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jailyn🪐🌟🗡

@lumosthestars

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🇲🇽 (jay-leen) // socal
🧺 lover of books and studio ghibli movies
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I can’t believe we get the movie for the love hypothesis this month! One thing about me is that I love Adam Carlsen and Olive Smith deep in my bones so I am so unbelievably excited for this movie!

I reread The Love Hypothesis at least once a year (trust me you do not want to see my Goodreads log for it) so it’s very hard for me to be normal about this lol.

Here are some scenes/lines I’m hoping made the cut!
- Late night at the lab and Olive finds Adam in the lounge and they talk
- “I wish you could see yourself the way I do”
- the flu shot convo !!
- “my wife and twins won’t mind”

There are far too many to name and I’ve already seen some in the trailer but let me know which scenes/lines you’re excited for!
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#thelovehypothesis #lilireinhart #tombateman by @lumosthestars

Mutual Discord by Liana De la Rosa

thank you to Berkley Romance for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review! Mutual Discord is out tomorrow August 18th!

I want to preface this that although the story didn’t 100% work for me, I’m sure it will find its readers.

Mutual Discord begins with Sofia Mendoza getting fired from her job where a male coworker takes credit for her work. This leads Sofia down the path of posting videos online of women throughout history whose accomplishments have not been properly credited or are often forgotten. It’s through this platform that Sofia connects with an anonymous online supporter. Things quickly change when she reunites with one of her good friends, Caitlin, and finds that the anonymous man in her comments is her friend’s new boyfriend.

The bones for a great story were there but unfortunately for me, Mutual Discord did not become a new favorite.

My main issue with the book overall was the aspect of “telling” instead of “showing.” There were numerous instances where the main character would just state, “we caught up,” “we talked about x y z,” but rarely did we get details into those conversations. The most glaring example of this was a little past half way through the story, our main characters are spending Christmas together and Sofia states, “we swapped stories of Christmases past, and it was lovely to get another peek at the experiences that made Alex who he was.” This seemed like a missed opportunity for the reader to get insight into those stories, so that we too could see what made Alex who he was.

As a fan of Liana’s previous novels, I obviously enjoy how she highlights women in history—I’m always introduced to important female figures through her work. Although this one didn’t really hit the mark, I still think this book has great Latine representation and I still found myself enjoying aspects of the story :)
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#mutualdiscord #lianadelarosa #romance #romancereader by @lumosthestars

Kitten by Stacey Yu out August 4th! thank u @randomhousebooks for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Kitten captures the complexity of being twenty-two and a recent university graduate—the shift from an environment that provides supports and routine to then being thrust into a world that expects you to have all the answers and a clear path ahead. This makes Katie, our main character, a complicated character but easy to root for.

It quickly becomes clear that Silver, Katie’s boyfriend’s cat, is a metaphor for everything Katie feels she can’t be—“free to be disgusting and terrible and bizarre, free also to die once the best of life was over,” but still be loved.

It feels almost frustrating when we really get into Katie’s infatuation with Silver, but I think that might be the whole point. As someone looking in, we want her to take action. I wanted her to tell James what she was feeling, to tell Lou why she couldn’t ask for money, to become friends with Isabella.

I will say I did wish we had gotten a little more about the complicated relationship with her mother. The way Katie perceived her mother to long for youth, I found to be really interesting and would have loved to explore it a bit more.

All of this to say, I found Katie to be relatable. Her loneliness, the feeling of being stuck, the fear of being fully seen for who she is, was all so real.

Although I would have liked for some relationships to be fleshed out a bit more, I really enjoyed Stacey Yu’s debut—she has a strong voice and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
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#kitten #staceyyu #litfic #literaryfiction by @lumosthestars

Canto Contigo 🌟

I received this book as an arc back in 2024 but as is on theme with me, I never got to it in time but I have now! So thank you @wednesdaybooks for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book last month and I’m still thinking about it!

If you’re looking for a book with queer representation that celebrates Mexican culture then this book is for you.

I also definitely recommend listening to the audiobook! The narration and production was so so good that I think definitely added to my reading experience.

This YA novel follows Rafie and Rey, once from rivaling mariachi teams, but now on the same team that must find a way to work together.

The main character Rafie is dealing with grief and the pressure of proving himself a winner to honor his grandfather’s memory. There is a lot of growth to Rafie’s character that I enjoyed being a witness to. This novel was sweet, honest, and tender, and I loved every second of it!

The evolution of Rafie and Rey’s relationship was so well done, and I absolutely loved how they both had people that supported them and loved them throughout the story.

Anyway all of this to say I need to read everything Jonny Garza Villa has written!
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#cantocontigo #jonnygarzavilla #latinxbooks #queerbooks by @lumosthestars

MAY wrap up! ⭐️

May felt long but also extremely short. I was sick for about two weeks which meant I barely read anything this month.

The two books I did read, I cannot recommend enough! Both were extremely good!

In Every Future, It’s Us by Katie Naymon
Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa

I do plan on posting a full review here of Canto Contigo because I listened to the audiobook in tandem with the e-arc on my kindle, and it made for a really good reading experience.

I’m trying to get back into my routine of limited screen time and replacing it with an audiobook and a hobby, like I was doing earlier in the year, so hopefully June will prove to be a good month for that :)

I hope you all had a good May and may we all have a wonderful June. Happy pride month!
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#maywrapup #cantocontigo #bookish #booksta by @lumosthestars

Katie Naymon delivers yet again with undeniable tension, pining, and yearning with her sophomore novel In Every Future, It’s Us!

We follow childhood best friends Florence and Tom and the evolution of their relationship. There’s moments between them that are sincere and tender and others that are full of tension and angst. The two clearly care about one another, but are afraid to ruin the friendship that has been an unwavering constant as they go through different life stages.

Katie Naymon has a way of writing characters that feel so human—their insecurities and flaws on display, but making you love them even more. Florence who often feels like she has to prove herself and struggles with finding her direction, had my whole heart. How could I not absolutely love and see a bit of myself in Florence? And Tom! A sweetheart from such a young age, Tom felt like a treasure.

I’m a huge fan of the multiple timelines in the novel to give us insight into the friendship between the two. From school dances, seven minutes in heaven, to dancing alone on New Year’s, there’s so much history between the two that makes the story so rewarding.

If you’re a fan of friends to lovers then I really think you’ll love this one!

I can go on and on about how good this book is but I have months to do so, so instead enjoy some song lyrics that remind me of Florence and Tom.

In Every Future, It’s Us is out December 1st! Thank you again @katienaymonwrites for allowing me to be a part of this traveling arc tour.
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#katienaymon #ineveryfutureitsus #iefiu #romancebookrecs #romancebook by @lumosthestars

posting my April recap into the second week of May because it’s been hectic!

In April I traveled to Boston—the actual getting there was hell (canceled flights and lots and lots of delays, but I made it). I also only read two books, but I really enjoyed both!

I also became absolutely enamored and obsessed with The Other Bennet Sister! Such a masterpiece!

I hope you all had a lovely April and are having a good start to May!
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#bookish #booksta #april #aprildump by @lumosthestars

Forgot to thank @katienaymonwrites for letting me be a part of this traveling arc!

In Every Future, It’s Us follows Florence and Tom, childhood best friends through the years! 17 years of pining !! If there’s one thing I can count on with Katie Naymon is the yearning and pining, so I’m so unbelievably excited to get started on this!
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#katienaymon #youbetweenthelines #ineveryfutureitsus #romancebookrecs by @lumosthestars

Happy Sunday friends! I had the absolute pleasure to see Lily King back in February when she had a stop in La Jolla, for her Heart the Lover book tour.

I had not been to Warwick’s since I was sixteen eagerly anticipating to see an actor from one of my favorite movies as he promoted a memoir on his experience playing the character of Westley from The Princess Bride.

A little over ten years later I found myself in the same bookstore, the same eagerness drumming through me. I’ve said it many times before, but there is nothing like hearing a writer talk about their craft and story—it reinforces my love for writing and reading and books.

Hearing Lily King talk about her process of writing Heart the Lover, the many revisions it took, and her journey overall as a writer was truly a great experience.

I recently finished my reread of Writers and Lovers and adored it just as much as the first time I read it, perhaps even a little more. Both Writers and Lovers and Heart the Lover have a way of pulling me in and having me root for our main characters.

Also I always feel so awkward when I meet authors because I never know what to say lol
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#lilyking #heartthelover #writersandlovers #bookish by @lumosthestars

The Prospects by KT Hoffman

Gene and Luis are lovable characters that are easy to root for. The banter and connection between the two was exquisite—delicious! If you’re a fan of rivals to lovers, then this is the book for you, though I would say this is more like rivals-to-friends-to-lovers!

There’s trans rep and mental health rep throughout—I love reading trans and queer joy.

I would have liked for it to have less baseball?? I know I know! It’s a book about baseball players, what did I expect? Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the sports aspect of the story! I just wish we could have gotten more of the non-baseball related bits :) But I just wanted to point this out in case someone is reading this, it is something to be aware of!
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#theprospects #kthoffman #queerbooks #booksta by @lumosthestars

oooh and she’s rereading Writers & Lovers by Lily King

hi friends, February was a great reading month for me but I can already tell March is going to be more mellow. I’m in need of comfort and so I am gravitating towards a favorite book of mine.

I was fortunate enough to see Lily King last month, and being able to listen to her talk about her craft and her choices for Heart the Lover was an incredible experience.

I’m still obsessing over season four of Bridgerton, please make your way to my DMs if you wanna fangirl with me and send edits thanks.

As always let me know what you’ve been reading and loving 🫶🏼
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#writersandlovers #lilyking #booksta #bookish by @lumosthestars

mini reviews: books I’ve read so far in February 💌🌷

I’ve had a really good start to my reading year as in I’ve been reading more and I’m trying to keep the momentum going without burning myself out. Here are some of the books I’ve read recently and my thoughts!

books mentioned:

Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis
Escape! By Stephen Fishbach
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen
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#bookish #booksta #bookblogging #currently by @lumosthestars