Mahala

This is basically a GOT fanfic. The male lead's name is like ~barely~ changed from the actual actor's name. I don't even really have an opinion about that, just making a statement.

This was ✨ok✨.
I'm annoyed because some parts of it were cute and made me want to like it. Unfortunately, most it was cheesy and cringey and over dramatic. Like, the characters are almost 40 and upset and worried about SILLY things. Adults acting like teenagers. The entire plot could've been avoided with a simple NDA.
And I'm all here for body neutrality and the like, but some of this felt a lot like, as another reviewer mentioned, getting “woke points” online.

It was also one of those books, like most romances to be honest, where you absolutely know exactly how the conflict/climax of the story is going to go. So you're basically just waiting the entire book for it to happen and hoping there's some decent dialogue or spice along the way.

I just wish it was more cute, less try-hard.
I'm not ready to give up on cartoon cover romances entirely yet. It took me too long to force myself to even try one. But I need recommendations for the BEST ones. If I don't like those, I'm just not the intended audience.

Daniel Handler is a genius. I know this isn't going to be any sort of formal review but I have to say something. Or rather, do something.
This book is SO well written. It's witty even when it's serious, it has the perfect amount of everything. The characters were not one dimensional, I came to know them as separate people with individual personalities and could predict which person would do or say what in a certain situation. And the twist at the end. ...This review is spoiler-free. But I didn't figure it out until about a page before it was revealed and now I want to go back and read the whole thing again in light of my new knowledge.
I've just finished it and I already miss the characters, I want to read about them forever.
The Basic Eight is brilliant!

I really wanted to love this book. It was a great concept, being told from the stalker's POV. I just wasn't gripped by the story. There wasn't a point where I had to know what happened next. The writing was good, the concept was interesting, I just felt like it wasn't well executed. There was nothing that drew me in. I felt like it relied on violence and supposed ‘shock value' rather than actual substance, though I didn't think anything Joe did was surprising. Maybe it's just me and I've read too many thrillers! Either way, I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping I would.

The length of this review is going to be relative to the length of this book, short. This is one of those cases where I saw the movie first because Alexis Bledel in the early 2000s? Of course I'm going to watch it. Thanks to that gem, I did not know that Winnie is actually only 10 years old in the book. So I was like, “Oh, the story must be completely different then.” Haha no, sweetie. The hundred and something year old man who looks to be 17 still asks a 10 year old to marry him. Okay. I know that when this book was published in the 70s, there was a lot more latchkey kids and parents oblivious to the serial killers running rampant, but that plot point is creepy now and I'm willing to bet it was creepy then. And if not, shame on everyone. I UNDERSTAND that this dude wants some action and has been alone for 100 years, but telling a 10 year old you just met to become immortal and marry you when she's 17 is creep city and I couldn't get behind it.

Otherwise, interesting storyline. Loved Winnie's obsession with the frog, that was honestly my favorite part. And it is a storyline that made me think. Unfortunately, I think the creative liberties the movie took actually made this story way better. I just didn't vibe with the Tuck family in the book, but Winnie was sweet and deserves the world. Anyway, 2/5 stars because proposing marriage to children is creepy.

Would I recommend?
It's a v v quick read (I read it in a couple hours) if you want to check this classic off your list. Otherwise, meh.

I went into this with high expectations because I've devoured and loved and sobbed at every other Sepetys book. As always, I was anxious to learn about history that I, unfortunately, knew very little about. And the book did accomplish that much. I was disappointed by this one in a few ways, though. There were so many characters and so many POVs that I kept forgetting who was who. It jumped around a lot in POV and made it a little confusing to keep up. The pacing was dreadfully slow. Like ... slooooooooow. It makes me sad because I know this book had so much potential, knowing how incredible of a writer Sepetys is. But it fell flat. There was hardly any emotion, which was odd as it dealt with SUCH heavy and heartbreaking topics. Coming out of this, I felt like I learned about history, but not read a novel.