Mahala

Daniel Handler is a genius. I know this isn't going to be any sort of formal review but I have to say something. Or rather, do something.
This book is SO well written. It's witty even when it's serious, it has the perfect amount of everything. The characters were not one dimensional, I came to know them as separate people with individual personalities and could predict which person would do or say what in a certain situation. And the twist at the end. ...This review is spoiler-free. But I didn't figure it out until about a page before it was revealed and now I want to go back and read the whole thing again in light of my new knowledge.
I've just finished it and I already miss the characters, I want to read about them forever.
The Basic Eight is brilliant!

I really wanted to love this book. It was a great concept, being told from the stalker's POV. I just wasn't gripped by the story. There wasn't a point where I had to know what happened next. The writing was good, the concept was interesting, I just felt like it wasn't well executed. There was nothing that drew me in. I felt like it relied on violence and supposed ‘shock value' rather than actual substance, though I didn't think anything Joe did was surprising. Maybe it's just me and I've read too many thrillers! Either way, I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping I would.

This is basically a GOT fanfic. The male lead's name is like ~barely~ changed from the actual actor's name. I don't even really have an opinion about that, just making a statement.

This was ✨ok✨.
I'm annoyed because some parts of it were cute and made me want to like it. Unfortunately, most it was cheesy and cringey and over dramatic. Like, the characters are almost 40 and upset and worried about SILLY things. Adults acting like teenagers. The entire plot could've been avoided with a simple NDA.
And I'm all here for body neutrality and the like, but some of this felt a lot like, as another reviewer mentioned, getting “woke points” online.

It was also one of those books, like most romances to be honest, where you absolutely know exactly how the conflict/climax of the story is going to go. So you're basically just waiting the entire book for it to happen and hoping there's some decent dialogue or spice along the way.

I just wish it was more cute, less try-hard.
I'm not ready to give up on cartoon cover romances entirely yet. It took me too long to force myself to even try one. But I need recommendations for the BEST ones. If I don't like those, I'm just not the intended audience.

This is why I hesitate to read hyped up booktok books with cartoon covers. I finished this 3 hours ago and already forgot the characters (and the plot) because they were so boring.

These are the stories that make me love Moriarty. This is probably my favorite second to Big Little Lies. I'd just about given up on her to be honest. I was disappointed by her last few books I read. But I needed something available right away on Libby so I gave it a shot. And clearly ended up reading it within 2 days. Such a sweet, easy read. Not for everybody obv but I really enjoyed it.