments, my stomach was in knots, and just a mess of nerves going about this story and where things would go.

bree matthews, my forever girl, she’s put through even more in this sequel, especially with the heavier obligations she carries and the higher dangers she find herself and her friends facing. deonn not only writes this world so vividly but also writes her characters so impressively realistic in a ya genre fantasy. bree’s deep feelings, coming to terms with controlling her newfound powers and dealing with the decisions and stakes she’s in evoked much pain in my heart, empathizing and seeing herself process in uncertain situations. genuinely was so proud of her with how much she’s grown in a short amount of time and many moments standing her ground like i kneel down to her! this book just cemented breeselnick being my latest emotional support trio even more, they are just everything to me. history and bloodlines are still a huge focus, and the way deonn brings in more history into this modern story truly in awe. however, the protections characters have for bree and the same care she reciprocates for them, being her loved ones all around her, that kind of love with the lengths they go for each other feels like the constant core of this series. especially when remembering the first book’s focus being her grief and loss, it just hurts on another level. objectively, this is a 4.5 star read rounded up but to me personally, there were few flaws with how sentimental and enthralling the reading experience was.

fans of this series are seriously not ready for what bloodmarked throws at you with the wringer that my mind and sanity was put through. tracy deonn the therapy bills for my wellbeing are on the way, especially the brainrot with book three theories on my mind. i need the third book immediately even though i am just downright terrified for how it will all conclude… 
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

“If you have the opportunity to make a moment meaningful, why not take it?”

this story of eva and shane being two broken deeply flawed yet endearing humans with intense history left me breathless at every turn and consumed me until its very last page. tia williams has such a way with words, the precise and incredible nuance she wrote into everything this book conveys. it handles the heavy topics of both characters' past and the circumstances of their upbringings. like you truly feel the deep pain they've been through, absolutely put my heart through the wringer reading. i can't exactly form my thoughts coherently at the moment, this story affecting me tremendously but it's definitely character driven, diving deep into their past together and their present thoughts. among its core characters and romance focus, seven days in june also provides commentary on blacks in the publishing industry with the industry's expectations to write their trauma to cater to the white perspective along how eva got tied down to her famed series yet clearly her creative motivations lays amongst satisfying her curiosity out about her family history.

i also absolutely adored how williams' was easily able to weave in different character perspectives into this profound story. with wonderful characters of eva's daughter, audre and eva's two friends giving insight on eva in how deeply they know her while also providing well needed laughs. This came through the dialogues of loveable dynamics, not just eva and her loved ones, but shane and the teens he loves to mentors albeit his savior complex which is understandable knowing his own experiences. but one can see the undeniable chemistry between eva and shane in their dialogue and how well they work together despite their personal barriers and hesitancy, it just radiates right off the pages. the realities on coming about to be in a relationship again was so vividly raw, especially in how much of their true selves that they can bring out in the other; but also considerable pain...with their personal struggles and wanting to live up to an ideal to work things out. following along eva and shane's distinct character journey, mental battles, and eva's constant physical pain was an Experience in rooting for these two characters who both thought it was healthier for both of them apart yet could not deny the pull they felt for the universe was bent on them being the ones for each other. it comes all down to knowing love can't be all perfect as a hopeless romantic's dreams but overcoming the hardest times together.

seven days in june is genuinely an emotional whirlwind at every page turn. has readers laughing, smiling at heartfelt moments and then hurting all the same. but one thing is that it is sure as hell worth the rollercoaster in the end.

“And maybe that was what real, adult love was. Being fearless enough to hold each other close no matter how catastrophic the world became. Loving each other with enough ferocity to quell the fears of the past. Just fucking being there.”

“I’m not just writing about you,” said Shane. “I’m writing to you.”

“Women are expected to absorb traumas both subtle and loud and move on. Shoulder the weight of the world. But when the world fucks with us, the worst thing we can do is bury it. Embracing it makes us strong enough to fuck the world right back.”  
When in Rome by Sarah Adams

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you to Random House Publishing Ballantine, Dell for providing an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

this was simply such a fun, enjoyable quick read that i consumed within hours. there's something so heartwarming about a small town, grumpy x sunshine romcom especially when the girl is just looking to get away from everything. being the pace it is, the romance was of course whirlwind, but there was some depth to our two mains, amelia and noah that i appreciated. with their flaws and the things they've been through explaining their reasons behind their actions and hesitancy in going into a relationship. though definitely am more of a slow burn, angst reader i knew what i was getting into with knowing another adams work. still, this story had me smiling at many moments and was endeared by amelia and noah's push and pull and by the characters in the small town that rooted for them all along. i would definitely recommend this as a charming, brisk read for the summer that's engaging making it easily bingeable! 
Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane

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emotional informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

first off, this rating is definitely personal reading experience biased, my fault for not knowing mcfarlane's books aren't romance focused. that being said, this book did have a lot of strengths nevertheless that did keep me turning the page with it's bigger focus on harriet as a character with her reasons for her recent breakup along with aversion to romance start to unravel through the story and make sense. it was really well done in this book's conversations on toxic relationships, emotional abuse, and how it affects your future relationships. but overall i was frankly bored even if wanting to find out about harriet's past and what she would do, still kept going until the end. though this book would definitely work for other audiences, me being a mood reader, just nothing really left an impression on me at the moment with this one other than one particular girl power moment that had me internally cheering. 
Her Name in the Sky by Kelly Quindlen

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Love ultimately wins, Hannah. Love ultimately saves.”

in a daze right now, not enough words to convey how much i loved this and how much i felt reading its every page. bakerhannah mean the world to me, the amount of times i sobbed and heart was physically aching while reading. my best girls i hope they're happy every day as they figure out everything together and their story just impacting me for the better with the last few chapters of the story mending my broken heart. with the heavy topics especially the religious trauma this deals with how much they felt like they had to repress their true selves and feelings. yes at times it's frustrating seeing what these characters do, but you really empathize with them because their actions stemming from the beliefs that had been instilled in their minds for their whole lives. it truly hurt particularly reading hannah's main perspective in how much pain she had to go through for months on end, every single emotion described cutting deep to my bone. i just can't convey anymore how much i will hold this book near and dear to my heart for years to come.

“But Baker," Hannah says, touching a hand to her tears, "you also saved me." Baker's face screws up again. She heaves with more sobs, placing a hand over her ribs. "You saved me, too," she cries.”