This book really made me appreciate Kevin Hart and his story is very eye opening. I'm not sure why I never realized how long he's been around. From thThis book really made me appreciate Kevin Hart and his story is very eye opening. I'm not sure why I never realized how long he's been around. From the consumer standpoint, it seems that he just exploded onto the scene, seemingly out of nowhere. His hilarious autobiography shows that he's been busting his ass for years to get where he's at today. This was a great listen. If you're a fan of his standup, you'll definitely enjoy the audio. ...more
This was just okay for me, but that might be because I listened to Yes Please directly after Leah Remini's Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and ScienThis was just okay for me, but that might be because I listened to Yes Please directly after Leah Remini's Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, which in hindsight was probably a disservice. But whatever, this wasn't as funny as I was hoping it'd be, and I think I laughed the hardest at the last chapter.
I think the main issue is just that Amy Poehler's life isn't as fascinating to hear about. And I realize this is a pretty odd thing to say given that this is in fact an autobiography an all. But I guess what I'm trying to say is... what was the point here? Was there something groundbreaking that happened in her life that demanded to be written about? Not from what I read.
The narrative was choppy and Poehler flips to different parts of her life on a whim, not following any sort chronological order or sense. This made for a confusing listening experience for me at times. There were certain parts that I did find interesting: finding out how she and Tina met, Seth Meyers' narration, the controversy around her controversial SNL skit and... that's about it for the most part. The rest I could have easily done without.
I tend to listen to autobiographies on audio because I love hearing stories in the voice of the teller. And I've been a huge fan of Remini for years bI tend to listen to autobiographies on audio because I love hearing stories in the voice of the teller. And I've been a huge fan of Remini for years because she's hilarious such a badass in my eyes. So I purchased this without any second guesses and was not disappointed. This was absolutely excellent, horrifying, hilarious, disturbing and addictive. It reads like a mystery/thriller and then I'd remember it's real life and become super horrified on a loop. But I could not stop listening.
Probably one of the best autobiographies I've listened to so far and a superb audio narration. Highly recommended.
I know a lot of people might be confused why I decided to continue this series despite disliking each book aloWarning: spoilers.
Absolutely no stars.
I know a lot of people might be confused why I decided to continue this series despite disliking each book along the way. I get that it might seem pointless to subject myself to mediocrity purposefully. But I'll be honest, a small part of myself enjoyed the terribleness in a sense of morbid fascination.
Without a doubt, Darken the Stars is the worst of the three and actually angered me. While books one and two can be swept under the rug as simple wish fulfillment gone terribly wrong, this one is a flaming pile of dog shit.
I didn't really have any intention of reviewing Darken the Stars, but after browsing other reviews, I feel morally obligated to say what no one is talking about. Kricket falls in love with the primary antagonist of the series -- the guy, who at one point, tries to choke her under water into submission. I'm not talking about a poorly written Stockholm syndrome. This is a legitimate romance that the author attempts to sell the reading on and it's so horribly offensive.
The entire novel is based around Kricket finally being in the palm of Kyon's hands, right where he wants her. She's trapped on his beach and makes several attempts at escape with no success. Each time she does try to fight Kyon, he hurts her in some way. He also chooses what she wears and makes it clear that her opinions and wants mean nothing. Basically, he's disgusting and the farthest thing from romantic.
However, somewhere along the lines, Kricket starts to fall for Kyon by way of a forced alliance (of course) and "changes" him. This is so very problematic. First, it completely glosses over the severity of domestic abuse. Second, you can't FIX people, certainly not abusers, with love. Out of the blue Kyon starts showing affection and a little more respect for Kricket. Then we find out that her mother entrusted Kyon to look after Kricket, which is supposed to explain why he sought after her so hard in the first two books. Kricket accepts this and starts to rationalize some of his abusive tendencies and dismiss the others. There's even a point in the book where she refers to him as "my psychopath." Also, there's a lot of sex between them, where Kyon insists on getting Kricket to confess her love as he pounds into her. >insert vomiting<
What's worst is how so many reviewers are so pro Kyon as a love interest and it's got me going HUH? I'm not the kind of person that is usually bothered by how others react to books, but in cases like this, it really disturbs me to see it. And I think it's entirely irresponsible for an author to portray an abusive relationship as romantic. It's sick.
Side note: this entire series revolves around the mental, emotional, and physical abuse of one female character by way of the people who supposedly love her. Who the hell thought this was a good idea?
Anyway, this is a case where my curiosity really did me no good. But I just had to know how it ended and the fact that it was free on Kindle Unlimited didn't help. Next time I'll try to remember that just because I CAN, doesn't mean I SHOULD. I definitely don't recommend this, not even for the lols. Stay far away. ...more
The romance isn't too bad in this one if you forget the fact that it's an Insta love romance. It has a good amount of cringeActual rating: 1.5 stars.
The romance isn't too bad in this one if you forget the fact that it's an Insta love romance. It has a good amount of cringe worthy moments that'll make you vomit in your mouth, same amount of wish fulfillment wankery and moments of intense eye rolling. But this time with sexy times! Sex in a bed! Sex in a dirt hole! Sex against a tree! Whoo hoo, sex, baby, yeah!
>_>
So why did I read it despite disliking the first book?
Answer: The narrator is pretty great and it was free on Kindle Unlimited. I was curious on where the story would go, so I decided to give it a chance, and I was entertained. I can see why people like the book even though it's not really my cup of tea. And yet, I'll probably end up listening to the last book, because at this point, why not?
I almost gave Sea of Stars 2 stars because it is a better novel than the first. But thanks to that ridiculous plot twist at the end, I'm knocking off half a star. Review to come. ...more
Welp. Another case of pretty cover and terrible book has struck me again.
Kricket is a super special girl. She has special powers, special eye color, Welp. Another case of pretty cover and terrible book has struck me again.
Kricket is a super special girl. She has special powers, special eye color, special hair color, special name and spelling of said name. She's really beautiful, but doesn't know it and every guy wants her body for himself... some as old as dirt! She's also The One at the center of a prophecy her super special mom prophesized long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Are you rolling your eyes yet?
Never have I read a book with so many ridiculous tropes balled up into one novel. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with tropes because even I have a certain weakness for some. For example, I fall prey to the "girl and boy hate each other, but slowly fall in love through forced interaction" trope every time and I'm not ashamed to admit it. But Under Different Stars reads like a self-indulgent writing experiment with absolutely no purpose.
While on the run from the department of social services, Kricket is abducted by a group of men who share the same violet eye color as her. They end up taking her to a different world, and surprise, surprise, she's an alien with powerful abilities that are highly sought after. She's immediately thrust into a world where females are valued as much as a prized show dog and whose vernacular verges on both corny and juvenile.
Yet despite being born with a vagina and thus seen as lesser than her male counterparts, every male she runs into wants her. Whether for political gain, selfish wants or sexual conquest, Kricket is a highly sought after commodity, and much of the novel is a pissing contest between various man folk. One that seems interesting at first, but quickly losses its appeal with every new suitor.
Though most of the novel takes place over the course of a week, possibly two if I'm being generous, Kricket manages to fall in love with one of her original captors, Trey. I can usually pick out who the love interest is from the very beginning and Under Different Stars didn't even bother making this remotely difficult, nor did it make an attempt to keep the lovers apart. As I previously stated, this novel is very self-indulgent and doesn't particularly care to stay the course of what was originally laid out in the beginning for the reader.
At one point Kricket confesses her love to Trey only to be rebuffed and in her words "friend-zoned" due to his already established previous engagement to a childhood friend, something she was well aware of beforehand. Yet, imagine my surprise when while Kricket is yet again fawning over Trey, claiming her undying love, and he AGAIN telling her no, that he suddenly tells her that he's broken it off with his fiancé and wants to be with her. And then an argument over who loves who the most ensues, ending with her basically begging him to deflower her and he saying he wants to marry her instead. Because nothing else matters but their love, guys!
Oh, kitten. Oh, honey. *makes out*
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It's the first time I've ever read a scene that does a complete 180 with no warning whatsoever.
To say this Under Different Stars has a bad case of wish fulfillment is a complete understatement since Kricket can, in fact, wish her way out of certain circumstances. Whatever Kricket wants, she has the power to get. Kricket doesn't want to marry someone? No worries, another male suitor will have him killed. Kricket wants Trey to be with her and ditch his childhood sweetheart? So it shall be done. I mean, the amount of wank that went into this novel is shocking.
Kricket isn't the heroine of the story despite her situation. No, instead she is the heroine of the story because the world is setup to be terrible so she can be the shining ray of light. With so many male characters that belittle her and constantly want to control both her powers and body, Kricket is the stanch feminist who desires to be in control of her own destiny. While all the men attempt to mansplain to her, they later find out that she's actually a genius whose "brain lights up like a christmas tree" on a scanner. They frequently tell her how she can't defend herself and yet Kricket has the most powerful powers out of everyone. Everyone in the book is deliberately horrible, so she can look flossy as fuck.
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To make matters worse, the ratio of male to female characters is nauseating. Only three, including Kricket, have lines in the book and I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand how many times they chatted with each other one page. Two other female characters are mentioned, one being Kricket's dead mother and the other Trey's fiancé. Everyone else is virtually male or just not mentioned. Ugh.
(view spoiler)[Also, why is her name Kricket?! Why is she the only one with the super odd name? Why does she spell it with a K?? (hide spoiler)]
A part of me is confused, surprised and disgusted with myself for continuing to listen to the audiobook even when I knew there was no way possible for it to redeem itself with me, but I'm such a stubborn reader with a pinch of masochism. Maybe under different stars I could have liked this book, but it's made up of too many of the things I dislike to have ever had a chance. Such a shame because I really do love those covers.
There isn't anything inherently wrong with The Martian, but, look, that was a lot of fucking math.
When I was a kid still in the "oh god what will I doThere isn't anything inherently wrong with The Martian, but, look, that was a lot of fucking math.
When I was a kid still in the "oh god what will I do as a career when I'm a grownup?!" phase, I had the brilliant idea that maybe I'd be a mathematician. The Martian has just reminded me why that was a shitty idea. I love sci-fi and I'm super fascinated with space, but yeah, this one didn't particularly spark anything in me. It didn't leave me hungering for the next page. It was just another audiobook that I listened to to get me to the next level in Candy Crush.
But, some good points:
- Very strong narration: if you listen to the audio, good choice! Kind of. The good news is, the narrator is fantastic. The bad news is, the audio makes it hard to skim pass the more boring parts like the math. You'll have no choice but to suffer through it if it's not working for you.
- Excellent research: kudos to the author for all the research he did. I can't image how long it must have taken. The fact that he included all that math indicates how meticulous and deligent he is. I have nothing but respect for that. Even if it was boring to the tenth power.
- Fascinating concept: if I were stuck on Mars, I'd probably lose my mind. So it did fascinate me to see what Mark would do in each situation. My fascination ended at multiplying and dividing potatoes.
- Interesting characters: my favorite parts were of the characters at NASA and Mark's crew. Basically anyone that wasn't Mark. No wait, that's not fair. I think Mark did start to grow on me near the very end, but I can't say I was truly invested in if he lived or died. I would have been okay with either ending.
The bad:
OMG MATH WHY SO MUCH MATH MATH MATH
I disliked that as soon as the book opened, Mark was counting potatoes. I understand why, and I get that the dude has to eat to survive Mars, but if you multiply that times my interest level, you'll get zero fucks. The problem I had was boredom. There just wasn't a lot happening outside of counting potatoes, multiplying water, something, something chemistry and science.
It got to the point where I starting coming up with my own mathematical equations. For instance, why doesn't my rage times my boredom equal Mark's death? If only I could kill off characters with my mind. If only.
So I got to the end of the book and it was a decent ending, I suppose. Again, it didn't spark any heightened suspense in my heart, I wasn't on the edge of my seat. I thought for sure this was going to be my kind of book and almost purchased the hardcover for myself. But then I remembered I don't actually like survival stories, which I guess explains quite a lot about why I didn't love it.
This book would have been significantly better with aliens. ...more
- It was dull as dirt - It was waaaaaaaay too long - I was so tired of the angst, no matter how justified it was - RoReasons why I didn't like this book:
- It was dull as dirt - It was waaaaaaaay too long - I was so tired of the angst, no matter how justified it was - Rowan is overrated. There, I said it. - I fell asleep listening to the audiobook over 15 times. 7 alone for the last 10%. - The chapters with the witches felt SO POINTLESS. (BTW, the king outlawed magic, but witches are okay? dafuq? Oh well, I don't care.) - I feel like each book follows the same plot: Celena trains. Celena fights with cute guy. Mysterious monster is killing people. Celena kills monster. Fin.
It's always interesting to revisit books years after you've read them in a different format. The first time I read Throne of Glass, I wasn't really imIt's always interesting to revisit books years after you've read them in a different format. The first time I read Throne of Glass, I wasn't really impressed with the writing, though I was relatively drawn into the story as a whole. However, this time around, with the audio I actually connected with the romance between Dorian and Celaena so much better. This just goes to show you that *when* you read a book and which *format* you choose can make a big difference on your reading experience. Which is why I think "reading objectively" is a steaming pile of horse shit.
Anyway, I'm looking for Crown of Midnight now! ...more
Everyone wants Jamie's body. Randall, Lord John Grey, Claire, that teen girl and... Me. XD Everyone wants Jamie's body. Randall, Lord John Grey, Claire, that teen girl and... Me. XD ...more
I've been following The Bloggess on Twitter for quite some time. I have a bit of a girl crush. Her snark and sarcasm is a thing of beauty and I had beI've been following The Bloggess on Twitter for quite some time. I have a bit of a girl crush. Her snark and sarcasm is a thing of beauty and I had been meaning to check her book out. This is probably the funniest book I have ever read/listened to. Jenny Lawson, AKA The Bloggess, has compiled some of the strangest life experiences together and wrote a book. Nothing could be more true and awesome.
“...and whenever I had menstral cramps, I could just pretend that Voldemort was close.”
Thank you, Meg, so much for this audiobook. You know me well....more