I did not like the premise being based on the Mozart siblings as children for various reasons. Once I realized that the story is like a Studio Ghibli movie and it’s not that deep I enjoyed the book a lot more. I think this would have been more impactful as a short story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️¼. #booksky 📚💙

Lighthearted survey of common folklore traditions with a focus on the UK. Author goes beyond collecting silly, contradictory bits of folklore by introducing a direct line between folklore traditions and social media culture/trends: both are a means of social control. ⭐️⭐️⭐️¾. #booksky 📚💙

Overall positive with some mixed feelings. Not enough room to share all the pros/cons but loved the world building, badass characters, and epic religious prophecy with a satisfying ending. Did not like a couple of major characters/their arcs. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 🪐📚💙

I enjoyed the prose a lot, but if I have to read about hands balled into fists one more time I’m gonna throw the book across the room. Difficult to see/place the world—expecting more apparent Ethiopianess in the details. Plot predictable and relationships/stakes didn’t make sense. ⭐️⭐️. #booksky 📚💙

Like binge watching a juicy Netflix documentary. The only reason I didn’t finish in 1 sitting was because I had to recover some sleep debt (woke up at 2am that morning to catch a flight). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½. #booksky #lisajewell 📚💙

DCC is a critique of capitalism/corporate greed + being a cog in a system that you benefit from but only at the expense of others. The 1st book sets the theme of being powerless to change that brutal system unless you build your power by using the tools of your enemy & becoming the thing you hate.

Whimsical and fun, and very meandering and disorganized in that Sachar way. The biggest issue is that all the characters are pretty flat and one-dimensional like cartoon characters, so it’s hard to be invested in the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ #booksky 📚💙

What a fucking weird quirky dark little book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½. #booktok 📚💙

An agonizing little treat! A fun mixture of wuxia and gong’an genres that kept me turning the page, but an excruciating experience of impatiently wanting everything to resolve quickly and neatly while being made to watch everything unfold chaotically. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 📚💙

I couldn’t participate in independent bookstore day today because I had to buy a new car and it left me with like $-50 in my bank account lol. But it’s my first new car and an EV at that! Thank you @elchefe.me for negotiating great terms for me!! ❤️❤️

This is one of my all time favorite authors because I can’t help but fall into their stories. Isekai is not a favorite trope of mine, but it’s very tongue-in-cheek, and the world building and characters never disappoint. I am only sad that it will take so long to get book two. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 🪐💙📚

Gothic horror, but make it cozy. Very excited to read more from Harrow! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¾. #bluesky 📚💙

I admire and appreciate the thought experiment of this book (especially given the time period and point in Le Guin’s career) but am left frustrated at so many amazing but abandoned opportunities to examine the themes deeper. I did, however, love the author’s introduction! ⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 🪐💙📚

Poor editing to the point of distraction and having to go back and reread sections. I really dislike the ongoing deus ex machina device, and of course it ends on a bombshell cliffhanger—but I’m still giving it 3.75 stars because I mostly enjoyed myself. ⭐️⭐️⭐️¾. #booksky 📚💙

I really liked the concept of women (specifically: lesbians) using vampirism as a means to freedom from becoming a husband’s possession but falling victim to the rot of immortality and becoming just as toxic as the patriarchy they were trying to escape. But the book was a slog tbh. ⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 📚💙

He was right about everything: integration has failed. I wish he had lived to see the Black Panthers and have a chance to examine his own misogyny. In spite of that, he owned his flaws and demonstrated an open mindedness which hold up his legacy rather than tarnish it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 📚💙

Haunting, beautiful, transformative. The story takes place 1 year after all the white people in America suddenly walk into the nearest body of water and drown themselves. Many folks feel the ending is flat and abrupt, but I thought it was quite poetic. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 📚💙 #booksky

When BIPOC give white latecomers the side-eye and gatekeep resistance movements, the historical events outlined in this book are a big reason why. White people who complain about not feeling welcomed to the party need to read this book immediately. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 📚💙

700 pages of “my god The Big Dragon Boss is coming and he will destroy us all” and 100 pages of actual The Big Dragon Boss Battle plus aftermath. I don’t like that ratio but I loved the journey, the lore, and the characters (except the designated asshole). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½. #booksky 🪐📚💙

Taking a nap here.

A sweet, slow burn romance with pretty standard high stakes political intrigue marked with heartwarming community and relationships. There is an agonizing twist at the end, but I’m optimistic that the story will remain strong as a trilogy rather than a longer standalone. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½. #booksky 🪐📚💙

Gusting winds of 29mph in the Bahamas but still making a little reading nook to treat myself ❤️ Once I finish this one I’ll try Priory of the Orange Tree which I DNF’d last year because it was depressing, but now I’m in vacation mode so that means absorbing myself in it again will be just great???

*Dreamy sigh* All the tropes I love woven into an exciting plot that never tires. I have heard the second book is a hot mess rushed by the publisher, but I’m gonna try to plow through it anyway! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 📚💙

Part 2 takes up over half the book and is a very necessary story-within-a-story(-within-a-story) that goes on forever. The fishing parts didn’t fit smoothly but still accomplish a decent open & close to the story. I just really hated the hokiness… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ still because it was pretty epic. #booksky 📚💙

A solid YA mythical fantasy adventure with a heartwarming family and a cozy enemies-to-lovers + marriage contract romance. A wholesome read for sure. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 📚💙

Even as a satisfying revenge fantasy, the story made me explicably angry and outraged, especially as it’s rooted in historical facts. And yet I still came away feeling connected to Abitha, Samson, and Mother Earth. Also: another paperback destroyed by my greasy hands 🤣 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¾. #booksky 📚💙

According to Seuss The Cat in the Hat was just subversive, not about specific political figures. Other Seuss books are truly depicting political figures or concepts, e.g. Yertle had a Hitler mustache in the original art.

#2025inreview #storygraph

I hit my 2025 reading goal of 50 books 🎉 here are some of my favorites. Obviously it was a good year to discover Naomi Novik. I joined two book clubs this year and stretched myself outside my comfort zone on my own as well, and I’m hoping next year’s list will be more diverse. #booksky 📚💙

I was expecting to not like this book as well as the others, but the only note I have is that there’s a LOT of plot in this book packed into 2 weeks that I would have liked to see deepened into 2 books, but perhaps not at the expense of extending the series into 4 books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. #booksky 🪐📚💙