Crumbs is the cutest graphic novel I have ever read.
When Crumbs came in the mail, I screamed.
My mom ordered this during Barnes and Nobles Black Friday sale last year. It came right on my birthday!
I had not read this before on Webtoon, so I am not an original fan. I still found myself obsessed and glad that I did not have to wait every week for a new bit of the story and devoured it all in one go.
Also, isn’t it crazy that I have had so many 5-star reviews lately?
This graphic novel had everything. It had magic, chaos, coming-of-age aspects, and one outstanding romance. I was transported through pictures and words to this amazing world, and I loved every bit of it.
Crumbs Romance:
Again, this is a romance graphic novel, so all I really want to talk about is the loveeeee.
This story made me believe in love again. I feel like I say that about every romance book I read, but this one was really special.
The main character, Ray, is someone I can relate to very well. A lot of her behaviors I do as well. She is also very career oriented which affects her relationship.
The love story is so unproblematic. There are some issues but there is a really clear form of communication, which helps propel a better romance for the audience. It is so important to put forth healthy relationships in mainstream media. I loved this romance, and it is a great read.
What I Liked:
Healthy relationships
Beautiful illustrations
A diverse love
Diverse friend group
MAGIC!
What I Didn’t:
Literally nothing
Read This If You Love:
Magic
Witches
Romance
Graphic Novels
Webtoon
Star: 5
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What a cute graphic novel! Frizzy is the cutest graphic novel ARC I have ever received.
I want to thank Netgalley and the publishers, Frist Second, for providing me with an eARC of this fascinating story.
I was immediately entranced by the amazing illustrations that populated the beginning of the book. Then the story of this sweet, charming young girl struggling with her self-esteem pulled at my heart.
Claribel Ortega made a beautiful masterpiece out of such a hard tale. It divulges a beautiful message at the end, all about acceptance and your own truth.
The main character, Marlene, touched my heart. She was always caring and kind but is faced with bullying and other hardships. Marlene would inspire the youth of today, which makes this such a great read for young readers.
Was this a good romance book? Funny you should ask…
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Book Review:
This book was unremarkable (and I will say that about fifteen times in this review). It had nothing super crazy. The couple was not phenomenal, but they weren’t boring.
I thought the premise was unique and the way the story was written was unique, but it was confusing at the beginning.
It will be something I can recommend to people who like romance books. It is a fun romance, but nothing remarkable.
Book Characters:
Chani is fun. I liked her voice a lot in the book. She was not the most profound narrator, but she also wasn’t the worst. She was unremarkable.
Gabe, her co-main character, was also not super remarkable. He won’t be at the end of my favorites list, but not on the top.
Book Romance:
Undeniably, the romance was great. I love the lost love found again trope. It really makes me happy.
While this wasn’t a remarkable romance, it was good. I had fun. It made me happy, and it was a bit different. That is all that matters.
I really enjoy books where the romance isn’t toxic. Yes, the characters don’t know how to deal with their own drama, but their relationship isn’t unhealthy. They do have fights and a little miscommunication, but they are all things that they can fix.
Ease of Reading:
It was a bit confusing in the beginning. The format was past and present storytelling, mixed in with articles from the past and present. It was a bit confusing in the beginning but eventually, I got the hang of it.
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Funny You Should Ask Cover
Title: Funny You Should Ask
Author: Elissa Sussman
Published April 12th, 2022 by Dell
Genre: Romance
Pages: 352
Synopsis:
“A restless young journalist with big dreams interviews a Hollywood heartthrob–and, ten years later, it’s clear that their time together meant more than meets the eye in this sexy, engrossing adult debut novel.
Then. Twentysomething writer Chani Horowitz is stuck. While her former MFA classmates are nabbing book deals, she’s in the trenches writing puff pieces. Then she’s hired to write a profile of movie star Gabe Parker. The Gabe Parker–her forever celebrity crush, the object of her fantasies, the background photo on her phone–who’s also just been cast as the new James Bond. It’s terrifying and thrilling all at once . . . yet if she can keep her cool and nail the piece, it could be a huge win. Gabe will get good press, and her career will skyrocket. But what comes next proves to be life-changing in ways Chani never saw coming, as the interview turns into a whirlwind weekend that has the tabloids buzzing.
Now. Ten years later, after a brutal divorce and a heavy dose of therapy, Chani is back in Los Angeles, laser-focused on one thing: her work. But she’s still spent the better part of the last decade getting asked about her deeply personal Gabe Parker profile at every turn. No matter what new essay collection or viral editorial she’s promoting, it always comes back to Gabe. So when his PR team requests that they reunite for a second interview, she wants to say no. She wants to pretend that she’s forgotten about the time they spent together, years ago. But the truth is that those seventy-two hours are still crystal clear, etched in her memory. And so . . . she says yes.
Chani knows that facing Gabe again also means facing feelings she’s tried so hard to push away. Alternating between their first meeting and their reunion a decade later, this deliciously irresistible novel will have you hanging on until the last word.”-Goodreads
I want to thank Flatiron Books for giving me a copy of this book’s ARC for free.
This book releases September 13th and if you haven’t pre-ordered this yet, DO IT!
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Book Review:
You are not ready for this.
Honestly, this book consumed me from the moment I picked it up. This is Garber’s best writing, best romance, best plot, best everything.
Garber knew what we wanted and what we needed, and she served it to us on a rose gold platter.
Book Plot:
WOW
I was blown out of the water reading this book.
The plot seemed a bit predictable at first, but wow it took me for some loops.
We learn so much more about the lore of the story. We get more characters. Hearing more stories about the Great North made this universe that much more believable and real.
Book Characters:
The two main characters, Evangeline and Jacks, are my favorite characters. This book makes their characters 30000% times better and made me fall in love with each of them more.
First, Evangeline goes through so many trials, and she seems to become stronger with each page. Similarly, Jacks becomes more four-dimensional. I love his arc throughout the story. Readers get to see a softer and more caring side to him.
Book Romance:
Okay, okay, I know I said no spoilers, but this might be a bit of a spoiler. There is some romantic tension in this book, and it is AMAZING!
That is all I should say about that.
Quality of Writing:
In previous novels, I have always felt Garber’s writing to be a bit weak. She really impressed me with this book though.
Descriptions of the setting are more solid and descriptive. Similarly, the dialogue feels so much more genuine. Writing-wise, Garber is not going to be the next great novelist, but it makes up for that in plot!
I cannot wait to get my hands on the hardcover I ordered.
I want to thank the Head of Zeus and Net Galley for letting me receive a copy of this ARC for an honest review.
Book Review:
The book started slow, so slow that I couldn’t even read it. And then by the end, it as going so fast I could barely comprehend.
The twists and turns made my head hurt, and even after getting all the answers, I still don’t get it.
Time travel is such a hard topic to wrap a head around. I feel like there are some assumptions made in this book that just make it hard to get it.
The dad, Sam, whole role was frankly unnecessary. His time travel POVs were not necessary to the story as a whole. They only provided a glimpse of what was going on with him. Then halfway throughout the book, his POVs dropped off.
Adeline had a great storyline, and I loved the twists and turns of her characters. But I still don’t understand why. Why did she do what she did half the time? Her constitution swayed so much between who and what she trusted.
If you read this book, you have to hold out til the last half to get sucked in.
What I Liked:
Twists
Secrets
Time travel
What I Didn’t:
The machine didn’t make a whole lot of sense
Bored
Read This If You Love:
Science fiction
Time travel
Dinosaurs
Star: 2
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
The Book:
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Title: Lost In Time
Author: A.G. Riddle
September 1st 2022 by Head of Zeus
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 416
Synopsis:
“When his daughter is falsely accused of murder, a scientist must travel 200 million years into the past to save her. But there are secrets waiting there. And more than her life is at stake.
From the worldwide bestselling author of Departure and Winter World comes a standalone novel with a twist you’ll never see coming.
Control the Past. Save the Future.
One morning, Dr. Sam Anderson wakes up to discover that the woman he loves has been murdered.
For Sam, the horror is only beginning.
He and his daughter are accused of the crime.
The evidence is ironclad. They will be convicted. And so, Sam does what he must: he confesses to the crime.
But in the future, murderers aren’t sent to prison.
They’re sent to the past.
Two hundred million years into the past—to the age of the dinosaurs—to live out their lives alone, in exile from the human race.
Sam accepts his fate.
But his daughter doesn’t.
Adeline Anderson has already lost her mother to a deadly and unfair disease. She can’t bear to lose her father.
She sets out on a quest to prove him innocent. And get him back. People around her insist that both are impossible tasks.” -Goodreads
Do you want a book that absolutely wrecks your brain? Read Black Buck.
Book Review:
The entire time my mind kept screaming “What the fuck?!”
I am not lying. This book was seriously insane. I have not read a book that has taken me through such a crazy mind tunnel. Black Buck was a phenomenal book.
Book Plot:
Everything was a twist and a turn. We went through this absolutely insane racist workplace and this guy absolutely fucking up his life. Speaking too much about the plot can lead to huge spoilers so I am just going to say this book is seriously insane, and you should read it.
Book Characters:
Darren is the most unlikeable character I have ever met. Throughout the story, he becomes this absolutely tortuous character. I hated him for hundreds of pages. Yes, In the beginning, and the end he is a better person, but this man goes into the craziest head spaces. Did I hate him? So much so. Do I love him? YES
I don’t have much to say about the other characters. Soraya was great and seeing her life through little moments was upper interesting. Everyone else was good, bad, and ugly.
There were huge character-driven twists at the end of this. My friend, who read this book with me, and I were absolutely blown away by the character’s development.
Quality of Writing:
During my summer program, Mateo Askaripour, the author, came and spoke at our class. While speaking, he told us about how it took him three books to finally get Black Buck published. He sounded exactly like his book read. His writing was provocative, stunning, and addictive. I cannot wait for Mateo’s next book just so I can read his writing again.
What I Liked:
The absolute crazy shit that happened
Speaking about the themes of racism in the sales world
Beautiful writing
The author
The shock factors
What I Didn’t:
It was a bit much, but I think that is the point. The point was to be a lot.
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Black Buck cover pulled from Goodreads
Title: Black Buck
Author: Mateo Askaripour
Published January 5th, 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Race
Pages: 388
“There’s nothing like a Black salesman on a mission.
An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother’s home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC’s hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.
After enduring a “hell week” of training, Darren, the only Black person in the company, reimagines himself as “Buck,” a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he’s hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game.
Black Buck is a hilarious, razor-sharp skewering of America’s workforce; it is a propulsive, crackling debut that explores ambition and race, and makes way for a necessary new vision of the American dream.” –Goodreads
I have been so excited to read this book! Guess what? It was great!
Book:
Every Summer After Book Cover
Title: Every Summer After
Author: Carley Fortune
Published May 10th 2022 by Berkley
Genre: Romance
Pages: 320
“Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.
They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart.
Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without.
For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually, that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart.
When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.
Told over the course of six years and one weekend, Every Summer After is a big, sweeping nostalgic look at love and the people and choices that mark us forever.”-Goodreads
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Fortune’s debut novel impressed me so much. I loved hearing the romance and the story unfold.
It did not have much more than the romance aspect of the story. The plot was pretty-much romance-focused. Therefore, I don’t have a lot to say about the story, but I did really enjoy it.
Romance:
I was trying to decide which categories to discuss in this post, but I really think the only one that matters is romance.
I love this found you later, childhood besties romance trope. This book was at first not super unique, but as we rolled along in the story it got deeper and the characters vibed with me even more. It got more and more interesting. But it felt so real. I love romances that feel like everyone’s day-to-day. I loved this romance so much. It was such a fresh, fun summer romance book.
“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring book friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl
This week’s theme:
Books Set In a Place I’d Love to Visit (real places or fictional)
I remixed this one a bit and made it places I wanted to visit. I am only doing this because I totally messed up the theme haha.
This theme isn’t totally new; here is a link to another TTT where we did book places I want to live. A lot of these answers in this last post are still true, but I wanted to change it up a bit. As you can see, some are similar and some aren’t.
New York- That is always in my top ten list with this subject. I was just there and of course, I want to go back.
Doon from the Doon series– I have always wanted to visit Scotland and a mystical kingdom that comes only once in a while? Uh yes!
Hogwarts- While the author is crap, the world of Harry Potter has always held a special place in my heart and I have dreamed of getting my letter since I was a kid.
London- I mean who doesn’t want to visit London.
Austermeer– A place where books are magic? I love that. I want to go there.
Mount Olympus-whether the one from Lore Olympus or Percy Jackson I just want to go there.
Erilea- Again author might be problematic but her character Aelin showed me what being a strong unapologetic female really was. I want to meet her.
Gail Carriger’s Universe– I would love to be in London with vampires and werewolves running amuck of the place.
The Midnight Library– While yes I know that means I will be dead, it would be cool to see the other versions of my life I could have gone with
I didn’t have high hopes for this book series. Boy oh boy was I surprised.
The Book(s):
Title(s): Gild, Glint, Gleam
Author: Raven Kennedy
Series: Plated Prisoner Series 1-3
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Fae, New Adult
Pages: 402, 441, 613
Gild Synopsis-“
The fae abandoned this world to us. And the ones with power rule.
Gold.
Gold floors, gold walls, gold furniture, gold clothes. In Highbell, in the castle built into the frozen mountains, everything is made of gold.
Even me.
King Midas rescued me. Dug me out of the slums and placed me on a pedestal. I’m called his precious. His favored. I’m the woman he Gold-Touched to show everyone that I belong to him. To show how powerful he is. He gave me protection, and I gave him my heart. And even though I don’t leave the confines of the palace, I’m safe.
Until war comes to the kingdom and a deal is struck.
Suddenly, my trust is broken. My love is challenged. And I realize that everything I thought I knew about Midas might be wrong.
Because these bars I’m kept in, no matter how gilded, are still just a cage. But the monsters on the other side might make me wish I’d never left.”-Goodreads
My Review:
Why was this series so good?
I got this recommendation from a friend in my summer program. They begged me to read this series, so I gave it a shot.
And OMG I loved this series.
I am combining these three books into one review because, honestly, I cannot differentiate them because I read these three a month before writing this.
Book Plot:
The plot is sometimes iffy, but also sometimes epic. There are crazy cool things that happen.
We go from trapped prisoners in a gilded cage to– Oh well I probably cannot say much because you should learn for yourself.
Characters:
Auren is splendid. She is literally gold. She has crazy character development throughout the series. Learning more and more about her character and seeing her growth is beautiful.
The main love interest (which I won’t spoil who it is) is startling. The love interest honestly has to be in one of my top ten fantasy men. He wows me.
Book Setting:
This new world that Kennedy built impresses. The names like “Sixth Kingdom” aren’t super impressive. But the magic system, cities, and territories that Kennedy describes are pretty awesome.
Romance:
AGHHHH
Sadly, That is all I have to say without spoiling anything!
Quality of Writing:
I have a major complaint with a lot of writing in fantasy books. Most of the time their writing is lackluster. It doesn’t have a poetic quality to it. It is purely to entertain. But this book had a really good writing style.
I received an ARC of We Deserve Monuments from sweepstakes on Net Galley. I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher.
The Book:
We Deserve Monuments cover pulled from Goodreads
Title: We Deserve Monuments
Author: Jas Hammonds
Expected publication: November 29th, 2022 by Roaring Brook Press
Genre: YA, LGBTQIA+, Romance
Pages: 257
“What’s more important? Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?
Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.
While tempers flare in her avoidant family, Avery finds friendship in unexpected places: in Simone Cole, her captivating next-door neighbor, and Jade Oliver, daughter of the town’s most prominent family—whose mother’s murder remains unsolved.
As the three girls grow closer—Avery and Simone’s friendship blossoming into romance—the sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Avery’s family in ways she can’t even imagine. With Mama Letty’s health dwindling every day, Avery must decide if digging for the truth is worth toppling the delicate relationships she’s built in Bardell—or if some things are better left buried.” –Goodreads
My Review:
We Deserve Monuments is an epic book. It was fun, emotional, and very complex. I had my e-reader on me at all moments of the day trying to devour this book.
Plot:
This was a more character-driven story, but the plot was not horrible. We got to see some different conflicts take place. The character development was actually very good in this story.
This story is very sad though. I mean I was tearing up in front of my roommates as I read this book. So many happy and sad tears. This book had me so emotional.
Characters:
Avery encapsulates the meaning of awesome. She is temperamental but has a real love for the people around her. She is not afraid to stand up to the people around her who are trying to belittle her. I envy her and her lip ring she has, but I could never get one because I am too chicken.
Simone, the love interest, creates a safe place for Avery. There is not toxicity in their relationship that I noticed which is such a nice thing I have been trending more towards reading. Simone is the sunflower girl and now whenever I see a sunflower I think of this amazing book!
Jade was a little annoying. I understand some of her hurt, but her response shouldn’t have been so dramatic.
Mama Letty was the real star of the entire novel. I loved hearing her slowly start to love her granddaughter and slowly open up to her family.
Setting:
This book takes place in some boondock Georgia called Bardell. It was a little confusing how a small town could have an extraordinarily fancy hotel when there didn’t seem to be any tourist attractions nearby. I don’t think Avery did a lot of looking around the town though, so I could be wrong.
There is also a restaurant in the middle of nowhere that I wish was real. It is a safe haven from the world outside for multiple characters in this book. I want to be able to visit this place and dance the night away.
Romance:
There is quite a cute little romance between Simone and Avery. They were too cute to handle at times. There was some tension about Simone’s sexuality in the first half. It is so interesting to read about these things that happen to everyday people.
Quality of Writing:
As this was an ARC, this was not the final draft. It will need some last-minute edits on commas and some spelling. But other than the writing was so good. I loved the symbolism that persisted. This author really can suck you in and make you feel so connected to the events and characters in the book.
What I Liked:
LGBTQIA+ representation
Happy couple stuff
Focus on the familial relationships and less on romance
The COVER
What I Didn’t:
Some questions weren’t answered at the end, but I won’t fault it for that too much
