Laurel
I am not sure how I haven't reviewed Pride & Prejudice, but it's probably because I don't know where to start.
This is my all-time favorite book. I have read it more times than I can count since I was 12 and at each point in my life, I get something new from it. That said- it is not a book for everyone. Just because it's my favorite, does not mean that everyone will enjoy it. But here is why I love it.
The main reason is Mr. Darcy. I have yet to read a confident introvert written so well - or written at all. I identify with him and he remains one of the only fictional characters that I have been able to do so.
Austen is also a master of writing wit and sarcasm, and imbuing her works with feminism and how ridiculous society was (is), even as her books are set there.
Mostly, this book simply brings me joy.
A Closed and Common Orbit - A spin off of side characters, this book takes place on a colony planet. I had my doubts about it when I started but I liked this book more than the first. It takes place in two periods covering the history of one character and mingling it with the present of the other. It was so well crafted and helped me understand and love the characters even more.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - It has been a while since I've read a true Space Opera. This was like Firefly mixed with Star Trek and I enjoyed every minute. The characters were all loveable and complex. I especially like that men are not the leaders of this Universe but only tolerated and seen as barbaric and dumb and that our wars almost led to our own extinction. It's great to have a space opera series where mankind is not the default. The perspective offers a way to look at how silly many of our fights and bias are.
Oof. I need to go back to my rule of not touching hyped books. This was... not great. The characters were one-dimensional. Monique was useless, serving only to reinforce the story of Evelyn in primarily problematic ways.
Most of it read like Reid set out to see how many trigger warnings, toxic behaviors, and problematic representations as she could. Off the top of my head, the book includes misogyny, abuse, grooming, sexual assault, disordered eating, death, racism, homophobia, suicide, and miscarriage/infertility.
The “twist” was neither surprising nor necessary. The primary relationship of the book is one of the most toxic things I've read trying to pass as romantic.
While the problematic items weren't overt, they walked the line of falling to extremely problematic easily.
I have not read any of Taylor Jenkin Reid's other novels, but after some research, feel the need to call out how she is on the verge of becoming problematic herself, not just her novels. She is a wealthy, cis, straight, white woman who has opted in her last few novels to only write POC and LGBTQ+ characters. She states it's to help with inclusion efforts, which is a good intent. I believe her. However, the publishing industry is riddled with the strangling of Own Voices not being published. Reid's books are decidedly successful. As such, she is now in a position where instead of furthering inclusion, she is part of the problem by proving to publishers they can both make money and not make strides to actually diversify publishing. Add to that that her POC characters' stories are problematic and stereotyped, and she is quickly starting to profit off the appearance of diversity without making a positive impact.
Overall, the book is written well enough. The story is not for me. I don't like trauma for trauma's sake, I find it neither shocking nor exciting when written that way. I will most likely not read any other of Reid's books, and will definitely not buy new as she is not an author I care to support.
This hyped book is just that - hyped. Don't waste your time.
Fun romance book with very loveable characters. They were the highlight of this book and why I liked it overall.
The writing was okay, some descriptions were repetitive, and some of the dialogue too cheesy for me.
Overall, I liked it. It was a fun and fast read. It was also nice to read something happier in the depths of winter.
I wasn't sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. I found the perspective original and it even managed to surprise me, which doesn't happen often. The narration and writing weren't anything wholly special, but it was written well. I also appreciate that the story felt concluded and still left a clear way forward for a sequel/continuing series.
Whenever a podcaster writes a book, I am wary. But Alaina did a great job. I enjoyed the read.
Set in the apocalypse with dystopian elements, I was excited to read this book. In fact, I'd heard nothing but good about it. I was underwhelmed. Perhaps I have read too many books of this nature by now, perhaps it just wasn't for me, but I was underwhelmed.
I can see how, writing in the early 90s as it was, this has stayed popular. However, I found a lot of it boring. And, frankly, the age gap of late teens to mid-40s is still not okay, even in the apocalypse. Ew. If you can think of someone as a child, you should not be with them. Period.
The story is evenly paced and the characters well-written. I don't have many complaints, it just didn't strike a chord with me.
An homage to slasher films, this book is on every list of great new horror books. The lists are wrong.
I hated this. The story is hard to follow, not because it is a hard or complicated plot, but because the narration is so poorly written it barely makes sense. The main character is obnoxious and pretentious. The other characters are one dimensional, barely. The ending comes out of nowhere and just made everything more confusing.
It is the first of a trilogy, the rest of which I won't be reading (obviously). There are great horror books in this world. This is not one of them.
I picked this up at the library knowing nothing about it and am glad I did (except that it's the first in a series and I now need to try and remember to keep an eye out for the next one).
An urban fantasy - this book takes place as “monsters” are coming out into society, or trying to. There are secret societies, political movements, underground rescue missions, and (of course) a formidable villain. The narrator is unreliable. Somehow it does it all so well. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes.
I really enjoy the concept. The characters are whole and grow in a realistic way. The book also tackles bias (in its many forms). It is LGBTQ+ friendly and inclusive overall.
All that, but it is slower-paced, so keep that in mind before you pick it up.
As I've told anyone who I have talked to about this book; it made me think that I don't like other Jane Austen fans. Especially if the rest of us are like the characters in this book who seem to have no other personality trait but being a stereotype + Jane Austen fan.
This book was boring. That really is the heart of it. The characters were unrealistic and never really grew or changed. The majority of the plot happens in the last few chapters of the book. The “twists” were predictable to a fault. And I know that the book is about a group of Jane Austen fans, but I really wanted them all to read something else for a bit. Even as someone who re-reads Pride & Prejudice often (every 1-3 years), they seem to literally read nothing else and relate every moment in their lives to one of Austen's novels, even using them as guides at some points - to an unhealthy level. I really just wanted all of them to find at least one other hobby. Plus, there are so many great books!
Skip this one. It is not worth your time and if you want to enjoy Jane Austen, just read her books. These people will ruin her for everyone.
I think I am still processing this book and am not quite sure how I feel.
There are things I loved about it: the history, the snarky footnotes, the unreliable narrator, and the raw reality of an American culture so unlike my own experience. I also really enjoyed the structure. The story is not in chronological order and offers different stories about each family member throughout their lives to create a greater picture of their history and how they came to be who they are as individuals and as a family unit.
I did not like Oscar. He is selfish and insufferable. He lets life happen to him and complains about it, does not take reality or anyone else's feelings into account, even when he is supposedly “in love” with them. I feel like I was reading the life on an incel. While I appreciate that he is a nerd (fantasy, sci-fi, and D&D, my preferred nerddom), I don't like that the book perpetuates the stereotype that all nerds are weird dudes stuck in basements with zero social skills. However, I acknowledge that the time this is set in, I know that was often the perception and that stereotype makes some sense given the narrator. In fact, most of the characters are pretty unlikable. Of the many characters in the book, there were only two that I even somewhat liked.
I would also be bereft if I didn't acknowledge that the author, Junot Diaz is problematic. He has been called out for sexual misconduct and misogyny by women collegues and students. He was cleared by his university of wrongdoing; but given the statistics on university investigations, that honestly doesn't mean much. If you've read any of his books, you can clearly see these beliefs reflected. While the culture he represents (as he presents it) does have misogyny embedded in it, this is obviously not an excuse. Personally, I think his books have made me face some hard topics, so if I do choose to read more of his work, I will buy used or through the library so that he does not receive any royalties. Because of this, I will also not be linking his book in my bookshop as I don't want to contribute to his sales directly or benefit from them.
Because of the nature of the story and the problematic author, I am happy to discuss this book at length with anyone, but do not feel it is right to recommend it. Given the above information, you can decide if you would like to read it. I will say that it has been on my shelf and TBR for a long time and I am glad I finally read it. I still think about it often, even having finished two months ago.
I knew going in that I was not going to like this book, I read it with the purpose of hate reading it to discuss with a couple friends. I did, however, try to keep an open mind.
Man, I don't like this book and the trouble with Lexie is that she's AWFUL. She's a truly terrible human who takes zero accountability for her actions and somehow still does nothing but act the insipid victim. I have zero sympathy for her. There were two characters in this book that I enjoyed and the rest were pretty flat or terrible.
The plot is predictable yet somehow unbelievable. There is no way she'd get away with this nonsense for as long as she does.
If you love to hate the main character and read a trainwreck, this is for you. Or if you need a good hate-read. Otherwise, don't waste your time
I did not like this book. A hyped book that I read for a book club. I've seen it everywhere for a while now. This book was extremely trite and predictable. There were moments throughout that I thought, oh here is where this book gets good or takes its unique turn, and Haig would let those moments slide by, choosing plots that I have read at least 10s of times, if not more.
I won't spoil it for you, but the plot left me with some questions which simply didn't add up. The main character is so.... blank. I had hard time empathizing with her at all, she's either super capable or really dumb and there is no inbetween.
The book is short, and many have loved it. I don't recommend it, but I won't tell you to not read it. Frankly, I am glad it was short and I didn't waste more of my time.
This is one of my favorite books. I had not re-read it in quite some time, and it held up even better than I remembered. If you're looking for a strong, independent, female lead character - this book delivers.
A young adult fantasy published in 2008, this book was ahead of its time. Aside from the fact the the world is genuinely unique (I have yet to find anything else like it) and that the main character is not only supremely capable, but her own hero, this story offered alternative relationship styles that I still see rarely represented, the biggest of which is the option to be in a committed relationship without marriage. The book also has a gay relationship, which in 2008 young adult literature was not often represented.
The Graceling world's magic is this - there are individuals who are “graced” with unique abilities. The first sign of a grace is that the individual's eyes will be two different colors. Once that happens, they are sent to their King or lord to see if their grace will be of use. A grace can be anything from baking, climbing trees, to reading minds. Katsa is a graced assassin and thus brutally utilized by her king and uncle.
Thematically, the book challenges political structures, emotional manipulation, traditional relationships, gender roles, moral duties, and abuse. And though most are not done in a deep dive, it does an amazing job.
This is technically a series, however each book follows different characters and has an independent plot, so you can read all or none of them. I have yet to read the newest in the series, but have so far loved them all. It may be time to re-read them as well.
If you need a new fantasy to read, I will always recommend this one. One of my favorites.
This book has been EVERYWHERE for the last couple of years. It definitely falls into the category of hyped-up, which is a category I generally avoid until the hype has died down. However, with book club and a couple of other people recommending it, I broke my rule.
I understand why this book is as popular as it is. The narrative is engaging and it has a fair number of twists and turns. The description of the scenery is beautiful and brings the mundane to life. And there is nothing like a good mystery to keep a reader involved.
That said, I came out feeling rather neutral about the book. The story was very predictable for me and I found some of the plot unbelievable. The majority of the characters were reductive stereotypes and lacked depth. But I did stay engaged and it was a fast read. While not a book I'd recommend or read again, I can understand why it has captured so many's attention.
I enjoyed this story. It is an easy read, but a fun ride. While it is marketed as a Young Adult book, I'd say it is targeted towards young young adults - middle school aged at highest. (Not that that means adults can't or shouldn't read it!)
The main character is a young girl who sees ghosts/ghouls. She lives in a world of grey. She also can't speak. A mysterious letter from lost relatives calls her to her family's estate where a new world and new rules open.
This is a gothic narrative with parallel worlds. The book has illustrations throughout that are integrated into the story. The narration can be repetitive - but I chalk that up to the middle school/independent reader age group. Overall, it is a fast, easy read, and a great tribute to gothic novels. I especially love the depiction of ghosts, it is unlike any I've read before and a great image.
A perfect easy read to start the spooky season. I enjoyed it.
I feel like I've said this often as of late, I really wanted to love this book. The concept is great, it has a modern fairy tale like feel. But unfortunately, it just fell flat. I wanted so much more from the characters and the story.
Weylen Grey lives in the woods with wolves. He has a deep and magical connection with nature - to the point where his emotions affect plant and animal life, and the weather. Outside of that, he's very sweet... but rather boring. The other main character is Mary Penlore, Weylen's childhood friend and sweetheart.
The story is told through first-person narrative of multiple people and spans almost the entire lifespan of both characters.
I have no real complaints about the book. It's well-written and fairly creative. It's just... boring. Everything felt disconnected. I don't recommend it, but I wasn't angry that I spent the time reading it.