I thought I'd get through this book without lettinCWs:(view spoiler)[Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Death (hide spoiler)]
I thought I'd get through this book without letting it get to me, but the ending got me after all.
I have a real appreciation for the character work Backman does in his books, and Ove was no exception. The voice the author gave him is full of unintentional humor. He cares so much for people and takes their needs into consideration, even while constantly saying and thinking that he doesn't care and that everyone should stop bothering him and leave him to die in peace. I enjoyed his interactions with the different people and pets that forced themselves into his life, but I guess the cat will be my favourite.
What I liked: - The setting, the set of a telenovela remake, was original - the Latinx focus was refreshing
What I didn't like: - I didn't reaMini review:
What I liked: - The setting, the set of a telenovela remake, was original - the Latinx focus was refreshing
What I didn't like: - I didn't really connect with either character and didn't find them particularly interesting - the main plot was around secrets and not communicating - the chapters where they were filming scenes were so... weird. The POV was just all over the place, switching between the actors' thoughts and those of the characters they were playing without any indicators of where which ended or began - it was all a bit cheesy and over the top
To summarize, this was just an okay read for me....more
So here I am, a month after finishing this book, and I'm still not sure I can write a review that will adeCWs: ableism, body horror (graphic), torture
So here I am, a month after finishing this book, and I'm still not sure I can write a review that will adequately explain why I think this book is amazing. But it doesn't feel right to end the year without putting this out there, so here goes nothing.
On the surface, the premise is pretty simple. Anna, working a desk job for a supervillain, gets unintentionally caught between the supervillain and the superhero, and as a result ends up disabled and then fired. Fueled by rage and a feeling of injustice, she finds out that she's not the first person to end up as a superhero's collateral damage, and makes it her new mission to collect as much data as she can, and expose superheroes for what they are: an unnatural disaster.
This sounds like a villain origin story, and it is definitely that. But there's a lot more beneath the surface that feels very relevant in the current political climate, and I constantly found myself reading parts and relating it back to the real world.
The fundamental idea that superheroes aren't as great as they're made out to be isn't new. if you've been watching the Marvel movies the past couple of years, you'll recognize a similar theme in Captain America: Civil War. This book explores what can happen if you're team Iron Man, and superheroes become part of the government's law enforcement. Just like superheroes, we're pre-disposed to see governments as the good guys. Even when lives are lost, surely it's because there was no other choice. They must've been bad guys who deserved what they got.
When you aim for the core, relationships close ranks. Even if someone knows what you're saying is true, they'll flagrantly deny it. They'll deny it harder exactly because it's true. Then the armor goes up and the daggers come out and you will find yourself facing a united front.
I couldn't help but read this as commentary on what people have come to accept from those in power, no matter how much data we have available at our fingertips that proves that the decisions they make are not for the benefit of the general public.
According to Spiderman's Uncle Ben, "with great power comes great responsibility". Hench explores what happens when there is no sense of responsibility, and superheroes are given free rein to do what they want (with government support), and eliminate whoever they deem too big a risk to themselves or even just their reputations. Using data analytics, our heroine Anna peels back the superficial layers of the superheroes to uncover the rot beneath. But she's not one of the good guys, either: she's still a hench, working for a supervillain, no matter how just her cause seems. I think the moral here is, one person's superhero is another person's supervillain, and nobody is purely good or evil.
All that said, I had a great time reading this. The pacing lags a bit at around 70-80% in but picks up again after that. I had moments of real fear for the characters, and parts of it made me not want to put the book down. There's also some pretty good humor and queer representation. I can also say I have never been as grossed out by descriptions of body horror as I was while reading this.
If you're a fan of the TV series The Boys, I think this'll be right up your alley....more
This is the Muslim romance book I've been waiting my entire life for, and I have no idea why I waited this long to read it.
Everything was perfectly onThis is the Muslim romance book I've been waiting my entire life for, and I have no idea why I waited this long to read it.
Everything was perfectly on point. It's a re-telling of Pride & Prejudice with modern and Muslim changes that make it fresh and keep you interested in finding out how everything will unfold. I adored both Ayesha and Khalid and their interactions, Hafsa was appropriately annoying and Ayesha's grandparents deserve more time on-page than they got. As cute and satisfying a romance as I've ever read.
(I should definitely have reviewed this right after reading and not left it an entire month, but it was Ramadan so it is what it is. Maybe I can update this when I reread it)...more
WOW. This book is easily one of my favourite reads this year.
Because the terrible thing about becoming an adult is being forced to realize that absolu
WOW. This book is easily one of my favourite reads this year.
Because the terrible thing about becoming an adult is being forced to realize that absolutely nobody cares about us, we have to deal with everything ourselves now, find out how the whole world works. Work and pay bills, use dental floss and get to meetings on time, stand in line and fill out forms, come to grips with cables and put furniture together, change tires on the car and charge the phone and switch the coffee machine off and not forget to sign the kids up for swimming lessons. We open our eyes in the morning and life is just waiting to tip a fresh avalanche of "Don't Forget!"s and "Remember!"s over us. We don't have time to think or breathe, we just wake up and start digging through the heap, because there will be another one dumped on us tomorrow.
A bank robber goes into a cashless bank to rob it. This was the first mistake. The second was fleeing the bank and hiding in an apartment that's hosting an open house. Now there are hostages to deal with, and even waving a gun doesn't make them act as expected. The retired couple looking to renovate the apartment is too busy convincing everyone the place isn't worth the hassle, the married couple about to have their first child is too busy fighting with each other to pay much attention to anything else, the banker is only there as a kind of hobby and isn't at all impressed by the failed bank robber and the elderly woman just wants to make friends and feed everyone. And, of course, there's the rabbit.
This book isn't really about the story. The hostage situation only serves as a backdrop for a book that is all about humanity. And there is so much to love about it The writing, for one, is absolutely brilliant. It's witty and humorous and achingly painful in all the right moments. I've gotten into the habit of tabbing books when I'm reading them so I can reread some of my favourite lines, and I wasn't even a quarter page in before I added the first one. I think some of the credit has to go to the translator, because I would never have guessed this wasn't originally written in English. And it's not like the writing is flowery either (although I have a real love for that kind of writing too). But the way Backman writes is simple and extremely effective. He uses a minimal number of words to make maximum impact, and it works.
It was called a crisis in the financial markets, a bank crash, even though the only ones who crash are people.
Aside from a way with words, Backman clearly has a talent for crafting characters. The way he describes people feels so real. Nothing is glossed over--these are humans with prejudices and problems, but Backman manages to shine a light on the positive attributes for each of the characters without being blatant about it. And none of them are what they appear to be at first glance. I had a label or box for each character--Roger was a controlling husband and Anna-Lena the wife who does everything Roger asks. This felt like the right boxes to put them in. The book was showing me all the signs that I'd categorized them correctly. But all my expectations and boxes and labels got completely subverted along the way, because people aren't just one thing or another. You can't put a person in a box and expect them to fit. There are bad and good things in each and every one of us, and first impressions aren't the truth. I loved the way the characters developed, and by the end of the book I felt emotionally connected to each and every one of them. That's no mean feat 'cause we're not talking about two or three characters here. I'm not much of a crier (only one book this year has managed to make me shed tears), but I felt myself choking up towards the end of this one.
That's an impossible thing for sons to grasp, and a source of shame for fathers to have to admit: that we don't want our children to pursue their own dreams or walk in our footsteps. We want to walk in their footsteps while they pursue our dreams.
There are enough twists in the plot itself to keep you hooked and eager to read more. Some of it I thought was predictable, but then it would get turned on its head by a new development. Definitely not a book you want to start reading when you have a busy work week ahead.
All in all, this was thoroughly addictive on all fronts, and I am looking forward to reading all of Backman's older and newer books. Can't believe it took me this long to read one....more
I thought of Walter again. “Six or twelve,” he sometimes said when he was depressed, which wasn’t all the time but often enough that I recognized a bl
I thought of Walter again. “Six or twelve,” he sometimes said when he was depressed, which wasn’t all the time but often enough that I recognized a blue mood when it was settling in. “That’s your fate as a black man. Carried by six or judged by twelve.”
Celestial and Roy have everything going for them; they're in love, happily married, earning well and ready to start a family. But a visit to Roy's hometown changes everything, and after a year and a half of marriage Celestial and Roy are ripped apart when Roy is wrongfully convicted.
I finished the book a few days ago but it's one of those books you need to think about for a while. There's a lot to unpack, partly because some details are only hinted at. It's usually small things that don't directly impact how you understand the story but they add nuances that may help explain the choices some characters make.
I was struggling with this book because I felt like huge chunks of the story were being left out. You learn very little about Roy's time in prison because that part of the story is conveyed through the letters Roy and Celestial send each other, separated by (sometimes huge) time gaps. I discussed it with Yara at some point and she reminded me the book is called An American Marriage and that that's the focus of the book, not what happened to Roy in prison. That changed the way I was reading it and ultimately my rating.
The last third of the book is especially impactful because that's where all the pain the characters have gone through culminates in a pretty dramatic escalation of events. These are all flawed characters; they all make mistakes, but are also all worthy of some sympathy (well, maybe Andre not so much). However, I was missing some insight into why some of the characters made the choices they made. There was ample room for that since the story was always told from either Roy's, Celestial's or Andre's POV, but Celestial especially was a headscratcher for me. I don't understand why she did what she did, which is unfortunate because this story is ultimately about her decisions.
Overall it's an interesting book and definitely worth a read.
I am scared that I do not belong in a Middle Eastern restaurant in the middle of America.
I am scared that the only place in Middle America that I belong i
I am scared that I do not belong in a Middle Eastern restaurant in the middle of America.
I am scared that the only place in Middle America that I belong is a Middle Eastern restaurant.
A beautifully-written book that talks about the experience of refugees, and that feeling of being "other" and not belonging.
Jude and her mother end up moving from Syria to the US when the violence in Syria begins to escalate, and Jude finds herself tossed into a world that sees her as strange, different, dangerous, and oppressed. I found this to be a very powerful book with accessible writing. Despite the heavy subject matter, there's a sense of hope that continues to build throughout the story.
That I cover my head not because I am ashamed forced or hiding.
But because I am proud and want to be seen as I am.
I also really loved the Muslim representation, specifically the way the author handled Jude starting her period and wearing the hijab accordingly. It's something I haven't seen before in a middle grade book, and it's something that I think is important to normalize for young Muslim girls....more
I can't believe it's taken me this long to read an Alice Oseman book because clearly I have been missing out.
I wonder sometimes whether you've explode
I can't believe it's taken me this long to read an Alice Oseman book because clearly I have been missing out.
I wonder sometimes whether you've exploded already, like a star, and what I'm seeing is you three million years into the past, and you're not here anymore. How can we be together here, now, when you are so far away? When you are so far ago? I'm shouting so loudly, but you never turn around to see me. Perhaps it is I who have already exploded.
Frances is everything you'd expect someone who's trying to get into Cambridge to be. She's studious, works hard, is head girl, doesn't party. She also doesn't have a lot of friends, but she does have one secret passion--Universe City, an obscure YouTube podcast. It's something she doesn't share with anyone because she's worried what people will think. And she never expects the creator of the podcast to notice her fanart and ask her to officially become part of Universe City. Or that it would be Aled, whose sister she used to know, who lives across the street from her. Aled and Frances become fast friends, but there are secrets between them that could ruin everything.
A huge part of why I enjoyed this book so much is the friendship between Frances and Aled. Oseman makes it clear pretty quickly that their relationship will never be romantic and omg it is SUCH a breath of fresh air. I loved how they loved each other so much. The affection between them was visible in every interaction. And their pain during the tough times is so palpable too.
Also, Daniel kind of broke my heart.
There are a couple of very dramatic confrontations in the book, rife with accusations of "you did this on purpose, didn't you?" and that ilk, and while that usually really bugs me (probably because when I read this trope it's almost always between adults?) but it just felt so on point for the characters in this book and was just an essential part of being a teen.
I can take a little beating now and then. I'm a tough one. I'm a star. I'm steel-chested and diamond-eyed. Cyborgs live and then they break, but I'll never break. Even when my bone dust drifts over the City walls, I'll be living and I'll be flying, and I will wave and laugh.
When I was reading the last part of the book, specifically Frances's journey of self-discovery about what she wants to do with her life, I thought she reminded me of me. But in hindsight, I think Aled's journey is closer to my own. I understood exactly what he was going through because I'd been there, or somewhere close to there anyway (my mom is nothing like his, THANK GOD). And the way Oseman portrayed him during this phase of the book felt very true.
Speaking of, this book has made me realize that the scariest thing to me in stories is emotionally abusive parents. Serial killers? Bring it on. Creepy clowns? No problem. Carol? GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME....more
It feels like a conversation that you never want to end, I suppose. A renewable energy source. You know how with some people you can’t get chatting
It feels like a conversation that you never want to end, I suppose. A renewable energy source. You know how with some people you can’t get chatting off the ground? They’re hard work? Falling in love is the extreme opposite. Endless fascination. It’s effortless. A spark turns into a flame turns into a fire. That doesn’t go out.
3.5 stars bumping this up to a 4, because I actually did really like it, and will probably re-read it some day.
If I Never Met You follows 36 year-old Laurie, a lawyer who works at the same firm as her long-term boyfriend Dan. That is until Dan abruptly decides to end their relationship after 18 years of being together. Laurie who was just about ready to start having kids is understandably devastated. After getting stuck in an elevator with the office playboy Jamie, she agrees to his suggestion of a showmance that will make Dan jealous and will give Jamie some credibility with the bosses by having a steady relationship.
Just from this premise you would think this is a typical romcom, where it goes from pretend to real while hilarious events happen in between. And I mean that's partially true, but only partially. To start I don't think this book is particularly meant to be funny. There is some British humor there that I certainly enjoyed but it's understated rather than in your face. Also that plot I just described (i.e. getting stuck in an elevator, plot, showmance, etc.) starts at 29% of the book (yes I checked on my kindle).
So what is this book really about? I would say this is more of a contemporary book about a woman rediscovering who she is as a person rather than one half of a duo. There is a big portion of the book in which Laurie is just trying to figure out why Dan left her and how she was lacking. You can really feel how hurt Laurie is by what happened and how helpless she feels about her future prospects.
The book also touches on topics like race (just a tiny bit) as well as sexism in the workplace (quite a bit of this). I always love reading about women dealing with mansplainers at work since I work in IT where I deal with similar types everyday. And it's also always nice to read about a successful strong woman, who does also have bad days at work, but generally speaking kicks ass.
Of course, the romance between Laurie and Jamie is the main plot and was very enjoyable for me. It definitely put a smile on my face as I was reading it. Again though I would say, the book has quite a few darker/sadder themes and events happening with both these characters that don't fit into the romcom category for me.
Another aspect of the book that I liked was the other relationships Laurie had in the book with her best friend Emily, her co-workers, her hippie mother and her absent dad.
All in all, I did really enjoy the book. I liked that it was more contemporary than a typical romance (btw it was also very clean). I think that it will appeal to folks who enjoyed reading books like Attachments by Rainbow Rowell and Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn.
I really love the concept of this book, and the fact that the couple in question is already married. The book club is hilarious and am eager 3.5 stars
I really love the concept of this book, and the fact that the couple in question is already married. The book club is hilarious and am eager to pick up the rest of the series to get to the other stories. ...more
I'm not allowed to give it 5 stars because Yara read it too and she thinks it's only 3. But it's a 5 star read. I'm not allowed to give it 5 stars because Yara read it too and she thinks it's only 3. But it's a 5 star read. ...more
If you enjoy The Boys's depiction of superheroes, this will probably be right up your alley.
I'm not go3.5 stars (average rating since we both read it)
If you enjoy The Boys's depiction of superheroes, this will probably be right up your alley.
I'm not going to say much about the synopsis because I think this book is more fun when you jump into it with no expectations. You follow two main characters, Victor and Eli, who started off as friends 10 years ago but are now enemies. Victor escapes from prison with the sole purpose of hunting Eli down and make him pay for landing him there in the first place.
I think most people will call both Victor and Eli morally grey, but I think that's actually only true for one of them. The other is straight up evil in my book, but I'll leave you to discover which is which.
The writing is solid as always, but the book does take its time getting to the main point of the story, which is the inevitable confrontation. It switches between the past and the present, allowing us to get to know Victor and Eli both before and after the trouble began. Seeing the changes in their characters is interesting, and the developments Eli undergoes are especially fascinating to me.
Even though the buildup is on the slow side, the payoff is worth it. ...more
I DNF'd about 100 pages in. While I really love the movie, I think the books just aren't for me.
I found the pacing pretty slow overall, and while mosI DNF'd about 100 pages in. While I really love the movie, I think the books just aren't for me.
I found the pacing pretty slow overall, and while most of it read pretty close to what they did with the movie, there were some differences I didn't really enjoy. Eleanor especially was completely different from what I was expecting; the tough as nails, calm, collected and calculating woman is replaced by someone who is shrieking about the shame of her son dating a nobody (in the first 100 pages anyway, maybe that changes later but I don't have the patience to find out). I had fun with the movie version of Eleanor and I missed that while reading....more
Hmmm this was a strange book for me. I liked parts of it. I think it deals with some important topics surrounding race although while you might think Hmmm this was a strange book for me. I liked parts of it. I think it deals with some important topics surrounding race although while you might think that the book deals with that head-on from the description, it really is much more subtle than that. There is a lot of nuance to the brand of racism that is in this book and it tackles themes like white-saviorism and the role of socio-economics.
I love books that tackle these subjects especially when it digs a bit deeper and peels back the layers.
The problem is I didn't like much apart from that. I didn't really like Emira, even though I think she is a character we are meant to like from the start. But to me she's just very meek and she complains about her employer constantly and the way she does things, but never tries to offer her opinion to her directly or give feedback. There's Alix, a quite complex character. I enjoyed getting to see different facets of her character. She seems to be well-meaning but she fumbles about in her effort to appear to be a good person. I think the author did an excellent job with her characterization and portrayed her brand of racism really well. But! I did not like what the author did with her character at the very end. That was dissapointing. As for the side characters I thought they were all a bit one-dimensional, with maybe Kelley being somewhat of an exception.
Lastly, I felt the flow of the book was not that great. The dialogue felt a bit unnatural at times too....more
I remember loving this the first time I read it, and it holds up on a re-read.
What really sets this book and this author apart for me, is the neurodivergent representation. Our heroine Stella has Asperger's, and it influences every aspect of her life. Miscommunication is one of my least favourite tropes, but in Stella's case I understood where it comes from, which leads to less frustration because it doesn't feel like the characters are overreacting.
This is a super steamy romance, but it's also incredibly sweet. Stella quickly latches onto Michael, and the way Michael treats her and wants to help her is lovely to see. They have a lot of chemistry and it's not just in the bedroom. I enjoyed the way their relationship developed and how quickly they became comfortable with each other. They're not perfect people, and their issues with their families and their own insecurities lead to the big conflict, but it all felt very believable.
Speaking of families, Michael's family is the absolute best and I'm so happy we stick with them for the entire series. I loved his mother and his grandmother, his siblings, the way they would talk to each other and the pure chaos that happens when all of them get together. They are a huge part of why Michael is the way he is, and I'm glad they were a big part of the story.
Stella's character arc is fantastic, and watching her grow is pure joy. I loved the confidence and self-acceptance she gained by the end; it was absolutely earned....more
I was looking for a light, cute read and this absolutely hit the spot. The story isn't mindblowing--it's a pretty straightforward 3.5 stars (I think?)
I was looking for a light, cute read and this absolutely hit the spot. The story isn't mindblowing--it's a pretty straightforward friends to lovers plot where Hazel is so quirky she thinks she's mostly undateable because men can't handle her for long, and Josh is the normal guy who just got out of a bad relationship. Hazel decides they should set each other up on blind dates for fun which, of course, just leads them from one bad date to the next but also makes them grow closer, first as friends and then as more.
Hazel jumps off the page more than Josh does, which is a shame because some of the tiny snippets in the book about Josh and especially his relationship with his family made me want to know a lot more about him. I didn't set out to read 2 books featuring Korean-Americans back to back (the first one being Frankly in Love), but it actually makes for an interesting comparison. Frank in Frankly in Love struggles with his identity and what being Korean-American means. Josh, on the other hand, doesn't seem to dwell on this at all. He and his sister both speak Korean and seem to be pretty connected to the culture. One thing that I really loved, even though it was literally like 3 lines in the book, is that Josh mentioned he's looking forward to having his parents move in with him according to tradition. He feels like someone who's very comfortable being who he is (which makes him similar to Hazel after all even if he isn't quirky), and I enjoyed that aspect a lot. There's just not much focus on it.
The ending is a bit more serious than I expected considering the tone of 90% of the book, and it does all happen kinda fast when you get to the last part. There wasn't much left of the book where I could just enjoy Josh and Hazel getting together, but on the upside there also wasn't a big drama moment designed to split them apart for a few chapters right before the end.
As I've been getting older and a bit more mature (I hope, ha!), I've noticed that more and more I'm looking for books with mature female main characteAs I've been getting older and a bit more mature (I hope, ha!), I've noticed that more and more I'm looking for books with mature female main characters that are multi-faceted. For some reason, these are not easy to find, but thankfully there are still books out there that are well-written and fit the bill like this one.
This is a character-driven book about Evvie, a woman who lives in a small town in Maine and who was very unhappily married and about to leave when her husband died in an accident and Dean, a professional pitcher who one day lost his mojo and can't seem to get it back.
Let's start with what I liked. I liked the writing style of the book. Even though the events were not super exciting, it was so readable that I just kept going and finished it in 2 days (for me that's fairly quick). As I mentioned the main character is a multi-faceted woman in her early thirties. Evvie's past is complex and her thoughts and feelings are multi-layered and deep, making for a rich characterization. I really liked the arc about Evvie's relationship with her heterosexual male best friend (how refreshing is that!). There are complexities there and nuances to the friendship that I think anyone can relate to. And the author didn't feel the need to force romance onto the relationship! Some of the dialogue between the characters is also genuinely funny.
“Sorry about the noise. Knocked a box off the counter. It’s never the box with the sheets in it, you know? It’s always whatever will make it sound the most like you tried to murder a robot by throwing it down a couple of flights of stairs.”
I was not as in love with Dean, the male lead. His character was maybe a bit flat for me.
The reason why it's been hard to write this review (I've been putting it off since Friday. Now it's Monday and I'd rather put off work) is because I don't know why but this book is not reaching 4 stars for me.
Maybe it was the fact that as I mentioned Dean's character felt a bit flat, or that maybe there was nothing really surprising or unexpected about the book. I actually realized I had downloaded the first few chapters of this book months ago on my kindle and hadn't felt motivated enough to buy the full book after reading it.
Maybe the events that did happen dragged on a bit too long and weren't all that interesting to begin with? I honestly don't know.
A 3 star book for me definitely means I enjoyed it, but I don't know, I guess it's missing an extra something.
What did you all think of this book and what rating did you give it?
This is a book that has, for some reason I can't quite explain, stuck with me. I read it last year and gave it 3 stars, but the more I thought about iThis is a book that has, for some reason I can't quite explain, stuck with me. I read it last year and gave it 3 stars, but the more I thought about it, the more I remembered it fondly. After a reread I think it's fair to say my initial rating was a bit off.
January's life was turned upside down after the death of her father. Not only is she dealing with the grief of losing him, but at the funeral she finds out that he was having an affair when the other woman approaches her with a key to his beach house. It's now hers, she's told. So when she breaks up with her boyfriend, January decides to check out the beach house, prepare it so she can sell it, and try to work through her writer's block. She never expected to run into Gus, an author who has been her rival since their studying days, who's living next door and working through his own issues with his new book. Since neither of them is making much progress, Gus suggests a swap: he'll write a happy romance book, she'll write literary fiction, and the first to get a publishing deal wins.
What I really liked about this book is the balance of a really sweet romance and characters dealing with heavy crap. Both January and Gus are going through something, individually at first, but as they spend more time together, it's clear that their friendship and budding romance is soothing old wounds. I do think Gus was more supportive of January than the other way around; January had some unfortunate remarks/thoughts when Gus was pouring out his heart to her, while Gus was relentlessly supportive when January was struggling with her grief and her father's girlfriend. My heart went out to both of them (a bit more to Gus, though).
I enjoyed how the relationship developed through dates that they used to educate the other person about the genre they're supposed to be writing, but also through amusing conversations through pads of paper as they each tried to write. I also really loved the insight in the life of a writer and sort of watching the method to their madness.
All in all, a very enjoyable romance, and one I can see myself rereading every once in a while....more