readingwithtemperance's reviews
114 reviews

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

The way that Talia writes love stories never fails to warm my heart. This book is unfairly cute indeed. It's so sweet that I'm surprised I don't have cavities. I just love friends to lovers so much. And the added competition/rivalry was a nice touch. And it made for some excellent banter between our MCs. I felt that Talia handled Brad's OCD beautifully. I appreciate that he wasn't made the butt of a joke or demonized in any way as is common in our media. I also loved the overall message surrounding Celine's father. And honestly I needed that message myself. The character growth was incredible. I loved this book so so much and I really hope to see more YA from her moving forward.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious 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

Ancestors give tasks as a right of passage in order to gain magic. Voya is tasked to destroy her first love. And if she fails everyone in her family present and future will no longer have magic. This is especially stressful as her family uses their magic to make a living. So. Much. Pressure. And she doesn't even know who her first love is!

We aren't too far into our future in this book. So while lots of things have changed a lot has stayed the same. Our MC for instance still experiences micro aggressions wherever she goes. And there is prejudice and classism within the witch community as well.

People look down on you for not having body customizations/ the money to afford them. People are unwilling to help those who they deem "unpure" /spread misinformation about them. And some families even shun those without magic or who fail their calling/task.

These were all very important things to include. While we are living in the future/making many advancements as a society there are still things to work on/unlearn/do better on.

Another important thing included was remembering the uncomfortable and painful history. Our MC/her family is able to talk to their ancestors/see their history first hand. This is a privilege, but the pain is still there. I can't imagine seeing that amount of generational trauma with your own eyes.

I loved the blend of magic and futuristic tech in this book. It was so cool to see all of the different gifts everyone in the family had and how it went with their personalities. I also thought that the matching program based on genetics was so interesting! This was a perfect urban fantasy. I'm really looking forward to the sequel!

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

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emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced