yellowbinge's reviews
269 reviews

Wink: Young Adult Tales that Wink at Classic Children's Books by Henry Herz, Kendare Blake, Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, Maggie Stiefvater

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0

Publishing date: 25.06.2024

Thank you to Netgalley and Brigids Gate Press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: A bag of nuts, and I am picking out my favorites first

The book left me: Longing for "darker" retellings

Negatives:

Some stories don't feel close enough to their inspiration

The targeted age group can differ a lot between stories

Trigger warnings are located in the back, should have been in the beginning

Positives:

Very well written

A wide array of genres

Fresh takes on well-oved stories

Features:

A small illustration to kick off each story, 15 short stories written by 15 great authors, a trigger warning list

Why did I choose this one?

This year I have discovered that I am very much a retelling and short story girlie, so this was automatically added to my request list. I was drawn in by the illustration on the cover too (absolutely judged a book by its cover). Then I noticed some very recognizable authors and knew I had chosen the right collection.

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?

Right in the middle. There are some stories that are easy to read and pull you in, and others that maybe drag a little. Some of the stories I might have skimmed a little. Those that slapped, really slapped.

What was the vibe and mood?

Since the stories are widely different from each other there is no singular vibe. Some of the stories captures the vibe of their original counterparts nicely, others flip it up-side-down. It can range from uncanny to sweet to horrific.

Final ranking and star rating?

4 stars, A tier. This is a very well-one collection and I greatly enjoyed it. Although the quality of the stories varied, they came together to create a good collection. There is something here for almost everyone. I think there are a few standout stories that will be more liked than others. Will recommend and might buy a trophy copy when it is out.

Favorite stories:

The Fastest Horse in the World

Special

Doc's Lucky Day at the Dump

State of Mind

Content Warnings

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

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emotional funny 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

Content Warnings

Someone Else in the Dark by Kimi Freeman

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.5

Publishing date: 28.05.2024

Thank you to Netgalley and Parson Press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: I decided not to eat anything today as I felt uncomfortable in my own skin

The book left me: Reliving my teenage years

Negatives:

Couldn't relate as much as I wanted to

Positives:

You can see how the author grew and changed throughout the collection

Emits strong emotions

Features:

Illustrations with each poem

Why did I choose this one?

More poems for the poem hungry goblin.

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?

Devourable. Very short and concise book. Doesn't overstay its welcome, but leaves a little earlier than expected.

What was the vibe and mood?

A lot of anger, uncertainty, and fear permeates this book. You feel like you are not enough, like you are too much, and not the right one all the way through the book.

Final ranking and star rating?

3.5 stars, B tier. I would give this a higher score if I had read it a few years earlier. I am simply not the right age anymore to relate to this. I did recognize myself in a few of the lines and poems, so I will bump it up a bit there. The illustrations are also gorgeous and go well with the content.

Favorite poems:

Please

Friends

Chameleon

You

Clarity

Glory

Hollow Tongue by Eden Royce

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challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Publishing date: 20.06.2024

Thank you to Netgalley and RDS Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: A full plate of trauma with a side of misogyny

The book left me: Feeling a little nasty

Negatives:

Moreso a story of trauma than horror

The "horror" was revealed a little too late

Positives:

Strong spooky vibes

So descriptive I could almost smell it

Features:

A character with a disability, lots and lots of family trauma, bugs and smells are pivotal to the story, jumping between now and the past

Why did I choose this one?

I had to continue the Selected Papers series as I adored book 4. The cover is also an eye catcher, and I trust RDS publishing to front great books.

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?

Pick-up-able. The pacing feels natural for a story like this, and there is just enough curiosity to what is going on to keep me reading.

What was the vibe and mood?

A little spooky. I felt like I was wandering in a dark house with stale air. Oppressive mood. And just a faint nauseating smell of flowers follows my every step.

Final ranking and star rating?

4 stars, A tier. Selected Papers has done it again. I adore the concepts of this series, and this one continues that. I will be keeping an eye out for book 6, and I will be recommending this strongly.

Content Warnings

Y/N by Esther Yi

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challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

Vincent: A Graphic Biography by Simon Elliott

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informative slow-paced

2.0

Publishing date: 06.08.2024

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: I thought I drank from my coffe cup, I drank my paint water instead

The book left me: A little more educated about Vincent Van Gogh's life

Negatives:

Soulless and lackluster art

Narrator often feels intrusive and uneccessary

Misleading and repetitive artwork

Positives:

Would fit well for educational purposes, high-school age group maybe

Features:

Semi-comic style, lots of info, narrated by Van Gogh's sister in Law, adult themes,

Why did I choose this one?

I like art and I like Learning about artists

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?

In between. The ratio og text to images is very skewed. The narration also makes understanding who we are talking about a little difficult. As this is an informative text, it will be like an info dump, which slowed my reading pace considerably.

Final ranking and star rating?

Sadly, D tier, 2 stars. I didn't Connect and process this biography like I wanted to. The negatives about it were too negative, and I expected artwork like Van Goghs. It does feature a more comic-like Version of some of his artwork, but it didn't do them justice. I expected more than what this book could give me. The concept it great, but needs to be polished a little more.

Content Warnings

An Earth Day Eulogy by Nestor Walters

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challenging hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Publishing date: 12.04.2024

Thank you to Netgalley and Sword Circle Pen for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: I was told that eating meat is bad for the environment, and this time I really thought about if for a while

The book left me: Wanting to change my ways a little bit

Negatives:

Extremely long Chapters

A little too descriptive

The Final spirit had maybe too little impact and I felt the direction takes was nonsensical

Positives:

All Vibes, barely any plot

Lots of different views and scenarios

Features:

A Christmas Carol but Earth day themed

Why did I choose this one?

I thought it was a Collection of short stories about Earth day, seems I was mistaken

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?

Middle, maybe a little put-down-able. I am a bigger fan of Shorter Chapters, and this book had up to 30+ pages per Chapter. I found that a little hard to read and keep on Reading.

What was the vibe and mood?

It was a little nasty, and then a little Sweet, then horrifying, then more horrifying, and then Sweet again. The mood keeps changing

Final ranking and star rating?

C tier, 3 stars. I didn't Connect With this as much as expected, and it was a lot different than what i had imagined (clearly). But I think for those who enjoy weird "retellings" this might hit that Sweet spot.

Content Warnings

Bienes historie by Maja Lunde

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

Shattered Ice by Rebekka Strand

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adventurous emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0

Publishing date: 10.05.2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: My coffe cup keeps cooling down my coffee, and when I fill it up again it gets immediately cold or too bitter

The book left me: Torn between continuing or not

Negatives:

A little too much filler, could have been shorter and still held the story fine

Not enough show

Didn't grip me as much as I wanted it to

Positives:

Would fit very well as a tv series

Solid start to a YA series

Main character has believable flaws

Features:

Fluff (bless him), Norwegian words, ice boarding, class systems, discovering an entierly different part of your world, constant distrust, feeling chased, leaving everything behind, anxiety rep

Why did I choose this one?

25% because of a stunning cover, 25% because the author is Norwegian, and a final 50% becasue the blurb seemed really interesting

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?

Sadly, put-down-able. I was not into this as I should have been. The final 50% was violently skimmed. I stand by my point a bit up here, but a lot of the writing could have been cut and the story would have been just as good. I ended up reading the first two sentences in a paragraph, then the final, and then moving on to the next. It allowed me to at least feel like I was making progress and also get what was going on. It is sad I ended up doing it, but it is what worked for me in the end.

What was the vibe and mood?

I am cold, I am in danger, now I am angry, now I am sad, oh we are moving now? And repeat for the rest of the book

Final ranking and star rating?

D tier, 3 stars. Rounded up because I skimmed, and that is entirely on me. This is a good story, it is only the filler that left a bad taste in my mouth. I also felt a lot at home with the references to scandinavian culture and words (go Norway).

This will be a fantastic read to a younger age group than me, and maybe also to someone less desensitized to YA books. A very solid start to a series, but I will have to sit on it before deciding to continue or not.

Content Warnings

Into a Wicked World by Jordan Riley Swan

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adventurous funny 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

4.0

Publishing date: 04.05.2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: If you could eat a rollercoaster, this would be exaclty it, lots of ups and lots of downs

The book left me: Wanting the next one, thank you

Negatives:

Lots and lots of filler and "explaining"

Insta attraction

Positives:

Straw <3

Good character dynamics between everyone

One bed trope

Features:

All the usual characters from the original tale, one bed trope

Why did I choose this one?

Stunning cover, wanted a little romance at the time, and I have just barely read/watched oz content before so I wanted a little dive back into the classic

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?

In between. Had a tendency to drag the first 50-60%, and then it got a little better. I might also have been in a little slump the first part of the book. The final 25% I devoured in a single evening, I had to know what would happen next.

What was the vibe and mood?

Very quest like. Changing scenery brought with it different moods for each place, and a different kind of tension for each. It wasn't as romantic as I wanted, but I think it helped a little that the romance took second place in terms of priority and storytelling

Final ranking and star rating?

B tier, 4 stars. An alright romance, and I am only docking the final star becasue of the very slow start and the filler. I wanted to like this more, but it was only okay in my book. I am however looking very much forward to the next book

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yellowbinge's reviews 269 reviews

yellowbinge's reviews
269 reviews