Eryn
I first saw this book on Brittney and Book's channel. She was raving about it and how it was her favorite book of the year so far with multiple tabs on every page. I just had to try it out and it didn't disappoint!
There is not much to say about the writing. It was quite simplistic and there's nothing special but it effectively carries the message it intends to send. The writing made the book quite easy to read and addictive too. I read this in ebook format, where I usually the slowest but I flew through it in a matter of a few days! Even though her writing was simple, Bhuiyan was able to make the emotions and feelings of the main character Karina in different situations pop and shine. You even get bits and pieces of poetry Karina writes and struggles to finish towards the beginning of the story.
The main draw in this book for many people aside from the representation is the fake dating trope which is mentioned in the synopsis. The beginning felt slow as I was waiting for the fake dating trope to kick. I like a good fake dating trope but it never really felt like fake dating and the reason why Ace came up with the fake dating trope seems like a stretch. Then after that it was smooth sailing with a few eyerolls on the way.
Counting Down With You has a diverse cast of characters starting with our main character Karina who is a Bangladeshi American teen who struggles with anxiety. She has a brother, Samir and 2 best friends, Nadine who is Indian and Cora who is half Chinese and bisexual. They are her #2 advocators, her first being my favorite character of the entire book, her Dadu (her grandmother), which I will get to later!
For now let's talk about her best friends. At the beginning, they really grated my nerves. When they found out Karina was tutoring, their first response was to hook her up with him. Actually their first response was sort of like “Clyde? Alistar “Ace” Clyde?! gasp” And I'm over here rolling my eyes like “I hope being boy crazy isn't all you are.” But towards the end of the book, I really enjoyed them though they were a little “Ace crazy” they helped Karina through her family drama and were there for her.
Same could be said for her brother Samir who was also there for Karina. Maybe not from the beginning but, he was there for her when it really mattered. He was still a freshman boy in high school so he was a little misogynistic as some guys are. Not all are. There are definitely some sweetheart guys out there but Samir in the beginning, wasn't it.
Then you have Ace. Your typical embodiment of a bad boy with a heart of stone, a leather jacket, janked attendance record, and rich beyond most people's imagination (ok, maybe that last part has nothing to do with being a bad boy but his parents are still rich). Everyone fears him yet everyone wants him, everyone wants to be him. I didn't care for the bad boy trope. Even if I did, Ace never felt like a bad boy at the start. We were just told he was bad and supposedly rolled with it. Not I though. Overall, Ace was a very sweet guy. Sometimes overly sweet. Cheesy/cringe if you will at times.
Time to move on to talk about my favourite character: the grandmother. I loved her! She was so sweet and kind and always hyped Karina up when she was feeling down. She always gave Karina the attention and time of day even when her parents wouldn't. She pushed for Karina's dreams when Karina was at her lowest and couldn't fight anymore. She stood up for Karina at the end and I loved every second of it.
Counting Down With You explores themes such as parental expectations and following your dreams even if it means disappointing your parents. Her parents are painted as your stereotypical uber strict parents who want you to follow a certain career path for their own happiness and not your own. Karina wants to be an English major at Columbia to the disapproval of her parents. Throughout the story, Karina, with the help of her best friends and family, learns to stand up for what she wants. (I loved the scene at the end with her Dadu and how she stood up for Karina's parents on her behalf when they shut Karina down a second time!). With this sort of topic, comes anxiety, especially for Karina who has spent her whole life being submissive at the expense of her own happiness.
This theme is not just explored with Karina but Ace as well. Growing up Ace struggled to meet his fathers approval and get his attention, especially compared to his student body president of a brother (Xander) who always put him down any chance he got. But unlike Karina who decided to go with the flow of her parents' expectations, Ace decided to rise above them and started acting out to try and get his fathers attention. This earned his so called “bad boi” rep.
Another aspect of this book was the religion, specifically Islam. When it came to religion, the main focus was how it affected her dating life, especially to a white boy. I can't speak to the representation of Islam myself as am not Muslim but I've heard mixed things on the representation. Some people have said they felt seen, others were enraged. Here is Lia's Review to give you some insight: Lia's Counting Down With You Review.
Gender and comparative sibling relationships were also a couple more small themes touched upon in this book. Especially when it came to the relationship Samir (her brother) has with their parents vs the relationship Karina has with her parents. Samir is everything her parents want in a child: he's very good at math and science and he's on the robotics team. While Karina works extra hard to make sure her math grades level up with her parents' expectations and against her will she's a part of Pre-Med Society (which half the time, she doesn't even go to). When it comes to Samir, she always feels second place.
I give this book a 3.5. Sorry it took so long to read this.
If you like enemies to lovers romance set in Ancient Rome, this book may be for you!
“I wonder if sometimes our understanding of a thing is based on our own notion of what that thing should mean, rather than what it truly does mean.”
Soothsayer is a novel of fate.
Setting/Romance: What I liked most about this book is, what mainly attracted me to the book which is it's setting. I have not read many if any books set in Ancient Rome and it was good to see such as unique take on it. Ancient Rome usually focuses on the war and politics of it all but this novel focused more on the romance and I love romance! That being said I wasn't rooting for Cassius and Aurelia to get together because I didn't feel the chemistry. It was more of a “I don't want Aurelia with the Governor. I'd rather have her with Cassius” sort of deal.
Why you may ask (or maybe not)?
The reason I wasn't head over heels for the romance is because I wasn't head over heels for the character. The characters themselves were well written and I could see their motivation for doing what they were doing. Aurelia, who is in the marriage with the governor so that her brother won't be drafted in the military and Cassius' sense of duty. I just didn't feel an attraction or strong love for the characters therefore whether they got together didn't bother me as much.
Next up is the writing which was so-so in the beginning. Some of it felt clunky and their were words I wanted to snip but as the book went on the writing flourished into beautiful, lyrical prose.
THIS BOOK WAS SENT TO ME BY THE AUTHOR IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
4.5
Back at it again with another Book Babble, where I go on a tangent about books I either loved or hated. Luckily, The Worst Best Man is one of the worst best rom-com books I read this year along with Get A Life Chloe Brown. Wanna know why? Well then I guess I should get this Book Babble on the road...
When I started this book Lina got on my nerves because of all the petty pranks she pulled on Max due to the part he played in the break up of her and Andrew. Not gonna lie...some of them were funny but that's not the point here!
The point is from the get-go, it's obvious Max cares about Lina and yet she still treats him like garbage because his BROTHER was the one to leave her at the alter. It's not as if the Hartley brothers were twins and she could easily have mistaken one for the other. All the animosity she has towards both of them was only directed towards Max. It's almost as if she didn't really care about Andrew too much.
But as we knew more and more about her, I grew to love and relate to her character. Events in the Lina's past has made it hard to display her emotions and her clients as well as Max have noticed it. I like how she grew to accept that responding to situations the way she does, devoid of emotion doesn't make you heartless or stone cold. Sometimes, I feel like I lack the emotions necessary to constitute being called a human being or I just don't show them which leads people to think I have none.
“Protecting yourself from hurt doesn't mean you're broken. It means you're human.”
Ok. So I did not like this book. Here's a ramble of my thoughts immediately after finishing the book.
Things I Didn't Like
- I didn't like the characters. They had no depth to them. Especially Chloe and Alien Drake. Chloe didn't seem like too good a friend because she was all to caught up with her obsession with Adam Jakes (Tbh, thats a weird name. It's like having a first name as your last name). Also her obsession with Adam Jakes seemed to be her only personality trait. Alien Drake and Chloe's relationship also didn't need to happen. They could of all been a really close knit group of friends. I don't really like it when you have a group of friends and someone happens to be dating someone in the group. Especially if it's a trio because the one who is a single pringle seems like a third wheel. But that's just me.
Adams had no substance either. He briefly talks about how his mom and sister lived in Hawaii (or something along those lines) but we never really get to know more than that. When Carter makes these “profound” statements about life, he relates some of them back to him saying “believe me I know.” but the author doesn't elaborate on why he knows or what he's been through. Especially since rehab was a hoax. I didn't like that little argument either. It's like the author wanted drama and used fake rehab story as a plot line. It was practical out of left field.
- This book is marketed as a romance but I felt no chemistry between Adam and Carter. Most of the time he's distracted on the phone which I thought he would stop doing at some point but nope. The author makes it seem like Adam is tired of all these camera's and wants to live a normalish life but all those times when he had a chance to make the relationship, he never did.
- The Pacing is yet another problem I had with this book and it ties back in with the faux romance in this book. I felt no smooth slide from indifference to like to love. It felt like a jerk from “Oh I don't like Hollywood bad boys” to “Oh I wish this kiss was real and this relationship was real.” And the romance never really happens until the last page of the book where he does this romantic gesture that I couldn't care less about. When he uttered the words “romantic gesture” I literally laughed out loud. This book was poorly paced in the romance department, so towards the end I started skimming.
- How the brother's plot line was handled: The only reason why I felt this was in the book was to give Carter the motivation to go ahead with the fake dating plot. He only showed up when things we're getting slow and boring in the plot to spice things up. I do like the fact that it shows how hard struggling with addiction is though and how he ended up not getting help(though I wish he did) because not everybody does. Some people are lead down the wrong path and thing need to get worse before they get better.
Things I Did Like
- I liked the talks about college and life after high school. College and figuring out what you want to do/be after high school is such a forced idea that parents put on their children and it's only gotten worse over the years. Children don't have to go to college. College isn't required for success. If you have a skill or a passion that you can make something out of, then go for it but you have to have a plan and a back up plan if that fails. You can't just declare that you aren't going to college and not do anything or else you'll be living in your parents basement for quite a while.
- The writing was quite simple and easy to get through.
This review is long enough already so if any more thoughts pop into my head then I will continue to write them down here.
OMG
I hear all this talk about not rating a nonfiction book/memoir because it's like rating someone's life but I think of it as how the memoir has impacted me and this has impacted me and made me think A LOT! Hearing his story about growing up under apartheid and with an abusive stepfather and everything...I can't put into words how heartbreaking it is. My favourite part of this book was the relationship he had with his mother and the lessons he learned from not just what she tells him but by just her being an independent woman despite society trying to hold her back. I loved this so much and I'm glad I bought a copy. Now I can annotate it when I read it again and maybe let my mom borrow it and read it!
4.5.
I really enjoyed this book very much. In the beginning I was unsure because of how Leon's chapters were written but after I got used to them, I got sucked in! The growing relationship between Tiffy and Leon...yassss and the friendships! I also liked how Leon was the shy and anxious one and Tiffy was the outgoing one. Also Holly... Loved her. If I were to say one thing I didn't like it was parts of the Justin plot line. Some of it felt like it was there for dramatics purposes. I hope to write a full fledged review soon to explain but with how life is going idk.
TW: Stalking, Gas-lighting, emotional abuse.
Immediate and Most Likely Rambling Thoughts:
As with most romance books that I tend to read, I breezed through it (for my reading pace/standards). I was sucked into where the Adventures of Lucy and Josh would go next but the thing that bothered me was that it never really felt like a true hate to love, at least not as much as the book advertised. Of course Josh was an asshole for the beginning but he also had a tiny bit of nice side that Lucy just didn't seem to see. When Lucy needed a ride home, he offered but Lucy just scoffed and declined his offer. Also there was an kiss that happened out of the blue and without consent in the beginning that threw me for a loop.
Most of the hate seemed to be stemming from Lucy. But also, similarly to the Unhoneymooners, the resentment in this plot hinged on the Miscommunication trope. Now this trope doesn't bother me as much as it might most people (probably because I rarely recognise it) but it does cheapens the hate a bit. For once, I would like to read a romance where they openly admit that they hated each other from the beginning which would actually make it seem like they grew to love each other. I felt it was obvious he liked her from the beginning.
Speaking of Lucy as a character, she seemed childish in the beginning but she grew on me. I loved in the end when she stood up for Josh to his father. Especially because he couldn't. Josh had tried so hard to when his fathers approval but realised nothing he ever did would be good enough and Josh would always live in his brother shadow's in his eyes. I also like that the father and Josh didn't have a quick reunion as most brooding guys with a hate relationship with one of their parents. The way that Sally Thorne twisted the brooding guy with a bad/abusive father in a more unique was than I have seen was that it was most of neglect and a psychological abuse than physical abuse. It's a different perspective.
This is a long, spur of the moment review with no structure which I am writing at 4 in the morning so if you actually read this far and it makes no sense you know why. I'm tired and about to sleep
Check Out the Full Review on My Blog 4.5 StarsI really enjoyed this book but it was not my favorite by Elizabeth Acevedo. My favourites rank:1) With the Fire on High2) The Poet X3) Clap When You LandThe order is subject to change after I reread the Poet X but for now... lets get into the reviewTW: loss/death of a parent, stalking, sexual assault, grief, sexual harassment Things I liked:1) The Writing: With Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo is back in her native writing roots, verse, where her poetic writing style flourishes. There are many verses that I tabbed. Here's an example or two: A queenoffers her hand to be kissed& can form it into a fistwhile smiling the whole damn time&Can you be from a place you've never been?You can find the island stamped all over me ,but what would it find if I was there?Can you claim a home that does not know you,much less claim you as its own? The Themes/ Characters Those were powerful quotes that spoke to identity, stuck with me and gave a new perspective. Grief is another aspect of this book and I enjoyed seeing how each sister processed it, especially finding out about each other and their father's past. They ultimately never let their fathers past taint their good memories of him and could realise that a person can be two things at once: a good father and a bad person, vise versa or both. I enjoyed the family and friendship aspect of this book too! Things I didn't likeI didn't like the El Cero plotline. I understood why it was there but we never understood the reason how El Cero got tangled up with their father and why Camino supposedly owes him more than she thinks. It felt drawn out for drama. Though he seems to represent a future that most young girls on the island fall prey to.Overall, I really enjoyed the themes explored and the aspect of unspoken forgiveness. Elizabeth Acevedo is one of my favourite authors and I'll read anything she continues to write! I would reread and recommend her books a thousand times over!Other places to find me:My Blog Bookstagram
“We are all united by grief and divided by the same thing.
Recently, as in a few days ago, I finished Letters to the Lost which is about Juliet Young, a teenage girl who just lost her mother to a car crash. To cope with her grief, she started leaving letters at her mother's tombstone. Unexpectedly when she returns to the graveyard, she finds that someone has responded to her letter in two short yet impactful words: Me too.
That someone is none other than Declan Murphy, the cliched brooding high school guy with a misunderstood past, a criminal record, and a terrible stepfather.When Juliet reads these words the next day, she's outraged! Those letters were supposed to be private! So in response she writes back an angry note and from there a friendship starts to unknowingly blossom.
So this book is marketed as a romance when really there's not much in it which is fine because romance is not what it's centered around. This book is an exploration of grief and shows how it presents itself differently in others which I will talk about when I talk about the characters below.
“We all have different capacities for failure”
CHARACTERS
Juliet
I didn't really like her character. She was so judgmental, always assuming the worse in people. If someone would so much as try to help her, she would think they were trying to murder her. I don't know if that's because of the grief she's dealing with or if that's just her personality. Speaking of how she processed her grief, she tended to push a lot of people away, including her best friend, Rowan. By the way Juliet treated Rowan sometimes, I am surprised she was friends with her in the first place but I'm glad they stuck together. Rowan was a good friend. Juliet was stuck in her grief for 4 months. She still is but by the end of the book, she has accepted it but it also seemed like it disappeared especially due to the melodramatic ending.
Declan
Rev
PLOT
I am not sure this is a storyline I'll remember but I did enjoy most of the characters. I will continue the series only because I bought Lair of Dreams months ago in a bout of sadness. I have it as an audiobook from Libby also which I will read together with the physical copy. Also people talked about how scary this book was, and as a person who does not like horror, THIS BOOK WAS NOT SCARY AT ALL. I might write a full out review later.
3.5
INITIAL REACTION
I never thought that I would read this book in a million years.
Back when I didn't really read, my mom made me pick out book from this stand at this community fair we went to. It had sat in the garage ( GASP!!) and then on my bookshelf for years. But then as I saw it sitting in my unhaul pile, I decided why not give a try. Especially since there is an adaption coming out. I was pleasantly surprised. I liked this book more than I thought I would. Quarintine is making me do and try crazy things
2.5
Let me preface this review by saying that if my rating was purely based on readability and entertainment, I would give it 3 or 4 stars but since I'm trying my best to be critical, it gets 2.5 stars from me.
Anna is living her happy life in Atlanta with an awesome best friend and is developing a crush on her co-worker who may or may not be beginning to like her back. So when her dad sends her to a boarding school in Paris for Americans, it very well comes as a shock. While in Paris, she meets some cool new friends, including handsome Étienne St. Clair who quickly steals the best friend status. Unfortunately for Anna, he already has a girlfriend. Fighting between her feelings between the boy at home and the one right in front of her, Anna wonders if her senior year will end the romance she wants and the French kiss she's been waiting for?
Anna and the French Kiss is your typical cutesy YA novel that you read when you want a break from something hard-hitting.
I didn't really like Anna in the beginning. She was very whiny when her parents told her that she was going to finish her high school career in Paris of all places. Moving away from the friends you've already made is understandably not ideal but it's not the end of the world, especially when the school is in the City of Lights. Also, any boy she met that complemented her in any way, she automatically felt something for. For example, a boy named Dave that she meets in Paris called her beautiful and she automatically thought “Beautiful. He called me beautiful! But wait. I don't like Dave. Do I like Dave?” Just one word and she was ready to consider having his baby. She has some impaired judgment in the romance department.
Bridgette or Bridge for short is Anna's best friend but she doesn't really feel that way considering that they mostly communicated through email or on the phone and even then her character fell flat for me.
St. Clair...what can I say about St.Clair? He was born in America, raised in London and sent to boarding school in France, where his dad resides. He has an English accent which I am not sure if the audiobook portrays correctly. But I can't say anything to that because I am American.
Mer and the rest of their main friend group felt like characters and not like people sometimes. Mer, was just there to create tension between St. Clair and Anna, although his existing girlfriend Ellie should have been enough. Speaking of Ellie, I didn't really like her but that was mostly due to seeing her from the lusting perspective of Anna who wanted St Clair for herself.
There were some petty aspects to this book which I didn't enjoy such as slut shaming and girl-girl hate. Cheating was also a part of this book. It is already established that Étienne has a girlfriend but that didn't stop neither one of them from keeping their relationship from going past friends. Anna hated Ellie at first for the sole reason of him dating her. That was it. That was frustrating. Also if St. Clair was developing feelings for Anna as well, why couldn't he break up with her, because the reason given, even though it is understandable, is not acceptable. Although that leaves you to wonder if he would break up with the next American girl to be new to that boarding school.
Anyways, would I say this book is perfect? No. Would I say this book was anything new? No. But would I still recommend it for the entertainment value? Yes.
P.S.
I finally understand when people say that they enjoyed a book despite its flaws. I wanted to keep reading but I saw many problems.