My Book Recs

4/5 stars, unnecessary trope of fake-dating, but sweet romance. I don’t often read gay romance—or any romance for that matter—even though I’ve written one myself. But I’ve seen the cover of this one around so much that I figured I’d give it a go. It’s a story of two gay men in their late twenties who end up fake-dating for both of their benefit. One to help the dung beetle charity he works for and one to bring a date to his parents’ anniversary.

This is a very private and close up insight into her life both professionally and privately. It’s wild to hear what it’s been like for her, arguably one of the biggest stars at that time. Even before the conservatorship, which I’m sure is the part that a lot of people skip ahead to. Her start at Disney, then becoming a massive pop star. Essentially pulling her family out of poverty, which is something no child should bear any responsibility for.

5/5 stars, a thrilling, heartwarming, magical story. Incredible work, highly recommended. Nothing short of magical. Heartwarming, sweet, cozy, very much aching. This book had everything a book like this should have, and then some. I didn’t know it had queer characters when I started—or, I did, a long time ago, but forgot—so it was a pleasant surprise. I wish I, too, could go back home to the House in the Cerulean Sea.

4.7/5 stars. May not be the highest achievement of literature, but made me feel things all the same. I do recommend this story for lovers of Japanese literature, or those in search of some philosophy on death and humanity. It is not some world-changing novel that will reshape the way you see the world, but it will give you an afternoon of contemplation––and maybe, if it hits you right, a pair of hazy eyes and striped cheeks.

I'm nothing if not a sucker of magical books. There's a kid in every adult, and whenever magical books are mentioned, mine awakes. This book was a breath of nostalgia and wonder, even though I've never read it before. It reminded me of why I started reading as a child––or rather, why I continued. The book of doors is a wonderful story of magic, friendship, villains and books.

Animal Farm is everything I expected it to be, yet somehow had me struggling to get through the story. It may be that the story is too familiar––and too accurate for our current day political world––and that that was the thing that put me off of it. In that case, it's not a criticism against Orwell and his work, but rather for it. I think I may have enjoyed this book more if it were not for the pig in control of the world's greatest army in current day.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera is one that caught my attention with its cover. The very simple design of the line art dog on the big, white space that is the cover looked interesting––it looked like one of those high brow literary novels that make you seem interesting just for reading it. And to be fair, I do still think that way of the book, at least a little bit.

A YA desert fantasy, "Rebel of the Sands" by Alwyn Hamilton is a story of rebels, magic, love, heroism, sacrifice, and strategy. I rated it 5/5 stars, and I will tell you why I recommend the book.