Sugar and Spite | A Review

Hi everyone! Today I’ll be reviewing Sugar and Spite by Gail D. Villanueva. I hope you enjoy!

Can a bully be defeated by a magical love potion?

Jolina can’t take Claudine’s bullying any longer! The taunts and teasing are too much. Though Jolina knows she’s still in training to use her grandfather’s arbularyo magic, she sneaks into his potions lab to get her revenge. Jolina brews a batch of gayuma, a powerful love potion. And it works. The love potion conquers Claudine’s hateful nature. In fact, Claudine doesn’t just stop bullying Jolina — now she wants to be Jolina’s BFF, and does everything and anything Jolina asks. But magic comes with a cost, and bad intentions beget bad returns. Controlling another person’s ability to love — or hate — will certainly have consequences. The magic demands payment, and it is about to come for Jolina in the form of a powerful storm…

First let’s talk about the plot. Sugar and Spite promises a magical enemies-to-friends story. And well, I’m happy to say that it delivered! Young readers will find this short and sweet novel both immersive, and exciting. 

Furthermore, the characters were very three dimensional! In many cases, I’ve found that middle grade protagonists don’t have much personality. Thankfully, Jolina and Claudine were very intriguing characters. The side characters also added quite the amount of liveliness to the story too. Jolina’s relationship with her grandfather was absolutely adorable!

In addition, I really liked how the dialogue was done. Many Fillipino phrases and words were used, which is great as it allows people to understand more about The Philippines. Moreover, the character interactions also felt very authentic and real.

“Your being brown doesn’t make you ugly. Mom always says we’re beautiful.”

― Gail D. Villanueva, Sugar and Spite

Unfortunately though, I didn’t love the writing. At times, the storyline became too confusing. The world building was done poorly as well. The only things the audience knows about the magic system is that it aids people, and that it’s passed down by generation. (I’m not entirely sure though, so please take what I said with a grain of salt.) However, I loved the talk about colorism and classism. The book promotes the idea that no one should be discriminated against, regardless of socioeconomic status, or race. And I think that’s such a beautiful message!

Overall, I really enjoyed Sugar and Spite! It’s educational and exciting. Younger kids will surely enjoy this story to the fullest!

Age Rating: 8 and up

TW: Natural disaster, bullying

Final Rating: 7/10, or 3.5 stars

⭐⭐⭐

What is your favorite Middle Grade novel? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have a fabulous day!

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Some Girls Do | A Review

Hey everyone! Today I’m super excited because I’m going to be reviewing Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan. I hope you enjoy!

(PS: This was a buddy read with the amazing Calliope @ Confessions of a Reading Addict)

Morgan, an elite track athlete, is forced to transfer high schools late in her senior year after it turns out being queer is against her private Catholic school’s code of conduct. There, she meets Ruby, who has two hobbies: tinkering with her baby blue 1970 Ford Torino and competing in local beauty pageants, the latter to live out the dreams of her overbearing mother. The two are drawn to each other and can’t deny their growing feelings. But while Morgan–out and proud, and determined to have a fresh start–doesn’t want to have to keep their budding relationship a secret, Ruby isn’t ready to come out yet. With each girl on a different path toward living her truth, can they go the distance together? 

The plot of Some Girls Do was right up my alley! It was very summer-y, which I liked. However, I struggled a lot with the characters.

The main characters Morgan and Ruby are quite dislikeable. They were both very negative and unoptimistic. There is nothing wrong with that per se, it’s just that I prefer it when at least one main character is positive. Even by just a little bit. Moreover, Morgan was insufferable. It’s hard to put into words why, but I’ll try. Morgan was by all means not privileged in terms of the homophobic experiences she went through, but she felt very “I’m only supporting queer kids because I’m in that community”. She didn’t understand that POC and poor kids go through a lot too. I do think that the side characters were written very well though. Especially Morgan and Ruby’s parents. 

In addition, the dialogue was just okay. In my opinion, it tried too hard to be funny. 

Furthermore, the writing wasn’t anything special either. Some words were overused a bit too much for my liking. For example, ‘mysterious’, and ‘said.’

To conclude, I didn’t enjoy Some Girls Do as much as I hoped I would. While I can appreciate the summer-y atmosphere and unique premise, I disliked the characters and writing style. However, I still recommend this book to Jennifer Dugan fans!

Age Rating: 15 and up

TW: Homophobia

Final Rating: 6/10 or 3 stars

⭐⭐⭐

What’s your favorite book with a summer-y vibe? I’d love to know! Have a great day!

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The Mid Year Freakout Book Tag!

Hiya!! It’s been a while since I’ve done a tag, so I thought why not do one again? For those of you who don’t know, this tag is a bit like a six month bookish wrap up in tag form. I hope you enjoy!

The Best Books You’ve Read so Far

New Releases You Haven’t Read Yet, but Want To

Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of the Year

There are so many that come to mind! But here are the first three that I thought of. It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi looks so fun! The cover is also stunning as well! The Lady or the Lion by Aamna Qureshi is a YA fantasy with a Pakistani setting. I’ve never read a fantasy inspired by Pakistani culture, so I’m super excited to read it! Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach is another release I’m also very excited for!

Biggest Disappointment

I had such high hopes for One Last Stop. However, it unfortunately missed the mark for me.

Biggest Surprise

This is a middle grade retelling of three fairytales but with a desi (South Asian) twist. And I adored it! It was filled with girl power, fun plots, and amazing representation!

Favorite New to You Author

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon was my first book of theirs, and probably won’t be the last!

Favorite Debut Author

Sarah Suk’s debut novel was one of my favorites this year. I didn’t think I’d love it as much as I did, but Made in Korea was so good!

Newest Favorite Characters

I really enjoyed reading about Evie and X from Nicola Yoon’s newest book Instructions for Dancing! They were both funny and charming.

A Book That Made You Cry

Juleah del Rosario’s Turtle Under Ice was incredibly heartbreaking and emotional. It’s about a mother’s death and sisterly love, and was just so beautiful.

A Book That Made You Happy

A Taste For Love by Jennifer Yen was such a fun book on food and familial relationships. It definitely put a smile on my face!

Favorite Post You’ve Done This Year

In January I did a post where I gave recommendations based off of people’s favorite Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra character. Feel free to read the post here!

Books You Need to Read By the End of the Year

I hope you enjoyed the tag! Here are some lovely people I nominate to do this one as well. (This is just for fun, so if you don’t feel like it, than no worries!) Also, if you’ve done this tag before, feel free to link it in the comments so I can read yours as well. 😀

I tag…

• Koo @ Koo Reviews
• J @ The Midnight Book Blog
• Cherelle @ A Bolt out of the Book
• Rukky @ Eternity Books
• Phoenix @ Books with Wings
• Madeline @ The Bookish Mutant
• And you!

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Blog Tour: How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe // Journal Spread & Top 5 Reasons to Read This Book!

Hiya everyone! Today I’ll be hosting a blog tour stop for Raquel Vasquez Gilliland’s book How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe. Stay tuned for a journal spread, and the top five reasons as to why you should read this book. Enjoy!

Book Info

Title and Author: How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliand

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Publishing Date: August 10, 2021

Synopsis

The Hating Game meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in this irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country.

When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.

Most notable is her bunkmate and new nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who is grumpy, combative, and also the hottest guy Moon has ever seen.

Moon is certain she hates Santiago and that he hates her back. But as chance and destiny (and maybe, probably, close proximity) bring the two of them in each other’s perpetual paths, Moon starts to wonder if that’s really true. She even starts to question her destiny as the unnoticed, unloved wallflower she always thought she was.

Could this summer change Moon’s life as she knows it?

Find out more about How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe with these links!

//Goodreads//Amazon//Barnes and Noble//Book Depository//Indigo//IndieBound//

Here is the tour schedule link! If you have time, do check out the other amazing tour stops as well!

Top 5 Reasons to Read This Book

1. The Focus on Self-Love

I absolutely adored how real this books was! It was focused on a number of important topics, my favorite being the talk of loving oneself. It’s done in such a raw and beautiful way.

2. The Witty Banter

The witty banter between Moon and Santiago was hilarious! If you love enemies-to-lovers, than I highly recommend this book.

3. Twins Sisters!

As a twin myself, I was elated to discover that Moon is twins with her sister Star.

4. The Family Dynamic

Moon and Star’s mother treats the two differently. She dotes on how amazing Star is, but completely neglects Moon. The talk about how families aren’t perfect was refreshing to see, especially in YA!

5. The Stunning Cover

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe has one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen. I absolutely adore the way purple hues, plants, and moons were used to create such a beautiful cover!

My Journal Spread

Here is my journal spread! I apologize for the bad image quality. 😅 Nevertheless, I still hope you like it!

About The Author

Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a Mexican American poet, novelist and painter. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 2017. She’s most inspired by fog and seeds and the lineages of all things. When not writing, Raquel tells stories to her plants and they tell her stories back. She lives in Tennessee with her beloved family and mountains.

//Website//Instagram//Goodreads//Twitter//

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Thank you so much for reading this tour stop post, I hope you enjoyed! Have a amazing day!

July Wrap-Up

Hiya! Before we start I just want to say that I’m so sorry for the month long hiatus. I’ve been very busy lately. Nevertheless, I am back and ready to delve into the book blogging world once more!

Novels I Read

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon: 4.5 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐⭐) I really loved this one! It was beautifully written, and was a lovely introduction to Nicola Yoon’s books. Review to come!

Sugar and Spite by Gail D. Villanueva: 3.5 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐) This was the perfect summer read. Review to come!

Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee: 4 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐⭐) Unfortunately, my expectations were too high. Nevertheless, it was still a good story! Review to come.

(ARC) Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz: 4.75 out of 5 stars. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) I adored the book! But the ending was not for me. Review to come!

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera: 4.25 out of 5 stars. (⭐⭐⭐⭐) Obviously, this was sad. However, I didn’t cry as much as I expected myself too?? In my humble opinion, it’s a teensy bit overhyped. Review to come!

Graphic Novels and Manga read

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag: 3.5 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐) I really enjoyed reading this! Unfortunately though, it didn’t stand out all that much. You can read my full review here!

The Promised Neverland Volume 19 by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu: 4.5 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐⭐) This volume had a lot of plot twists, some of which didn’t make much sense to me. Nevertheless, I’m very excited for the final volume!

The Delinquent Housewife! Volume 1 by Nemu Yoko: 3.25 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐) I had high expectations for this series, but the jokes weren’t that funny to me.

Levius/est Volume 1 by Haruhisa Nakata: 3.25 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐) I picked this one up on a whim. While I didn’t love it, the story was quite interesting. I recommend Levius/est to sci fi fans!

Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan: 3.5 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐) This was…interesting.

Pink Is for Boys by Robb Pearlman and Eda Kaban: 4.25 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐⭐) This was such a cute picture book!

Total Number Of Books Read: 11

Total Number Of Posts Published: 2

Average Rating: 7/10 or 3.5 out of 5 stars

First, let’s recap! Last month I said I’d read two netgalley ARCs, and read 10 novels. Unfortunately though, that didn’t happen. I read five novels, and only one ARC. Reading slumps happen! And that’s totally okay! I think it’s better that I took a break and just read at my own pace. :))

Some of my goals for August include…

• Finish two netgalley ARCs
• Read 4 novels

And that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed reading about my July in books. I’d love to know about yours too! If you’d like, you can read last month’s wrap up here. Have a fabulous day!

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