Erin
3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a bittersweet love story about two people who kept missing their chance to be together throughout their life and proves that it is never too late for love.
The whole story is told in reverse, and reveals the twists and turns that fate had in store for our star-crossed lovers. The artwork is stunning and the storytelling as a whole took my breath away.
The one gripe I had was that Spoilerthe book viewed Ana and Zeno's romance through rose-colored glasses. It makes it seem like it was okay for Ana to be having an emotional affair with Zeno for decades while being married to Giuseppe. Giuseppe was a sweet standup guy who was always there for Ana because he loved her. But Ana only stayed with him because of her political image. And because he was available at the time.
Even worse, is the fact that Ana would stay late at the office “working hard”. She did work her butt off, but that is where she would receive Zenos calls and letters. While Ana was conducting her emotional affair, Giuseppe was at home raising their little girl practically all by himself. Her husband and daughter deserved better. They deserved someone who was physically there and emotionally available.
The romance between Zeno and Ana was sweet, but it was really scummy of Ana to treat her family so poorly.
A LitRPG book with a female protagonist but very clearly written by a man for a male audience.
The female protagonist has tons of unnecessary nudity. Lots of unnecessary mentions of rape and sexual assault attempts that do not further the plot. The female protagonist lusts after woman like a man. Lots of graphic suicides as the protagonist restarts their groundhog day journey.
All in only 8% of the book. Not a good start.
Too jumbled. Felt like abstract art in poetry (not necessarily a bad thing). The vibe the abstractness was giving off was not quite for me.
Wasn't really in the mood for this book. It seemed slower paced, historical, and a bit more depressing than I was looking for at the moment.
Might pick it up in the future.
DNFd at 19%.
This was a historical fiction slice of life book that took place in Russia, and while I liked aspects of the story, it seemed to really drag. It felt like it was missing the “so-what” aspect that really drives a story.
I might pick this book back up in the future, but I'm not currently in a wait-and-see-if-it-gets-better mood.
This book is an enemies to lovers book, but the MMC was too unlikable to for me to eventually root for the protagonists getting together.
The mixed POV was confusing - not separated by chapters.
But even worse was that one of the love interests was pretty unlikable - felt like a manic pixie dream girl where she is “quirky” and her flaws aren't really flaws.
