I was really wanting to enjoy this more than I did but the perspective of 5-year-old Jack was extremely grating for me.
I know he’s 5 & he cannot helpI was really wanting to enjoy this more than I did but the perspective of 5-year-old Jack was extremely grating for me.
I know he’s 5 & he cannot help some of his observations & he is traumatized by his circumstances. I understand. But I did not enjoy having this entire story relayed to me through the vocabulary of a 5-year-old. Especially since at times it really felt like an adult’s interpretation of a 5-year-old vs an actual 5-year-old?
If the premise of this book intrigues you, give it a try. But it was definitely not for me. ...more
I’m a little shocked because I was thinking I liked this book enough to give it a 3 stars until the end? It’s still not awful but the way the end playI’m a little shocked because I was thinking I liked this book enough to give it a 3 stars until the end? It’s still not awful but the way the end plays out sort of confuses the message & left me feeling… unsatisfied....more
I’m not sure what to say about this except that it wasn’t for me. It sounded quite a lot like the story and characters were just extensions of Hank anI’m not sure what to say about this except that it wasn’t for me. It sounded quite a lot like the story and characters were just extensions of Hank and his opinions about internet culture & celebrity. Which.. I’m not sure that’s the kind of thing I want to read as all piece of fiction?
Not my cup of tea. Silly main character, confusing messages, and really ridiculous ending. Only giving a 2 stars because I was curious about how it woNot my cup of tea. Silly main character, confusing messages, and really ridiculous ending. Only giving a 2 stars because I was curious about how it would play out but I absolutely wouldn’t recommend this one. ...more
Firstly, I can totally see why this book comes up when people are looking for something similar to The Secret HiActual Rating: 2.5 Stars
Ah, well gee.
Firstly, I can totally see why this book comes up when people are looking for something similar to The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
Pretentious group of Shakespeare students, art school, murder mystery, confusing queer vibes. That’s what you’ll find here, except I think calling it a “mystery” is a bit of a stretch.
In fact, the story begins with the police officer who worked this case 10 years prior coming to chat with our main character, Oliver, fresh out of prison, about what really happened back then.
But the thing about it is, once you make it to the end of the story, you realize the officer kinda? Already knew the truth? So that somewhat undermined the premise a bit for me.
The main cast is made up of senior Shakespearean actors who are talented & committed. But despite that, there wasn’t much of an exploration of how the dynamic between investigators & experienced actors might provide a complex & tangled web for investigators to work through.
However, I do think the author writes these characters well. Of course, almost none of them are likable, and that is intentional. They all have plausible reasons for guilt, a tendency toward secrecy, and a flair for the dramatic. It makes sense in this setting, and I’d say it’s the part of this book that relates most closely to Tartt’s The Secret History.
Overall though, I felt myself going through the main beats of this story without a lot of investment in how it turned out. The mystery element falls a bit flat because the guilty party is pretty clear early on in the book. In fact the only reason I second guessed myself was because I was thinking my solution was too straightforward.
Not a bad book, I see why people love it! It’s just not one that I could personally recommend. I specifically think this will appeal to other thespians, and those who have more than a passing familiarity with Shakespeare. ...more
This felt like a mashup of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier & The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, minus the Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
This felt like a mashup of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier & The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, minus the romance. So it’s kinda shocking I didn’t enjoy it more given how much I love both of those books?
There was just something that didn’t feel super engaging about the mystery here. I wanted to like it much more than I did. This book has been on my TBR now for years and I’ve always assumed I’d love it, so a bit disappointing to say the least!...more
Well I’m incredibly sad that I didn’t enjoy this more given all the rave reviews & what sounded like a super intriguing premisActual Rating: 1.5 Stars
Well I’m incredibly sad that I didn’t enjoy this more given all the rave reviews & what sounded like a super intriguing premise.
Agents of two opposing factions, time traveling through what is described as “braids” of alternate realities & dimensions, falling in love against their better judgement. Also they’re queer. Literally no part of this premise sounds bad to me.
Unfortunately it’s the execution of this idea that sends this book into a nosedive for me.
Normally I don’t mind a bit of flowery writing. Some of my favorite authors are known for their superfluous & whimsical styles.
But oh boy are we talking full on flower garden, here.
This book so chalk full of complicated metaphors, awkward turns of phrase, and segmented scenery that I just couldn’t find a comfortable footing at all while I read.
I understand that this was likely exactly the intent of the authors when they crafted this tale. It’s not necessarily about the situation, not about the individual scenarios our characters find themselves in. Rather, it’s about their relationship development.
And I guess maybe that had me feeling sort of off balance? Like I could’ve done with more information about the time war that’s mentioned in the title, but that just isn’t really meant to be the focus of the story.
There’s almost no feeling of concreteness to the anything that takes place, if that makes sense. Genuinely, there were times while reading this book that I really didn’t know what visual or emotional experience the author was trying to steer me toward, and it left me feeling adrift & unconnected to the story.
I found my inner reader saying “...well okay then” to herself quite a lot more than usual & that just didn’t make for a comfortable reading experience. Like I was just wading slowly through a nonsensical, Alice in Wonderland adjacent world of words & waiting for solid pieces to latch onto.
But I will say that I did like the two main characters & their “enemies to lovers but still enemies sorta” romance, and I found the resolution incredibly fitting for the story being told. It addresses a small problem I’d been having for 99% of my reading so I appreciated that.
This isn’t something that would be near the top of my list of recommendations by any means, but if you’re a fan of a more abstract story about two badass women falling in love & inter-dimensional time travel, maybe it’s for you!...more
Well, it does feel rather weird to give such a well known & well loved book a low rating like this, but rereading this as an adult, I realize it’s verWell, it does feel rather weird to give such a well known & well loved book a low rating like this, but rereading this as an adult, I realize it’s very so so?
I’ve read books aimed at children and loved them, so my opinion has nothing to do with the target audience. And it just so happens I really enjoyed this book when I was a child, so in that way it has accomplished its goal.
But this story is very simplistic, so much so that it barely does anything to disguise its religious messages. It probably has a lot to do with my own relationship to Christianity, but seeing these messages made me unsettling.
One in particular that sticks out to me is when Father Christmas arrives & gifts Lucy & Susan with weapons but tells them they will not be a part of the war because “war is ugly when women fight” or something to that effect. To me, that’s a strange & uncomfortable message to portray through a magical figure many children look up to & respect.
Bottom line though? Even if this novel hadn’t been laced through with religious allegories, it still isn’t that interesting on the surface.
I toyed with the idea of reading this series through to the end since it’s so short, but given how much I didn’t enjoy my reread, I think I’ll cut my losses here & move on....more
Definitely my least favorite of the series thus far. Was hoping for a bit more since this book focuses on Æthelflæd but alas, Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
Definitely my least favorite of the series thus far. Was hoping for a bit more since this book focuses on Æthelflæd but alas, it took quite a while for anything interesting to occur & when it finally did it was very dull compared to the action sequences present in prior books....more
So the first thing: the history that’s being covered in this book is absolutely heartbreaking & deserves to be brought to our attention. I am glad theSo the first thing: the history that’s being covered in this book is absolutely heartbreaking & deserves to be brought to our attention. I am glad the book exists for the purpose of having a conversation & remembering the women affected by the introduction of radium. It’s disgusting, infuriating that this is an actual part of US History that isn’t usually covered.
However, I really didn’t like reading this book & it’s largely because of how it’s written. The author painstakingly describes the physical appearances of what ends up being a huge cast of people & fixates on such strange minutiae that the whole book comes off as very pedantic. It reads as if it’s written by someone who doesn’t write for a living but they were suddenly thrown into having to write a compelling historical account & that does not serve for an enjoyable reading experience.
Also, I have no idea if this was intentional or not but this book seemed so unnecessarily chaste in its description? As if trying to reflect the attitudes of the early 1900’s? For example, one woman is described as experiencing continual vaginal bleeding but instead of just saying that the author says something like “She was bleeding, down below.” Like, what the hell? Just say she was bleeding from her vagina? It’s not a bad word?
Ugh. And to top it off the presentation of the sequence of events is absolutely jarring. I know some of it couldn’t be helped because I’m sure this was a very tumultuous experience for everyone involved & perhaps that is meant to be reflected here. But as a modern reader, all I could feel was whiplash.
It was a constant roller coaster of “Wait, there’s hope? Nope just kidding, no hope. Wait, actually? Nah. But then actually yes? No. No, no, there was no hope. But wait then there was hope? But no, no hope.” I was honestly so exhausted reading this book that I had to take it slowly just to tolerate this constant bungee.
I’d honestly point you toward reading a Wikipedia article about this incident before I’d recommended this book. It’s hard to give a book covering very important information a low rating, but you’re just as well off spending an hour or so researching the facts vs. forcing yourself to slog through this account....more
Predictably, I read this because everyone has been so crazy about the release of the new film. Ah, Mary, Mary when will you learn?
So by now I’m sure ePredictably, I read this because everyone has been so crazy about the release of the new film. Ah, Mary, Mary when will you learn?
So by now I’m sure everyone knows what this is about but just in case, this is story revolves around Lara Jean, who writes letters to her past crushes as a way to vent her feelings & get over them, and is forced to deal with the consequences when those private letters are mailed out by accident.
That description is slightly misleading in my opinion. While there are 5 boys on Lara Jean’s list, this story is mostly about how she navigates her situation with 2 of them specifically.
So really, you should know that the premise is closer to a love triangle than the summary would have you believe.
And then the fact that one of the boys in this triangle was/is involved with Lara Jean’s older sister kind of squicks me out a little. (This is revealed almost immediately in the book so, no I don’t consider it a spoiler.)
So, I’d say my major complaint about this book is that, while it definitely fulfills the role of “cute rom-com,” I’m personally not a huge fan of a story in any genre where the main conflicts are driven by a nonsensical lack of communication between characters.
I guess at this point it just feels? Cheap? Like a fast way to create drama where there would otherwise be none?
This is pretty much the case for all the central characters involved. If any of them would just? I dunno, talk to one another, then most of this drama could be resolved immediately.
Lara Jean’s personality (or lack thereof) is grating at times, and I noted down a couple of times where she resorted to physical retaliation when upset. I think it is meant to be endearing but needless to say, it isn’t.
Lara Jean’s little sister, Kitty, is particularly annoying for me. She frequently acts like a brat, throwing tantrums, refusing to speak to her sisters, bossing others around, with little to no intervention from their father.
None of the other characters stand out in a meaningful way. They all occupy tropes we’ve seen before. The story follows a mostly predictable path with what I consider an unnecessarily open ending.
I know this is a trilogy but I can’t imagine it needs to be. Another 50 pages would have resolved this in a way that was plenty satisfying. But instead we’re left without much of a conclusion.
Needless to say I won’t be continuing on with this series, but I did watch the Netflix Original Movie adaption of this book and it is SO CUTE AND FIXED ALMOST EVERYTHING I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK!
Do yourself a favor, skip the book, go watch the movie, it’s way faster & a much better experience!...more
Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~
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Books:
2-star
(68)
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