sam ☆

divine rivals is one of my favorite books. i can't even look at you right now, rebecca.

all you need to know is that i hated this.
🐀 “but hate is such a strong word”
👩🏾 “yes”

voice2text (random notes from my reading experience, aka: a descent into madness)
- literally had to look up if the bartholemew was a real hotel
- i'd die of happiness for a YA or NA version of eloise
- looking at pictures of the dakota in nyc to picture this place
- omg girl damn we get it you're broke and alone
- it's almost exhausting being in her mind she's “not like other girls” but in the worst way
- “i think every family has one bring tragedy” “he's wrong. my family has two” oh brotherrrrr it's the victim olympics at the bartholemew
- manic pixie
- should i be reading this at night
- this book is 400 pages holy shit
- on what planet do you just flip through a strangers photo album
- “my number” i say with a coy smile “is 2a” PLEASE SHUT UP OMG PLS PLS PLS
- the writing feels so inconsistent, sometimes it's amazing sometimes it's so novice
- why would the cops chastise you for reporting your sister so late if you said they thought she was a runaway
- i'm sorry ??? all you feel is curiosity when there's a fire blazing ???
- reading this immediately after the work of art that is radiance was a poor idea
- does chloe know she can TEXT news articles
- i picture greta sitting there with a glazed look to her eye at this multi page sob story
- i love a sad girl sm i just feel like the way the author presents her story is sooo grating
- i have a feeling this is going to be one long preach fest - class, wealth, homelessness etc
- the way she just rapid fire asks questions like nobodyyyyy speaks like this
- ah yes the man struggling to put his daughter in school wants a rose petal for a tip
- i just realized i don't think we ever got a description of the narrator
- breaking into apartments as foreplay is a vibe i suppose
- i can't buy she's desperate for money when she breaks every rule with zero forethought
- at this point everything jules does is annoying to me now idk
- okayyyy it might finally be getting good (63% in mind you)
- i don't trust dylan because he's the only male apartment sitter
- WELL DUH YOU NEED TO KEEP THAT INFORMATION TO YOURSELF JULES TF
- pls don't be this stupid jules if you don't call her i will literally scream into my pillow
- she really said my suspicion is beginning to show then literally asks the most suspicious question imaginable
- who says glock instead of gun besides rappers in a lil sing songs jules (oct 14: and kamala)
- how do you know what a jellyfish sting feels like jules and even if you do why would you assume that's a good way to measure pain for us to fucking understand
- determined to finish this tonight bc i don't think i'll want to pick this up tmrw ('tis past midnight)
- omg julesssss for gods sake WHY WOUKD YOU GRAB HER AFTER SHE PROMISED NOT TO TELL LESLIE AND IS CLEARLY ALSO SCARED
- i love a library moment but why wouldn't you google it like you've done with quite literally everything else jules
- isn't rich people worship the devil a little too on the nose
- yaaaaa so dylan's def sus if the evil rich devil worshipers only sacrifice women
- dun dun dunnnnn
- you count exactly how many seconds it takes someone to open a door jules
- did we just casually forget we read that they perform sacrifices on young women
- omg you dumb bitch if you think they're going to kill dylan and know they steal phones why would you admit where ingrid is omg
- why wouldn't you grab the gun first jules
- WHY WOULD YOU DROP THE STUN GUN OMGGGGGGG FUCKING HELL
- YOU DROP THE ONE WEAPON YOU HAVE
- this is actually some people's favorite book that's wild
- soooo are they preforming satanic rituals or just need organs like
- that's actually so humiliating that you slept with him jules
- honestly nick ate her right up bc why would she try to guilt trip him when he doesn't even respect anyone who doesn't have wealth
- 94% in prob going to skim at this point <33
- so you're too morally superior to either kill him or set his place on fire jules or
- okay nvm thank god she's made one good choice
- thank god ingrid is alive because she's the only one i care about here
- BITCH IF YOU DONT ACCEPT THE GOFUNDME
- this ending with “are you okay” “no but i will be” actually almost sent me into a rage
- done at 1:13am and possibly my first one star book

✰ “You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one forever.”

i really adored this book. i couldn't put it down, and it helped me out of my reading slump by reading the it girl spooky book i've been yearning for. i was pleasantly surprised by how easy the writing was to understand and that gave me a lot of confidence to try reading more classics... though the casual racism and body shaming were jarring. my only complaint is that the ending felt a bit unfinished, and i wish there had been more closure.

highly recommend the version edited by carmen maria machado! my personal favorite annotation: ‘if this isn't an orgasm, nothing is'

lover girl is our unnamed narrator as well as the title to this fast, messy, emotionally jagged character study that i tore through in a couple of hours. partly because the writing is simple enough to keep you moving and partly because i was desperately waiting for something to happen. anything.

characters:
the unnamed narrator is distinct and painfully self destructive. there's an underlying note of female rage that comes out through bad decisions, toxic relationships, flippant sex and a kind of restless craving for validation. she reminded me of a flatter and far less interesting version of the protagonist from boy parts by eliza clark.

i enjoyed the super short chapters from the men's povs (i guess?) but they also felt so underwhelming. i liked the inclusion of them and thought it smart to keep those chapters extremely short but i wish there was a bit more depth.

atmosphere
the synopsis says AND I QUOTE “the decadent parties of upper class america, and, eventually, to paris” so, like, where was that? the atmosphere felt non existent. i think the synopsis gave a false sense of hope that there would be descriptions of decadence, wealth and opulence. i want snobby upper class friends and descriptions of moments the protagonist couldn't relate to. when, in fact, this story could've taken place literally anywhere and it really would not have mattered. there's no sense of wealth, setting, or world around her, which made the whole thing feel hollow.

writing
intentionally vapid and annoying stream of consciousness? or bad writing? any possible bad writing was able to be disguised by the way the narrative choice was chosen as internal monologue. there were some pretty rough sentences, dialogue and phrasing (especially in the beginning) that had me really worried for the quality of the work but the writing. even though a lot of the sentences simply don't land, especially early on, the voice stabilizes later.

plot/intrigue
the biggest issue is purpose. as a portrait of a spiraling twenty something, it works; as a novel that wants to say something, it stays frustratingly blank. however, i'm not even sure if “spiraling” is quite true because she isn't spiraling. she's actually quite stagnant for the entire book.

does everything need a point? does every piece of literature need to make an impact or have a distinct point of view or theme? i guess not. however, this was an exhausting ride to go on for there to be no real plot, growth, theme or resolution. although, the narrator became more sympathetic to me as we went forward this still felt empty. i kept waiting for a thematic throughline or even a somewhat satisfying ending, but the final moments gave very

“where are you going 🚕 “

“home i'm going home”

(and then the metaphorical taxi drives off and you just hope she goes to therapy or something)

like okay so now what??? wtf.

enjoyment
and yet! i didn't dislike the reading experience. i just finished feeling neutral. not irritated, not moved, just completely middling. a story about a recent liberal arts graduate with men centric views and low self esteem is not new and this didn't give any interesting or dynamic shifts to that ever so repeated narrative.

so.

i don't know if i enjoyed this. i legitimately don't. therefore, it's a 3 star and i will probably not think of this book or it's characters again.

☆ thank you CLASH books & netgalley for my gifted advanced book copy. all my reviews are my own opinion.

cw/tw: addiction, alcoholism, body shaming, cheating, diet culture, drug use, toxic friendship/relationship, vomit, fatphobia

a stunning, eerie start to a new graphic novel series. the art is gorgeous. melancholic but ethereal in a way. the writing is simple but lovely with flashes of dry humor that totally landed for me. from what i know, this graphic novel collection will be based off of the seven deadly sins which is deeply intriguing to me. that and the visual style are enough to keep me hooked for volume two.

☆ thank you first second books | 23rd st & netgalley for my gifted advanced book copy. all my reviews are my own opinion.