NJ
It's such a shame because I really liked the first book of hers that I read but I'm beginning to think it was a fluke. This book deals with a heroine who was abused by two people in her life, and then instead of the book investing some time in her finding herself, she finds another person to structure her life around. In addition, while the book directly addresses that the hero, whose dealing with grief needs to see a professional, no such recommendations who in my opinion needed it more than the hero. The book attempts to handle the topic of abuse but unfortunately I believe it horribly fumbles the bag when it comes to the execution of that ideas
I generally liked Clarrie and Simon and was very invested in their relationship.
On one hand, I felt that the portrayal of Clarrie's anxiety was very realistic. I understood her fear and the constant belief that she was going to ruin everything she touched. However, the book doesn't actually deal well with her anxiety. All the main characters know that Clarrie is not well and that she suffers from anxiety, however; she never seeks professional help, nor do we ever see her try and get better by any other means. At one point Sonny mentions CBT but it doesn't go any further. Instead, there is a general attitude of Clarrie just needs to get over herself. By the end of the book, she is able to admit she loves Simon, but it feels a bit hollow because none of her big issues have really been addressed or worked on. I guess love healed her
In the first quarter, I was sure that I was going to rate it 4 stars or above; halfway through, the book lagged and I was frustrated with Circe, I was sure then that I would only rate it 3 stars, 3.5 at best. By the end, I was back to 4.
This sort of wishy-washy rating is due primarily to Circe's inaction. For most of the book, she seems to chafe at her exile but does not even seem to be plotting to leave. Especially after Hermes points out that others can come to her island, I felt like more would be done to show how Circe bends the world to her will using that fact, instead, yet another thing is foisted upon her which she hates (the nymphs). As another review mentioned, I felt that as a feminist retelling, her relationship with the nymphs was squandered. In many ways, the structure of the book reminded me of the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, in that her life story seemed to be framed by the men she had had relationships with. However, unlike that book, there was no female-female relationship anchoring the story and I felt like that was something that was really lacking in this book. In addition, when Pasiphae mentions that Circe will never leave Aiaiaia and Circe comes home to spends time ruminating on that, I was sure I would see some fight in her. Yet she continues to languish on the island. Also, their connection is another female-female relationship which was squandered. Of course, that was salvaged in the end, by her relationship with Penelope, which explains the rating bump. It was also good to see Circe finally stand up for herself, even if it only happened after a 1000+ years.
4.5 stars
Was totally ready to give it 5 stars until this moment,
“There's no place like Africa to set your head straight,” Vansh had declared
This moment including the whole discussion surrounding her trip to Malawi played uncomfortably into Western stereotypes about ‘going to Africa to find yourself' and it just irritated me. Had to bump it down 0.5 stars, which is a shame because I genuinely loved this book.
[10/2020]
This has turned out to be one of my comfort reads of 2020. Anytime I'm not sure what to read, this is the book I reach for.
There's so much to love about this. Our emotionally distant heroine Evangeline is a refreshing subversion of the many reticent romance heroes that plague romance books. It seems that while romance readers love a good emotionally unavailable hero, the same grace is often not extended to heroines and I will forever love Sherry Thomas for giving us a complex, commitment-phobic heroine.
We are mostly in the dark about Bennet's motives since this book is told solely through Eva's POV. Rereading this book with the knowledge of his feelings for her adds so many layers to Bennet's smallest comments and actions. I think it is a book that improves greatly upon reread. I'm going to stop myself from rereading it again this year, just so it doesn't lose any of its magic.
[05/2020]
Reread this 3 weeks later, bumping it to 5 stars
[04/2020]
This was really good. Loved the main characters. Loved that they were both flawed people trying to do the best they could. Also, I feel cheated that there's no MoMA exhibit in reality. Reality sucks.
Not rating this book because a lot of my feelings probably have more to do with me than the book itself. However, I will say that I think the writing could have been better, it seemed almost clinical at times and it didn't flow as well as I would have wanted. Additionally Rebel Hard, is on some ways very similar to this book and over all I preferred that one (although when I read it I was in a better mood). It is worth noting that this book deals which heavier topics than that one does so the books are not entirely identical.
It's early days yet but I'm clearly in the minority; I did not enjoy this book. This is probably because I'm going through a weird reading slump at the moment but on the other hand I haven't enjoyed the past few Brooklyn Bruisers novels so it could simply be that this book is not my cup of tea. Sarina Bowen is a gifted writer so her books are an easy read but I had no warm, fuzzy feelings after reading this book.
Some scenes made me uncomfortable and I largely skimmed most of the book but I vaguely liked most of the parts I read. I think I must be in a weird sort of reading slump where I don't hate the books I'm reading, but I just can't get invested in any book. I'm also too tense to read any of my favourites, because I think in the sort of mood that I'm in I'll just end up finding fault with them and I want something to remain sacred.