Writing Through Rose-Tinted Glasses

Initial reaction: Review to come closer to pub date, received from the publisher on Netgalley. Thanks to them for generously providing a copy. *sighs* Long discussion to come on this one but I wish I could’ve enjoyed it. I started out liking parts of the lore, the settling, even some of the characters. But then…I think it went in too many directions without a solid foundation for getting there.…

Initial reaction:That was a rollercoaster in the wrong doggone way. Review to come. 2 stars. Absolutely not my cuppa. It feels like we were made to go through that whole whirlwind thanks to very contrived situations surrounding the characters. It was hard to suspend disbelief because of how things in transition came to be and what was supposed to be an emotional scenario for these teens and the…

Initial reaction: Looking like 3 or 3.5 stars. Very quick novella, but I feel like one critique was that the protagonist felt a bit younger for voice than I expected for her age. Full review: “In the Shadow of the Fall” is the first book of a duology fantasy novella, which ended up in a place I wasn’t quite expecting and intrigued me. In the end, I gave this brief read 3.5 stars and I fully…

Initial reaction: Solid 4-stars. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and there were a few moments it felt a bit too long, but I laughed several times at Amelia and Calvin’s banter.Full review:2026 has been a rough start for the year for a multitude of reasons, but I’m glad that I started off my reading year strong with a more recent release from Christina C. Jones. “Definitely NOT a Thing” was…

Quick review for a quick read. I will admit that this was informative and hit several points of interest in the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump as president, but overall I was somewhat underwhelmed by it. (You might be thinking “Rose, it’s because this is written from a rather privileged POV and does not reflect some of the experiences of minority groups and folks who have been saying…

Initial reaction: A long review coming for this and it hurts because I really wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. The original version of this story is Neverwraith by the same author, but this is a reworked, “improved” version. I think some changes did lean towards the better, particularly changes made towards the end, but the beginning was a struggle with the dual POV, among…

Initial reaction: I finished y’all. Officially one of the oddest titles I’ve read this year. I didn’t love it, honestly. There are better examples of this genre to be had, it was a bit all over the place. 1.5 stars. Full review: Heed the trigger warnings all, this book has quite a number of them. Transphobic bullying, racism, misogyny/misogynoir, body horror, inappropriate age-gap implied…

Initial reaction: 1 star (0 stars, if you want me to be blunt). I cannot even begin to say how bad of an experience this was. Please take Toni Morrison’s name out of your mouth with any association with this book. Absolute mockery of serious issues like mental health, depression, racism, and teen relationships. I went to see if the physical copy of this had any trigger warnings. Nope. I…

Initial reaction:Feel good about giving this 4 stars. Admittedly, certain parts of the plot went off course a few times, but it was still an intense and enjoyable ride. I think readers will like Win/Coal and Door (Theodore) a lot. This poor kid had a lot of awkward moments with his powers. 😅 Full review: So I’m going to clarify that this is a middle grade story, but I think it’s one of those…

Initial reaction: Finally finished. I’m in the minority on this. I know why folks like it. There are pieces of this I appreciated, valued, connected with. But too many times I felt an odd distance from the characters. Slow burn is good, but the burn was more painful for me than satisfying. 3.5 stars. Full review: I know I’m in the minority on reacting to Regina Black’s “August Lane”. So many…

Initial reaction: Honestly, being generous: 2 stars. An Academy for Liars felt like one big illusion of a lot of things: dark academia, Gothic horror, explorations of loss, identity, escapism, and magic. But you can’t make a good story out of a collection of vibes, which is what this book did. Unfortunately. (Sighs in someone who would like an actual story blending dark academia with Gothic…

Quick review for a quick read. It’s been a little while since I’ve picked up a picture book, but I knew I had to request this particular book since I’ve loved following Olympic athlete Frederick Richard, who won-the All Around Gymnastics medal in the Paris Olympics 2024. He’s also known as FredFlips on social media, so the title of this book made sense. I had no idea he wrote a kid’s book! This…

Initial reaction: Feel good about giving this a solid 4 stars. Nice end to the trilogy (and honestly wouldn’t mind reading more books if this series had a follow-up). Seeing Cam, his fam and friends show up against the Architects was worth the journey, with a few caveats. Full review: The final book in the Futureland trilogy, “The Architect Games”, was definitely well worth being able to dive…

Initial reaction: 4.5 stars. This was excellent. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series. It has a decent amount of tension and action. Cam and his friends solve a more complicated plot to sabotage the park, this time in NYC. Full review: I keep asking myself why this enjoyable, enthralling series by H.D. Hunter isn’t getting even more attention than it is. “Futureland” is truly a fun…

Initial reaction: I haven’t decided on what I’ll rate this, but 3 stars might be where I land. This book I’ve had as a galley for the longest time and it was a quick read, enough for me to fly through it. Lena and Campbell are teen girls, Black and white respectively, trying to survive a night of violence that takes place in multiple locations, starting at a high school game and escalating…

Initial reaction: Nope. Nuh-uh. Absolutely not. (I’ll have a more coherent rant review later, but I’m done with this series.) Full review: I tagged this book as “zero stars is too much for this” on Goodreads, but my overall rating is 1 star. And I know many of you are thinking, “Rose, woman, what the hell happened?” People usually know me for being chill, but when I get riled up about a book,…

Initial reaction: 1.5-2 stars. I haven’t decided what my final rating is, but prep for a long, rant review. Doggone this series could have went in many interesting directions based on the establishment of the first book. This book felt like unnecessary trauma with a notably forced relationship shift. I should start Oathbound soon, but definitely tempering what to expect from the third book…