Lili V
I mostly skim read this installment because the writing is good but weirdly dense when it comes to putting together the puzzle pieces of the mystery. There's so much unnecessary information provided that the words start to bleed together.
However, I thought the mystery itself and the development of the engagement and relationship between the protagonist and love interest was very strong and an enjoyable read.
The quality of writing left me speechless. I immediately fell within the story of all these character's history, relationships, vices, personalities, etc. It honestly left me stunned after it was over and I know I'll be re-reading this many times. (I listened to the audiobook from my library and it was just amazing. Ordered the hardcover the same day I started it because I had to. Will do a more in-depth review of my thoughts when I get my hands on it.)
The dirty talk and tease was very well-done. I do like the characters but the biggest issue I have with this book is the level of drama is too much. I like family angst in my books but the amount of absolute nonsense drama for the sake of drama was too much. Plus when emotional and physical abuse are a part of it, unless there's some serious action being taken against the perpetrators (like in Tijan's books) I do not like to read about it.
I have started the second book in this series and drama has exponentially increased and from what I've read about the ending in the reviews, I don't think I'm going to continue with the series. If there were the same amount of development in the relationship between the protagonist and her guys then I would probably be more interested in the outcome but there's not, so I don't care enough to continue.
It is the saddest/happiest book I think I have ever read; and it's beautiful all at the same time.
Can I just say, I love body instruments and that this is the smoothest played-out book I've read in a long while. Seriously; and no, I am not going to compare it to a baby's bottom–though it would be strangely accurate. Just going through Mia's memories and experiences spent with her closest and state-side loved ones is so comparable to my own that, I'm thinkin' the author knows her readers–she knows what might frustrate a girl her whole life without anyone else knowing it. If I Stay radiates so much feeling–whether it be love, lust, friendship, kinship, or that powerful feeling she gets during performances–when Mia goes over different points of her life.
If I Stay is definitely going into My Favorite Pile. It's witty, familiar, and sincere in so many ways, that it will not disappoint you. I seriously wish that more YA authors could have that connection between reader and character. If I Stay makes you think more curiously about the eternal questions we all struggle to answer, even if it is not up to us: Live or Die? The pros and cons. Why me? Makes you think how secure and stable you really are living and being in your own life.
3.5 stars
Really enjoying this series. The chemistry between the love interests and the protagonists is on a steady incline and getting steamy which is always nice in a RH. The world is nicely crafted, the supernatural creatures very well-done, and the protagonist's growing powers and storyline fun to follow. I don't ask for much more in my RH series so I will be continuing this one.
Read about 20% and couldn't get past the fact that no one in the Emperor's service had ever thought about about asking him a question outside of custom yet Cliopher was able to deduce that he needed a vacation. It's contradictory because the MC can obviously tell that the Emperor needs it yet is COMPLETELY STUMPED when he wants the consideration of any other person, to be acknowledged, seen in a fundamentally human way. Yes his powers make him a “god” but he wasn't born one. It's weird that not even the ones closest to him asked him a question about the man outside of the role he plays.
Overall it just dissuades me from wanting to read from Cliopher's POV. It took this long just to get this far in character development? It feels like the his character already had inklings that this was how the Emperor felt and yet acts completely clueless as to what he could possibly do (idk, treat him like he's asking to be treated?as a human being?) I'm sorry, does his job title not demand an expertise in interpersonal relations? For who he describes himself to be in the story, this cluelessness seems like it would be contradictory.
Absolutely brilliant. Loved the writing and undoubtedly chuckled at some sassy tones in the dissemination of the research done into higher education.
Need to do another skim through to outline my favorite quotes since I read a library copy.
This was a disappointing read. There was a significant amount of filler that could have been edited out, at least 50 pages worth; especially considering the poor resolution we got with Luna's sisters and the rest of her family. It's all very surface-level and unsatisfactory. The only reason I kept reading is because I love a good-girl heroine who's a glutton for pain, felt like a maschocist myself reading all the times she cried. I certainly cried.
Did the main couple redeem the book? To a certain extent. I liked Ripley but he suffered the same injustice as Luna not getting a fully fleshed-out backstory. I liked that he was rough and gruff but why was he rough and gruff? Nothing truly got explained about his past or family. The relationship between the two was the sweet pull that kept me captive, as all suckers for slow burn will say.
3.5 stars
This book sucked me in even though I thought I wasn't in the mood to read about a heroine who fights for a living. I loved the unconventional approach the author took in introducing the MC to the fantastical world in which she's now a citizen. However, this is definitely another one of these ‘MC is the most powerful and she's constantly going to remind you of it' RH series, but I can appreciate that she's also breaking the rules and restructuring their world instead of being a passive participant.
In this installment (as I write this, I'm almost done with book 2) I would say I didn't initially like the connection/chemistry between the MC and her harem was naturally developed. This book also suffers from relying too heavily on ‘we're destined to be together so obviously we're attracted to each other and should be together'. That's not to say that there isn't chemistry there but just that it didn't grow as organically as I wish it would.
The plot and mystery behind the MC's parents disappearance was honestly a lot more interesting than I expected. The world-building is complex enough to be intriguing yet not overly prevalent. As I will always say when I read any type of fiction, the characters, character development and interaction are most important to me, everything is just background noise.
Decent end to the trilogy. Honestly surprised how HOT the sex scenes are, because DANG! The ending was a nice closure.
“Usually, I find that for a movie or book or even a game to be compelling enough to absorb me, it most also contain a measure of familiarity.”
My annotation - ‘You don't say?'
Read this because I love how Tijan creates characters. Don't think any other book can compare to the level of angst that she's illustrates so well in her books.
Solid wrap-up to the trilogy but I wish it had more of a drawn-out ending so we had more time to spend with the characters, and the events that were teased at the start of every book.
Mystery was kind of a throwaway in this one since it mainly focused on the relationship between the protagonist and love interest. The ending was very satisfying though, as was the “surprise”
Frustrating. If this book could only have one word to describe it, that would be it.
In a way, I like Marianne's character for being consistent (though the same could be said for Connell) and the fact that her motivations and destructive behavior come from an understandable source (I appreciated the attempt the author made to make her a real human being). From the outset, Marianne is a very vulnerable person who primarily feeds her self-worth with other's attention (be it negative or positive). When a broader picture of her family life is depicted, it is undeniable to see how she came to this troubling and flawed view of herself. As the story progresses, this behavior manifests through her actions and developing relationships with what can clearly be characterized as despicable people. It is evident that Marianne is not equipped with a well-rounded disposition with which to develop a healthy lifestyle but she's also not intrinsically innocent and further fosters dangerous tendencies to deal with her neglected self-esteem.
Her character is so consistent as to be predictable but due to the nature of her proclivities, it is like tensely waiting for the next shoe to drop.
Connell, on the other hand, stayed very much two-dimensional and was a character I could not like from the beginning. I'm sure the author wrote him with that intention to a certain extent but I couldn't see at any point where he became an interesting enough character to care about anything he did. He could not see past his own nose to care about Marianne or even have an honest conversation about his feelings, her family, or any other sensitive topic. I could see past his juvenile tendencies when he was actually a kid and understand that he still didn't learn how to communicate effectively with Marianne even during their college years, but at a certain point I expected him to actually have a thoughtful and meaningful exchange with someone he considered his best friend.
I particularly did not care for the time-jumps because they didn't serve the novel at all. I'm not even sure what they were meant to do besides illustrate the fact that Connell and Marianne had kept in touch for years after high school. They only reinforced Marianne's predictably self-destructive behavior, Connell's cowardice, and fleeting moments of “friendship” where a bit more personal (superficial) insight was unveiled when the two would meet.
This brings me back to my initial point of contention, the fact that this book is undoubtedly a horribly done romance, written to frustrate the reader to no end. And, consequently, the number one trope I despise in romance (or any genre really) is misunderstandings/miscommunications. Using this trope for the sake of creating tension between the two main protagonists is lazy and lays a faulty foundation for any sort of relationship set to prosper from it. The author may have been trying to use this fault in the trope to her advantage and demonstrate a deterioration in the relationship but it did seem like the sole purpose of it and became a very obvious plot device that pulled me out of the story very easily on multiple occasions.
The writing is the sole reason I didn't stop reading this book. The author drops you right into the narrative (very slice of life) and the sequence of events jump due to the time skips, and land in a different dynamic where the characters are at some new point (a few months later) that's different enough from the last spot to warrant reading further just to find out how they got there.
There was one scene that I particularly abhorred because it felt like the author used a side character's decidedly deteriorated mental health to delve deeper into the one of the protagonist's briefly mentioned anxiety and exploit it. It felt like such a throwaway scene to progress the plot and wrap-up a relationship that was an obvious farce from the start. The author's attempt to deal with mental health and therapy is so subpar that I didn't believe it; there was a serious lack of connection with the protagonist and no sense of authenticity, creditability or sincerity during the counseling session.
I honestly thought the character interactions were somewhat well-done and insightful but the ending brought this back full circle, back to the beginning where miscommunication was abundant; only this time the protagonists' understood each other a bit more deeply but neglected to effectively take those same insights into account when discussing personal matters. Frustrating, to say the least.
I liked my second reading of Frankenstein way more than my first, and I can make more connections with book and its characters than I ever could before. There are so many similarities between Victor and the monster, as well Robert and Victor, and Robert and the monster. I more aptly appreciated the allusions Shelley made and can agree with my Shakespeare-loving English teacher that Shelley had to have read Macbeth because the undertones of it are very significant. I hope that as I read more classics and possibly re-read Frankenstein in the future, that I may pick up on even more subtle hints that Shelley drops throughout the book about both Victor and the monster. I did mark the four stars out of five because, while I loved it, there were many things a bit off in the writing and pacing of the book. It was greatly evidenced that Shelley was a bit of an inexperienced author but she had damn good storytelling and imaginative powers.
This was short and to the point. Didn't delve deep enough into the characters for me.
This was a solid 3.5 stars. If I didn't love this genre of sports in the medium of comics/manga/anime so much and haven't seen the vast majority of the plot and similar character development before, I might have given this a higher rating. But this is a very common storyline and I have to deduct some points for originality and creativity. I'm glad this is centered around fencing which is a particular sport I haven't read or watched before so I'm learning while enjoying the story. I will continue with the series for the sole entertainment value but I know I could predict a lot of the characters' decisions because I have seen or read about most of their archetypes before and this isn't a new spin on any of them.
This book accomplished exactly what it set it out to do. The execution was spot on and after listening to the author's interview at the end of the audiobook, I can definitely see that the author communicated what she wanted the reader to understand impeccably.
Two ideas stood out to me from the interview that I could clearly see in the execution of the narrative - one: “litigator's dream” and two: “multiverse”.
Miracle Creek is essentially a fictionalized court trial and during the proceedings, we get alternate POVs from essentially everyone affected by the tragedy that happened a year prior. All the victims start out with a strong conviction against the defendant but during the trial, more secrets come to light that sway their thoughts and opinions. Where the author's intention and experience as a litigator with the idea of “litigator's dream” comes into play is truly when the lawyers go back and forth revealing with evidence and witness testimonies crucial information that impacted not only the trial but the victims' perspective of the defendant. The many revelations were expertly uncovered and theatrically displayed for the jury, essentially extracting the information that would corroborate all of each opposing counsels' arguments.
The “multiverse”, on the other hand, was subtly overplayed throughout the book and this took me a while to decipher because it's ultimately why I wouldn't give this book 5 stars. The author incorporated the idea that if there were one deviation from the chain of events that led to the tragedy, there would be a less tragic outcome. Through the characters, the author explored the many variations that could have occurred if one decision by any of the characters was made differently. I think it was through this idea that it was decided Matt should get more chapters than his wife Janine because of the sordid relationship angle. However, Matt is a despicable character as he exhibited all the white male privileges with zero recognition and Janine was a much more nuanced person whose flaws could have been further investigated and would have made a better read.
The nuance of all the characters (except Matt because he was too one-dimensional, a coward that hid behind his ego with zero redeeming qualities) was the main reason I enjoyed reading this book overall. Elizabeth was probably my favorite character because it was made clear from the beginning that the suspicions about her actions the day of the tragedy were justified, but the unraveling of her personality and feelings throughout the trial spanned from cringe-inducing and sad to tragic and understandably heart-wrenching. Her interactions with her son were clearly hurtful and wrong, but her last chapter revealed so much lost potential of their relationship the day of the tragedy and vividly portrayed her extensive character development. Through her chapters it was hammered in how the unforeseen consequences of the actions of a collective group of people are out of control.
Why did this make me cry so much? I didn't know I was that invested until the sobbing started. Man, it's been a while since I've cried so much from a book. (I didn't even cry for A Little Life, and this gets me??)
I think it's just because I'm such a sucker for protagonist's forced into the position of sacrificing their loved ones for the greater good. I mean, can we all agree that it's such BS...and such a brilliant way to get a girl sobbing. I mean, come on!
This book of essays touches on so many issues currently plaguing our country and the culture we've cultivated in recent years of booming tech companies “disrupting” local communities and welfare, disregarding inexplicable offenses conducted by the leader of our free nation, gun violence, voter suppression, and so much more with a layer of naive cynicism that coats the country like an oily blanket that weighs on every social justice action. The author holds the culprit of each essay accountable, whether it's our own inaction, our systemic racism, our inability to see the value of preaching to the choir rather than our adversaries, our inherent anger and propensity to only see and denounce the actions of others in black or white narratives.
The issues discussed call to the humanity in the reader to further understand what is plaguing our country and open our eyes to what's right in front of us. If you know that this country produces more food and waste, why are there millions of Americans going hungry? When did we start growing accustomed to seeing the homeless panhandle for money? When did we give up on the idea that we could help others? Our privilege has always been around, comforting us in our homes, our safe spaces that we call our own. Our privilege has erected a barrier so tall, slowly growing taller as the rich get richer and we're distracted by the next big celebrity scandal, that we've become blind to the injustices we encounter and are done unto us on a daily basis.
While I agreed with so much of the author's points of reflection and truth, I was also made to feel uncomfortable which is what really made the book shine. Seeking the uncomfortable is nobody's forte but it is what makes us grow, live fuller lives, and understand our own decisions, motivations and emotions. It's hard to read something, do something, experience something that makes you inherently want to pull away and retreat. I loved this book for making arguments I agree with and question and call out what I neglected to see.
I would recommend this book to everyone though I know it's not going to be for everyone. Step out of that bubble of yours and read reality. Take a chance and confront your complacency. I'm not saying this book can do all that but I'm also not saying it can't.
Written and curated brilliantly, Solnit's exposition of what America currently looks like will call to every American's sense of fight for a better future, inclusive culture and social action.