this to me reads like one of those skits making fun of redditors, except it goes on for way longer than it should do and kind of becomes what it sadnf
this to me reads like one of those skits making fun of redditors, except it goes on for way longer than it should do and kind of becomes what it satirizes. ...more
how faye wong's behaviour in chungking express should come across (but doesn't, because...wkw). creep reminded me very much of danzy senna's new peopl how faye wong's behaviour in chungking express should come across (but doesn't, because...wkw). creep reminded me very much of danzy senna's new people and several other books featuring obsessive alienated & alienating young women—but here, the narration feels too on the nose. a more gradual reveal of our narrator’s maladaptive nature might have made the atmosphere more unsettling. despite the title and premise, the novel comes across as goofy (and not in an intentional or entertaining sort of way)....more
this novel exemplifies everything wrong with the dark academia trend. using memento mori doesn't add to the amosphere, it just feels like a cringeydnf
this novel exemplifies everything wrong with the dark academia trend. using memento mori doesn't add to the amosphere, it just feels like a cringey signifier. the whole setup...it reminded me very much of Immortal Dark, we have a young girl seeking revenge for the death/disappearance of a beloved relative, so she enrols into a powerful/wealthy school/institution, all the while, thinking edgy thoughts about how dangerous and monstrous she is. i wish these books did not take themselves so seriously (again, so edgy ) or truly presented us with an unhinged/subversive protagonist. but instead we get a typical YA heroine who is meant to seem so different because she doesn't fawn over rich/powerful/popular people...but this girl has no real plan or grit. i love revenge stories, i love gray/ambiguous characters, why not give us these instead of this surface-level mimicry of dark academia?...more
in addition to finding the writing style to be clunky, the humor was painfully unfunny...that whole bit about male nurses? it wasn't funny to begidnf
in addition to finding the writing style to be clunky, the humor was painfully unfunny...that whole bit about male nurses? it wasn't funny to begin with, but to drag it on like that...mado...more
apologies to Blake and Blake fans, but this style of writing just doesn’t work for me. the storytelling’s attempts at cleverness feel forced, and bdnf
apologies to Blake and Blake fans, but this style of writing just doesn’t work for me. the storytelling’s attempts at cleverness feel forced, and both the dialogue and characterisation come off less as gritty or raw and more as painfully edgy. it's giving somoene who doesn’t usually swear has just started to...
i thought this type of protagonist was a thing of the past...
i might give it another shot later on but so far this reads like a slightly aged u dnf 40%
i thought this type of protagonist was a thing of the past...
i might give it another shot later on but so far this reads like a slightly aged up rick riordan type of affair, that is weighed down by literary and historical references. i could put up with the vaguely uninspired fantasy setting (comparable examples include: zen cho, susanna clarke, diana wynne jones, and yes, even leigh bardugo) if the main character hadn't been giving such mc energy (with a good ol' dash of not-like-other-girls)...i find this type of characterisation boring but ymmv....more
I'm starting to get tired of this trend of 'if a girl acts like perv not only it's okay but it's actually funny!' First of all: this is the typeDNF 30%
I'm starting to get tired of this trend of 'if a girl acts like perv not only it's okay but it's actually funny!' First of all: this is the type of book that demands a lot of suspension of disbelief. That Rebecca would just do what Vanessa wants even if it is clearly not part of her job or connected to it (ie: Vanessa is not a tyrant, if Rebecca was to be unjustly fired on the basis of not wanting to agree to do an 'outside job' for her boss). Then again Rebecca can't be all that smart as she then believes that it's a good idea for people to believe that she is Vanessa and that they will understand if she reveals later on that she isn't (where is she living? the moon?!).
What really annoyed me was that Rebecca thinks it's perfectly okay to sneak a photo of a builder's bum as it is a very good looking one so that she can then send it to her friend. The narrative tries to make it so that she is aware that she was being a bit of a perv but it's okay since he then quite rightfully acts in an unfriendly manner towards her (so he deserved it?!). Do pervy, clueless, air-heads make for sympathetic or realistic main characters? Not really. If we were to switch their genders in that scene (so that it is a male sneaking a photo of a woman's bottom, a woman he does not even know or has even seen before)...not so funny right?
Another thing that I noticed was the lack of logic: the builder catches our protagonist red-handed and believing that she is his employer (who he knows is an unpleasant person by her reputation) tells her: "I'd thought you'd be more rottweiler than chihuahua" (which leads us to believe that he is not that threatened by her or her authority over him) before then telling off his mates for not warning him of her arrival as "I could have got myself sacked up there just now". If he was so worried about meeting Vanessa wouldn't he have avoided comparing her to a dog?
The book is also full of lazy stereotypes (like the taxi driver who pats his stomach and talks about his 'missus') that don't really come across as funny or clever takes on real people. There is Rebecca's housemate from hell (who is an exaggerated take on the lazy, smelly, sexist housemate)...Vanessa is an amalgamation of 'devil' bosses found in The Devil Wears Prada and My Not So Perfect Life
My advice is to skip this one!
Merged review:
DNF 30%
I'm starting to get tired of this trend of 'if a girl acts like perv not only it's okay but it's actually funny!' First of all: this is the type of book that demands a lot of suspension of disbelief. That Rebecca would just do what Vanessa wants even if it is clearly not part of her job or connected to it (ie: Vanessa is not a tyrant, if Rebecca was to be unjustly fired on the basis of not wanting to agree to do an 'outside job' for her boss). Then again Rebecca can't be all that smart as she then believes that it's a good idea for people to believe that she is Vanessa and that they will understand if she reveals later on that she isn't (where is she living? the moon?!).
What really annoyed me was that Rebecca thinks it's perfectly okay to sneak a photo of a builder's bum as it is a very good looking one so that she can then send it to her friend. The narrative tries to make it so that she is aware that she was being a bit of a perv but it's okay since he then quite rightfully acts in an unfriendly manner towards her (so he deserved it?!). Do pervy, clueless, air-heads make for sympathetic or realistic main characters? Not really. If we were to switch their genders in that scene (so that it is a male sneaking a photo of a woman's bottom, a woman he does not even know or has even seen before)...not so funny right?
Another thing that I noticed was the lack of logic: the builder catches our protagonist red-handed and believing that she is his employer (who he knows is an unpleasant person by her reputation) tells her: "I'd thought you'd be more rottweiler than chihuahua" (which leads us to believe that he is not that threatened by her or her authority over him) before then telling off his mates for not warning him of her arrival as "I could have got myself sacked up there just now". If he was so worried about meeting Vanessa wouldn't he have avoided comparing her to a dog?
The book is also full of lazy stereotypes (like the taxi driver who pats his stomach and talks about his 'missus') that don't really come across as funny or clever takes on real people. There is Rebecca's housemate from hell (who is an exaggerated take on the lazy, smelly, sexist housemate)...Vanessa is an amalgamation of 'devil' bosses found in The Devil Wears Prada and My Not So Perfect Life
luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus)
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