nixwithapen's reviews
130 reviews

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

5.0

How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

This was so cute and well-written, I picked it up expecting a kind of generic YA romance but it got surprisingly deep. If you're the type to get easily annoyed at flawed characters, though, this probably isn't for you (minor spoilers:

the main character is snappy with her mom at first, easily gets distracted at work thinking about her love life, and of course communication is not her strong suit

). The main character's flaws make sense though with her backstory and as someone who's gone through similar struggles, I related to her a lot (also nearly cried at some points and had to message my partner like "OMG I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH"). Also I love that her and her love interest are both nerds about different science subjects.
Overall, really well-written and will probably live rent-free in my head for a while to be honest, haha. Highly recommend reading it if you have the chance!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual assault

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

5.0

The Fallen by Ada Hoffmann

5.0

The Infinite by Ada Hoffmann

5.0

Crier's War by Nina Varela

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Miscarriage, Racism, Abortion, Murder, and Outing

The Outside by Ada Hoffmann

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

The Smoke And Flowers by R.A Bea

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gore, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide and Vomit