❧ Looseleaf Reviews ❧

Finding Time For Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Fri, 25 May 2018 16:06:00 +0000

I must not be the only person facing this: I started book blogging years ago when I was in college. As busy as I was, I always found time mid-week or on school vacations to give this blog the full love and attention it deserves.

Now I'm working full-time. Between my two jobs, I work 50+ hours a week. Not just that, but bartending is exhausting - I can practically feel all my creative juices flowing out of me!
This year has been an uphill battle to keep up with both my reading and my blogging. I by no means have this system down, but here are some tips I use to remind myself to keep blogging:

1. Emphasize E-Books

No matter how busy I get, I always keep up reading Fanfiction. I swear, I've read every AO3 story possible for The Raven Cycle, All For the Game, and Check, Please! So how do I find time for those but not for book-books? Because I take them with me everywhere! I rarely have an hour to sit down in a comfy chair to read a hardcover, so as much as I love doing that, I've found myself much more likely to read an e-book on my phone on-the-go.

2. Expand My Social Media

I used to just blog, Goodreads, Bookstagram with a few Tweets to point back at my posts. I recently joined Litsy and it's been a huge push to re-engage with the bookish community! The standard of photographs is so much less daunting than Bookstagram, and people interact and respond to each other much more often than on Goodreads. Litsy might not be for everyone, but find the platform that keeps you motivated!

3. Plan My Blog

I used to Bullet Journal which worked wonders for me, but with my workflow being entirely Google-based at work, I've had to migrate everything to technology. Wunderlist has been an absolute blessing, and I've adapted the same organization to my blog posts! When I have an idea for a post, I make a note, and within the app I can organize and schedule where I want my ideas to go.

4. Ask Myself, Who Am I Writing For?

I used to write long and incredibly detailed reviews...when I reviewed at all. Because I was setting such a high standard of review quality, I often kept putting it off until I didn't review the book period. Unless the review was a request from an author or publisher, why was I killing myself to do this? My reviews are for me, and all I want my followers to do is feel inspired to pick up the books that I loved. That doesn't need an hour and a wall of words to communicate, so relax and write the kind of reviews that you want to read.

5. Set Goals, But Be Kind to Yourself

There have been entire months that I've lapsed any reading or blogging whatsoever. Even my Bookstagram - something I used to keep up religiously - has run dry. While I wish I was posting on a schedule and keeping followers who looked out for my content every week, that just doesn't fit into my lifestyle right now. I have to let my "brand" stand on its own - keep my content consistent and post when I can. One post a month is better than no posts, and I have to remember that.

What do you do when your life gets too busy for consistent blogging? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 03:23:00 +0000

Books That Surprised Me

In a Good Way:

All For the Game by Nora Sakavic Why: Everyone said these books were next-level amazing, but take one look at the covers and it's hard to believe. It took me about a year to come around to them, but they are insanely good!
The Sum of Its Parts by E.M. Holloway Why: Another self-published series that doesn't have all the frills on the outside. But the characters are amazing and the plot is always refreshingly kick-ass.
They Both Die at the End and History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera Why: I have legitimately never been so emotionally devistated by works of fiction. Cried like an actual baby. Both times! This man has a gift and that gift is gut-wrenching sadness.
Divergent series by Veronica Roth Why: I was so over the dystopian thing by the time these were a big thing. You couldn't pay me to pick this book up. I eventually pulled the trigger, and to this day, I think this was the most refreshing addition to the genre since The Hunger Games! I'm not a fangirl for the characters or plot, but the emotional complexity to the story gets mad respect from me.
The Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman Why: These are riding the fine line between YA and middle grade. I picked them up at age 18 and figured I'd be too old to enjoy them, but I was totally wrong! This series was so moving that I honestly regret not having them as a part of my childhood.

In a Bad Way:

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Why: It's no secret how much I loathe this book. Unfortunately for me, it was required high school reading long before the hype. It was assigned in the aftermath of a classmate's suicide, and I was blindsided by the insensitivity of both the author and our faculty for choosing it.
The Selection series by Kiera Cass Why: Okay, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I figured with all the hype these must have had some depth to them. But nope, it's all the trashy of reality TV like The Bachelor but in YA book form. Guilty pleasure? Yes, Good books? Yeah, no.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before series by Jenny Han Why: Was I missing something? Dumb girl is supsrised when an honestly not-that-offensive teenage guy is, well, a teenage guy? Add in some slut shaming and hella shallow characters and you lost me.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green Why: I think we all saw this one coming. Not exceptionally bad, just not exceptionally good. Heck, I can barely even remember the characters writing about it now.
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas Why: Book One? Meh. Book Two? Holy hell this is amazing I re-read it like five times. Book Three? What garbage did you just feed me? I am not joking when I say I read a fanfic that was a better sequel for this series.

Top Ten Tuesday feature courtesy of of That Artsy Reader Girl

Announcement: Looseleaf Reviews is Moving!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 20:31:00 +0000

Hello, followers!

I'd like to formally announce that Looseleaf Review will be moving!

Don't worry - it's not yet, and the URL and content will still be the same! I have just realized that I've reach the limit of what I can do on Blogger. I've been clinging to this interface because of all the love and attention I gave it over the last two years, but the fact is, Blogger will never look clean enough.

Even though it doesn't have the customizability I want, I will be moving over to Wordpress!

Until my Wordpress is fully up and running, I will be cross-posting both here and there. Once I formally close this down, I'll move my URL over there. In the meantime, if you want to start following my future blog, here's the link:

https://looseleafbookreviewsblog.wordpress.com/

Many thanks,
Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews

Top Ten Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 05:53:00 +0000

Favorite Book Quotes

*

"I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I ever estimate it." - Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

*

"It was at that moment that he realized that his spirit was truly human once more. For he no longer remembered how to be alone without being lonely." - Neal Shusterman, Everwild

*

"In this world of numbness and information overload, the ability to feel, my boy, is a rare gift indeed." - Patrick Ness, The Ask and the Answer

*

"You're everything. You're... you're chaos and order and everything in between. Like sunshine kept back by clouds. Like the entire world's imploded inside you, but all I see are the stars are sewn into your skin. You are filled with soft, dark music. I hear it all the time. Your music." - Tara Sim, Timekeeper

*

"His feelings for Adam were an oil spill; he'd let them overflow and now there wasn't a damn place in the ocean that wouldn't catch fire if he dropped a match." - Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven King

"If you can't be unafraid, Henry said, be afraid and happy." - Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven King

Weekly feature courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl

Beat the Backlist 2018!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 16:26:00 +0000

I'm officially enrolled in Beat the Backlist 2018! This is a challenge hosted by NovelKnight to knock off some of your old TBR. It runs from January 1 - December 31. you can go at your own pace, but you can also be a part of a team that's wracking up points. Specifically, you could be a part of the best team like me, the Story Sorcerer'!

Full rules and signup are HERE.

Follow my progress on my Twitter HERE.

GOAL: 20 books, 10 reviews

STATUS: 2/20 books, 0/20 reviews

BOOKS:

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Fortitude Smashed by Taylor Brooke

Homeland by Cory Doctorow

It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Coffee Cake by Michaela Grey

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Wolfsong by T.J. Klune

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

How Not to Summon Your True Love by Sasha Miller

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz

3 by Hannah Moskowitz

Release by Patrick Ness

Replica by Lauren Oliver

Ringer by Lauren Oliver

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

The Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd

~~History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera~~

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

~~Body Counts by Sean Strub~~

It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

February Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 11:00:00 +0000

February, man. Not my month. Let's call this the "month of lame excuses not to read." Kicked in the butt by my school work? Check. Distracted by the Olympics? Check. Regularly working 50 hour weeks? Super check. And being too sick and hopped up on cold meds to even read? Yup, that happened, too.

I'm super dedicated to my 75 book goal in 2017, so I squeezed a measly 5 books out of this month. it's okay to be ashamed for me. I'm ashamed of me, too 🙈

Overview

Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 1,173
Reviews Written: 3
Blog Posts: 8

Books Read

★★★★★

Check, Please! Year Three by Ngozi Ukazu [GR]

★★★★☆

Check, Please Year Two by Ngozi Ukazu [GR]
Check, Please Year One by Ngozi Ukazu [GR / Review]
Caroline's Heart by Austin Chant [GR / Review]

★★★☆☆

The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter #2) [GR / Review]

Currently Reading

Top Ten Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 01:01:00 +0000

Books I Could Re-Read Forever

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

What year is complete without the annual pilgramage through the Harry Potter series? In all honesty, I have probably read it through 6 times by now.

2. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

I'm sure everyone knows by now that this is my all-time favorite series. Between re-reads and reading like, everything published on AO3, a measurable percentage of my life is dedicated to reading about these nerds.

3. All For the Game by Nora Sakavic

I love these broken children to little tiny bits. I'll pull up my e-books for frequent re-reads, and I recently bought the whole series in paperback. Just to hold them, and gaze at them fondly sometimes. You know, important reasons to spend $40.

4. The Mediator by Meg Cabot

I grew up on this series. Legit. As a pre-teen I'd re-read the series in a week maybe a couple times a year. I recently had the trip down memory lane because there was a sequel to the series oh my goood. So another re-read occurred, of course!

5. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I feel like this one was published in that small window where YA wasn't cool, so the amount of people who haven't read this breaks my heart! Where is the fandom for Dustfinger or Farid or Moe? Give! Me! Fan! Content!

Honorable Mention: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

The more Maas I read, the more I'm honestly a little bit over her. But dead in the middle of a fairly mediocre series is this gem. It's over 600 pages and I've read it cover-to-cover three times! Why was the rest of the series not this perfect?

What books could you re-read into eternity? Let me know in the comments!

Weekly feature courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl.

Book Review: Check, Please! Year One by Ngozi Ukazu

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 19:01:00 +0000

Check, Please! Year One
by Ngozi Ukazu
Publication Date: 2015
Format: Webcomic
Genres: Graphic Novel - LGBTQIA+ - Sports
Find it On: Webcomic - Amazon - Goodreads
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis:

Eric Bittle - former figure skater, vlogger extraordinaire, and amateur patissier - is starting his freshman year playing hockey at the prestigious Samwell University. And it's nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia. For one?

There's checking.

It's a story about hockey and friendship and bros and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life.

My Review:

Looking for the cutest and most endearing coming of age/coming out/basically an American sports anime with amazing art published for free entirely through crowdfunding? This is the place!

Check, Please Year One starts the story of Eric Bittle, a former junior figure skater from Georgia who makes it onto an NCAA hockey team in college. He's quick on the ice and a good shot, but the problem is that he's terrified of checking. With his scholarship on the line, he has to get over his fear and win over the team enough for them to keep him around.

What I absolutely love about this series is how it defies expectations. You've got a very flamboyantly gay kid from the south who plays hockey and bakes pies in a frat house. And you know what? No one gives him shit for it! The way "bro culture" is portrayed is so spot on, but all the bigotry and narrow-mindedness you'd expect is sucked right out. There is obviously a greater institution of homophobia in Bitty's life, but in every phase of his coming out to the people around him, he's met with love and support.

The cast of characters is phenomenal, too. Who doesn't love ultimate frat boy Shitty, or stoic hockey robot Jack? In this first book we're just getting glimpses of all of them, but it's a great ensemble cast, and I never felt overwhelmed as they were introduced.

I have a LOT more gushing to do about this series, but so much happens in later books, so I'll save it for another review. If you've heard the hype about this series and thought if picking it up, DO IT! It's a quick read and entirely free on http://checkpleasecomic.com/

Diversity Score: Author of color (+3), Gay/bi main characters (+2), Main character with mental illness (+2), Main relationship with different sexualities (+2), Supporting characters of color (+1) = 10

Olympic Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 02:46:00 +0000

Hello, followers! Just dropping a line to tell you that I'm taking a brief hiatus. Between school and work, I've left myself no time to read because all of my free time has been watching the Olympics. I'll spare you the incredibly un-book-like Olympic commentary, but feel free to drop by my main tumblr (http://meowboutthat.tumblr.com/) for my obsessing over this beautiful bunch of athletes.

Peace and love,

Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews

Book Review: Caroline's Heart by Austin Chant

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Caroline's Heart
by Austin Chant
Publication Date: October 25, 2017
Format: E-Book, 98 Pages
Genres: LGBTQIA+ - Fantasy - Western
Find it On: Amazon - Goodreads
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis:

Cecily lost her soulmate years ago, leaving her with nothing but the clockwork heart that once beat in Caroline's chest. They say it's impossible to bring back the dead, yet Cecily's resurrection spell is nearly complete and grows more powerful by the day.

But when a cowboy she barely knows is fatally injured, the only way to save him is by sacrificing an essential piece of the resurrection spell—and all possibility of seeing her lover again.

My Review:

Austin Chant has done it again and created a badass, emotional, and captivating story in less than 100 pages! There's so much going on in this book. There's Roy, the wayward cowboy who has no real home or ambitions other than just getting my. There's Cecily, the witch both feared for her aloofness and cold attitude and respected for helping the injured in her village. Then of course there's Caroline, a lost love whose memory has lived on, probably for longer than it should...

How a novella has complete world building and a slow-burn romance in 98 pages, I don't know, but it really does. The magic of the world is cool. Cecily, a witch, can do basic spells like summoning items or teleporting across a room. But the main thing she does is create artificial limbs for injured people. There's not much explanation beyond that, but for the length of the story, the physics of the world sit perfectly and make sense for the forwarding of the plot.

Roy and Cecily were also fantastic leads. Roy, while private and closed off from others, has such a warm heart that everyone seems drawn to him. And Cecily, while extremely prickly, shows her goodness in the righteousness of her actions.

Like all of Chant's work, this is a trans romance - this time with both MCs. This plot works so beautifully as there's so much richness to the metaphors of being at conflict with your own physical body. It's also a blended fantasy and western historical fiction, so well the word "trans" is never used, it has some great exploration about the characters' identities without being a soapbox.

It reminds me of a sort of trans Howl's Moving Castle with a little Fullmetal Alchemist twist (don't attempt human resurrection, y'all!) Definitely dark in places, but a really beautiful story of some memorable characters.

--

"That's not how I am. It's no disguise for me. And I can't tell you how or why, but when I said I considered myself a man, that's what I meant."

"I had a very queer childhood. I was a girl and witch and I wasn't supposed to be either, according to my family."

"I sort of figured I was the only one who ever--the only one God ever made a mess of."

Diversity Score: Own Voices (+5), Trans/Bi main characters (+2), Supporting characters with physical disabilities (+1) = 8

Top Ten Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 02:45:00 +0000

This week's TTT is about books that have been on your TBR the longest. Since I've been participating in Down the TBR Hole, I think that base has already been covered. I'm instead going to borrow another blogger's take on this prompt:

Top Ten Classics Eternally on My TBR List

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
5. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
6. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
7. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
8. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
9. Candide by Voltaire
10. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Have you read any of these? What classics are on your list?

Weekly feature courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl.

Down the TBR Hole #2

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Sun, 04 Feb 2018 16:12:00 +0000

Lia at Lost in a Story created an awesome challenge: to weed out your Goodreads TBR pile one week at a time! See the full intro post and rules here.

After last week's post, I'm picking up on page 10 of my Goodreads TBR:

1. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through supernatural glamours.

She’s also about to find out that she may be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Paranormal romance isn't really my jam. Nothing's jumping out at me about this, so I think it's GONE!

2. Mind Games by Kiersten White

Fia and Annie are as close as two sisters can be. They look out for each other. Protect each other. And most importantly, they keep each other's secrets, even the most dangerous ones: Annie is blind, but can see visions of the future; Fia was born with flawless intuition—her first impulse is always exactly right.

When the sisters are offered a place at an elite boarding school, Fia realizes that something is wrong . . . but she doesn't grasp just how wrong. The Keane Institute is no ordinary school, and Fia is soon used for everything from picking stocks to planting bombs. If she tries to refuse, they threaten her with Annie's life.

Now Fia's falling in love with a boy who has dark secrets of his own. And with his help, she's ready to fight back. They stole her past. They control her present. But she won't let them take her future.

I keep seeing this one crop up on Goodreads, so I figure I'll give it a shot. KEEP!

3. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

Seventeen-year-old Ellie Spencer is just like any other teenager at her boarding school. She hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; she obsesses over Mark, a cute and mysterious bad boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline.

But then everything changes. The news headlines are all abuzz about a local string of killings that share the same morbid trademark: the victims were discovered with their eyes missing. Then a beautiful yet eerie woman enters Ellie's circle of friends and develops an unhealthy fascination with Kevin, and a crazed old man grabs Ellie in a public square and shoves a tattered Bible into her hands, exclaiming, "You need it. It will save your soul." Soon, Ellie finds herself plunged into a haunting world of vengeful fairies in an epic battle for immortality.

I'm hesitant to read YA mysteries because they tend to be really watered down on the horror, but the mythology part sounds cool. KEEP!

4. A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence

You are sixteen. You live with your father in a big Victorian house on the outskirts of London. Your mother is dead, killed in a train crash two years ago. It is snowing. The snow is falling on the house and the wide yard and the gnarled old tree that everyone calls the Family Tree. It makes you restless. You reach out your hands toward an object you've known all your life, and suddenly the walls melt away. When you open your eyes, you are still in your living room. "Who are you?" asks a girl who looks just like you but is not you. "And what are you doing in my house?"

You have stumbled into another version of your life. This girl is sixteen. She lives with your father (her father) in a big Victorian house on the outskirts of London. Your mother (her mother) is not dead. She had a close call in a train crash two years ago. Listen: your mother is calling you (her) now.

Sounds kind of cool, but reviews aren't great. I'm going to pass. GONE!

5. You by Charles Benoit

This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go.

You’re just a typical fifteen-year-old sophomore, an average guy named Kyle Chase. This can’t be happening to you. But then, how do you explain all the blood? How do you explain how you got here in the first place?

There had to have been signs, had to have been some clues it was coming. Did you miss them, or ignore them? Maybe if you can figure out where it all went wrong, you can still make it right. Or is it already too late?

Think fast, Kyle. Time’s running out. How did this happen?

Not quite sure what this is about, but sounds interesting. KEEP!

January Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 22:35:00 +0000

January, January, how I love you, with all your gung-ho reading resolutions and an idealistic glint in your eye.

I set my reading goal for 75, a new personal high, this year, and I'm actually on track! On top of that, I'm taking 3 classes toward my business admin degree, working full time, and working out 3-4 times a week. All in all I'd call January a personal success!

Overview

Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 2,225
Reviews Written: 2
Blog Posts: 9

Books Read

★★★★★
Timekeeper (Timekeeper #1) by Tara Sim [GR / Review]
Chainbreaker (Timekeeper #2) by Tara Sim [GR]

★★★★☆
Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz [GR]
The Black Notebook by Isabelle Snow [GR / Review]
The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger [GR / Review]

★★★☆☆
Gemini Keeps Capricorn (The Signs of Love #3) by Anyta Sunday [GR]

Currently Reading in February

Down the TBR Hole: Intro and #1

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Lia at Lost in a Story created an awesome challenge: to weed out your Goodreads TBR pile one week at a time! See the full intro post and rules here.

Since my oldest TBRs are a lot of classics, I jumped to page 9, which was about mid-2012, and started axing from there.

Here's my first week of trimming my TBR:

1. Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

Moments after several huge earthquakes shake every continent on Earth, something strange starts happening to some people. An inner rage has been released and some people cannot fight it. For those who can, life becomes an ongoing battle to survive - at any cost!

The Judgment: I literally can't fathom why this was on my TBR. GONE!

2. The Shattering by Karen Healey

Keri, Janna, and Sione have one thing in common: Their older brothers are dead. Each death was ruled a suicide, but there were no notes, no warnings, and no explanations.

So they've worked out a theory: Their brothers were murdered - and weren't the only victims.

As the search for the serial killer goes on, mysterious forces are unearthed and suspicion is cast on the those the three trust most. When secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or will they become victims themselves?

The Judgment: An LGBTQIA+ murder mystery? How the heck have I forgotten this? KEEP!

3. For the Win by Cory Doctorow

In the virtual future, you must organize to survive

At any hour of the day or night, millions of people around the globe are engrossed in multiplayer online games, questing and battling to win virtual "gold," jewels, and precious artifacts. Meanwhile, others seek to exploit this vast shadow economy, running electronic sweatshops in the world's poorest countries, where countless "gold farmers," bound to their work by abusive contracts and physical threats, harvest virtual treasure for their employers to sell to First World gamers who are willing to spend real money to skip straight to higher-level gameplay.

...

The ruthless forces arrayed against them are willing to use any means to protect their power—including blackmail, extortion, infiltration, violence, and even murder. To survive, Big Sister's people must out-think the system. This will lead them to devise a plan to crash the economy of every virtual world at once—a Ponzi scheme combined with a brilliant hack that ends up being the biggest, funnest game of all.

The Judgment: I love Cory Doctorow! KEEP!

4. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe

1Meet Jasmine, 2 forensic supersleuth, 3 aspiring Model Daughter, 4 and friend to animals. 5 One second she's trying to enjoy her Vegas Vacation, 6 the next she's tangled up in an outrageous adventure and has to outwit a crazed killer before he ends ten lives, one of them her own.

The Judgment: Eew, sounds way too manic pixie dream girl. GONE!

5. Hana by Lauren Oliver

The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.

But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.

The Judgment: Hana is like the least interesting character in a series I barely liked. No thanks, GONE!

Top Ten Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 23:17:00 +0000

Top Five Books I Can't Believe I Read

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

You know, I had to read this for a class? I took History of Pornography and Sex Writing the year that this book was big, so my professor figured, hey, we should probably add this book to the curriculum. He came in the class we were supposed to discuss it and just said, "Guys, I'm so sorry for putting you through that. I'd never read it. I'm never doing this again. I'm sorry."

2. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

For the sake of it's literary significance, I couldn't not read this, but I felt kind of dirty, like I was looking Harper Lee in the eye and disrespecting her wishes. Please accept my apologies, Ms. Lee.

3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Again, read for school, and it was also way before the hype surrounding the book. But the fact that I in any way have monetarily contributed to this dumpster fire is a travesty.

4. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

I think we can collectively agree that this never happened. It was better left entirely unread and ignored.

5. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie's writing is my life blood. The perfection of Raven Cycle honestly gives me the motivation to read and find beauty in the written word. But the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, while objectively beautifully written, is so far from the quality I'd expect of her, it saddens me to put the two series in he same body of work. I keep starting to pick up the series again and remembering why I put it down.

Weekly feature courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl.

Expanding Diversity in My Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 20:22:00 +0000

Hello, followers!

As I've spoken about in my 2018 Bookish Resolutions, I'm trying a lot harder to incorporate a wider spread of diversity in my readings. In order to help track myself, I'm going to try to incorporate a "diversity score" into my reviews! This isn't to say that any book is *better* representation than another because of my arbitrary system, but I'm going to try to use this as a benchmark to expand the range of books that I'm reading.

Here's the system I'm going to try:

Authors:

+5
Own Voices

-or-

+3
LGBTQIA+ author
Author of color
Author who has spoken about his/her mental illness or physical disability

Main Characters:

+2
Main character of color
LGBTQIA+ main character
Main character with mental illness
Main character with a physical disability

Love Interest:

+2
Multi-racial main relationship
Main relationship with different sexualities (i.e. gay and bisexual)
Love interest has mental illness or a physical disability

Supporting Characters:

+1
Supporting LGBTQIA+ character
Supporting character of color
Supporting character with mental illness or a physical disability

Top Ten Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 21:14:00 +0000

Top Ten Books I Really Liked but Can’t Remember Anything/Much About

You know, I actually have a pretty good memory with books I've read. For the most part, I had to dig back to books I read in high school or middle school to hit ten on this list. So, in no particular order:

10. Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

What it's really about: rag-tag group of a brownie, a dragon, and an orphan boy take on a great evil force.

What I remember: Dragons ???

9. The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

What it's really about: A boy is kidnapped from his village by fearsome Berkserkers, but he learns about their culture and comes to side with them against their foes.

What I remember: Cool nods to Norse mythology, awesome protagonists, and cool world building.

8. The Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

What it's really about: In a dystopian future, third children are illegal, and a secret society of "illegal" children hide in the shadows.

What I remember: A cool premise but a really convoluted plot. Oh, and the first character I found named Nina!

7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

What it's really about: An orphan is adopted by her uncle and discovers a magical garden on his property.

What I remember: I thought I just saw the musical but apparently I read the book? So that was a thing?

6. The Sluts by Dennis Cooper

What it's really about: A deep and intricate story of the dark web and the lives of male escorts.

What I remember: Snuff porn, mind fucking, and a really weird term paper.

5. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

What it's really about: A dying man is guided through his death by 5 people who teach him what an important life he lead.

What I remember: A morality tale and some warm fuzzies.

4. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

What it's really about: A lesson in diversity and acceptance in the vicious social circles of public schools.

What I remember: The original manic pixie dream girl.

3. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

What it's about: The bastard son of the infamous Elphaba struggles to survive in the political aftermath of Wicked.

What I remember: Apparently it was my favorite book of the Wicked cycle, but now I'm remembering subpar queer representation and the erasure of female-on-male rape, sooo...

2. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

What it's about: A high-school hacker gets dragged into a terrorist plot.

What I remember: Literally nothing. Not a thing.

1. The Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci

What it's about: A bio-terrorism agent has been unleashed in America, and a hacker in Pakistan is the only person who knows what's happening. How can he convince anyone to listen to him and stop it?

What I remember: A really intense plot, awesome characters, and shipping the MCs real hard.

Weekly feature courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl.

Book Review: The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:00:00 +0000

The Vanishing Spark of Dusk
by Sara Baysinger
Publication Date: January 8, 2018
Format: ARC E-Book, 366 Pages
Genres: Young Adult - Sci-Fi - Romance
Find it On: Amazon - Goodreads
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis:

Stand up.

When Lark is stolen from Earth to be a slave on the planet Tavdora, she’s determined to find her way back home to her family, no matter the cost. Placed in the household of a notorious slave trader, Lark quickly learns her best assets are her eyes and ears. And if she’s brave enough, her voice.

Be heard.

Kalen is the Tavdorian son of a slave trader and in line to inherit his father’s business. But his growing feelings for Lark, the new house slave who dares to speak of freedom, compel him to reveal his new plan for the slave ships returning to Earth—escape. Together, they just might spark a change that flares across the universe.

Fight back.

About the Author:

Sara Baysinger grew up in the heart of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador where she spent her childhood exploring uncharted lands and reading all things magical. She now lives among the endless cornfields of Indiana with her husband and two young children. Sara enjoys writing and reading anything out of the ordinary, and has a bad habit of zoning out at the most inopportune moments. She is currently considering seeking medical attention for her potentially life-threatening coffee addiction.

Website / GoodReads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

My Review:

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth book I've received for review from Sara and let me tell you, it's always a pleasure to pick up her work!

The Vanishing Spark of Dusk did a 180 from her other series, a dystopian, and dove into hard core Sci-Fi. The main character, Lark, is a human stolen from Earth by a race of aliens who have systematically enslaved humanity. Lark's home in what was Indiana is one of the last known strongholds of "free" humans on Earth. Headstrong, desperate for freedom, and determined to see her terminally ill mother again, Lark does whatever it takes to escape her captors - even if her life of "enslavement" doesn't seem all that terrible.

Jumping in from that synopsis, I do think it's important to note that this story walks a very fine line of apologism. Is a person from a culture built upon slavery ever forgivable, even if they themselves fight for abolition? If they are improving the lives of individual slaves, fighting to change the system, or even literally freeing people, can they ever be truly absolved while they are still benefitting from the system they oppose? That's a real deep moral can of worms, and I'm not entirely sure I share the opinions this book presents, but I'm proceeding with this review without getting deeper into that analysis.

I love the characters. Lark is an engaging protagonist because she's brave, outspoken, etc., all the things you'd expect from a strong female protagonist. But more than these traits, the most important thing about her is her compassion and hope. It is these strengths of character that get her from point a to b in the story, and they're such essential human qualities that it's really easy to relate to her as a reader.

Kalen's a little harder to talk about without getting into my disclaimer above, but he's well-writen, for sure. The fine line he treads between his role as the son of a merchant empire and his own moral standards makes for interesting plot and character development. The cool thing about him is that I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop somehow, but instead of him doing something awful, or him falling into a trope I was dreading, he would surprise me with true actual dedication to being a good person. By the end of the book, I was much more understanding of Lark's feelings towards him than I thought I would be.

Honestly, the coolest part of this book is its handling of sexuality. When you start venturing into other worlds with alien cultures, I always roll my eyes at how many human prejudices are built into completely foreign cultures. Kalen's culture is largely polyamorous, but it's not disgustingly sexualized. Like, I didn't feel like I was reading some weird pseudo-erotica, as much as sex was mentioned. Also! Consent. Was. Important. A+++ to you, Sara, for creating such a great world with that built in. There was also queer rep in some supporting characters, so extra kudos.

The plot itself unfolded much in the way I expected, and honestly, sometimes things came too easily to Lark. I would have personally enjoyed feeling more danger for her situation (she gains favor and privileges in her new situation real fast, with very minimal resistance, or even fear on her end). But the reason this was so binge-worthy was the characters. For such a dark topic, it was amazing how so many characters would surprise you with their humanity. What a refreshing twist for this genre!

Diversity Score: Multi-racial main relationship (+2), Supporting gay character (+1) = 3

Top Ten Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Top 10 Bookish Resolutions/Goals for 2018

1. Read 75 books. I've set my Goodreads Reading Challenge to 75 books - if I hit it, that will be a new record for me! The last three years, I've set it to 50 and hit around 65. I can squeeze 10 more books out of this year, right?

2. Write. More. Reviews. I don't know what my review-to-ignore percentage is, and I really don't think I want to. Even if they're short, I want to try much harder to publish reviews for everything I read.

3. Keep my bookshelves pretty. As of January, I'm living in a new apartment, and we furnished an entire wall with a beautiful new bookcase. I even left room for expansion! It's in our living room instead of tucked away in a book corner, so I want it to stay all pretty and picturesque.

4. Bookstagram! I love my Bookstagram to pieces, but I let it fall by the wayside when I moved with my in-laws for a while. With this new place I have no excuse to not keep it up.

5. Plan the books I buy. There are so many books I want to own and I just keep impulse buying books I end up hating! If I buy a book, I want it to be one I'll love (or at least one with a pretty cover!)

6. Read more #OwnVoices authors. I did fairly well with this last year, but there's always room for improvement. I want to continue with a focus on LGBTQIA+ literature, but I don't wish to participate in objectification or commodification of the subject.

7. Read more culturally diverse books. This is such a wide umbrella, but in doing my 2017 end of the year review, I realized I was awful at all aspects of this! Books with lead characters of color, books by authors of color, and books from countries other than my own need to be priorities in my reading this year!

8. Make more bookish friends. Sites like Goodreads and Bloglovin are so great for building book communities. There are a few users I find myself chatting with frequently, but I'd like to involve myself more with things like buddy reads and challenges to really be in the bookish community.

9. Read more classics and plays. I've never struggled with this, but in 2017 the only play I read was Angels in America - and it was also the oldest book I read! Who am I? Get me some Shakespeare and Austen, stat!

10. BLOG! I want to give this blog proper love and attention. Guest posts, interviews, topical discussions. I want Looseleaf Reviews to have a life beyond just reviews.

What are your goals for the year? Let me know in the comments, and wish me luck with mine!

Weekly feature courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl.

Book Review: The Black Notebook by Isabelle Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 13:00:00 +0000

The Black Notebook
by Isabelle Snow
Publication Date: January 1, 2018
Format: E-Book, 391 pages
Genres: Young Adult - Contemporary - Romance
Find it On: GoodReads - Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis:

Trust is a funny thing isn’t it? It’s great to be trusted by your friends, but when practically the entire school - even the popular kids - are sharing their deepest, darkest secrets with you...that’s when things get messy.

Seven Warrilow has been keeping everybody’s secrets for as long as she can remember. She knows who likes who, who hates who, and all the hot gossip. But you know what? She’s sick of it! With all that classified info jumbling around in her head it’s hard to think straight, so Seven decides to write down every secret she’s ever been told into a small black notebook that she carries around for safekeeping. There, now she can breath a little.

OR NOT!? Things take a turn to Disasterville when her notebook goes missing, and when it finds it’s way into the hands of notorious prankster, Colin Stillman, the trouble really begins. Seven’s going to have to use everything she’s got to keep her classmates secrets safe, but Colin isn’t going to make that easy. After all...where would the fun be in that?

About the Author:

Isabelle Snow is a 20-year-old artist residing in the Philippines. Through her love of art and telling stories, she became a writer and has been writing since 2012. She is also an artist who specializes in graphic design and illustration, occasionally dabbling in animation.

My Review:

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Every so often, I'm pleasantly surprised by high-school romances. This is one of those rare books that melts my jaded, post-grad heart.

This book stood out to me because there was a plot behind the romantic tension. Seven has had a crush on Colin for ages without doing anything, but having her notebook of secrets stolen gives her a reason to essentially stalk him, daily chasing him down to get the precious book back. They start spending time together--a lot of time--so of course there's high school gossip and hi-jinks, not to mention their own sabotaging of each other that even drags their families into the mess.

But like I said, the why-don't-they-get-together-for-300-pages actually makes sense! They both doubt their own right to happiness and they spend so much time second guessing themselves and sacrificing for others. Yeah, it's a romance, but it's a coming of age story for both of them, too.

The book wasn't exactly deep, but it was fun, cute, and well-written. Seven was a great narrator while Colin was a dreamboat (a little *too* perfect to be real, but hey, an author can dream). All-in-all, a great novel for the author's debut!

My Year in Review 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 21:52:00 +0000

I love GoodReads because it filters my right-brained reading into my left brained love of organization and statistics. Who doesn't love looking at the breakdowns of GR's Year in Books.

Because I take such meticulous notes of everything, I decided to go a step further and do my own Year in Review: 2017!

First, a breakdown of Books Read Per Month. Out of a total of 63 books:

Genres and Age Demographic. My genres are fairly consistent over the years (except I only read two plays this year!) and the bulk of my reading was YA.

Publication Year and Rating. I try to read a lot of books published within the year, which I kept with, but surprisingly, no classics this year! The earliest books were Angels in America, 1992 and 1993. As for rating, oh my, do I love to give 3 stars!

I had a good mix of Series vs. Stand Alone, but my Format was wildly skewed to E-Books! A lot were ARCs from publishers, and I also read a lot more indie books from Amazon this year. Here's a graph for my Sources, too.

Now let's talk diversity. For Gender of Author, I read mostly female authors, but The Gender of the Main Character was heavily skewed to men.

Well, I get an F for Cultural and Ethnic Diversity. That will have to be a goal for 2018.

The biggest one I was personally interested in was sexuality and gender identity diversity. I changed gears this year and made a huge focus on reviewing LGBTQIA+ literature. As anyone who tries to do this has probably realized, though, is that there is a huge propensity to exploitive literature written by (primarily) cis women about gay men. So here's my LGBTQIA+ Diversity and Own Voices breakdown, as well as a more detailed look into the LGBTQIA+ Spread.

Did anyone else do a 2017 reading breakdown? Post a link below! I'd love to compare!

My Favorite Books Released in 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 17:23:00 +0000

1. All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater (Pub. October 10)

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

2. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (Pub. September 5)

On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure and to live a lifetime in a single day.

3. A Wolf in Hunter's Clothing (The Sum of Its Parts #5) by E.M. Holloway (Pub. July 29)

Puck is hoping for a relaxing summer, but fate has other plans in mind. Every three years, the hunting community gathers to share information and discuss tactics and strategy. This year, Alex Durand is given the honor of hosting, which means that over a hundred hunters are descending on Arcadia Lake.

4. Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare (Pub. May 23)

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

5. Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live by Sacha Lamb (Pub. August 22)

Avi comes across these foreboding words scrawled on the bathroom mirror, but what do they mean? Is this a curse, a prediction, or a threat from Avi's emboldened bullies? And how to they know his real name when he hasn't even told his mother yet?

Then there is Ian—the cool new guy at school, who is suddenly paying attention to Avi. Ian is just like Avi, but he is also all sunshine, optimism, and magic. All the things that Avi doesn't know how to deal with...yet.

A romantic, #ownvoices fairy tale for trans boys.
Honorable Mentions: Mick & Michelle by Nina Rossing, Peter Darling by Austin Chant, The Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Excerpt: I've Been Looking For You by Jennifer Dean

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 21:30:00 +0000

I’ve Been Looking for You
by Jennifer Dean
Publication Date: December 1st 2017
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Max: The new girl, the sarcastic asshole, the one who avoids getting attached to anyone.
Emily: The golden girl, the rule-abiding rebel, the one who unknowingly craves something more.
When fate brings the two girls together, life seemed to fall into place. Until their future plans are shattered the moment someone leaves drugs inside Max’s school locker.
While Max inevitably loses hope of escaping her new grim reality, Emily struggles to move on without the one she loves most. Especially when she’s the only one determined to find answers. But the closer Emily gets to discovering the truth, the harder it will be to stop her pursuit, even when it leads to dangerous consequences.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Jennifer was studying History and English at the University of North Texas when she discovered a hidden passion for writing. She has since written two other Young Adult novels, Bound and Blinded. She lives in Seattle Washington.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt:

JUNE 20, 2015

Emily’s slender finger drew invisible letters onto the table, nodding along with my voice but unaware of her distracted mind. I sighed, my words fading with unimportance as I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes with a new focus.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean,” Emily said, slightly confused as her eyes shifted up but her finger continued with the absentminded activity.

I stared back with a knowing look that caused her to shrug.

“I’m not perfect, you know. I’m allowed to have bad days. You’re in prison after all.”

“True,” I said with a nod. “But something tells me there’s a reason for this one.”

“Well,” Emily said, curling her finger into her palm as if it had been beckoned back by her hand to create a frustrated fist. “Since you know so much, maybe you can tell what my problem is.”

Her irritated tone was guarded by impatience, but the only thing that caught my attention was the sadness lingering within her eyes.

“Ems,” I said with a soft plea.

Emily dropped her shoulders in surrender as she closed her eyes for a few brief seconds as if it were a message for the anger to stand down. Once she had blinked them back open, it was clear the space of her former irritation had been replaced with sadness that had now just doubled its territory. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.” Emily shook her head, speaking with a regretful tone. “Really. It’s nothing.”

My own irritation rose as my need to wrap my arms around her was prevented by the restrictions of the environment surrounding us.

“I know it’s not nothing,” I said, conveying with my stare that I would sit here, waiting for the rest of the visit, if I had to, until she told me what was bothering her.

Emily relented with a heavy sigh, causing me to lift the left side of my mouth into a victoriously crooked smirk.

“My roommate assignment came in the mail this morning.”

Her voice was low and filled with disappointment as her shoulders rose and dropped with another exaggerated sigh. Unable to resist any longer, I quickly looked over my shoulder, happy to see the officer in charge distracted by another inmate interaction, before I took the opportunity and reached across the table to place my hand over Emily’s.

“You knew that was inevitable,” I said while my thumb soothed the back of her hand with gentle strokes.

“I know,” Emily said pausing so that she could turn her hand over and grasp my fingers longingly with her own. “It’s just that the reality of it all is still hitting me in pieces. And seeing that this morning just—” Emily shook her head, looking down at our linked hands as if they could give her the strength she needed while she attempted to hold back the crack seeping into her voice. “It just reminded me of what we had lost.”

“I’m sorry,” I said feeling the uselessness of my words as soon as they left my lips.

I pulled my hand back, ignoring the way my fingers twitched—screaming in protest at the parting from one they were always meant to hold. Emily’s disappointment tightened my chest, leaving me desperate to take away the remainder of her pain, if only for a few minutes.

“What?” Emily said with a confused stare as she took in the false amusement now lifting my cheeks.

“Looks like you’ll be using a bra on the door after all,” I said.

Book Review: Loving Lakyn by Charlotte Reagan

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 19:42:00 +0000

Loving Lakyn
by Charlotte Reagan
Publication Date: November 20, 2017
Format: ARC E-Book
Genres: Young Adult - LGBTQIA
Find it On: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Lakyn James is sixteen years old and hating every second of it. He was supposed to be done, he'd tapped out. End of story, unsubscribe here. Suicide "attempt", they said. His intentions had no "attempt" in them.

Re-entering normal life after ‘trying’ to take his own is weird. Especially when the world keeps going like it never happened. He still has to eat breakfast, go to school, and somehow convince a cute boy that he’s too damaged to date.

Scott White comes with his own problems, namely a habit of drinking too much and being indecisive about rather he wants in the closet, or out of it. Lakyn can’t stand him; he also can’t help smiling when Scott’s around.

Unfortunately - or fortunately - for Lakyn, life has decided to give him a second chance. He's not happy about it, but maybe, with a lot of hard work and a good therapist, he can learn to be. And maybe he can hold Scott’s hand at the same time.

No promises though.

About the Author:

Hey guys I'm Charlotte Reagan!

I'm 23 years old; born, raised, and currently residing in a small town in Texas with my cat. I've been writing pretty much all my life, even when I was too young to know how to put my stories down on paper. Once I started I couldn't seem to stop! I still have boxes of old notebooks filled with ideas and plots that I never finished. I write young adult romances focusing primarily on the LGBT+ community. I hope to have lighthearted stories that bring about hope, laughter, and maybe even a few tears. I can usually be found with my laptop or off traveling somewhere!

The LGBT+ Community and LGBT books have always been a source of great support for me and I hope that my books can maybe be there for someone else.

Goodreads / Twitter / Website

My Review:

If you follow my reviews or blog, you’ve probably picked up on how much I utterly adored Just Juliet. Not only was the book amazing, but working with Charlotte for the launch was incredible as she is such a well spoken and lovely person. When I was approached about reading Loving Lakyn, I knew I wanted to be a part of the launch again, but here’s the thing: I don’t review books that include self-harm because it’s a hard subject for me. I’m in a better place than I was when I originally made a hard and fast rule for myself about that, and after sitting down and discussing it with my therapist, I sat down and binged this book in a day.

Here’s the thing I knew as soon as I picked up the book: it is a damn good book.

The title serves as a pretty good summary to the book: it’s about learning to love Lakyn. Lakyn is a high school boy with a hard life. He is gay in an unwelcoming family and an unwelcoming world. He suffers from mental illness and for many years, has no real support network for dealing with it. He handles it with self-harm and self-destruction. There are few people he cares about and the few he does have he pushes away.

Here’s the thing: Lakyn is not a pleasant character. He is throughly miserable and does miserable things, and while this book is about his happiness improving, there isn’t a magic fix-all that makes him as “happy” as he seems in Just Juliet. So that means that this book really is his inner dialogue, and this is about how far he gets in his recovery. That’s just so spot on to how it is, how different a person’s head is from the perception of those around them, and that was subtly and beautifully written.

The new perspective on Juliet was also fascinating. Aside from loving another glimpse into her character, she held an important place in this book in recognizing that you can’t save everyone. As a person who has been fighting depression for years, I can tell you, depression glasses make it a lot easier to see other depressed people. Lakyn spends so much time helping himself and helping Scott that, at a point, he realizes he has not been helping Juliet. It opens an interesting debate on whether he had a responsibility to help her just because he noticed her spiraling. Should he have said something? Should he have sat his uncle down and demanded help for Juliet? How could he have done that when he wasn’t even over the hurdle of asking for help himself? Without giving a direct answer or glorifying one way or the other, I think this painted a realistic relationship of one struggling person relating to another.

The love story itself is what really got me, though. Again, it’s spiraling person meets spiraling person. But Scott is a unique character in how deeply hidden his pain is. He’s a jock, he has friends, he has a stable life. But these things don’t protect your from prejudice, internal or external, and it really takes the whole book for Scott to unravel his struggles let alone overcome them. It’s also an exploration into the difference between being closeted or out, and the expectations of what acceptance will look like versus the reality of when it doesn’t. Without giving away the story, the romance plot is beautiful, and most importantly to me, it is not about them fixing each other. There is a point that Lakyn realizes how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole of saying “Scott makes me happy and therefore Scott is the source of my happiness,” but there is a major hurdle he overcomes in recognizing that relationships cannot work with that kind of expectation. Not only does he not drag Scott down with that, but he also recovers with Scott’s *help* but not by pawning off his problems.

I’m ranting, I know I am, but this book is beautiful and deserves every star I can give it. I’m sorry this review is more of a discussion of the topics than the book itself, but I don’t think something this heavy deserves being reduced to a discussion of syntax and plot structure. It was a trip for me to read more so than a book usually is and I’m just so glad I had the emotional energy to tackle it.

Diversity Score: Own Voices (+5), Gay MC (+2), MC with mental illness (+2), Supporting gay and bi characters (+1), Supporting character with mental illness (+1) = 11

Book Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

noreply@blogger.com (Nina @ Looseleaf Reviews) — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Turtles All the Way Down
by John Green
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Genres: Young Adult - Contemporary - Romance
Find it On: GoodReads - Amazon - iBooks
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

My Review:

Okay, I'm going to be really critical in this review, so to get this out of the way first: I love John Green. He is an amazing and imaginitive author. This book is *well-written.* the words are like poetry, the sentences and syntax fit together into objectively good writing, and a mediocre book by John Green is eons beyond the quality of the average book.

But man, was this not for me.

The best way I can describe this is that it felt like a shell of a book, like it was the plot outline before it was fully fleshed out. Maybe I'm nostalgic for the first time I read Paper Towns or Looking For Alaska--and mind you, I was a lot younger when that happened--but there was a certain magic that just wasn't there.

My biggest problem was that Aza was a caricature of a disease. Don't get me wrong, OCD and anxiety are terrible and debilitating diseases. But it's so reductionist to assume that a disease is synonymous with a person's personality. Aside from Aza's love for her car, there is honestly no personality trait that I can use to explain Aza that isn't a textbook symptom of her mental illness. It's like John Green took his role as an educator of this illness so seriously that he forgot he was writing a fiction book. Maybe this book will help someone understand mental illness. Maybe it will make a teen with OCD feel understood. But honestly I feel like there's a real dangerous can of worms opened when you're teaching people that a person *is* their disease, and I was just not here for that kind of narrative.

The other characters were quirky, but dang, were they all supposed to be awful? Daisy was the worst. Davis was kind of boring and also kind of a jerk. (No, you don't get a sticker for loving someone who's sick!) Aza's mother was an enabler and even minor friends like Mychal were so damn rude. Can Noah be my favorite? He was pure and un-jerk-like. I nominate Noah as my favorite.

There was a plot, it was kind of cool, but for something along the lines of a mystery, there was no suspense. I liked the moral dilemma that Aza and later Davis faced regarding the importance of facing the truth, but it was so buried in everything else that the book was trying to do.

The whole "turtles all the way down" thing was a cool metaphor, but I find it hard to believe that someone in serious mental health care and years of things exposure therapy could have any new angle with which to consider her disease by her late teens. More of the same I said before: this book became so much of a mental health pamphlet that it forgot to be a novel.

Diversity Score: Own Voices (+5), MC with mental illness (+2) = 7