Tegan

Beautiful, sweet romance about second chances and missed opportunities. Go in without knowing the plot of possible. It's better to experience the journey with the characters.

I DNF'd this after the line "He remained her only male friend since high school who had never made an advance on her, a fact that filled her both with pride and a hint of irritation at him".

No woman has ever wanted a platonic male friend to hit on her. Acquaintance, different story. Friend? Absolutely not. Why would you *want* to implode a friendship and discover the friendship was all a ruse to get in your pants? It especially doesn't make sense given she's a lesbian and he just got married.

The writing is terrible as well 😬

That. Was. Wild! It's nearly midnight here and what a perfect time to finish this book. I loved this, it hit the Victorian and unhinged horror themes just right. Not sure I'd describe it as similar to American Psycho though. Highly recommend the audiobook as the narrator hits the perfect balance for the MC. I don't want to say any more for fear of spoiling it, read it!

If you liked Red Rising by Pierce Brown, it's likely you'll enjoy this. Instead of following a protag that is The Chosen One (ish) like in Red Rising, you get to see what it's like fighting and colonising alien planets from an on-the-ground soldier perspective. The alien races are fleshed out and fascinating to me. It's not just fighting humanoids and John Scalzi isn't afraid to injure or kill characters we have become fond of. This book isn't always about war, it also delves into the psychology of being a new soldier in an unknown universe and grappling with the untethered-ness of it all, including how the soldiers are made.

Great sci-fi action story and I enjoyed the narrator (William Dufris) who hit all the emotional points perfectly. I am very picky with narrators so I'm glad I liked this one. The different accents he gave the characters made the world that much more immersive.

Onto the next book!

I'm deep in book grief atm so I'll write a more detailed review later ("I won't think about it now. I'll think about it later when I can stand it") but here are the differences in the movie vs book.

Spoilers below:

- Book Scarlett isn't present when Gerald is killed. In the movie she sees it happen, in the book it happens when she's in Atlanta and her sister Suellen was responsible for his death via a financial con

- Scarlett had two other children, one from each marriage. I understand why the writers of the movie cut them out as the first two don't propel the plot along except for Wade being the reason Scarlett was invited to Atlanta.

- the movie glosses over how Scarlett made her fortune which, I think, is crucial to her character, specifically the convict labour part. The movie keeps Scarlett as child-like and flighty whereas the book gives more grounded context as to why she makes these immoral decisions in the name of financial security

- following on from the previous point, it's clear in the book that Scarlett has PTSD and that is a big motivator for her character and decisions after the war. The movie mentions her nightmares once but doesn't give it enough weight for the proper context

- Movie Scarlett is more ungrateful and doesn't appreciate anyone contribution to her success at any point. Book Scarlett is devastated at Melanie's death (something that is slightly changed in the movie as well) and realises how much people have done for her (that she previously regarded as her own contributions) that helped her get to where she was at the end of the book. Book Scarlett is also ungrateful but it's less cartoon-y than the movie portrays her to be

- in addition, book Scarlett is regretful of the decisions she had to make (before the convict labour which in my eyes in unforgivable) in order to survive but acknowledges she would have made the same decisions if she was in the same position again. She acknowledges the people she hurt (Honey, Suellen, Frank, her children) and wishes someone else had taken her place and/or that those decisions weren't so critical to her and her family's survival. Movie Scarlett only has moments of regret when she sees some of the consequences of her actions, usually affecting her negatively

- Rhett's character in the book is far more fleshed out, specifically the dedication to his daughter (which makes the death scene all the more harrowing) and changing his reputation to benefit her. The child's death in the movie was sad but the narrator's acting in the book made me sob the whole way through Mammy's speech. His jealousy of Ashley and his secret love for Scarlett (and his cruel behaviour towards her as a defense mechanism) is far more apparent in the book

- Scarlett's presence at Tara is very different in the book vs the movie. Book Scarlett leaves Tara to be run by her sisters and Will (a character not in the movie) after she leaves for Atlanta to ask Rhett for money. Book Scarlett lives in Atlanta with her dead husband's aunt, a character that isn't as prominent in the movie (and I understand why they cut her out), from this point on until the end of the book. Movie Scarlett has her living in Tara much longer and doesn't really mention that Frank's store and Scarlett's purchase of the lumber mill in Atlanta (via Rhett's backing) is how she clawed her way back from poverty

- the martial rape between Scarlett and Rhett is very different in the book. In the movie it is treated like rape with Scarlett struggling and her reaction the next morning. In the book Scarlett enjoyed "giving over control" and regarded it as the most passionate love making sessions she ever had. Book Scarlett yearned for more nights like that one and was only resentful of it when she learned she was pregnant

- following the previous point, the aftermath of her miscarriage is more serious in the book and paves the way for honest emotional but platonic connection between Melanie's and Rhett's characters (which comes in handy after the death of his child). In the book Scarlett is bedridden and delirious, the doctor isn't sure she'll survive, and Rhett is tortured and distraught at the thought that he didn't prevent her accident and thinks he has caused her death. The movie skips over most of that and we only see Scarlett in recovery.

- one of the biggest differences from book to movie is how the Confederacy is glorified in the book. The movie takes a lighter touch which was for the best regarding certain scenes and a disservice in others. The book hammers away at why they think POC should be slaves ("they are like children and cannot look after themselves") and why the Confederacy, and therefore white power (including the creation, operation, and dissolution of the KKK), is a glorious and a just cause.

There are other small differences (the Ashley scandal, Carreen's arc, some sequence of events are switched, etc) but they're slightly less consequential and this review is long enough as it is.

I watched the movie first and I think it was good fortune that I did. It gave me a foundation to explore more of via the book. If you do read the book, either as audiobook or physical/digital, be warned of the frequent use of the N slur and the racist depictions of POC. I know, I know, given the setting of the 1860s it was what actually happened but I still think it needs to be said.

I would recommend the audiobook (narrated by Linda Stephens) over the physical/digital copy just so you don't have to read the racist way the author depicted the POC dialogue. Trying to decode that and the abhorrent implications of it on paper or screen is much better served via audiobook in my opinion. Plus Linda Stephens is a fantastic narrator (more of an actor imo) that gives a unique voice to every character and SINGS (literally, not metaphorically) which surprised and delighted me and also gives such an emotional performance. She made me sob at the back end of the book and only one other narrator has touched my emotions that way before (Tim Gerard Reynolds in the Red Rising series).

I do recommend the audiobook heartily with those caveats I mentioned. I think I'll rewatch the movie to see if any of that hidden context is more apparent now that I know about it.