sage

she/they | cabin 7 | ravenclaw | writer | artist | intp | scorpio | book reviews

[zunlix]

Love & Gelato

5 stars

I absolutely adore this book. Read it for the first time and the characters all left me in love. I cannot get over how much I love the main characters, the love interest is so sweet and charming it’s refreshing. The main character is quite eccentric and makes questionable choices but that’s okay because it all works out.

I love how supportive her dad is regardless of the circumstances. The way that we get both the moms life and Lina’s is really interesting, especially how they tie into each other in the end.

I cannot recommend this book enough.

[zunlix]

The Henna Wars

1 star 

*slight spoiler ahead but i mean it’s in the title

I honestly just didn’t like this book. We’re rooting for a protagonist and shes likable but the love interest is not. The love interest appropriates the main characters culture and the MC just accepts it? Like she openly shows that she doesn’t care about her culture and the MC still likes her?

The plus was it was a lesbian love story, but tbh I couldn’t even root for the couple.

[zunlix]

Autoboygraphy

2 Stars

* this review will contain spoilers

This book wasn’t necessarily a bad one, I didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. It was okay but I wasn’t feeling it.

I don’t love the main character but he was tolerable. Tanner (I also don’t like that name so I blocked it out half the time) basically starts writing about everything he and Sebastian do.

His parents are not at all cool to me? They’re supposed to be very relaxed and supportive of his sexuality but they move to a city full of religion AGAINST the lgbt+ community. They tell him to hide his sexuality unless he’s 100% sure the person won’t say anything/hate him. Which is so not how that should go. I’m pretty sure the move was for his moms job though so I guess I can kind of understand that.

Autumn. Auddy. First of all, I hate that nickname with a passion. Second, she’s in love with Tanner the whole book, and then *******spoilers please stop reading if you genuinely don’t want to know****** they have sex, she loses her virginity, and just gets over him? And she had a boyfriend before they did it so did they break up?? Were they still together???

Sebastian. I didn’t like him. Genuinely just didn’t like him at all. He was not a good love interest? I get it was mostly because of his very straight laced church background but oh my god he was such an asshole. And we’re just supposed to forgive him because he comes back? hell nooo.

[zunlix]

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating

5 Stars

I love love love it, the mix of culture, lgbt, fake dating, and friendship really make it so great. I like how Hani and Ishu don’t get along right away and are a little awkward, they do settle into being “girlfriends” a little fast but it was cute nonetheless.

I love Ishu so much, I relate to how she studies a lot— obviously i could never do as much as her. And how she slowly becomes more comfortable in herself.

I think that Hani’s struggles were my favourite to read about and how she and Aisling became friends and why they stayed friends. I love her progression and growth into confidence.

[zunlix]

Nick & Charlie

3.5 Stars

super cute! i honestly loved this addition to the Heartstopper / Solitaire series! it’s so adorable and i love Nick and Charlie so much! I like how it delves into Charlie’s mental health and everything he feels about Nick going to Uni.

It was very short so there’s not much i can say on it other than: it was super cute.

[zunlix]

The Heartstopper Comics

5 stars

Amazing. Show stopping. Adorable. I loved it so much, it’s so romantic and funny, while still maintaining a seriousness about it. I absolutely fell in love with the characters.

Charlie and Nick are just so adorable, I love how well they get along and how Charlie never pressures Nick over his sexuality!

I finished three of the comics in an hour and a half and am planning on reading the fourth one!

[zunlix]

She Drives Me Crazy

5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. I mean, it’s sapphic, sports, cheerleader x jock, enemies/rivals to lovers, and fake dating all in one.

I liked Scottie, sometimes it felt like she was forcing Irene into the relationship rather than actually giving her a choice, but other than that I didn’t dislike her. I did find the whole fake dating for her ex thing weird because like,,,, what do you do after? But you know, that’s the great thing about fake dating, you already know they’ll end up together.

Irene was so amazing. I liked her a lot; She was cheer captain, popular, and she was changing the rep for cheerleaders. She was so sweet, and even when she was being rude it was absolutely hilarious. There was a journey of self discovery and acceptance.

[zunlix]

The Raven Boys

4 Stars

This book was interesting, but slow. I didn’t really get into it for like the first 15 chapters, then the pace picks up so fast.

I like the characters, and some of the plot. Mostly it felt like the author was trying to give you so much insight to the characters that the plot was forgotten at some points. I think that the ending felt really rushed? Like after everything goes down the ending takes about ten pages. I would’ve liked something more fleshed out and so all the loose ends felt tied up. But definitely still liked the middle because of how much we learn about the mission and characters.

Blue. I like her, I dont quite understand the whole renaming her thing but it was cute. Blue kind of got on my nerves when she hated on Gansey, mostly because they were all Raven Boys but she only hated him for it? Because he was rich but I don’t think that was his fault. I didn’t understand, did she want him to apologize for his parents making a lot of money?

Gansey, everyone said he was condescending but I didn’t really feel like that. He was definitely my favorite character and I loved his drive and motivation. But when he offered to pay her to talk to his friends that was very not cute of him. Overall I liked the motivation and drive his character had, his dedication to not only the quest but his friends too.

The book felt slow and took me a week to finish, I wasn’t really into it. The premise of finding Glendower is good but Blue’s quest is a little less interesting. She’s destined to kill her love if she kisses him so she doesn’t. But then she falls for one of them and now she wants to kiss him. I don’t think that’s really as dramatic as the whole “Glendower mission.”

Still, I really liked this book for its unique characters and interesting premise!

[zunlix]

The Lightning Thief

5 stars

I may or may not be very in love with the whole Percy Jackson series sooo.

I absolutely love this book so much, I’ve read it twice now and each time it just amazes me. I love Percy. I love Annabeth. I love Grover. I love how well the characters interact and how it feels like they’re still getting to know each other (because they are).

The pacing of this book is absolutely perfect and I love how much you learn without “learning”. Because you pick up so much and learn a lot without making it boring.

This is currently one of my favorite book series and one of the few that I actually went out of my way to buy because it was so good and captivating.

pics found on pinterest

[zunlix]

The Gravity of Us

4 stars

The Gravity of Us is a very cute read, definitely enjoyed it a lot. I like the mixing of science and lgbtq romance!

Cal is a video blogger and Leon is an ex-gymnast. Their parents are chosen to be astronauts as part of the same mission. Leon has already been living in Texas for a while when Cal arrives. Cal doesn’t want to leave New York, he and his best friend Deb had a plan: save up, leave home, move in together. Now Cal’s dad says that they’re moving to Texas. Not within the plan.

Cal and Leon meet and instantly feel a connection to each other. Now this was something I didn’t really like, the reason being that it felt really fast? Like they got together very quickly and there was no room for me to actually connect with the relationship—though they were very cute.

I know a lot of people don’t like Cal but I actually for the most part didn’t have a problem with him, I did have a problem with how he treated everything like it was about him. Though, he’s 17 and famous, he probably feels like everything is about him.

Overall, I didn’t feel connected to the characters but I actually quite loved the plot. I gave it 3.5 because it wasn’t quite 4 stars for me. Very cute story.

[zunlix]

Girls of Paper and Fire

1 star

I feel so bad giving this book one star, oh my gosh! But honestly I just hated this book. I don’t know what I liked about it, I was going to give it two stars for something I liked but wow there was absolutely nothing I liked about it. cw: mentions of rape.

My First Problem: The Main Character

She is so unlikeable? I don’t understand, she claims to miss her family but like only remembers them after something bad happened? She’s like obsessed with Wren before they even start dating? She’s considered amazing for not allowing herself to be raped and bashes the girls who do? I absolutely hated that part.

My Second Problem: The Demon King

He was so terribly written??? He was barely there and it felt like the author kept having to add things that he did that were terrible for him to actually be a character! Why did he rape the girls? That was like the worst part for me, I hadn’t heard any mention of the rape and it took me by surprise and made me sick. But I guess that was also my own fault for not checking the TW.

My Third Problem: The Other Paper Girls— Specifically Aoki and Blue

Why was Aoki portrayed as “mean” or “terrible” for falling in love with the Demon King? She was literally 16, she was manipulated and abused, Lei was so annoying for getting mad at her for it. Blue was... conflicting, because at one point it seemed like she might get a redemption, then she didn’t. Why did she tell the King about Lei’s plan? It surely couldn’t have been pure spite or jealousy?

My Fourth Problem: The Writing

This is one I read in other reviews and honestly, it became so clear to me why I didn’t want to finish it. There were so many scenes that made me uncomfortable and far too many “breast peeking out” scenes. I can only stand reading that SO MANY times before I start to get annoyed.

The Only Thing I Enjoyed

And this was BARELY able to be considered something I enjoyed because I don’t like Lei. The lesbian relationship, I haven’t read many books that feature lesbian main characters— usually they’re sapphic just not lesbian— and honestly you’re better off finding another book to read.

[zunlix]

The Crucible

3.5 Stars

For some reason, I liked this play. I know there’s a lot of controversy surrounding the misogyny, the very inaccurate portray of witchcraft, and the fact that we had to read it for a class. BUT I quite enjoyed how John Proctor had to work through a lot to realize how much he was willing to lose. I love the portrayal of Abigail, and how the harsh— frankly terrible— treatment that John Proctor has inflicted on her leads her to be the villain. That whole progression was amazing. I didn’t like that John Proctors “problems” were the women not doing what he wants? Like,,, so sorry that you decided to that and think it wasn’t your fault. Overall, pretty good, definitely could’ve been better.

picture found on pinterest

[zunlix]

Cemetery Boys

5 Stars

Cemetery Boys was something I had seen and at first i wasn’t very interested. i didnt actually know what it was about but as soon as i read the synopsis i immediately started reading. I mean: Mexican/Cuban main character? A transgender main character? A gay main character? That immediately drew me in. Throw in the fact that he’s a Brujo being rejected by his traditional family for being trans and you get a super interesting story. I almost cried when I was reading and I loved it so much. Definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a cute romance story.

Wow, I want to add so many images! They’re so beautiful. I’m pretty sure you can find these on Aiden Thomas’s website.

Happy Easter if you celebrate! :)

[zunlix]

Holding Up The Universe

3.5 stars

This book was a fantastic read, it’s sweet, it’s romantic, and there’s a few moments when it makes you feel very motivated. I do think the relationship was paced very well and they were depicted as teenagers, i just think that it was a little more on the negative side of that. The characters become friends after no one helps the main character as she’s bullied, so I guess I would like to think that more high school students would stand up for her. Also the Libby seems really invested in the idea that she’ll only be worth something if a guy loves her (at least at the beginning) and to me that isn’t something true. I would’ve given it four stars if the self discovery didn’t feel so forced. Still, I quite loved the book and the romance between Libby and Jack.

pic by “wonderland with alice” on pinterest

[zunlix]

Books By Trans Authors or with Trans Characters

In honor of Trans Visibility Day

There are some books I found by trans authors that sounded really interesting!

Felix Ever After

By Kacen Callender

YA fiction romance

This is a book about black, queer, and transgender main character who’s struggling with love and self love. He fears he won’t find love but wants to know why it happens so easily for others. He begins getting transphobic messages and decides to take matters into his own hands. He begins a journey of self discovery, love, and self love.

The Black Tides of Heaven

By Jy Yang

Fantasy fiction

This one centers twins as the main characters and they both have different powers that intertwine with the future. A rebellion is starting and there are two groups “The Tensors” and “The Machinists”. This is part of a series called “The tensorate series”.

A Safe Girl to Love

By Casey Plett

Fiction romance

Short stories about trans women and their experiences. Each follow a different woman.

Nevada

By Imogen Binnie

Humorous Fiction

The mc is a punk lgbt woman who works in retail. She finds out her girlfriends lied to her and her life starts to unravel before her eyes and she starts on a journey.

The Earthquake Room

By Davey Davis

Dystopian Fiction

This book honestly just sounds so interesting. Oakland has been overrun by political collapse and a natural disaster. The main character infects her girlfriend with a disease and goes on a quest for forgiveness, leaving her girlfriend alone.

Articles

https://strandbookstore.medium.com/contemporary-trans-and-nonbinary-authors-to-read-today-3e68b7c35e04

Contemporary Trans* and Nonbinary Authors to Read TODAY

Trans and Nonbinary authors are creating compelling and beautiful works every day of the year, but sometimes you may feel like you are…

https://www.subvrtmag.com/10-books-by-trans-authors-that-will-change-your-life/

10 Books By Trans Authors That Will Change Your Life - Subvrt Mag

Here are 10 books by trans authors; 10 insightful, beautiful, and powerful places to get listening to the voices of the trans community.

[zunlix]

Six of Crows

5 Stars

So, this was a book I had been wanting to read for a while. Absolutely loved it, the first chapter was a little slow but right after that it picks up so fast! It was so suspenseful and funny, lots of heart wrenching moments (in both good and bad ways!). Definitely deserves the hype it gets!

By Davood Diba but I don’t know if they have tumblr

By rosiethorns88 on deviant art!

[zunlix]

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

5 stars

I read this book today and I cried towards the end. I quite love the way the relationships are handled and the progression throughout the story. I love the contrast between the characters and the way that their feelings are described.

i actually don’t know who drew this but if you know (or drew it) feel free to tag them!

this one i found on @witchcraftmood ‘s tumblr and oh my goodness it’s so cute!