• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Blogs We Heart
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Books and Sensibility

We're an Open Book

  • Reviews
    • Young Adult Fiction
    • Young Adult Nonfiction
    • Adult Fiction
    • Adult Nonfiction
  • Features
  • Diverse Reads
    • Asian Stories
    • Black Stories
    • Latinx Stories
    • LGBTQIA Stories

LGBTQIA

The Sidekicks by Will Kostikas

February 3, 2018      Leave a Comment

This Aussie YA follows three boys at a Sydney private school who have nothing in common except their dead best friend, Issac Roberston.

The boys in this book are labeled as the swimmer, the rebel and the nerd and they each share their unique  perspective on the aftermath of Issac’s death. Of the three boys, Harley, the “rebel”,   feels partially responsible for the death (and who is just asking to be compared to Holden Caulfield) and Miles, the loner “nerd”, have the most compelling stories  because of how Issac’s death changes the way they navigate the world.

…

Read this Post

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virture by Mackenzi Lee

December 30, 2017      Leave a Comment

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

10 hours 47 minutes | Harper Audio | Historical/Fantasy | 06/27/2017  

In The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue an all around scoundrel is about to embark on a dangerous high stakes road trip to self discovery. It’s hard out there for a YA historical to top the YA bestseller list (I mean except for Ruta Sepetys and just reading the synopsis of  her books makes me sad) and I think what helps this book stand out is it’s outstanding originality,

The book is primarily told in a semi-anarchistic self deprecating tone that emanates from our narrator, Henry “Monty” Montague. Monty is about to embark on his Grand Tour, where he plans to spend the year drinking and partying, all while trying to keep the fact that he is madly in love with his best friend a secret.

…

Read this Post

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

November 25, 2017      Leave a Comment

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Release Date: 09/05/17 | Contemporary-ish ? | 8 hours 29 minutes

They Both Die At The End is the Final Destination meets The Sun is Also A Star you didn’t know you needed.

It’s a little after midnight in New York City when 17-year-old foster kid Rufus Emeterio and 18-year-old Mateo Torrez get the phone alert from Death Cast, a mysterious service that somehow knows that within 24 hours you will meet an untimely death. When they both find themselves unable to be with their loved ones on their End Days they connect on the The Last Friend app. With less than 24 hours left to live these two unlikely strangers are going to have to try the best last day and they’re doing it together.

I’m a little conflicted over this book. Silvera is an great storyteller; his characters are interesting and he creates this great alternate universe that is only a few ticks off from our own world but you never feel confused or like you are getting an info dump. He just eases you into his imagination perfectly. But there were times when the story felt slow and stagnant and the over earnestness levels were at an all time high. Like at one point these New Yorkers bury a dead bird on the street and later they sing American Pie at karaoke, which if you aren’t familiar is a song with the chorus “Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die.”

…

Read this Post

Book Review/Audiobook Review : Ramona Blue

September 24, 2017      Leave a Comment

 

…

Read this Post

Audiobook Review: The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

September 18, 2017      Leave a Comment

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

 Release Date: 06/27/17 | Historical | 10 hours 47 minutes | Harper Audio

It’s Georgian London ya’ll and Henry “Monty” Montague, the rouge18-year-old Viscount of Disley, is all set for his year long Grand Tour of the European continent–where he hopes to attend to some general rakish-ness.  Along for the tour is his annoying younger sister Felicity and his best friend Percy–who he also happens to be madly in love with. Yeah, what could possibly go wrong ?

I think this should be one of those books that the less you know going in the better. This book gets talked about as a road trip novel, but to me it is less road trip and more Hero’s Journey with a sprinkling of Dan Brown intrigue and like a pinch of Southern Gothic tropes. I’ve never read anything quite like it before and it was amazing.

…

Read this Post

Days of David Levithan: Lover’s Dictionary and Realm of Possibility

March 25, 2014      Leave a Comment

Between 2013-2014 I attempt to read a large selection of David Levithan novels.
 See the full list here

We are kind of skipping around in publication order because I think these two Levithan novels have a lot in common as they are both love stories written in nontraditional prose.

…

Read this Post

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 6
  • Go to page 7
  • Go to page 8
  • Go to page 9
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Hello !

Welcome! Here you’ll find book reviews, features and a glimpse into the bookish life of two sisters because here–we’re an open book !

Subscribe

We Review Romance

Reviews by Rating

  • ★
  • ★★
  • ★★★
  • ★★★★
  • ★★★★★

Archives

Grab Our Button

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2025 · Wordpress Theme by Hello Yay!