ARC Review: It's Boba Time For Pearl Li! ~ Nicole Chen

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Format I Used: Digital ARC

Pages: 368

Running Time: 7h 31m
My Rating: 4 stars
Publication Date: February 28, 2023

I thought this book was extremely charming. As someone who crochets a little, and enjoys the occasional boba tea, I love that this focuses on Pearl and her love for Boba and Amigurumi.

I think Pearl is a character who is easy to relate to. She's still trying to figure out who she is, and how to stand up for herself and what she loves. A lot of things start changing all at once, and she makes a lot of mistakes, but ends up learning from them. And she's able to strengthen her relationships with her friends and family.

I also love that there is a glossary of terms at the end of the book, and a little chart for how Pearl calculated the profits for Kawaii Crochets. I thought that it was a nice way for younger kids to understand what was being talked about, and give them an idea of what to do if they also wanted to start making and selling things.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harpercollins Children's books for allowing me to read an ARC of this delightful book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Did It Make Me Cry? No.

 

ARC Review: The Enemy ~ Sarah Adams

 

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Format I Used: ARC Audiobook
Pages: 258
Running Time: 8h:12m
My Rating: 4 stars
Publication Date: May 10, 2022

 

 

Spoilers ahead my friends so please read on with


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I appreciate the fact that they didn't have a big blow up misunderstanding fight that led to a breakup and then a whole bunch of moping around.

I also appreciate the fact that Ryan was a little bit dishonest about what he was doing when he went to checkout the restaurant, felt real bad about it, and then TEXTED JUNE AND TOLD HER WHAT HE WAS ACTUALLY DOING and apologized for not just being straight up with her in the first place, instead of hiding it and having it revealed in some dramatic fashion. Can we get more of that please?

And when June was all overwhelmed because stupid Noah was trying to get under her skin and she was feeling insecure because she realized just what a big deal Ryan actually was and ran away... guess what happened? She realized how silly she was being and that she reallllly liked Ryan, and went back!

That was, like, a breath of fresh air to me.

Did I find their tricks on each other to be silly, especially since

1. They seemed a bit extreme and
2. because they were literally full grown adults acting like elementary school kids.

Yes. But that obviously didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel. This was a fun fake enemies to lovers book (I say fake, because although they acted liked they didn't like each other, they were both crazy about the other person and had been for quite some time.

I also loved the family dynamics of this book!

It was a fast and fun read, and I would 10 out of 10 recommend for you to give it a try.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to an audio ARC

 

ARC Review: Sakura's Dedication ~ Fuyu Yukimiya

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Format I Used: Digital ARC

Pages: 174

My Rating: 4 stars 

Publication Date: February 22, 2022

 

Awww, well this was a super cute start to a new series. Sakura is so open and straightforward with his opinions and affection, and Hanasaki is so adorable and awkward. They make a great couple and balance each other out nicely.

I am curious to see how long this series is going to end up being, especially since the two main characters got together so fast.

Thank you to Kodansha and Netgalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC.  

 

Did It Make Me Cry? No

 

ARC Review: One For All ~ Lillie Lainoff

 

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Format I Used: Digital Audio ARC

Pages: 400

 Running Time: 12h:23m

My Rating: 3 stars 

Publication Date: March 8, 2022

 

So I thought this genderbent 3 musketeers retelling was fun. I was hoping there would be more... action? There was a lot of build up and suspense, but to me it felt like the action kind of just teetered out. I enjoyed the friendship that the girls all had and I was so glad when there was no petty backstabbing going on. I love it when women support women. There was a hint of romance, but that definitely wasn't the main focus of the story, which actually worked out okay in my opinion.

The main character had POTS--and I don't know enough about it to talk about how well or not well it was portrayed--but I liked that Tania didn't let it ruin her life. She fought hard to become stronger and work through her struggles, and wasn't obsessed with trying to come up with a cure for herself (as someone with an autoimmune disease, I hate when I read books and that's all that the character seems to be wanting to do.. "cure" themselves. Let's have more books about people with chronic illnesses THRIVING. Because we can and do.)

And I loved how much Tania's sisters were there to support her and catch her when she was quite literally about to fall.

Thank you to Netgalley and Recorded Books Media for letting me listen to an Audio ARC!.

 

Did It Make Me Cry? No