justmybookthots

[justmybookthots]

seeing straight men be disgusted by booktok smut recommenders has actually radicalized me to the side of booktok smut recommenders. girls your taste may be atrocious but i will never disparage you for exposing mainstream discourse to the concept of soaking through your underwear. spent my whole life listening to men talk about penises it’s about time they get jumpscared by women talking about pussy in crude detail on social media. go forth and goon my warriors

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my first 5 stars this year! An amazing book.

Review: I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang

Publisher's Summary: Jenna Chen has spent her life in the shadow of her flawless cousin. Jessica Chen is so smart she gets the top score on every test. Jessica Chen is so beautiful people stop in the hallway to stare at her. Jessica Chen is so perfect she got into Harvard.

And Jenna Chen will only ever be a disappointment.

So when Jenna makes a desperate wish to become her cousin, the last thing she expects is for it to come true--literally. All of a sudden she gets to live the life she's always dreamed of . . . but being the model student at cutthroat Havenwood Private Academy isn't quite what she'd imagined. Worse, people seem to be forgetting that someone named Jenna Chen ever existed. But isn't it worth trading it all away--her artistic talent, her childhood home, even the hope of golden boy Aaron Cai loving her back--to be Jessica Chen?

My Thoughts: Be careful what you wish for is certainly the warning that Jenna missed or ignored. But being Jessica looks easy. She has everything, even teeth that didn't need braces. Everything comes naturally for her including grades, friends, and college acceptance letters. In Jenna's mind, Jessica was "born the best, while I've spent my entire life trying to just be good, and I have failed at even that." Swapping places is the sure way to find out though, and she discovers that while some things are pretty effortless, others are taking a huge toll. Jenna thinks she knows Jessica, but she learns a lot more about her from this perspective.

The body swapping is a bit of a brain breaker and it's also a big reason why I was compelled to read almost the whole book in one sitting. I really wanted to know if it would be possible to switch back and if she would even want to in the end. That tension is always there from the moment Jenna wakes up as Jessica. It's a dream come true so who would want to go back to the way she had been?

Jenna discovers a lot about her cousin, but this book is even more about learning about herself. We can all be a little clueless about ourselves and coming of age stories seem to be about getting to know what makes us who we are and beginning to explore that more fully. Both cousins have been under pressure to be a certain way and what makes the book interesting is seeing how they navigate that.

Part of how we see and understand ourselves comes from how we are reflected by our friends and family so that definitely comes into play here. Aaron is a big part of this reflection though the romantic interest doesn't dominate the story.

Recommendation: Get it soon. It has a bit of a Freaky Friday vibe, if you enjoy that particular type of story, but it also has very realistic moments that most people will be able to relate to if they have ever measured themselves and felt that they missed the mark.

Extras:

Audiobook preview

Author's Spotify playlist

Publisher: HarperCollins Pages: 320 Review copy: Final copy via publisher Availability: On shelves now

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I should be able to both read for 8hrs a night and sleep for 8hrs a night. That I cannot is very rude and, frankly, poor design.

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You know what? 2024 wasn't such a shit reading year, after all. The second half really picked up for me and I'm so lucky / blessed.

Here's a comparison of my favourite reads from 2023 to 2024.

I didn't expect to like so many Chinese fantasies lmao. Okay, there's only two but you get the point.

To be honest Emily Wilde deserves a slot in 2023 but ahhhh it was really hard for me to decide that 8th spot!!!!

Also there are definitely some underrated gems in there and I hope they get more love. 🙏

CORRECTION: IT'S 72 NOW

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not now sweetie, mommy is watching how the massive girlbossification of female characters has led to the belief that weak and vulnerable female characters are badly written characters because apparently every woman needs to be outspoken and witty and snarky and brave in order to be considered “complex” and have any value in a piece of media!!

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I absolutely adore how Holly Black portrays the fae in her Folk of the Air series. They're impossibly beautiful and vile and so blatantly not human that you, as a reader, are helplessly ensnared by them and their world.

I've read so many books with fae characters and it's so easy to forget that those characters are supposed to be something other than human, because there really isn't anything that sets them apart from us (aside from immortality, pointy ears, and an affinity for something in nature).

Holly Black doesn't let you forget that her characters are anything other than what they are. Her characters are fae, unquestionably, undeniably.

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Not Another Love Song

I finally read a book I really enjoyed in 2024!!!!!

(Even if I hate the cover, lol.)

I don't think I've read anything that made me kick my feet and giggle for a long time, but this book did it. It's so weird because Love Theoretically did that for me while Julie Soto's other book (Forget Me Not, I think?? My review is here) didn't really do that last year. But this year, both authors have pulled a UNO reverse card on me: I was very disappointed with Not In Love by Hazelwood (which I'd anticipated) but this book? Ooooh, it gave me all the sexual tension I wanted from a romance!! 

Can I say I like how Alex/Xander was all in/fell super hard and yet it was done in a way that didn't negate the tension at all? Hazelwood really should take some notes from Soto here. I love how the dual POVs were done in this book — I was given JUST enough of Xander's POV to gather certain insight from him but not too much that the tension was gone. I personally prefer more mystery from the love interest so this was really aligned with what I liked. And also even though this book was very spicy, just like Not In Love was, the sexual tension here was SO GOOD and masterfully done with the music. And also the smut was hella fun (and to my taste) — though I do feel it could have taken place a bit later into the story, just so we can milk the tension more. :)  

I'm so grateful to Julie for restoring my faith in books again. T_T For a while, I was seriously thinking I'd never feel giggly and swoon at anything again. I seriously went into this book without super high expectations and was half-bracing to drop it at some point but it was really, really good. 

- 22 July 2024

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2024 MID-YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT TAG

Best book you’ve read so far in 2024?

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, probably. It was this or Prisoner's Throne but I can't deny Legendborn is a better and more unique novel overall. I still remember being super gobsmacked when I was done with it. That said, I haven't been enjoying Bloodmarked very much, which is really disappointing. 

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2024?

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black. Was it as good as The Stolen Heir? Not really. But in no shape or form was it bad. I still enjoyed it thoroughly because I love Oak and Wren –- and also we got to see Cardan and Jude again!  

New release you haven’t read yet but want to?

There's a lot but one in particular is The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley. I loved the fuck out of The Guest List and I did enjoy The Paris Apartment by her last year (or was it 2022??), so I'm really hyped about The Midnight Feast. I have heard it's getting mixed reviews, though, but by specific booktubers with established book tastes that differ from mine so…

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

Even though the author has disappointed me with her other book release earlier this year, I am most looking forward to A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang. It's weird because it's supposed to be a tragedy (which I don't like reading) and a love triangle (which I'm meh about), but it's her first fantasy and the premise sounds really delicious so I definitely want to give it a shot. Comes out during my birthday month too! 

Biggest disappointment?

Speaking of Ann Liang, my biggest disappointment is definitely I Hope This Doesn't Find You. I've already reviewed it so I won't say anymore, other than the fact that I was so crushed because it had such good reviews and also because This Time It's Real is one of my favourite books of all time. I hope I won't get crushed again with her next release…

Biggest surprise?

Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes. Even now I'm flabbergasted by how much I loved it. It was the first sci-fi horror I'd ever read and I ended up getting super invested in the main cast which was unexpected. For me, thrillers and horror books are less about characters you want to root for and more about the plot/shock value, which is why I couldn't believe how much I loved the heroine and her space crew. It's a gnarly situation for me as a reader considering their fates… 

Favourite new author (debut or new to you)?

S. A. Barnes or Riley Sager. I went on a Sager binge starting from December last year to February of 2024 and I really loved his books. There's still two of his books I haven't read though, including the one that just came out this year.

Newest fictional crush?

Oak Greenbriar?? But can he be considered new when I already loved him last year? But if not him, then there's no one else, probably. I don't give my heart out easily, and honestly I haven't had the best reading year this year… even though I've read 44 books. It's kinda depressing, lol. 

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Yes yes

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It is June 2024 and I want to add a progress update.

It's been a disappointing reading year for me. I've read 43 books this year (including some rereads) and I haven't found any standouts like I did last year.

I think I may have peaked last year, honestly, when I got into the fantasy genre. I devoured Six of Crows, The Cruel Prince, The Infernal Devices, and I also loved Guild Codex: Demonized. Even read a few contemporary romance—which I'm very picky with—standouts: Love Theoretically and This Time It's Real. In any case, I've fucking torn through all the fantasy blockbusters and I'm probably not going to enjoy anything anymore.

The few books that kinda stood out to me this year are: The Prisoner's Throne (yeah, no shit, because it's in the Cruel Prince universe), Dead Silence and… I guess Legendborn? 

I know reading shouldn't always blow your socks off though—it's a hobby and if I enjoyed the time I spent on it, even if it wasn't exceptional, that should be good enough. Still. 

Meh.

MEH.

Nothing is going to hit again like those blockbusters last year, eh? There'll never be a character quite like Cardan, or Oak, or Kaz. That's my reality moving forward. How does one move onto Walmart when you've had Chanel?

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I LOVE OAK GREENBRIAR SO FUCKING MUCH IT'S NOT FUNNY

My little goat baby through the ages

By Frostbite Studios

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Did a bunch of rereads this month, and you know, I'm glad I did because the new books that I read? Oof. None really stood out except for a few.

And by a few, I really just mean the ones by S.A Barnes. Dead Silence was amazing to me, though I need to make it clear that besides the mystery, I ended up being super invested in her main cast. Which rarely EVER happens for a horror/thriller. I love the motley crew and their clashing personalities in Dead Silence, and Kane was LOVELY. Wild take but he reminded me a little of Jem Carstairs, just for his kindness and patience with the heroine. I never thought I'd visit a swoony character like that again, and I ended up kicking my feet and giggling at a HORROR novel. It's crazy.

The horror was well-done too, and one thing to note: this was my first time reading sci-fi horror. I thought I would be overwhelmed by the jargon/science-y parts but I actually did all right! Ghost Station was a bit more lacking because I didn't find the resolution satisfying, but overall I think both her books left me a little discontent in the latter half. I will say that S.A Barnes manages to always write a compelling cast. I really hope her new book, Cold Eternity, will feature another interesting cast (the blurb seems to indicate the heroine alone by herself??). 

I also reread the Mediator series — which was one of my favourite childhood books. The first four books were a fucking blast and I tore through them like a madman, but the fifth book, which used to be my favourite in the series, unexpectedly left me cold. I do think the heroine was much cooler as a character before she fell head over heels for the hero, and I was tired of her brain constantly being filled with Jesse and nothing else. It's a bit sad when your favourite series of all time falls short during a reread, but it was clouded by childhood nostalgia, so there's that.

I've already reviewed The Familiar, so in my monthly recap here all I'll say is that it was decent but nothing more than that. Foxhole Court was surprisingly not at all cringy to me despite people saying the premise is nonsensical, but I was let down by the prose and wished there were more descriptions overall. Meanwhile The Woven Kingdom had the most fucking annoying male lead of all time and Cyrus was meh, but the reveal at the end was fun and unexpected for me. 

I finished the second book in the Natural series by Jennifer Barnes and I just WISH, again, like with Foxhole Court, that the writing was better. There is so much potential in her storyline, but the prose just isn't good enough and I didn't feel attached to a single person (though I liked them all, to a mild degree). Describe the characters more! Give me more grit, I beg. What I really liked about this series is that it isn't about a group of kids with innate special abilities: they weren't born with these gifts, but several of them had suffered some type of trauma to develop these skill sets. Even Cassie's profiling stemmed from brainwork, not sheer talent. 

Urgh. It's so frustrating to me because there's so much potential in The Naturals there that, for me, wasn't met. I still plan to continue with the series just to see where it goes, though. Also I'm thinking of starting The Inheritance Games???? Not sure yet.

Overall: I read a lot for my standards, though about half were rereads. Holly Black's Stolen Heir series is such a comfort read for me and I loved Oak so, so much. It's a pity because almost all the books that weren't rereads kinda let me down (they're all three-stars save for Dead Silence), but that's just how it is, I guess. At this point I don't hope much for a book that will knock my socks off. I'm just happy I'm exploring new books and worlds at all.

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The Familiar 

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.

This is actually the only other Leigh Bardugo book I've read since the masterpiece that is Six of Crows, so I had no idea what to expect. I don't expect an author to maintain the same writing style from a series they wrote so many years ago, but I was expecting something decent at least. And make no mistake; it WAS decent. 

One thing I will say for sure: Leigh can write her ass off. I LOVE her prose. It's even a little like Holly Black's. After slugging through so many subpar pieces of work, it's refreshing to read a book where the author is an excellent writer. Plot aside, the prose is lovely and lush and there are so many lines I wished I annotated or took better note of. 

I think it's even Leigh's gorgeous prose that helps to embellish — or dare I say, mask — the bones of this fantasy story: the rather ubiquitous trials/tournaments trope. I happen to LOVE this trope, but I do think Leigh's writing made a premise that's so commonplace today feel rich, unique and atmospheric. I'm also a huge believer of execution over trope, so this isn't a complaint. It might even be praise. 

So why the mixed feelings, right?

This is going to veer faintly into spoiler territory (though I tried to be subtle), so beware.

The problem is that I don't really love any of the characters. The main cast is… fine, mostly inoffensive, but very forgettable. I know in several months from now I'll have forgotten this story altogether. The thing is, characters are vastly important to me — in fact, I don't even mind a weaker story if the characters stood out more. Luzia seems vague to me — I know she wants more out of her life, but that's about it? I'm sure there are more facets to her personality but overall she hasn't made a salient impression on me. 

Same with Santángel. I was honestly baffled that the writer who wrote distinct personalities like Kaz, Jesper, Wylan and Matthias gave me a male character as tepid as Santángel. His circumstances/curse was extremely fascinating, I don't question that (and it's one of this book's biggest highlights), but his personality was bland. I guess he is a little… grumpy? A little stoic?

That said, I love Valentina's character and I think the ending did her justice. She shone a lot through the book — it does start in her POV, after all — and I'm glad she somehow found her happiness at the end. I also liked the Holy Child, though I was expecting a bit more from her at the end. Hualit — I kept yoyo-ing between disliking her and being neutral and now I just don't care. 😂

The ending… was unexpected. I was scratching my head and trying to make sense of it at first. It wasn't anything like what I had envisioned it to be and I'm having a lot of mixed feelings towards it. The more I think about it, the more I can understand why Leigh wrote it this way, but it felt a tad anticlimactic. Perhaps with time and perspective I'll change my mind (I already have, a bit), but I'd hoped Santángel could break the Curse. Also! The good luck magic doesn't make a lot of sense because obviously it should have worked in a way to keep Santángel by Victor's side, given the calamitous outcome for Victor. But maybe I'm overthinking it. 

Overall, I don't think it was a major letdown or anything like that. More of a "Well, it was an interesting read!" I can't say I loved it, but at least I finally got to read something by Bardugo that isn't Six of Crows, haha. I'm still not sure if I should read Ninth House but maybe one day?

- 6 May 2024

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I did read a fair bit in April, but for some reason my brain wasn't in the mood to talk about it in my reading journal. Well, now I'm forcing it so it has no choice. I'll just compromise and make my reviews brief. And yes — a lot of thrillers in this month because I didn't want to read anything that had romance in it for a while due to a writing project that was very romance-heavy. I WILL say that reading six thrillers back-to-back has shot my nerves to pieces so 😂

Dead of Winter: I remember reading another book then downloading Dead of Winter and just opening it for a peek. WHAT I DIDN'T EXPECT was that the action had already started in Chapter 1 and next thing I knew, I was reading it like a mad man and I could not stop. I need to say that I guessed the plot twist one-third through the book and some of the logistics behind it but surprisingly, it did not ruin the story for me. It was actually one of the few thrillers I read that made me feel claustrophobic and scared. Long after I was done, I kept thinking about it, feeling a) sad for some of the characters' suffering and b) scared/disturbed. I always thought gore didn't matter to me in written form but this book proved me wrong. Overall a really good book.

Never Coming Home: I enjoyed this one a lot, too. I was also a little disturbed and rattled by this book. More than that, I was sad because some of these people were genuinely all-right people in my books (ha ha, bad pun). But they met a terrible ending, anyway. I kinda had to suspend my disbelief about the killer getting away with this shit but I gotta say: I always enjoy the 'And Then There Were None' premise. 

Everyone is Watching: This thriller actually wasn't scary, and while I'd definitely have complained had I read this first, it ended up serving as a palate cleanser after I read two really disturbing books. This was also my first time reading a book where certain characters DID THE RIGHT THING and weren't completely morally reprehensible, and I was shocked. I don't see likeable/rootable characters in thrillers often. Overall, despite lacking some of the tension and fear I'd normally have liked, it was circumstantially welcome for me and kept me engaged throughout. I would have liked if a certain subplot/thread had been wrapped up though — it had just been left there to dangle.

Ward D: Freida McFadden is often hit or miss for me in regards to story resolution, but this was a HIT!! Again, I guessed the plot twist like one-third the way in (I don't know if I'm being smarter or I've just read too many thrillers), but the journey was so thrilling and I couldn't stop reading. That's her gift, isn't it? Somehow she's perfected the formula to make her books unputdownable. I was cheering for Spider-Dan at the end, haha. I really liked this one!

That's Not My Name: Okay, so this book made me uncomfortable. The idea of a girl waking up and living with a strange man who claims to be her father was so… icky. Can you imagine?? Sharing a secluded cabin with a man you don't even know but you have to take his word that he's your dad? Thank God the man never did anything sexual because I would have vomited right then and there. Also, the ending actually made me tear up because it was really sad. I did skim in parts but other than that a pretty solid book? I don't like this as much as the aforementioned thrillers I read, though.

Everyone Here Is Lying: This was my first time reading a book with this writing style. It feels… well, not bad, just different — almost like I'm reading a report of everyone's POVs in the suburbs. It feels kinda impersonal, the way things are written? I can't put a finger on it. I don't think it's necessarily something I disliked. It was actually very engaging UNTIL the mystery reveal came in and I was like: huh??? This is so anticlimactic. This is the reveal? The culprit was like, barely mentioned up until that point. It's what made me dock a star. Other than that, the journey was pretty entertaining and I love domestic thrillers.

Wrath of the Talons: Okay. So. The first half of this book? I have to say it's kinda garbage. It's extremely repetitive with Lina going around, killing some Blackbloods, then gathering allies with just a few nice words and some baubles/valuables as bribes. I don't think she did it in any way that was significant or impressive, and I don't think she's sly as the other characters keep praising her to be – she's honestly just dumb if you ask me, lmao. I kept comparing her to Jude Duarte and being like: this is a Walmart knockoff. That said, the second half with the Prophecy came in and I was really hooked by that, and how Rui was trying to handle it. I also just really like seeing him in pain because of it. 🙂 In any case, the ENDING is what made a solid three-star book into four stars for me. Or at least a high three stars. That was delicious and I won't spoil it but I loved how it came full circle with the man whose wife Lina killed. I was originally pretty annoyed with how she thought it was okay to deceive that man into an alliance after what she did, but the culmination of that plot point was splendid. I'm really curious about the next book, which is coming out later this year, I think? It's a lot faster than I expected given we waited so long for this book, so I have a feeling this is just a placeholder date, but we'll see!!!

Okay — I'm done wrapping up. I won't be mentioning the Mediator reread right now. All in all, this was a productive reading month for me (shockingly) despite all the fanfic writing I did this month and I'm pretty content about it. I'll see where the next month takes me… 

- 1 May 2024

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Official art of Oak and Wren from the tour makes me want to cry

(From @nayxreads on Instagram)

(From Holly Black's page)

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@/hotkeybooks posted this on tik tok!!

it’s such a pretty book !! super excited to see what the illustration stamped cover looks like!!! and i’m also wondering if anyone is getting arcs for this!!