really really interesting premise for a thriller but why did every chapter try to end on this "gotcha" note? it kinda annoyed me how it tried to be soreally really interesting premise for a thriller but why did every chapter try to end on this "gotcha" note? it kinda annoyed me how it tried to be so shockinggg...more
representation is sooooooooo important but i dont identify with rich suburban white moms so i'm sure it was an important story but i just couldnt connrepresentation is sooooooooo important but i dont identify with rich suburban white moms so i'm sure it was an important story but i just couldnt connect with it ...more
okay right from the start, our main character is just establishing herself as this wicked, spiteful, baeveryone who enjoyed this book look away please
okay right from the start, our main character is just establishing herself as this wicked, spiteful, badass character.
she goes on and on about how she’s going to trick the shadow king, the most powerful man in the kingdom, into falling in love with her and then she'll kill him and take the crown and power for herself etc. etc.
i know this sounds like the wrath and the dawn, but it's actually the knock-off, dollarstore version of TWATD, sorry, this is me speaking my truth ...more
as someone who likes to believe that they know their way around a kitchen, i always get SUPER excited at the prospect of any book with a focus on the as someone who likes to believe that they know their way around a kitchen, i always get SUPER excited at the prospect of any book with a focus on the culinary arts
but oh my god, this book pretty much kind of ruined that for me. I'm sorry, but I want to challenge this book to a duel to earn back the time I spent trying to read it.
at first, it wasn't so bad, it was following the main character lumi, who is a chef who owns her own restaurant but then her store goes under and now she has to work as a sous chef at a fancy French restaurant run by this grump that she hates
but oh wait, he's not THAT bad of a grump because 25 PAGES LATER THEYRE SO INTO EACH OTHER
THERE IS NO BUILD UP OF CHEMISTRY OR EMOTIONS OR CHARACTER DEPTH i literally disliked them both so much after their inner dialogue about each other. yuck.
anyways, things get really weird after that, like weird fantastical things, and it just put me off more from the book. and idk, it's hard when you don't connect with the writing or characters but when something supernatural occurs as an explanation to the main conflict, i just want to be laid to rest.
me: if i have to read another book with a muslim main character that's entire faith is defined by the fact that they don't eat pork i will S C R E A Mme: if i have to read another book with a muslim main character that's entire faith is defined by the fact that they don't eat pork i will S C R E A M
drive thru speaker: ma'am,,,,,,,this is a wendy's...more
this was wildly more dramatic than i was expecting. there were a lot of aspects that i enjoyed but there were also some scenes that just,,,,,,,,,,werethis was wildly more dramatic than i was expecting. there were a lot of aspects that i enjoyed but there were also some scenes that just,,,,,,,,,,were SO WRONG
(view spoiler)[ sophie spreading around ever's private pictures to a whole bunch of guys and to her teachers in order to get expelled AIN'T IT!!!! i dont know how anything can repair that kind of betrayal and the way ever forgave her was just......not realistic. anyways (hide spoiler)]
i feel like i've read this story many times and sadly this one didn't stand out. if you want a book about an asian girl trying to find her future outside her parents dreams i would highly suggest American Panda or I Love You So Mochi
i found a stronger connection to those books and found them less dramatic (plus there were less love triangles ...more
i hope y'all loved this more than i did bc i'm ready to pack my bags and head to Disappointment Dr. for the rest of my foreseeable future
from the auti hope y'all loved this more than i did bc i'm ready to pack my bags and head to Disappointment Dr. for the rest of my foreseeable future
from the author who wrote two of my FAVOURITE contemporaries, i assure you, i am the one who's the most disappointed right now :(((((((((((((((((
i seriously was so confused throughout the entire book. and if you ask me right now what the book is about, i still can't give you a coherent response because i SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW
anyways, excuse me while i allow my tears and sadness and disappointment consume me ...more
i really really really love reading historic books set during the world wars, theyre always so descriptive and moving and i learn so much about the pei really really really love reading historic books set during the world wars, theyre always so descriptive and moving and i learn so much about the people and what they had to suffer during those times
and i was REALLY loving this book for the first half but once this ~*strange element*~ came into play, i wasn't sure what to feel after that
from then, i was growing more and more uninterested in the book and sure it's heartbreaking and terribly sad but i still don't understand how this time travel thingy works nor do i care to know
however comma i thought the ending was incredibly well done and i applaud the author for taking that route instead of the ending everyone expects.
so new plan, we're going to pretend books 3 and 4 of this series never happened
“Beyond life, beyond death, my love for thee is eternal.”
i'm so ridiculso new plan, we're going to pretend books 3 and 4 of this series never happened
“Beyond life, beyond death, my love for thee is eternal.”
i'm so ridiculously annoyed at what happened but also i can't be bothered bc ever since i finished book 3: Escaping from Houdini, i've felt my attachment to this series begin to dwindle and ITS SO SAD BC I LOVE THOMAS AND AUDREY SO MUCH
a few reason why this totally sucked (in my honest, gracious, humble opinion)
1. !!conflict out of thin air!!!
(view spoiler)[having thomas and audrey's wedding interrupted to announce that thomas was already engaged to another girl THAT HAD NO HINTING FOR THE PAST 3 BOOKS OR ANY REMOTE POSSIBLE EXPLANATION other than to bring a ~shocking plot twist~ was sloppy at best. that specific scene took me out of the story and made me feel an instant disconnect from the book (hide spoiler)]
a grand portion of this book was us, the poor reader, being trapped in audrey rose's head while her mind turned into a broken record. honestly it was like reading the same pages on loop. all her inner turmoil over her feelings for thomas and her grief for her brother and her fear of the new Jack the Ripper repeated a BILLION times in a billion different lines and it added NOTHING to the plot or conflict's development.
it was incredibly tedious to read and i am so Exhausted
3. WHERE WAS THE PLOT
the real mystery of this book was finding the plot because she went missing ...more
it was predictable, uneventful, and the last line was far more interesting than the ENTIRE book. if we COmaybe shari lapena isn't the author for me???
it was predictable, uneventful, and the last line was far more interesting than the ENTIRE book. if we COULD GET SOME PLOT OUT OF THAT LINE it might have been a better experience for me
and excuse me, but two women thirsting over plain, boring, limp noodle Tom, was the most preposterous thing this book tried to convince me of. he ain't it ladies, he literally has the personality of a soggy j-cloth, big pass...more
this was a really great twist on the everyday thriller and i really enjoyed the tight setting and the character depth and the insight into the fancy, this was a really great twist on the everyday thriller and i really enjoyed the tight setting and the character depth and the insight into the fancy, horrendous business life
the characters felt incredibly realistic, they were all unique and had distinct voices and goals and motivations and were all crazy unlikeable. (i literally hate every single one of them. excluding lucy ofc)
some reveals were great and some were predictable. but honestly my biggest qualm was that i was bored for the majority of the book. it really delved deeply into the lives of the big corporate dudes on top and their personal problems and their inability to stop working and their constant complaining over who got bigger bonuses and while it was definitely an interesting insight, it got tiring quickly.
overall, i didn't love it, but i also didn't hate it. ...more