pluvioreads

 H er Good Side is a young adult romance book described as swoony and heart melting. Was it a cute enough romance? Yes, but I didn't swoon and my heart didn't melt. This was far from my favorite romance. I'd recommend it if you want to read more YA romcoms or just read everything romance, but this didn't wow me. The romance is between Bethany, a girl who likes basketball and Jacob who likes film stuff. One thing I did really like about this book was the representation! I just wish the romance hadn't fallen short. I think the reason the romance was so lacking for me is because of how it started. Normally I love the fake dating trope, but I wasn't rooting for it here and there was some weird history with the guy dating her friend. I did like the side characters, there's also some queer representation. This book also showed healthy relationships between kids and parents which is rare.   Threads That Bind    was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Thi...

  Title: Venom & Vow Author: Anna-Marie McLemore, Elliott McLemore Publisher: Feiwel and Friends Release Date: May 16, 2023 Genre(s): YA Fantasy Buy Link: https://amzn.to/44e6jFB SYNOPSIS:  Keep your enemy closer. Cade McKenna is a transgender prince who’s doubling for his brother. Valencia Palafox is a young dama attending the future queen of Eliana. Gael Palma is the infamous boy assassin Cade has vowed to protect. Patrick McKenna is the reluctant heir to a kingdom, and the prince Gael has vowed to destroy. Cade doesn’t know that Gael and Valencia are the same person. Valencia doesn’t know that every time she thinks she’s fighting Patrick, she’s fighting Cade. And when Cade and Valencia blame each other for a devastating enchantment that takes both their families, neither of them realizes that they have far more dangerous enemies. Annotated first chapter - this was a little hard to do because the first chapter is super short! also its harder to annotate online Author I...

  Title: Court of the Undying Seasons Author: A.M. Strickland Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Release Date: May 16, 2023 Genre(s): YA Fantasy Buy Link: https://amzn.to/3HqZarN SYNOPSIS:  In becoming a vampire, I’m less than a girl. And more. Or maybe I’m becoming what I always have been, deep inside. A blade. When nineteen-year-old Fin volunteers to take her secret love's place in their village's Finding, she is terrified. Those who are chosen at the Finding are whisked away to Castle Courtsheart, a vampire school where human students either succeed and become vampires, fail and spend the rest of their lives as human thralls...or they don't survive long enough to become either. Fin is determined to forge a different learn how to kill the undead and get revenge for her mother, who was taken by the vampires years ago. But Courtsheart is as captivating as it is deadly, and Fin is quickly swept up in her new world and its inhabitants - particularly Gavron, her handsome and ho...

  Book Info: The Shadow Crown (The Halfling Saga #2) by Melissa Blair Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Publishing Date: May 9, 2023   Synopsis: The highly anticipated second installment of the fantasy saga that took BookTok by storm sees Keera navigate political scheming, backstabbing, and her own grief as she moves against the cruel king that holds her kingdom hostage. To the kingdom, Keera is the king’s Blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow—the dark, brooding Fae, Riven, who sets her blood on fire. Together, they plot to topple the crown that sits upon the king’s head. A secret can only survive as long as its conspirators, and when nothing is as it seems, all are in danger. Keera swore she would never open her heart again after a loss she barely survived. But she will soon find she has more to lose than she ever imagined . . . REVIEW - 4/5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this book like the first one! I'm ju...

  I Like Me Better - queer YA This is not how soccer-star Zack Martin thought his summer would go. When the captain's prank means trouble for the whole squad, Zack’s left with no choice but to take one for the team and cover for him. Now he’s trading parties and beach days for community service at a seaside conservation center—fair enough. But thanks to his new reputation, the cute intern, Chip, won’t even give him a shot. Still, Zack finds himself falling for Chip between dolphin encounters and shark costume disasters, which means he suddenly has way more on the line than he ever expected. Zack may be good at winning on the field, but can he keep up the lie without losing himself?  Lying in the Deep YA Mystery  A juicy mystery of jealousy, love, and betrayal set on a Semester at Sea-inspired cruise ship, with a diverse cast of delightfully suspicious characters who’ll leave you guessing with every jaw-dropping twist. After being jilted by her ex-boyfriend and best f...