katiemack's reviews
1288 reviews

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I respect the amount of experience Vanessa Lawrence has within the magazine industry and her experiences with sexism and racism; that shines through in the text. I'm not a fan of the blatant "telling without showing" writing style, unfortunately, and Lily's transition to her final field at the end of the novel feels abrupt. 

 I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so taken with the world Jasmine Skye created; there are so many intriguing magical elements in the witch-familiar dynamic, and the integrated queer rep is a welcome addition. I wish we had gotten more of Shaw's POV (or that her chapters had been spaced out more consistently), but I loved seeing her relationship with Rosamund grow. I'm eager to get my hands on the next book in the series because it's such a compelling read, but I will wait patiently. 

 I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

There are some dramatic moments toward the end of the book that took me out of the story, but otherwise I love the plot and characters! There's great chemistry and solid banter between Selina and Golden Retriever Husband Peter (SO NICE AND SUPPORTIVE AND LOVES HIS FAMILY), and I'd happily read a spinoff about their friends and family members (especially Lu and Lydia). 

I wish the world-building were stronger and that we'd gotten to know Lowe better, but I really like Misery and enjoyed the book overall. 

It ain’t perfect, but this is such a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy—I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Brandy Sandy’s analysis of religion as much as I did. (Also, I will listen to any and all Michael Kramer audiobooks.)

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a sucker for Norse mythology and the-grumpy-one-is-soft-for-the-sunshine-one, so this story worked really well for me. The banter is solid, and Freya's a strong character with literal god-like powers. The attraction between Freya and Bjorn is reminiscent of insta-love (not my favorite), but it works. 

I'm torn on this one because I love the exploration of religious performativity vs. actual belief and learned a lot about the Nation of Islam, but the writing makes me feel like I'm missing something--there's an incompleteness about the way Aaliyah Bilal writes her characters and settings, and the attempts at shifts in perspective don't always work. Regardless, I enjoyed reading this; the standout stories for me are "Woman in Niqab" and "Due North." 

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This feels like an authentic story not only in terms of the author's lived experience, but also within the parent-child dynamic and, well, the cognitive dissonance that comes with being a teenager. While I don't have a chronic condition--I'm glad I learned more about VACTERLs, as I'd never heard of it before--I can empathize with the desire to compartmentalize one's life and keep friends at arm's length. Although Ellie is stubborn and, at times, annoying, it feels realistic based on everything else happening in her life. Also, as a parent I definitely teared up reading about Ellie's relationship with her mother--the target audience likely won't feel like this, but I appreciated it. 

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The world-building and established laws are strong, and I appreciated the nuance and vulnerability among the love interests in this book (that ending, though...very mean); it prevents the enemies-to-lovers trope from becoming toxic. That being said, I wish both Rune and Gideon were stronger, more consistent characters. Made me wish a certain character wasn't killed off (see: mean ending). I'm not as invested in their relationship as I thought I would be because of this, but I'd still read the next book in the series.