hayleyslibrarycard's reviews
348 reviews

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 73%.

I really wanted to like this but the way its written gives "women written by men" in a real icky way that I just didn't want to read anymore weird descriptions of how horny this robot was and how displeased old mate Doug was with her. I think this book had great intentions, and the themes of domestic abuse, sentience and AI, emotional abuse are important ones to talk about but the way they went about this really put me off and I just didn't even want to finish it. I was uncomfy the entire time and although it was a real fast read I just didnt want to finish it so I didnt haha. 

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.

This was just okay and I didn't care enough about the characters to continue. Enjoyed the first book but felt like this was very repetitive and I just wasnt invested in the way I wanted to be. I did listen to this on audiobook which may have exacerbated the problem (I'm not usually a audiobook listener) - the narrator was just a bit off and like I said I didn't particularly care for the story either which made it an easy DNF. Would definitely try Holly Jackson again though as I loved 5 survive

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

LOVVVVVVEEEEDDDD THIS. my teeth ache from how sweet it was. All the characters are my fave and I just love novels about novels!!!!! And bookstores!!! And small towns!!!!! This book felt like it was written for me! I must read more Ashley Poston, she cured my missing Emily Henryness. 

The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

I will probably come back to it, just not feeling it at the mo

Remind Me to Hate You Later by Lizzy Mason

dark inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I actually really enjoyed this and think this is an exceptionally poignant and important YA book. There’s not many like this out there for teenagers but I think the topics (especially social media and its impacts) are getting more and more prevalent. 

I really enjoyed all the characters, they were very fleshed out and very teenager like. They all made mistakes and said shit they didn’t mean and didn’t get their parents and it was all very relatable. I loved the excerpts from the mums book near the end, getting her perspective really helped the narrative. 

I think this book will stick with me, and I love this topic, would definitely read more books about the way influencers children deal with being so famous without even knowingb

Doughnuts and Doom by Balazs Lorinczi

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

I find it super hard to rate graphic novels but I really enjoyed this, it was so sweet and I really liked both of our female MCs. I feel like it could’ve been longer and gone into more depth about their backgrounds (is Elena some sort of super natural too?? Her teeth seem to be quite pointy?) 

I feel like they glossed over quite a lot to move the book along, we can assume she passed her test in the end but like that was also never confirmed? I finished the graphic novel wanting more personally 

Loved the illustrations, Margot is super cute and love her outfits. And the colour scheme is lovely with the tiny bits of pink to show the magic. 

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was so solid, I thoroughly enjoyed it while I was reading but didn't feel the insatiable urge to read it all the time which was a tad disappointing. 

It was so close to being a 4 star but I think the ending after that final twist (

Becca spiking Pippas drink and trying to kill her)

it ended a bit too wrapped up in a bow? Idk, my heart rate spiked and I really thought I was in for some craziness but it sorted itself out quickly after. 

Really enjoyed the 3 months later segment though, so happy for

Ravi and Pip 🥹

I loved Pip's family, they were so sweet and so well fleshed out too. 
I find when I'm reading Holly Jacksons books (I've read two so far) that I have to suspend a fair amount of belief but when I do I really enjoy them. I don't think Pip would actually be able to get away with half the shit that happened in this book irl but its a YA mystery/thriller so I'll let it slide. 

Holly Jackson does a wonderful job of intertwining all of the characters stories and making everyone suspicious. 

I will definitely read the second one now as this definitely felt like it could've ended as a stand-alone and I want to see where Holly takes it. One of the students at school said that the second one is super unhinged so I'm excited about that hahaha. 

Was a super easy read and I flew through it while I was reading, I like Holly's writing style, her books are in 3rd person which always takes me a little while to get into but I overally find really enjoyable with the themes that Holly works with. I can see why this book is super popular in the YA genre. 

I laughed out loud multiple times and love the way Holy Jackson writes teenagers, I think she really nails it here with their age range. I really enjoyed the mixed media elements here too, they really worked for the story she was trying to tell and the time in which the story is being told. It would be interesting to see how this would work in audiobook format.

Lover Birds by Leanne Egan

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a lot of fun! One of the lovely year 9s from school who comes to bookclub wanted me to read this after she absolutely frothed it and who was I to deny her?

I enjoyed all the characters and thought they were all fleshed out well. They all actually had different personalities and things going on and their lives didn’t just revolve around the MC like I often find in YA. 

The kissing and lovey dovey scenes were very very very cute and I can see why you would swoon over this! I personally think it’s a bit too insta-love for me and the “hatred” they started with wasn’t as believable as I wanted it to be but it’s a fun lesbian YA romance so I’ll cut it some slack. 

I didn’t really like Isabel, and I don’t think she gave us a good enough reason for us to cheer her on to get back with Lou, but again a romance is always better when it’s tied up in a bow hahah. 

Loved the ADHD rep, you don’t get that much in books and it’s much appreciated, I think the way it’s described is accurate and will make so many young people feel seen. I liked that we saw both sides of the medication vs no meds argument but it didn’t seem to tell the reader which one was better (even in the end) and I really enjoyed that. I also liked that it explored classism as well but in a way that felt relevant and accurate to the story


Also loved loved loved that Lou’s gay realisation and coming out were handled in a way that it wasn’t a big deal and that wasn’t the main bit of her story. It gets a bit much sometimes to always read about teenagers coming out to their parents and getting kicked out or their lives being hell because of it 


One thing is that the characters didn’t seem to act their age, they were supposed to be 17/18 but the way they spoke and acted and the drama that ensued throughout the whole book put them more 13/14 to me, and I think this all would’ve been a bit more believable if they had been aged down? The insta love felt too young. 

Overall it was very cute, and my heart was happy with how it ended, I was smiling throughout the book and had a lot of fun. The romance scenes were so cute and it’ll be fun having a hit of a fangirl with bookclub about it. 

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was wonderful! Loved every minute when I picked it up. 
I love Helen, and her flaws and her hardness and how she went through life, and Jesus Christ Grant fucking Shepard has my whole heart!!! I loved the deeper themes wound within this novel, there was a backdrop of so much sadness but it was still so light and fluffy! I will read anything else this author writes (and damn can she write a sex scene!!) 
I LOVED the writing and am so excited that this is the lady who’s gonna adapt Emily Henry’s books into movies!!!!

This is exactly what I want from a romance novel, gorgeous romance with actual real plot points and fully realised characters who’s whole personality is not just being in love