dnf at 22%. this book just wasn’t for me, it had a certain type of vibe that i can’t describe but that reminds me of alice in wonderland and that i think fall under the WTF category. the only thing, i hate those kind of book, it’s just not my thing. i also was expecting something that read older than what this actually was (somewhere between middle grade and YA).

A YA novel that is on the younger end of the scale. I didn't really enjoy the story and I do think this is due to the age of the characters.

I just wasn't into this book at all. I enjoyed the sister's relationship, and some of the themes it touched upon but that's about it. I am glad I didn't DNF it but I was close, the second half is better than the first half but not by much.

I love YA stories but this one felt more like an upper middle grade due to the writing/conversations, which I wouldn't have had a problem with if that's how it had been marketed. I liked the narrator's voice but I found the story dragged in some parts and I had to rewind a few times to re-listen to certain parts. I still don't know how I feel about the "love" interest, maybe somewhat creeped out?!

Just wasn't for me, I guess.

I received this book from NetGalley and ECW Press Audio as an advanced listener's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press Audio for the advance audiobook copy.

The premise of this book was very intriguing and I was excited to give it a listen.
Unfortunately I had to DNF at 40% because it didn’t feel like the story was progressing but that may have just been my own feelings.

I wasn’t sure about the time period, the age the book was aimed at or even where the story was going.

3/5

Thank you NetGalley and ECW Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book is perfect for fans of Alice in Wonderland. The story is a bit juvenile, but it was still an enjoyable read.

There was a lot about this that I found charming, but I would have loved a firmer foundation in the setting, there was an overall lack of depth, and the ending was...so convenient that it felt a little cheap. Even so, there was a lot of heart, the characters were fun, and it was overall enjoyable. Audio was well-narrated.

I received this book for free from netgalley for an honest review.

I need more queer books like this in the world. I love the chemistry between the two main characters. Sometimes books can make them feel very dry and plain but these really came out of the woodwork I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and ECW Press Audio for this audio ARC.

Celina Sinden was bliss to listen to.

The story was not for me.

I really enjoyed the characters and the plot was good the pace was okay I did not like the narrator at all which was the only flaw all in all it was pretty good.

i liked the feel and the writing of this book! the magic and relationship between our mcs was cuted. though the writing did seem a little immature even for teen.

The audio version of The Stars of Mount Quixx was as magical as the physical copy. The narrator really brought the story to life and I was gripped from the start.

I received an audio ARC from Netgalley for an honest review

I gave it until 50% and stoped listening. It seemed like it was going to be an interesting story filled with mystery and monsters, but it fell short for me and was not what I thought it was ganna be. I didn’t feel captivated by the story at all, it felt like at lot was being said but barely anything was happening. Also, the narration was okay, but there were a few areas where it felt off like a character was supposed to be screaming “no” and it was just a flat “no”.

Thank you to NetGalley or sending me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this one at about the halfway point. Up to there you had the cheesy jazz singer? I'm not really sure what he was because he felt like a singer/wannabe rock star/fledgling 1920s mafia boss? Then you have the monsters.

I'm trying not to have any spoilers here, but I will say this: the town felt like it was full of caricatures vs real people, the storyline felt very bland, and I couldn't stand either of the girls.

And then the halfway point happened. And things got infinitely better. The stakes were raised, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. But the ending fell a bit flat in a way? There was some... unexpected things that happened that was intense, but the "bad guys" weren't all that bad, and everyone got what they wanted. Which was my only issue - there weren't any true villains, no actual antagonist that they were up against since everyone had their moment of redemption in some way.

All in all, it was cute.

Edit: after reading through some other reviews I have to agree. This felt very middle grade vs YA, and I think that's why I felt the way that I did.

Thanks NetGalley and publishers for the audio arc of Stars of mount Quixx by S M Beiko.

Two words come to mind.. eccentric yet cozy. Tad slow for my tastes but altogether a beautiful story.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I liked the idea of this novel but felt like the pacing was a bit off. I also really didn't like the affection between Constance and Derrek. It would have been fine if Beiko made it clear it was just friendly, but there are hints at it leading towards romantic territory and with Constance being in her late teens/early 20's and Derrek being at least 50+ (among other reasons), it just felt highly uncomfortable as a reader - especially in a YA novel.

And along those lines... this reads much more like adult fantasy featuring young adult characters than it does as a YA novel. I think adults will like it more than teen readers... or at least the teen readers I have at my library.

Celina Sinden does a good job with the audiobook narration.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and ECW Press Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Constance and Ivory find themselves going up a forbidden mountain and discovering an astronomer who turns into a spider.

Together they work to solve the mystery of the mountain.

It was hard to place the setting, time, and intended audience for this book.


If you’re interested in reading a story with strong sisterly bonds and magic, monsters, and a mountain.

This book gave me so many mixed feelings! If you told me two days ago I would become so emotionally invested in the life of a giant (very well mannered) spider that I would stay up until 4am listening to his story I would have laughed at you. Bit that's exactly what I did!

Stars of wine mountain was a little slow to start but once I hit about the 20% in mark I was hooked.

A thoroughly enjoyable book that is beautifully narrated.

Stars of Mount Quixx is fantastic! If you’re looking for a queer fantasy set in a mysterious town on an even more mysterious mountain this is the book for you. There’s romance, monsters, a town on the brink of being forgotten, history repeating itself and so much more. If you’re not comfortable with pushing boundaries and people being true to themselves this is not the book for you but if you are open minded I think you will love it as much as I do.

This cozy and eccentric story would have been much better suited to middle grade in my opinion. The reviews are absolutely all over the place with some people really liking it and other people hating it and I generally enjoyed it. Like the story itself is fine. It did take me a minute to get into which seems to be a common thing for people and I almost wish I had turned my narration speed down just a bit because it 2.0 I think I missed some of the details and the netgalley app for audiobooks makes it super difficult to go back and find things.

So this one is about these two sisters Ivory who is 14 and Constance who is 18 and they go to this quirky little small town for vacation without their parents because their parents are absentee pieces of garbage. There is a subplot with the parents that I think could have been developed way more than it was. If I recall we get like I don't know maybe a paragraph or so of context about the parents and why they are the way they are but that was it. Okay maybe it's more than a paragraph. It's probably like two or three pages in text but it was maybe a minute in the audio. But anyway they are in this town called Quixx and stay at this bedraggled bed and breakfast with this kooky old lady as the landlady and one day they end up on the mountain even after being told not to. And apparently the mountain is full of monsters but ivy wants adventure and Constance has to go after ivy.

On the mountain they run into this spider-esque monster named Derek. I listen to the audiobook so just sorry if I'm spelling names wrong, but Derek is an arachnid astronomer and he's doing all sorts of sciencey stuff up in the mountains and befriends the girls.

I feel like this book lacked a little bit of direction and tried to go too many ways while also feeling like it didn't go anywhere. I really loved the queer representation because almost every character is queer of some sort but again, I feel like some things were mentioned once or twice and then completely disregarded. For example not necessarily queer representation, but Constance is described as a bigger girl and her being fat is mentioned a couple times but then it just seems like it's forgotten about. And obviously being fat is not all of someone's life but as a fat person, there's no way that she didn't acknowledge her body even in the most neutral of ways more than two or three times.

Another example of this almost performative queerness. I really don't want to say performative queerness because I don't want to go there but one of the very prominent characters is described as non-binary/gender fluid and using both he and they pronouns yet I recall exactly one instance where the book referred to that character with they/them pronouns and the rest of the time uses he/him. Again I wish I could go back to the point when the character talks about their pronouns and maybe he says something about gravitating towards he/him but I don't remember despite finishing this 20 minutes ago and listening to it all today.

There's also sapphic and Achillean characters as well as more trans rep within the secondaries. The queer rep was nice to see.

I feel like I stand in the middle on this one. It's a decent story and it held my attention and I like the magical elements and despite being terrified of spiders even Derek grew on me towards the end. But I don't think this book accomplished what it wanted to and lacked direction.

Also is a side note, I think this book would have been so popular in like 2009. Do with that what you will.

SPOILERS:
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Also we have got to talk about the supernatural being who is very old being paired with a teenager. I don't care if she's 18 and I don't care if the supernatural creature didn't come of age until 70 something, that still makes them over 30 something years old. It's creepy. His book didn't need that romance subplot. Make them be friends okay jesus.

2.5

I think if this was a middle grade it could have been more successful, but as a YA it reads very young and stilted. There were some parts I really liked, like the magical small town and the nonbinary character. That was hard to focus on when the sisters sound like they are eight or nine, not teens. The pace is slow starting out, but picks up around thirty percent in. The bulk of the writing is mainly conversations between characters, which may have contributed to the juvenile tone. All in all, I was mainly just bored.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.