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sarahyjackson's reviews
209 reviews
Dear Rosie, by S.J. Tilly
5.0
This was, in my humble and scholastic opinion, the best of SJ Tilly’s sports & mafia worlds. I LOVED it.
Dark Delights by Mila Kane
3.0
We must continue to interrogate whether I should be allowed to both read books & be influenced by TikTok quote excerpts.
But I really rooted for these freaks! Content warnings like a CVS receipt so do your due diligence.
But I really rooted for these freaks! Content warnings like a CVS receipt so do your due diligence.
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A beautiful, devastating book about empires and the folks living & loving (and ruling) in them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual harassment
Close Quarters by Kandi Steiner
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Theo could buy me anything he wanted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
A fresh, delicious contribution to the paranormal, dark academia genre. The enemies to lovers legitimately loathe each other. The world building is expansive and holds up. The vampiricism is erotic AS GOD INTENDED. The house is sentient (also AS GOD INTENDED). Katee Robert said the MMC is Klaus-coded and I think that’s rly valid. The FMC had behaviors that resonated with me as someone with OCD and also was like very unhinged but baby girl has never erred in her life. I will be injecting the following two books into my veins.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death and Sexual content
Wickedly Yours by Jennifer Chipman
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I liked Spookily Yours a bit more as I felt it was a bit more playful while still retaining the paranormal romance spice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Minor: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Jenna Levine is such a snarky, swoony, snappy, steamy delight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Blood and Abandonment
Minor: Death and Fire/Fire injury
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
There were parts of Ember’s story and behavior that made me feel like I did watching “Meet the Parents” which does *not* work for me narratively/connecting with a story. BUT I loved on the page indigenous love and Native Daddy Danuwoa could restart my computer anytime in the most respectful sense of the phrase.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“And why is she always trying to reduce people, squeeze them into these knowable, tiny boxes where there is room for only one or two personality traits? Gary is the stage and Lila is the song, she thinks. But then she thinks: Nobody is ever like anything all of the time.”
A rocky start begot by my surprise but I forking loved it by the end.
A rocky start begot by my surprise but I forking loved it by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song
adventurous
emotional
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
From the author’s note:
“…I set out to write a Mulan retelling with a protagonist who does not dress as a man and join the army out of filial piety, but rather out of her own selfish desire to experience life freely. At the core of The Night Ends with Fire is the question: What does our ambition cost us?”
I found Meilin read aloud excerpts in therapy relatable and I thought her consideration and interrogation of her own longings and motivations within the context of broader systems SO WELL DONE.
Magic system was a little loose for me but that might be the intended effect of the reader coming to an awareness of it alongside our heroine.
“…I set out to write a Mulan retelling with a protagonist who does not dress as a man and join the army out of filial piety, but rather out of her own selfish desire to experience life freely. At the core of The Night Ends with Fire is the question: What does our ambition cost us?”
I found Meilin read aloud excerpts in therapy relatable and I thought her consideration and interrogation of her own longings and motivations within the context of broader systems SO WELL DONE.
Magic system was a little loose for me but that might be the intended effect of the reader coming to an awareness of it alongside our heroine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence