genre: lgbt – Pixel Reads Books

title: Tight Quarters (Out of Uniform #6)

author: Annabeth Albert

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, Lgbtqa+

my thoughts: This was the first book by Annabeth Albert that caught my interest. My library finally got an ebook copy and even though I’ve only read #1 in this series I decided to check it out. There’s no spoilers for other books, you can read any in the Out of Uniform series out of order. I didn’t love it (not like Off Base) but I really liked it. Solid story telling imo and Albert is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.

Finish date: 08/28/18

title: Nimona

author: Noelle Stevenson

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): YA, Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Lgbtqa+

my thoughts: This was a genuinely fun read, had me laughing in the first few pages right away. Nimona is not only funny but is also a deep and sincere story. I do hope that someday in the future there will be more of this trio.

Finish date: 08/22/18

40b. A graphic novel – The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Finished 08/10/18

I love comics and I love graphic novels. When I saw this book on goodreads I got so excited I ordered it right away and could not wait for it to arrive. The book itself is so pretty! I bought the paperback and the cover is that soft idk velvety (?) covers, you know those smooth but not glossy covers. Anyway this was truly a joy to read. Whimsical and heartfelt throughout the story. I loved the illustrations and the story. I’m very glad I bought this book to add to my collection. I really hope this isn’t the end for Sebastian and Frances.

title: Off Base (Out of Uniform #1)

author: Annabeth Albert

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, Lgbtqa+

my thoughts: under the cut for possible spoilers.

I loved this! I’m a little sad that it seems to be just a standalone book because I would love to read more about Zach and Pike. This is actually the first published m/m romance I’ve ever read and I loved it! I can’t wait to check out more books by Albert. I really enjoyed her writing and this story. Yeah the romance was 10/10 hot but I was also very invested in the two characters story. I loved Zach and Pike’s budding romance, from casual to officially boyfriends. I do wish we had been able to see more of Zach and Pike’s life after they became official, a little view of their life as an out couple.

Finish date: 07/25/18

title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): YA, Lgbtqa+, Contemporary, Romance, Coming-of-Age

my thoughts: under the cut for spoilers.

A coming of age story about two Mexican boys trying to find their place in this confusing and complicated world. Ari and Dante are definitely teenage characters with their thoughts and speech, not in a negative or annoying way but in a realistic way. At first I wasn’t sure if they were going to end up together but I hoped because they just fit. The only reason this was a 4 and not a 5 for me was that Ari didn’t come to the realization that he was in love with Dante on his own but because his parents brought it to his attention. Other than that it was a great coming of age story and I haven’t read many books in this category with boys as the main characters. If you love coming-of-age stories I definitely recommend this book and the author is working on a sequel.

Finish date: 07/08/18

title: George

author: Alex Gino

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): Middle Grade, Lgbtqa+, Contemporary

my thoughts: under the cut for possible spoilers

A very heart-warming and realistic story. George is struggling to find a way to for everyone around her, including her mother to see that she is a girl and not a boy. This is a very quick read, only 200 pages and so very important and beautifully written. One thing that I loved about this story was that George has a supportive friend that she is able to confide in. I also appreciate the questions and answers by Alex Gino in the back of the book, it’s a great way to educate the reader.

Finish date: 07/02/18

title: History Is All You Left Me

author: Adam Silvera

my rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): YA, Contemporary, Romance, Lgbtqa+

my thoughts: under the cut for possible spoilers

After reading this book and They Both Die at the End by the same author, I’ve decided this is not the author for me. The characters were not fleshed out enough for me, I didn’t care about them. Yeah the book was sad and I shed a couple tears towards the beginning for their grief but then I just kept getting annoyed. The constant back and forth was confusing at times. The author tried to make this mental health character but it was half assed. There wasn’t enough time to flesh that storyline out and deal with it. There’s nothing in the book that suggests the main, Griffin, is delusional. Then during the last chapter, the last fucking page he mentions off hand oh yeah my therapist diagnosed me with DD. It was out of left field and terribly done in my opinion. If this author wanted to include mental health, it should have been addressed better and given more attention instead it felt like something tacked on at the end.

Finish date: 06/26/18

28. A book with song lyrics in the title – Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Finished 06/25/18

I was having a hard time with this prompt for a while and after the third time I went through my TBR list this jumped out at me. Duh! Carry On by Fun or even Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas. Anyway I was happy to find a book from my TBR list that fit this prompt.

Now this book first caught my eye from the cover when I was at Barnes & Noble browsing. It was really pretty, yes sorry book covers are the first thing I see. I try hard not to let covers deter me but they do snag my attention first if I think they’re aesthetically pleasing. When I read the summary I thought yes, I want to read this. I’ve read other reviews that stress this is not Harry Potter fan fiction. But honestly that’s all I could think. Now I don’t mean that in a negative way. I love fanfiction and I think some fanfiction is just as great as a published novel. There were many similarities that I felt like I was reading a Harry Potter AU. Again this isn’t a criticism, just something that I felt during my read of this book.

This read was medium paced for me, it wasn’t until the middle of the book around 45% that it picked up pace. I really did try to read it as a standalone but I just could not get Harry Potter out of my head. There were some chapters that stood out in a negative way for me. The constant back and forth between POVs in the same chapter was annoying. One example: Simon: what was he thinking right now? Baz: I didn’t know what I was thinking. I as a reader didn’t need to know that. It wasn’t enough to not read or enjoy the book but I really didn’t think it was necessary.

title: They Both Die at the End

author: Adam Silvera

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): YA, Contemporary, Lgbtqa+

my thoughts: under the cut for spoilers

Finish date: 05/12/2018

I liked reading this book. It wasn’t amazing and out of this world, just okay. I really did like the plot but I think some things could have been done better. I’m just a reader though, not a writer and it’s always hard for me to really describe what it is that was lacking, just that something was missing.

The characters could be very one dimensional at times and I felt no connection to them, I wasn’t sad when they did die or that they were scared about dying, I just didn’t care that much. I did like how all the different characters lives intersected with each others without them knowing. To them it was just another person passing them by on the street, to the reader you could see just how their lives connected. The world building seemed almost incomplete or like it could have been more fleshed out.

I read the book as well as listened to the audio book. I gave up on the audio book not even half way into the story because it was bad. The voices changed with some of the characters, one female was being done by the guy but then later in a different chapter she had her own female voice actor. I couldn’t follow along with the recording.