Rose > Recent Status Updates

Y'all, I'm taking notes on this very short book and the one thing I can say without spoilers is that I think this book is mismatched with its age group. This probably should have been adult lit with young characters, not YA.

Confirming that I am reading this, but since it doesn't release until March, I'll be mum about it on here until closer to the release date.

Very short read, I'm seeing some common, exhausting narrative stereotypes. (My kingdom for a book that isn't "the only/few Black people at school/town/etc." The kids rn do not like this, y'all - they want books with more Black/diverse kids in community with each other.)

Okay, sitting down to actually catch up with writing reviews today. Hopefully should finish as many as I can. (I always apologize for filling people's feeds, because I legit can't always see what gets pushed, even when I check the boxes in options. *sighs*)

Catching up with more book reviews all. Let's see how many I can do today.

I'm working on a review backlog today, all, so I apologize in advance for blowing up your feeds with a bunch of books. :) (I have a months-long backlog, so I'm trying to make a dent in it.)

I feel like there are moments in this narrative where it tries to address the social climb and aspirational pressures associated with being a part of higher education institutions, but then it shifts to the protag just getting carried along passively for the ride to whatever her classmates do.

Err, sex scene? Okay....

Reminded in places of reading this book of "The Starless Sea" by Erin Morgenstern, probably more for the depiction of academic environments and the surreal way it moves through certain scenes. I'm still trying to figure out where it goes. (So far our protag is in a weird school with a stuffy prof.)

I do take seizure rep in books seriously (as someone who suffered from them as a child). I'm still working through this part of the book wondering if we'll get an answer for what might have triggered them.

I'm guessing it was the encounter with Dante, but while this seems intentionally disorienting for narrative, some parts feel confusing in transition.

I'm almost done with this one y'all. I think I'm going to be in the minority of reviewers with this one, but I'm working my way to the ending to see if it pays off. I like aspects of this one, but the narrative experience and overarching way it's done feels a bit like pulling teeth. I was expecting something with far better character connections.

Am I really one of the first people to read this book on Goodreads? Whew. (No pressure, Rose. No pressure. 😅)

Seriously though, this feels like a short read. I should get through it today.

I can tell Malik was not expecting this dude to just roll up in his place like that. Welp. 😅

I'll be reading this and providing periodic updates on my experiences with it, so far, so good.

Also, non-spoiler note on Malik's character, I'll admit even as flawed as he is it feels refreshing to get back into his headspace because of how reflective he is on things - where he is, what he observes and I can tell the character work done for that.

Still reading this short book on audio, but man, the parallels of history on this. Horrifying account of a true story of the 4 Kent State students killed, 9 injured during anti-Vietnam war protests.

Not too far into this one, but hope to finish it tonight. Still trying to catch up with some of my reading and book reviews.

Reading through this and liking the writing and story. But ooooof, it hurts because I feel for Cleo.

I'm almost done and I'll be finishing this novel tonight. Oof, this book hurts.

Okay, so this is multi-POV narration, third person. Not uncommon for lit fic.

But honestly, I wish we could stay in John's perspective. I liked his voice starting the book.

Wish we'd had an idea of how old John was early on, because I thought he was older than this meeting him. (Older than 25, less than 50.)

Officially starting this book this weekend, but I'm mentally prepping myself since I know of a few issues about it going in. Will see where/how it goes though.

So I'm going to say this with the deepest sense of respect: This does not read like YA y'all. At all. Not saying it's bad, but it's awkward when you're trying to read this through a lens that's NOT associated with an adult book. (Yes, I've read Seven Days in June, but please assume most of the intended audience picking this up have no context of the former novel. And SDiJ is very much adult.)

OHHHH NOOOOOOOO! (That's a hell of a twist.)

Oh, you jerk! This poor kid is on the verge of getting killed. Still reading.

I'm sitting here laughing, but Max is right. Drew does not want two police stations after his ass. Still reading.

Oh, that man's *dead* dead, I'm figuring. (Damn, he had no chance. Poor Mary.) Still reading.

This feels like it might be a bad idea. 😅 Still reading.

I'm a good way into this and I'm definitely hooked. I'm glad "Mary" (I have my suspicions that's not who she is) feels like she has more comfortable clothes. But this trip is ringing alarm bells. Still reading.

I need Goodreads to stop glitching when I add books to my tracking list, because why is "A Song of Wraiths and Ruin" not showing up under my "Books Read in 2025"?

At least his friends pick up on the fact something is wrong with Cam. Dude, take off your bracelet. (Then again, I think doing so might make him really sick.)

I'm really enjoying this series so far. All the weird antics and following Cam through it all is keeping me reading. Cam and Yusuf got caught and now Cam's having to deal with another park problem. Still reading.