tacoboutmari's reviews
110 reviews

If you like sad books like me, then this might be for you! 
 

*I do not rate memoirs* 

Is it corny to say that my favorite chapter was “Yunus”? I know it was the last chapter but it truly felt like the author was finally at peace with themself and I thought that to be a beautiful ending to a brave and informative memoir. 

Quite literally fell asleep at the military part 

Opposites attract / marriage of convenience / small town romance meets bigger than life Latine billionaire / slow burn 🔥 

Cozy, sweet, and an easy read! Love Soliz’s work and how her book always makes include a wide array of Latine representation. 

Didn’t care much for the third act conflict and pacing was a bit uneven for me but I always recommend Soliz’s cozy romance books with a lil bit of spice at the 

Very disappointed in this graphic novel. 

I found the characters besides Hector to be flat, selfish, overwhelmingly underdeveloped. 

I’m having a hard time wrapping around my head that this book was published as it feels unfinished. There was so many loose ends and scenes that seemed important at the time but had no real meaning in the end. 

Meaningless time jumps just confuse the reader. And I as the reader was very confused. It felt as if they were trying to copy Stephanie Meyer in New Moon when Bella was depressed and Edward had left, “September, October, November, December, January”. 

The romance is problematic and toxic for me. I understand there are flawed characters but to continue being a flawed character with no character development once so ever and not being held accountable for their actions was disgusting to me. I regret even calling this a romance. There was no chemistry. They had nothing in common.  And while I liked Hector’s character, the ending didn’t make sense at all for Hector’s character. Honestly, I’m not sure why there was even an “attraction” to Ari in the first place. Aside from hanging out that one time in a diner, their interactions made no sense to me.

Very interesting to me that Hector broke up with his ex boyfriend because his ex was worried Hector was getting cold feet during their plans to move in together (which is reasonable I feel) but then is interested in someone much more depressed and clingy and immature? Like what? Bro got mad at you because you wanted to go home and visit your friends!!!

I disliked this so much it makes me worry for other kids who read this and think Ari’s behavior is acceptable. The family dynamic aside from accepting Ari’s sexuality is troublesome as well. They also never learned their lesson. The sister pressuring Ari to stay for the family, the mom and dad pressuring Ari to work for the bakery and taking away his adult choices, then to

to do it all again after the fire burns the bakery? Bruv count your losses. Why rebuild when you spent the whole novel explaining that times were hard and the bakery wasn’t breaking even? By not rebuilding the bakery perhaps your offspring can have more financial freedom to figure what they want to do in life so they aren’t toxic to their loved one by blaming them for burning down the bakery to which Hector was F I R E D?!  Unbelievable.  

The whole premise was that Ari would join a band as music was supposedly his passion but there’s only one quick scene of him playing music in the entire book. Hector’s nana died and it’s never mentioned again in the novel but it was enough “pain” for him to quit school for a year? 

Make. It. Make. Sense. 

2 stars for the art and for my like of Hector. Otherwise this might be the worst book I’ve read if Ana Huang’s “Twisted Love” didn’t exist. 

Check TW! 

THAT CLIFFY AT THE END — I FEEL AS MURDEROUS AS RAFAEL HIMSELF. 

This book caught my eye when the author read some of their editor’s comments on TikTok to promote their upcoming book. The comments made me giggle and I immediately applied for an ARC when it became available. I was pleasantly surprised that I received an ARC as I am not what most would call an “ARC reader” unless it’s a beloved author. Let’s just say this ARC made me a super fan and I now have to add C.A. Chaplin to the beloved author list. 

Silver Star, Red Dragon is something I have never read before. I dare say this book is the first of it’s kind. And if it’s not, well…. Then I need more suggestions like this, STAT. I was stunned with how into this book I was. I knew from the snippets it sounded like it would pique my interests. Sigh, if only I could read for a living. Y’all have no IDEA how much I glanced at my kindle while at work. Knowing DAMN well I wouldn’t be able to read. That’s the sort of hold this book had on me.  

I loved this dark erotic yet also high fantasy book. Morally grey characters are like heroine to me. And the FMC and one of the MMCs gave me all the morally grey character building sustenance I needed for a year. The author did an incredible job on their characters. For me, this was EXCELLENTLY done and the perfect amount to feel absolutely devastatingly connected to the characters. I believe this is the author’s debut novel but they write as if they are a seasoned author with many books on intricate fantasy world building. I enjoyed the mystery of the past/ present in the first part of the book. It made me eagerly consume the pages as a hungry dragon. 

Another thing I loved about this was the dark humor. Perfectly timed and used to ease harsh situations. I adored Cúraniel and her mischievous side especially when she got to court. Also can we talk about how she is a self 👏🏽aware 👏🏽 queen? Gosh, such a refreshing thing to read a character that acted their age. (Cúraniel is an older elf that was self banished from elvish society, living out her cottage core dreams while gardening naked— same girl, same.) 

Sometimes too much spice in spicy books is just the same thing over again- WELL THATS NOT THE CASE HERE. Every scene with Rafael had me swooning… and made me question myself a lot HAHAHA... I understand that Demi-sexual May not be an identity that all creatures  in the fantasy world are aware of, but there was definitely representation of it in Rafael’s character. I just loved how it was done, especially with Raf’s trauma and how everything was handled. Gods, it was perfection. 

This was my first time reading about two love interests at the same time. I haven’t explored much into polyamorous territory so please forgive me if that is not the correct term to use…I thoroughly enjoyed how the FMC had two different types of relationships with both MMCs.  Cel was more emotionally mature and accepting of the two soulmate situation, where as Rafael was exactly what I imagine a possessive dragon would be like. I know it’s fantasy but I found it to be very realistic. 

The action that was in the book had me reading this as if a movie was playing in my head. Great ferocious beasts fighting alongside elfs and brave Cel fighting off the enemies, it was so entertaining and left me wanting more (which is unusual lol). 

Anyways please read this book if this sounds interesting to you as it did to me. Lastly, CA CHAPLIN HOW DARE YOU DO US WITH THAT ENDING. I EAGERLY AWAIT THE SEQUEL.  

Two writers writing to each other in the form of books over the course of years after their 7 brief days together, IS the single most romantic notion I’ve heard of. 

I found myself laughing, tearing up, raging, and holding my breath while speeding through the pages. This is not a surface level romance. This book has layers upon layers like an onion with the most profound yet also hilarious dialogue I’ve come across. The story is told in a non linear fashion, jumping from perspective to perspective and to different timelines disguised as flashbacks. Some perspectives I’m not 100% (like the random Principal lady?) sure were necessary or central to the message of the book, with the almost comical not so subtle foreshadowings following after. 

This is a second chance romance with raw portrait of life. The characters felt so real and tortured. I also love reading mature characters in romance. 7 days in June also is Kinda the perfect epitome of a writer romance. Williams even had the pretentiousness of the literary/fandom world in there and it didn’t fail the hype or expectations. Also what this book did very well was moments: Like when Shane and Eva meet again it REALLY felt like time slowed. That’s an insane effect to have as a reader. 

I’m soooo checking out what else this author has because her writing is addictive!!

As a book lover this reading experience was equivalent to a warm hug. The messages in the interconnected series are so profound and often made me tear up a bit. 

Five seemingly unrelated folks who are lost in life visit the library in the community center and receive book recommendations from the resident librarian Sayuri Komanche. After each character reads the book they were recommended they look at life in a different lense and find the solution in their life. If I could describe this I would say this book is an epiphany in itself. 

The only issue I had was the fatphobia that each character had about the librarian. I’m not sure what the purpose was for that. I listened to this all in audiobook format. Although the stories get repetitive I loved how flushed out the characters are in just the one chapter they have. I appreciated this and enjoyed this as a comfy lit fic read with a bit of magical realism! 

I didn’t really get into this until chapter 7 because of the world building information & I didn’t like the arrogance of the FMC while she was a drunk. But once I got to chapter 7 I was obsessed with trying to figure out the mystery and find out more about the main character, Keera, and finished this within 24 hours (sorry Yas for reading ahead). 

I enjoyed this book for the character development of the FMC. She grows on you. I liked how she wasn’t 17 either. Very refreshing to see an older, sarcastic, badass FMC. It feels more realistic and relatable that way. Keera’s background is given to you gradually, which I was a fan of, but the more you get into it the more her choices make sense. The trauma explored was done very well and I enjoyed seeing Keera evolve from the “broken blade” she was. Keera deserved so much more…

Listen while I enjoyed the banter and the expertly written dialogue — the writing itself was not perfect. Although I found it to be repetitive at times (I GET IT VIOLET EYES) (HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO MENTION THE SHADOW IS BROODING), I liked the concept and the story for what it was! I was surprised on how much more of a fantasy it felt rather than a “romanctasy”. While I think the romance aspect was a slow burn, I think the author did establish lust vs feelings. This made me appreciate the story so much more and made sense for Keera’s guarded character. There were themes of colonialism, generational trauma, addiction, racism, and they were executed pretty dang well. In fantasy, I usually always gravitate towards a morally grey character especially when it’s a female.

My rating is for how much of a good time it was  and personally for me to stay up until 4am…I had a great time. 

Until Riven made me want to rip him from limb to limb for betraying our poor baby Keera after she finally trusted someone. I complained for a whole hour to my boyfriend about this   And personally I would not ever forgive him for that.

Long chapters but I didn’t mind it because Assata Shakur’s life in her own words was fast paced and filled with suspense. This book educated me so much on a time period I thought I knew all there was to know. 

If you for one second have a tiny ounce of trust in this country - go right ahead and pick this book up on what’s it’s like to be Black in America “home of the free”.