Kelsey
She was born to be a queen.
Jennifer Saint never fails to inspire with her Greek myth retellings. Hera, in my opinion, has to be one of the hardest goddesses to reinvent, yet Saint finds a way. She breathes new life into Hera as Prometheus and Athena once breathed life into humanity. Hera's point of view opens a new door into Olympus, we see a goddess wronged, betrayed and silenced yet she does not become a victim to her suffering. Saint magically keeps Hera as fierce and as frightening as we have always known her to be, yet she also shows us a new perspective, one that, although, may seem harsh, becomes understandable.
Saint magically tells the entire timeline of the Olympians with Hera's interest at the forefront of the retelling. We watch as Titans fall, divine offspring rise, rebellions ascend the mountain and how feuds stir within. The connection between sisters, mothers and daughters is a beautiful point to focus on within the novel but what I felt was done best was the friction between the male and female divinities.
Hera is a stunning retelling which focuses on the ambition of women who aren't willing to be good girls, who are eager for more and who won't let anyone stand in the way of their power, or their birthright whilst also discovering the importance of family bonds and the human condition. Hera as a goddess and as Saint's protagonist now holds a place in my heart.
Gorgeous. There's something about a Greek myth retelling that just crushes my soul. This was very well done. Genuinely touching and retold in such horribly realistic detail. My only gripe is I wish there would day be a retelling where Athena curses Medusa in order to protect her, I can not process how the goddess of wisdom could be so unwise in her treatment to someone so deeply wronged.
This was almost a two stars from me. I'm gonna say it's a 2.75 rounded up.
It's not what I want when I read a Greek myth retelling and to take one of the most interesting myths and turn it into this... is a disappointment. I have so many issues and gripes with it that it feels pointless to sit and complain because who wants to read a rant review? The only thing that was really enjoyable about this book was the spice, the rest was just a boring wattpad romance.
All the Lonely People gets 4.5 from me.
From the minute I picked this up I knew I was going to love it. It was such a bittersweet look into the human experience. I wasn't expecting the twists and turns Hubert's life took, especially around chapter 40.
I loved Gayle's writing, I felt like I knew Hubert and the jumping between timelines really helped expand on how he got to where he was while also making me love Hubert more and more, I loved that Gayle made Hubert so loveable but also gave him flaws and complications that deepened how complex a man he was but through it all love was kept him going and when the love was requited and he finally seen there was so much love from his new found family he could be at peace with all his previous loss.
A huge reminder that there's always love and friendship to find no matter the age or circumstance! I think Hubert felt he was lonely because he was old and alone but the whole story goes to show how loneliness doesn't discriminate and we all have a duty to each other to keep love and friendship alive.
When I first heard about this book I admit I laughed and I asked “Why?” but now I've read it, I understand why, because this is FUN. I laughed so hard reading this and I didn't laugh AT the book, I laughed with it. It's so silly but what Vera does is she takes a concept like fucking a door and turns it into an actual story, there's a genuine plot to this tale and she left no plot holes, she left no questions, she left no crumbs.
Vera, I salute you for this ridiculously good story. I, like Tana, cannot wait to talk about this while in group therapy at the asylum.
I could not put this down. I had a few friends tell me this book wasn't as good as the first, it's a bit slower and the change of scenery might take me a moment to get used to, but honestly, I felt this was better than the first.
I felt much closer to Alina and Mal, as well as getting a closer insight into their relationship, their flaws and their need to protect one another. Watching them discover themselves and their demons together and apart hit all the right notes for me.
The introduction of the new characters felt seamless, I was never bored and loved the mix of new faces. Leigh Bardugo is now one of my favourite authors, I personally just couldn't find a fault with this as a sequel and usually sequels can be quite tough to follow in their debut siblings steps.
The only issue I had while reading this was the inescapable feeling that I may never read a book that makes me feel like this again, I wish I could go back to the start already and jump back in with my mind blank.
This book is a punch to the gut. It almost put me into a hysteria. My mind and heart were racing simultaneously every time I had to put the book down to catch my breath. It made me realise just how much I need therapy. Long term, intense fucking therapy. I found myself occasionally caught between the acts of bursting into manic laughter or breaking down into hysterical tears. It's like ripping open an old wound and suddenly you're aware of the festering blood, the smell of infection the plaster has been covering up for years. The lock has been undone and now, like Pandora's box, the demons are spilling out and you can't tear your eyes away, mesmerised and afraid but waiting for the flutter of hope only to stare into a dank, obscene wound that you honestly thought a plaster was going to fix.
You know the way men have that thousand yard stare when they return alive from a battle in war? The way any Hollywood movies shows the protagonists surviving D-Day, Okinawa or Bastogne? That's how I look after putting this book down to take a break. I'm in the room but I'm not present, I'm floating above and beyond and I don't know where that place is but I've been there before. There was honestly a part of me that thought I should just put the book down now and leave it, there at page 199. But what justice is that for Vanessa, for Dolores or for me? What good is it not to get closure? No matter how small or large, true or false. Because we all know this is fiction but it's absolutely the realest thing I've ever read. The only fiction is the names and dates and places put together.
How many girls in the world could read this book and say “yeah, this is real. This is me. This is my friend, this is my mother, this is her or she or them. I know her. I am her.” While simultaneously anyone else could read this book and say “I know him. I've met him. He's my friend. My father, my uncle, my teacher, my coach, my boyfriend. A stranger. My husband. My brother. Myself.” Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Alexa play “I'm So Sick” by Flyleaf.
3.5 stars. Honestly, I was a bit dissatisfied with this, I expected more, I felt Kaung often said so much when she needed to say so little and often she was too quiet in areas that maybe would have made this book all the more fantastical and heartfelt but in saying all of this I genuinely struggled to put it down every time I picked it up.
It's been a really long time since I've finished a book and had to just sit there holding it and looking out the window like okay... wow, now what?
I generally don't like the overuse of the term “altered my brain chemistry” but right now I can't really find any other words to encompass my reaction to this. I have so much to say and unpack and rave about but I also would like to just hold onto all the information I have on this book and just lie down with it like a comfort blanket and go to sleep.
This was fantastic, I didn't expect it to be what it was or go there way it did and I was pleasantly surprised. It was beautiful and I had to put it down a few times and just look out the window to let the information soak into my little pea brain. I'd recommend this to every single person on Earth if only just to help them expand their own understanding of their consciousness and their place in the universe.
My only problem (which is my own flaw) is that I think the translation doesn't 100% match up. I think if I was able to read it in Norwegian a lot of the humour between Sophie and her peers would have made more sense, there were a few bits of dialogue I couldn't quite understand and I think it was a translation/cultural gap but that's my own fault for only speaking one language
2.5/5.0
This has SO much more potential. It was very easy to read, I didn't want to put it down but the ending fell flat. The writing felt two dimensional, like the author was too scared to let the readers do the work. Everything ended up turning out juvenile instead of matured. A happy ending is nice but this just felt false, we could have had the same ending but with a bit more bite, a more realistic and heart rendering sense of serendipity but nagh, it was just not there.
Sadly the version I have of this is badly translated and I found some of the sentences were grammatically incorrect or so convoluted my eyes started to get heavy. However, I'm certain if I read this again I'd score it higher. I grasped a good deal of what Kafka was trying to convey and the idea of your family being repulsed by your change, attempting to care for you out of duty then slowly resenting you is worse than the physical change itself. The constant worry about work, finances and the rest of what he thought would be his return to human life was so easy to judge from an outside perspective. I just wish the copy I bought had been better, if it turns out their all written that way then I'm out
READ THIS BOOK!
I couldn't put it down. Read it in one day, sobbed for the last 50 or so pages, when I put the book down I felt like I was saying goodbye to Evelyn like I knew her. The plot twist I figured out along the way, I'm not upset that I didn't get a shock and honestly, I don't think it was that shocking even if I hadn't seen it coming. What was more important was the stories of love, the love between women and girls. I did not expect this book to be what it is because quite frankly, Reid masterfully wove that deception right into the title and I love her for that.