Vera

Genius! I loved this book. Amazing premise, great flow, interesting characters - exactly my type of thing. 4.5 ✨

This book was a surprise. It definitely took a different - and in my opinion great - but unexpected turn. I liked the friendship aspect and that hard topics are discussed, even though you would not expect that. An example is a relationship that on paper seems to tick all the boxes but the heart just isn't in it anymore. It is hard to admit that and the characters go through it in a very relatable manner. However, at the same time the protagonist is this go-getter-best-in-the-field workaholic with the token tragic backstory and the rich pixie best friend so that really takes away from the story being relatable. I get the message but I just felt kept at an arm's length because of it (the best doctors, being able to randomly buy apartments in NYC, etc.). I think we like to read about these characters cause it's exciting and they have so many options that the plot can go anywhere. And sometimes that is important and really adds to the story (e.g. in The Secret History). But other times it just distances characters that are supposed to be relatable. While the argument could be made that this story was meant to point out that even if you work hard, have money, rich parents, are full of life and your life is amazing shit still happens I get it. It just isn't a story tearing out my heart.

There's just something about unhappy women in the 20th century cheating on their husbands that almost feels like a little act of revolution.
Beautiful writing, I missed a bit of depth.

Exquisite short story collection! Probably my favourite one to date (though I'm not an avid short story reader).
I enjoyed the mix of styles and tangibility of the characters.
Although I enjoyed all of the stories, my favourite one of the bunch was “How to make love go a Physicist” specifically the yearning that comes across so beautifully in the second person, like this quote:
“You want him to be the one you've been waiting for. And you want him to feel the inevitability of you as well. You want to be his default, not an option. You want the promises of a new religion.”

amazing

Oh I adored this one - perhaps even more so than the first.
The story just flows and feels like a warm cozy magical blanket. I love the quirky characters, the creative world and its lore and the unique writing style. I wish I could discuss the world's impossibilities with Emily, taste Poe's bread and spring clean with Wendell whilst enjoying a good cup of coffee. And the fact that the second book plays in Austria was just icing on top!

Boy this went south quickly...

I thought I was going to maybe not love but really like this book.
The main characters and their relationship is really cute and their interactions are fun and sweet. This made me think that I was going to like this, even though the world building was confusing as hell, didn't make sense and felt completely pointless (why are humans mixed into a war between gods? They join the war voluntarily? Why? If the one god is actively fighting against humanity, and most humans stand behind the other trying to save themselves, sure. But this way it made zero sense. Also what even are these gods? It's not clear what is history and what is myth, which makes for a very confusing and frustrating base.) STILL. I liked the way things developed and tried to ignore the mess that was this world building.

BUT THEN (and this, my friends, is where the spoilers start so be aware!)
Iris is a war correspondent and Roman joins her on the front lines. Still with it. Also the "loving two people at the same time that actually turn out to be the same person" - also still with it. (I really liked Roman up until this point). Even the reveal even though it has this obvious dramatic "you lied to me but I'm in love with you and a horny teenager so I'll kiss you and run away" was fine. EVEN him proposing to her when revealing his feelings I can still get behind - with her never even having said something as much as "I love you" (as you can tell the cringe factor at this point is sky high).BUT THEN it becomes one huge face palming problematic cringe-fest and I can't.The village gets targeted (of course). And then Iris decides to stay in the village, even though she's not a trained soldier (she has trouble jogging up a hill!) and her apparently-love-of-her-life is wounded and cannot run in case things get dicey... on the off-chance of perhaps spotting her soldier brother!! First of all, are you kidding me? BUT IT GETS WORSE. (and here comes my main problem with this book) Having made this tremedously dumb decision (and probably just being in the way and hindering actual soldiers) she gets completely rushed ("surprised"??) into having a quick WEDDING (maybe that's just me but I would like to NOT be blindsided by my own wedding? Especially in this situation?) and then awkwardly gets pushed into spending the night with Roman, with other characters preparing his bed with flowers and candles and stuff and it is just ASSUMED that she wants to have sex with him that night. While the whole thing is consensual and Roman does check in with her , it is very awkward and does not feel like she has another choice given the circumstances and it's just something "you do" which becomes apparent through situations like this: *knock on the door after they went up to Roman's room* [...] their time had been cut short. They had managed to speak their vows but never had the chance to fulfill them". And this it where it turns sour for me and where I started actively DISliking the book. I cannot stand behind this notion of having to sleep with someone to "fillfull your vows" to them. Just because you are married, does not mean that they have claim to your body or your marriage doesn't count! This completely ruined the whole book and characted dynamic for me (since their relationship was what kept me reading). It's not about disagreeing with the author's religious beliefs (which are hinted at in the Acknowlegements) or the "no-sex before marriage" rule. It's also not about the rushed exchange of vows. It's about HOW it was done and how it just left me feeling icky and uncomfortable.For the rest of the book, the plot is a hot (yet predictable) mess with a supposed cliffhanger that just leaves me angry.

So needless to say: I will not pick up the sequel.

The nostalgia

This will forever be one of my all time favourite comfy reads. Reread it more than 10 years later and still in love with the characters, the writing and the world.

This book. I liked all Emily Henry books so far but this one is by far my favourite. I never thought I would be a romance reader but there is just something about how she writes feelings in such a raw way and entangles characters in each other and real life mess that grips me.
I gulped this one up, maybe because it portrays an old love, one that you feel in your bones with no flashy new butterlies or insta-love or frenemy tropes. Maybe because the issues the characters deal with are so relatable. This one felt more real, and I gulped it up.

This book does 100% not deserve the hype it's getting.
I can see why people are initially intrigued - the whimsical setting draws you to the book but it ends right there.
The characters make zero sense and are completely flat. The decisions they make are illogical and stupid which is especially frustrating when large sections are written in this stream of thought style that just makes you skim and skip. To illustrate: in 3 pages we go from “Oh I don't know this person really, even though I just tried to ruin their life for my own benefit. Well but then I tried to undo it so it must be fine right? Ah yeah I do feel kind of bad about that. And after all they are so sweet and had it so rough. Yeah. I'm a terrible person. So I should totally make amends. Or should I? On the other hand they totally might have screwed me over before. Maybe. Totally. Nah, probably not. And they are so important to me after all. Even though I don't know them. But whose fault is that really? Ok maybe theirs too a little. But also mine I guess. But I've had it rough too.....” and it just goes ON AND ON AND ON like this with nothing happening. And Evangeline as a main character is far too stupid, naive, twisted and egocentric for me to want to read page after page about her decision elaboration process.
Then let's move on to the plot. The plot is an utter disaster. Like those videos of 10 cars slowly spinning out of control on an icy day and crashing simultaneously. Everything seems super sudden, we go from A-B-C-ha! Jk - back to B- and so on. Nothing made sense, everything is just reversed if it fits where the story line decides to go at random and sections that would have been interesting to be elaborates on are skipped entirely.
And lastly, the writing style. To be fair, it is extremely hard to pull off a whimsical writing style. And other than Erin Morgenstern I have yet to come across an author that does this well and does not make me wonder what the hell I just read (I had the same problem with Gracekeepers). In this book, ever color has to have a food or feeling component to a point where it takes me out of the reading experience because I start to wonder how these components can be connected. And sadly this dreamy style is interrupted with really poor and cringy dialogue between characters to illustrate:
Jacks and Evangeline pull up at this castle thing that - naturally- looks all purple and shiny and fairy tale-y:
“Evangeline imagines this was the place where fairytales were formed. Then she immediately hoped she was wrong, given that Jacks would only ruin whatever was inside. “Did you bring me here to destroy someone's happily ever after?” She asked”
And I cannot help but imagine her voice in this squeaky whiny tone.
So a big nono for me. The ideas where there but the plot, characters and writing just did not bring them across.

This book. I loved the dynamic between the philosophical emails and the mundane everyday life scenarios. All characters á la Sally Rooney felt so achingly real and after reading this book, I could not have thought of a better title.

Although I love Colton, the storyline was the weakest of the bunch (still better than book three though).
But it's hard to follow up book 4

This was great! Great pacing, original idea, amazing social commentary and teenagers that behave like teenagers without all the extra cringe - what more could you want from a YA novel?

This must have been the most unlikable romantic lead I ever read: he cheats, he lies, he bullies, he manipulates and is just a condescending horny possessive childish douchebag.
For a second I thought this book was going another way and redeemed itself when towards the end the female lead up and leaves for Italy (serious you-go-girl energy!) but then all she can think about is him and we are back where we started. -_-

~Some highlights~
- “you are so perceptive!” (Describing FMC) - yet, she doesn't realize he's acting off and is keeping this huge thing from her. This is a big big pet peeve of mine - describing characters as smart or perceived yet they are self involved and oblivious
- cheating with you and not telling you that you are actually engaged to the person you thought they were cheating on you with on the OG break up 10 years ago is OBVIOUSLY the same as booking a 6 month trip before you even reconnected xDDD
- it's ok because he's not cheating on YOU
- CRASHING THE FMC's DATE FOR NO REASON AND THE FMC BEING HAPPY ABOUT IT (wtf??? Restraining order please!!)
- LITERALLY USING your ex and unresolved feelings on both sides to write a book, not in your head, IRL!! This is the main character! How do you want me to root for this??
- the list goes on but honestly both of the main characters and all the side characters (except for the hot English dude that was the only normal person in this book) are walking red flags

Part One was not for me...
So far I'm not invested in any of the main characters. Especially Shallan and Kaladin are frustrating mostly because of their naivety and over-confidence. The most interesting and intriguing parts were the ones outside of the main plot - let's see where this goes.
3 generous stars.

4.5 ✨ - it deserves to be rounded up.
It has been a while since I read anything in this series and I was skeptical about continuing, worried it would read too YA for my taste now. But the mystery was great (and spooky!), the characters charming and the ending satisfying. Overall this book 100% delivered what it set out to do.
Also, great audiobook narration by Kate Rudd

Oufff. It started out well - although I'm starting to get seriously annoyed with all the female oh-so-generous-and-kind characters that on the same page bitch about other women for being pretty or having a nice smile, like c'mooooon.
But then it just got stupid. I mean I get that it's a tricky situation when you are in love with your friend (been there) and they are actually in love with you too but you are not sure how to interpret signs (been there too) but SEEEEERIOUSLY. Making up all these stupid assumptions instead of once just thinking “oh hey maybe they actually like me back because what they did just now was the opposite of platonic!”
And even if love confessions between good friends are not reciprocated (been there too) it is NOT the end of the world and you move past it if you are really that good of a friend.
So overall the premise was cute, I LOVED the bromance of the football team but damnit it was the least realistic story ever. Oh. And then the ending. SERIOUSLY WHYYYYY. So unnecessary. And wannabe writing at it‘s finest.
Here a nice writing sample:
„As I step forward between his legs, the fabric of my skirt brushes against his pants. It‘s jet black against pure white. A moon in the night sky. A white page speckled with ink. Starkly different but together, a perfect complement.“



No thank you, please safe this for some stashed away poem book.

I'm sorry but why should I feel bad for a prince whose literal only problem is that his family doesn't know he's gay? I mean worst case scenario, you'll be fine! Boohoo for MAYBE having to give up your (undeserved) royal life.
However the author is great at building tension and the banter was great. Just wish those talents were used in a different scenario.

2.5 ⭐️
If this was not I a book club book, I would have DNF-d it after the first quarter.
This book was depressing from beginning to end and the books on the book list seemed random, like the author tried to pick the most basic but slightly diverse ones to make it relatable to the reader - which worked, I myself have read a couple of them - but the connection seemed forced and exaggerated.
I cannot believe the Aiden story line, and Aleisha's did not seem properly resolved for me. There was a lot of writing with little plot and overall I really had to power through.

Not as strong as the first one (which is a feat anyway) but still the same cozy murder mystery and familiar vibe of the lovely main cast, who I definitely will want to visit again and again.

It really says something that I wanted to DNF this graphic novel very very badly. Usually with graphic novels, while they might be boring they are enjoyable enough for me by means of the art to get through. But this one really frustrated me.
While there were many things to criticize that just didn't make sense (eg “oh let me step out for ~inspiration~ as a scrawny girl in a sketchy neighborhood and draw the dumpster dude!” or “lol good luck going blind, should have come in 2 days sooner”) the most annoying thing about this was the pretentious artist vibe of “oh I'm going through something, let me suffer even more and create art unrelated to it (portraits... srsly??) and then earn money and preach”. Having been to art school myself, I just recognized this all too well. It infuriates me that Billie eg takes a bed that could be used by a person that ACTUALLY is homeless or eats the beans of people that are ACTUALLY struggling to even get some food for the sake of her art journey - nevermind that she was comfortable letting Rachel pay for her Sushi!
It is also clear that the author is an illustrator and not a writer. The dialogue felt cheesy, like some postcard life lessons for aspiring art students. And lastly, while the art definitely has potential, it could have been used so much smarter - even something basic like for example slowly starting to blotch the pages or start with color and end im b/w. I could go on ranting about this, but I think this about sums it up. Altogether, sadly, a very frustrating experience.

How is this so hyped? No proper coherent plot, artificial characters and highly problematic implications at times. Just how.

Ugh. I made it. I MADE IT! PHEW.
I don't know how this EVER managed to get published (well actually I have a strong feeling good old Mr. Money had a hand in that) but I finished it. This was meant to be a fun nostalgic ride - my 13 year old self was all about Twilight - but after just a few chapters I was on a mission! A mission to finish this and review it because I cannot possibly understand how you can dare to portray something so problematic as romantic to a YA audience! It was like watching the Netflix show YOU only that in this story nobody seems to have a problem with the guy stalking the girl, thinking about murdering innocent people because the are annoying and being possessiv and patronizing. EVERYBODY IS COMPLETELY FINE WITH THAT!!! „Oh Edward, what's up? Off to stalking Bella again, watching her in her sleep without her knowing while thinking about how delicious she tastes? Aww you dork, how cute, have fun!” WTF
Trust me, knowing what Edward is thinking, will NOT make you like him. In the first half of the book, I was just completely in shock and couldn't believe that this was actually what I was reading. It was so unbelievably stupid and problematic that I started to laugh out loud multiple times because HOW can this be taken seriously - this has to be a joke... right? But nope, it‘s not, it‘s real. While in the second half, the psycho-stalker-murder-Edward is replaced by corny-possessive-patronizing-Edward it just drags on and on, repeating the same streams of thought over and over again. And again. And again. And again and again and again and again. We get it. Bella is soooo self-less. And sooo special. And you are sooo dangerous. And sooo selfish. dramatic sigh

But on a serious note - if you want some Twilight nostalgia, don't read this book. Pick up the first book or something to satisfy that Edward sized gap in your teen-memory-cravings, because after this, there will be no more gap. There will be an icky feeling of „wtf did I just read“ and you will have wasted 750 pages (!!!) on a story you already know told in a more problematic, boring and dragged out way than you could have imagined. Do yourself a favor and do not pick this up.

Sadly the manga art style did not really connect to the original story for me. :/