Mini Reviews Volume #6
What: Engage (Ignite #2.5)by Erica Crouch
Who: Patchwork Press
When: May 5th 2015
How: Purchased.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Engage was another delightful addition to the Ignite series. We got to see how the New Genesis movement started, and how Ana and Kala got together. I felt like this could have been a little bit longer, but that’s in no way a negative thing. I just could have read an entire book about Kala. There’s still so much I want to learn about her, and how she became who she is (a bubbly yet badass swearing angel!).
Whilst the romance between Ana and Kala moved pretty quickly, I was all over it. It was sweet and swoonworthy, and totally had me rooting for the two of them the entire time. I’m excited to read Crouch’s other LGBT stories, because she wrote this f/f relationship beautifully.
I need Infinite in my hands, like, yesterday (LOL at the fact that I literally did get Infinite yesterday).
What: Harmonic (Dissonance #1.5) by Erica O’Rourke
Who: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
When: March 3rd 2015
How: Purchased.
Rating: ★ ★ ★
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Addie in Dissonance, so I was pretty surprised when I ended up liking this novella told from her perspective. She was a lot less uptight and annoying, so maybe it was just Del’s view of her as her bitchy big sister that made me not a huge fan of her.
Anyway, I was appreciative of the fact that this was not a filler novella with absolutely no purpose (I read one recently that was less than fifty pages, and I was FUMING). We got to know about Addie, and her ex girlfriend, and there were actually some pretty tense action times.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed in the fact that every time Addie and Laurel were about to have physical times, it’d sort of fade out. I mean after “our mouths meet” … nothing. I’m sick of hetero sex and sexy times being faded out in YA but at least they’re there sometimes. So yeah. Not a huge fan of that aspect of this novella.
I will say that it added to understanding in Resonance that would have left me confused had I not read it – so yay!
What: Captive Prince (Captive Prince #1) by C.S. Pacat
Who: Viking: Penguin
When: April 7th 2015
How: Purchased.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
trigger warning: sexual abuse, rape, and torture in this novel
This. Novel. OMG. I just cannot. I devoured it in two sittings because it was perfect. I am SO glad that Luce flailed over it on Twitter, because I might not have ever discovered it otherwise, and that thought causes me literal PAIN. P A I N
I ship a lot of things, but I ship Damen and Laurent with the burning passion of a thousand fiery suns. Which doesn’t make any sense because Laurent is kind of evil and hurts Damen, but by the end of the book, I was clutching the book between my fingers begging for them to get together. Seriously. It’s just AHHH. They compliment each other, and they need each other so much, and I just want my babies TO BE HAPPY TOGETHER (and also have wild passionate precious sex, but hey – thank the lord this isn’t YA because sex is actually a possibility, bless the lord).
Another wonderful thing about this book is the side characters. Even background characters make you feel so much. There’s this one character that is in the novel, like, twice, and I adore him so much. Erasmus bb darling. Be happy and live long and prosper. <3
Anyway, I’ll turn this into an actual review if I don’t stop soon (although “review” is used loosely here because in all reality it’d just be flailing), so just READ THIS FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING.
What: Dirty London by Kelley York
Who: N/A
When: August 8th 2014
How: Purchased.
Rating: ★ ★
I was super disappointed in this book! I read a really positive review by Cayce, so I immediately bought it (although of course I did not immediately read it because I have a problem with reading books I actually purchase).
The first thing I was disappointed in was the main character, London. Even though this is told from first person POV, I was extremely detached from her the whole time. It was a little weird, since first person is usually so immersive, but it just wasn’t in Dirty London.
The second is how assumptive London was regarding Wade. She saw him at an LGBT festival, and immediately assumed he was gay. GIRL, you should know that you can’t assuming anything. There is no (or should be no) default, remember? And this was just such an example of bisexual erasure, and I was equally parts pissed and disappointed.
The third is how dramatic the whole thing was. Douchey jock, and bitchy girls. It was like watching a teenage soap opera, and I found it all a little too over the top for me, to be honest.
Unfortunately, Dirty London wasn’t really for me, and I’m still looking for a lesbian YA book that I love.
© 2015, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.
I added Captive Prince to my TBR after Luce tweeted it, too! It sounds fabulous and I’m glad you loved it so much. And yes, good lesbian novels are to find. Well, they do say write what you want to read, yes? Maybe it’s time to put that into practise ;) After all that suggestiveness, I’m off to check out Erica Crouch! Bye!
YAY! I hope you read it soon, Rebecca :D It’s super fabulous, and deserves so much love.
That is true, haha XD Although I have yet to write a book from a girl’s perspective – eep.
Hurrah! I hope you like her novels <3
I haven’t read Dissonance but it has been on my TBR for awhile now. It’s great finding a novella that actually adds something to a series, most of the ones I’ve read were just unnecessary filler.
Captive Prince is new to me but hot damn, I am intrigued. Not only am I liking the concept I’m always up for something new and and I really think I will like this. My library has it mwhahaha
I really liked it :D Unfortunately, I wasn’t so keen on the sequel, but still. I think Dissonance is worth the read. And I was glad that Harmonic actually had some substance!
YESSSS, ALISE. PLEASE READ IT AND LOVE IT AND COME FLAIL TO ME ABOUT IT <3
I haven’t read Dissonance, though I’ve seen it around and have been thinking of doing so. Yeah, lots of novellas tend to be just fillers and extra fluff with the characters, which is welcome sometimes, and in other more frequent cases cases, not so much… I’m glad it provided substance for the stories!
I really liked Dissonance when I read it last year! I would recommend it ^.^
And yeah, I get SO annoyed by filler novellas, so I was super happy that Harmonic actually added to the story!
I have heard so many good things about Captive Prince, is it a LGBT book? So many blogger buddies have loved that one, I’m not sure why I haven’t still read it – I just finished adding it to myTBR :) For Lesbian books, you can try Black Iris – I didn’t like it that much but almost everyone I know has love it, and its NA. thank you for the awesome reviews :)
It is an LGBT book! :D YAY for adding it to your TBR. The love for Captive Prince is definitely deserved :)
I have heard some pretty good things about Black Iris, so I really want to read it! I have yet to find it in a bookstore, though.
No problem, Benish :)
If you’re still in search of a YA lesbian novel, I recommend Beauty Of the Broken by Tawni Waters. I cannot recommend it enough to be honest. I read it just earlier this year but it’s become one of my favorites. It’s clearly a YA novel but there’s still a lot of tragedy involved. It’s incredibly raw, emotional and romantic.