Teija
Overall I thought this was a good story, but I think it had a bit of a tonal problem. Part quirky character development story, part family history mystery, part paean against sexism... these parts of the pie don't all fit together, like Garmus had six pies made and took one slice of each to create the whole.
However, overall I found it charming and imminently readable. The characters were gripping; I found myself rooting for Elizabeth even when she was being particularly obstinate (relatable), hoping the myriad men that wronged her paid the piper, and surprised at a few characters who grew along the way.
This one sucked me in! I know the general story of Boudica but reading a story based on it was great fun. All the druidic stuff in particular was really interesting. I love a story with strong fae vibes and this one didn't disappoint.
I do kinda wish I'd looked to see if it was a standalone first but I guess now I know what to buy next...
This book is fascinating. It's a take on what the world might look like in the future, upon the release of a bizarre plague from beneath melting glacier ice. There are scientific advances, institutionalized processes for helping people die, entire industries revolving around funerals and memorials. It's jarring and at the same time not to imagine a world with a high powered funerary lobby making plays at government funding.
Nagamatsu weaves multiple storylines together in such a heartfelt and moving way. The subtle connections between characters, the through-line of love and family and remembrance, it's gorgeous - if anything, I would consider this novel a paean to human resilience. To love and what keeps people together in difficult times. It's not necessarily a crying emotional narrative, to me the whole book is just voices from an imagined future in which death and dying, regardless of how, have lost any taboo or stigma, allowing people to make their endings with thought and care and support.
I'll definitely be thinking about this one for a long time. Four stars instead of five, though, but I won't explain why to anyone who hasn't read it.
I'm too Finnish for this book. I don't know if it was the author's choice or the editor's, but swapping the ä in Metsän Valo for an a bothered me the whole way through. They're different letters of the alphabet. It matters.
Overall the plot was sort of dull and the mysteries were far too easily wrapped up. I gave it a third star mostly because I liked Theo so much.
This was a twisty, turny whodunit with well-written suspense and characters you care about, even the one who spends 99% of the book dead. A satisfying mystery.
I liked this one a lot better than the one prior. The issues facing the characters felt more real, and so the conflicts hit harder and the resolutions were more satisfying. I still think the first in the series is my favorite. But this one was very enjoyable.
I had a grand old time reading this book, it hits a ton of tropes that I love. However, you MUST know going in: if you are not into the miscommunication trope in particular, you will hate this book.
I happen to love that trope, so this was totally my jam. Love the fake dating, love the pining, love the academic setting, love the way Adam is described. He's honestly my favorite part of the book. The big tall brilliant grumpy-grump with the pumpkin-spice guzzling elfin grad student (fake) girlfriend? So fun. So deadpan.
It's a quick read, and it's satisfying, no complaints. Except maybe about one specific line in the spicy scene. It was definitely unintentionally hilarious.
A perfectly cromulent thriller. I never quite resonated with why the terrorists did what they did, but then again, are we supposed to understand? I think the book would have hit harder if we felt their plight viscerally from the get-go, but they start out claiming it's random chaos, which takes the legs out of under their ultimate, deeper reason. Which honestly could have been compelling entirely in its own right.
Other than that, I liked the plucky flight attendants and the resourceful FBI agent, Theo. I did not like the bizarre and sudden attempt at poignancy at the World Series, though. It felt wildly unrealistic.
Solid 3 star thriller. Sometimes that's just how it is.
An absolute psychopath hell bent on revenge and a heroine with a new lease on life get together to be crazed fae mass murderers together? Yeah, I'm here for it. It's hot and it's unhinged and it's batshit, I enjoyed myself, and it's good for what it is. But lets be real... it ain't Shakespeare either. I had a good time. Popcorn smut.
Emily Henry is an emotional terrorist and I am Not Okay.
(Goddamn it how does she do this every time!?)
A twisty turning mystery that never quite gets to a satisfying conclusion. I felt that the dynamic between the main character and her husband wasn't justified by their short marriage before everything went down. Particularly considering the way this book ends. Their love was never really shown to be that all encompassing kind that would drive a woman to keep pressing, to take on such responsibility, for a man that disappeared the way he did with literally no explanations. She just accepted it, and yet all the flashbacks show him repeatedly and consistently not prioritizing her (which, he prioritizes his daughter, that is fair, I'm just saying the intensity of their relationship seems unjustified). Overall the parts of this book that were good were very well done (the sleuthing, the reason he's hiding, etc) but the core relationship feels uneven and stilted to me, and as it's the crux of the whole kit n' caboodle the book didn't quite land as a result.
Will Price made this book. I found Jo and the constant cat stuff to get a little grating at times, but the “I hate him but am also feral at the sight of him” energy was funny. But if not for Will I'm not entirely sure I'd have finished this.
I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe at the chapter about the fight in the grocery store. That was definitely my favorite part. But the whole thing was great. I laughed (a LOT) and I cried (a LOT in one particular spot) and it was just a really good, quick read. Brosh has a heck of a way of talking about all kinds of things.
Fake dating!? Yes please! A favorite trope to read, when done well, and Mhairi McFarlane did it REALLY well. She actually takes the time and effort to dissect the effects of doing something like this. It's got a psychological toll, it's straight-up lying to people who truly care about you (what is worse than faking it for your parents? Or his? And do you tell your best friends? The more people you tell, the more you risk it all coming out...). The main character's biracial heritage is also tactfully handled, as is the unbearable grief of a breakup you never saw coming—and the rage-inducing revelations of what truly caused it, and what a shit her partner had truly been to her.
I actually liked the love interest, Jamie, from the get go, and enough that despite his comparatively small presence on the page, I found myself siding with him in some of his and Laurie's miscommunication spats. He's got a reputation that he earned, and the more the line between fake and real blurs, the more those preconceived notions become a problem. It's masterfully handled, and I thought truly well done.
However, nearly everything to do with their place of work and the people therein is horrible. I don't mean poorly written or badly done, but just... fucking ridiculous. Sadly I have seen workplaces that behave with similar misogyny and machismo, so I know they actually DO happen, but good lord. The Michaels and Kerrys of this book are the absolute worst, and I surely cannot be the only person who hoped that perhaps Laurie or Jamie would at some point accidently hip-check one of them a little violently by a tall hi-rise window that happened to be poorly affixed to the building. Whoopsiedoodle.
Overall a delightful read, and also, I'm a little salty about the mention of Gregg's there in the middle, because I'm about as far as you can get from a Gregg's geographically speaking, and I have wanted a bacon cheese pasty since I read that line. Damn it all.
This was a fun read. There was nothing particularly mind-blowing about it, but the author did a really good job of presenting very difficult life situations in meaningful and realistic ways. I really felt for the characters (well, all but one) and thought that the author managed to artfully handle both the issues of the time periods the book covers as well as the concepts she decided to tackle (parenthood in a time of crisis, adultery, making a choice that hurts you because it's what's best for someone else). Overall I enjoyed this.
This is a fictional take on the race for the atomic bomb, inspired by the author's discovery of the story of Dr. Lise Meitner, long ignored in the historic record of the era. It was engaging and a pretty quick read. A solid historical fiction novel. I'm glad I took a break from my nonfiction binge for it.
Many people name Holden Caulfield when they discuss their favorite Salinger character, and likewise Catcher in the Rye when discussing their favorite Salinger book.
I'm inclined to say Zooey Glass and Franny & Zooey, myself.
This was the first Salinger book I'd picked up in years – after having a less-than-pleasant experience with Catcher in the Rye in high school (there's nothing quite like a terrible lit teacher to thoroughly decimate any enthusiasm for a great book). I'm glad I picked it up. I devoured this book. I adored this book. I ate this book up like it was the only book left on the planet and I slowed down near the end because I didn't want it to end. When I finished it I started over and read it again.
This book is brilliant. I'd be willing to bet that even people who consider Salinger one of their least favorite authors would like this book.
This was cute enough but it didn't have the same appeal to me as the first one did. I think my problem was Stacey. Or rather, her revelation at the reveal of the big twist seemed sudden and weakly foreshadowed. I did really like the stuff involving Emily and Simon's continued storylines and I'm excited to read the next installment based on who is featured, but I think this one may not be one I return to. It was cute overall.
The chemistry between the romantic leads is great. Even better, though, is the serial killer plotline. It has some great twists and turns. The author's prose is engaging and well paced, but she did rely a little too much on ending a chapter with a mysterious “if only he knew what dark secrets she was keeping” vagueness. That got a little aggravating (I get it! She has a secret!) but overall I enjoyed this and found it both easy to read and something I wanted to keep reading so that I could see what happened next.
This was short and really funny. I feel like it would have been even better as an audiobook, because it feels so conversational. Really had a good time reading it.
The only thing that keeps me from giving this book a full five stars is the rushed nature of the ending; I felt almost as though Blum was racing for a looming deadline. The pacing definitely changed in the last few chapters.
Overall, the book is compelling and hard to put down. I definitely enjoyed it, and it offers a different perspective on the events in Nazi Germany than most historical fiction thus far has offered.
This is my favorite (so far) of the Twilight books. My favorite character in the entire series, due largely in part to this book, is Jacob Black.
When Edward leaves Bella in what is probably the most pathetic weepy display of “I can't live without a boy” weak girliness in recent literary history (seriously, there's a time lapse. It's like she went into a coma, and it's ridiculous), Jacob pulls her out of it, slowly but surely. Bella falls slowly in love with him, and develops a deep friendship along the way. Stephenie Meyer's writing definitely improved between Twilight and New Moon, and it shows in the way she is able to weave a realistic friendship, flesh out Jacob's character, and make him a central character to the series.
The plot of this book is driven at the surface by Bella's desire to get Edward back, but underneath by the friendship she forms with Jacob. It also dives headfirst into werewolf lore – and the natural rivalry of werewolves with vampires – upping the ante on the entirety of Forks. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.