Sabrina
Audiobook.
I know this book gets a lot of heat because it got Tiktok famous but man did I enjoy it. The four stars is because I did get bored a little bit around the 60% mark, I do feel it could have been cut short a little bit but that ending very much redeemed itself.
I listened to this on Audiobook and really enjoyed it as an Audiobook. I reckon if I had read it instead, I may have DNF'd it but who knows. I did make it through book 3 of ACOTAR so stranger things have happened
I finished this in a DAY! A DAY! After a series of DNF's, I was so pleased to realised that this was going to be a riveting read and I was not disappointed. Gyasi takes us through so many beautiful stories, intricately woven with so many deep emotions and meloncholy for all they have lost. I must admit, I know very little about the slave trade between Africa and Europe /US and a piece of fiction is probably not where I should be getting information but I feel all the better for knowing a little piece of important history.
Highly highly recommend. What a fantastic read.
DNF 27%
Okay, I knew this book had a lot of F bombs - I mean, look at the title, right? - but man, listening to it is like listening to a teenager who had just discovered the word fuck. It was so unnecessary in a lot of instances and made me cringe over and over and over again. I live in Australia - I am accustomed to swearing and I do indulge in it myself but in a self help book? Come on, let's tone it down a bit.
The two stars is for some good take away's that I already believed in - really thinking about what you waste your energy on and know you are not special. I hate the whole ‘trophy' giving thing that they do in schools these days. I am a millennial and we did NOT get that treatment and while it hurt not to win things, you get to know where you stand in the grand scheme of things really fast and you learn to adjust to it and make your own little space.
Other than, this is some regurgitation of Buddhist philosophies with a lot of swearing thrown in.
Okay, so hear me out.
I was a HUGE ACOTAR fan. Like, massive. So much so, I was thinking of getting a tattoo of it. This is after reading books 1-3, I DNF'd # 4 and deleted # 5. But most of it had to do with Rhysand and not the main character, Feyre. I did NOT gel with her at all. The overuse of ‘mate' also really put a bad taste in my mouth.
Now, Violet. Violet, I like. She is short but feisty. She overcomes all adversity. She wanted to be a quiet little Scribe but she becomes a Rider. She comes out on top with the biggest beast under her (no pun intended) (okay, may be slightly intended). She is humble, she is down to earth, she is funny and sexy and smart. I like her. A lot. I love how Yarros portrays her main heroine, without taking a lot away from her love interest but also not building him up to outshine her.
Looking at all the reviews, this may be an unpopular opinion but I did genuinely enjoy this book and can't wait to listen to the next. A lot of it may be due to me listening to it instead of reading it (Rebecca Soler did an EXCELLENT job narrating this) but my heart was thumping at a lot of the action scenes. And I was listening to THAT chapter while powering through some CVs I was writing up. As you may imagine, I did have to go back and rewrite them!!!
DNF 38%
Lesson number 1 - I am not a young adult anymore. Despite what my juvenile sense of humour says.
Lesson number 2 - I am not into sappy romance unless it's laced with dragons and other fantastical creatures.
Lesson number 3 - tiktok hype doesn't always pay.
This may be other people's cup of tea, definitely not mine and I have read a few YA novels in the recent past.
I read Brother last month and wasn't a fan but I am the idiot here for still reading this. What a terrible book. I have been reading horror fiction since I was 12 so no stranger to the genre but this try hard book was so half baked, makes me honestly question all social media recommendations going forward.
I probably skimmed too much of the book but who TF is Isaac? And Birdie? And what does that have to do with Aaron? Is he the miraculous inception of a stupid ghost?
Ugh, waste of my time. I would have DNF'd this but I have been DNFing so many books lately that I felt guilty.
I'm so angry for wasting my time on this lol
While I think Michelle Williams did a fantastic job narrating this, I think there are a few holes in Britney's story. I have been an avid fan of Britney Spears since I was 10 years old and she had all my empathy when things unfolded the way it did for her.
I was so keen to read this book and read her perspective of what happened and why she put up with it. I probably don't understand because obviously I didn't go through it, only person who would understand the paralysis of living under that kinda control is someone who has gone through something like that themselves. To me, I kept saying, why didn't you speak up, why couldn't you do something, why didn't your friends give you good advise.
I felt like she gave up and used the conservatorship as a cop out for giving up. She also didn't explain why her relationship with Sean, her oldest son, deteriorated. Like she doesn't owe us anything but like I said, a few gaps in the narrative.
This book is so different to other stuff out there and I am so here for it!! As a gamer growing up and even now, to an extent, I found being able to relate to the games that were spoken about in the book so fantastic!!!
The book lost a star only because I thought the plot was a bit weak, I didn't really understand the need for the falling outs and they really didn't explore some of the relationship as much as they should have but all in all, it was a really nice read on a subject in the background that I think of very fondly.
This took me three library renewals to finish, I borrowed the Audiobook on Libby.
It was a long book but I understand why it had to be a long book - the amount of detail Verghese went into was fascinating. I am glad I listened to this as an Audiobook instead of reading it as he would have lost my interest with all the medical jargon but when you are listening to it, it's so much easier to digest.
I loved the generational break down and when he diverts and talks about someone else and you wonder how that is connected to this and then it all makes sense. I love Big Ammachi, Baby Mol, Elsie, Digby and Rune but I couldn't stand Phil and even Mariamma to an extent. Phil is the embodiment of all South Asian men to this day. Sorry to generalise but also, not sorry as in my 37 years, I am yet to meet one who has made me change my mind.
I do agree with some other reviewers that the end and the so called twist seems a bit haphazard and hurried. How did no one know Mariamma was half white? I am half Pakistani and Sri Lankan Malay and people pick up on it - surely half Scottish and Half South Indian would be a dead giveaway? I liked Elsie and Digby together, I wish they had a happier ending though.
Overall, I am so glad I listened to it instead of reading it as it would have ended up being a TBR. Loved Verghese' narration too, and his little accents as he mimics different people.
This was a lovely read. I loved Song of Achilles and must admit this had a different vibe to it but I did fall in love with flawed Circe eventually and my heart broke for her many times. This was a quick read that got me out of a bit of a slump after the disappointment of ACOTARs 4th book so I'm glad for it.
DNF 30%
I did not think I would DNF a book from this series but alas, here we are. It's been over a month and I'm stuck on 30% of a book that's the size of a magazine. Clearly this says a lot. I don't have much hope for me starting the next book either because I can't stand Nesta and will definitely struggle relating to her.
I miss Feyre and her point of view. The multiple povs was really throwing me too. I read a review that said to not start this book right after book number 3 so I waited couple of weeks yet, here we are. How disappointing after all the hype.
I am not sure why everyone has given this such high rating. Maybe I am not as clever as everyone to understand the ‘deeper meaning of life' or maybe it's because I don't have my own personal legend but man, this was such a pointless read camaflouged as an adventure story, that's not really an adventure at all but some lost boy droning on and on.
What a phenomenal ride this was. I totally, totally understand the hype now. How wrong I was about Tamlin, how utterly, horribly wrong. He represents all the toxic, overbearing ex's in the world but you only realise a tad too late.
And Rhys, Good lord what it would be like to have a Rhys in your world.
But I would also like to acknowledge Feyre. I have read a lot of books lately with really annoying female leads but Feyre is something else. The only little qualm that got old quite fast was of her guilt about (spoilers) the two Faes in the first book but I even understand and forgive her for that.
She is one of the strongest representation for women that I have read in a book. To not be a weeping kept woman, to fight so hard for her freedom, I so admire it and to pull it off without sounding cocky and self assured! I love her, I love Rhys, I love this series.
You can consider me an official fan girl!
Good God, DNF at 44%
Boy, did I try to like this book. I don't know what the hype is. Molly is clearly on the spectrum, I wish the writer had written her as such instead of trying to pass her off as a neurotypical. I wish i heeded other people's advise and steered clear of this. What a waste of time.