Jenn

Very very slow until the last 25%. The ending was good and I’m excited to jump into the next book which makes me look back on the-almost-dnfed-it 75% with appreciation. Kind of like when you white knuckle a workout and then feel glad you did it only once it’s over.

There was some great character development in Celeana, but every other character seemed flattened to make room. Characters I loved feel like strangers now. The pacing was off too, some really short bursts of excitement and plot movement, followed by several long chapters of something else entirely and not interesting.

It sounds like I hated this book. I didn’t, it just didn’t grab me like the others. Hope the next one picks it up.

Ugh. I can't read books about old people, it just rips up my heart. I knew better.

What a beautiful book. The writing is gorgeous and snappy, the relationships are complicated, doomed, and hopeful. 5 full stars. I need a little time, but I will be checking out more from Sarah Crossan.

Good for a cry in the tub.

I listened to the audiobook and always enjoy when the author reads it. This was no exception.

This was a solid, entertaining read and a good pick if you like reading about nature/travel/quests. I most enjoyed the parts with his hiking buddy Katz and it's inspired me to take more walks, look more, and consider attempting some physical feat.

I read this book in 3 sittings over a day and a half if that gives you any idea on pacing and the one-more-chapter-what-happens-next element.

Assassins, trials, duels, some mystical otherworldlyness, female friendship, an optional side quest of a love triangle... it just hit the spot.

I will say, as much as I liked Celeana, she was a little too young, too overly talented at very random things, and weirdly oblivious to people sneaking up on her- for an assassin!- and it took me out of the story sometimes.

Still super fun and definitely a reading rut buster.

This took me quite awhile to read, mostly because I was savoring it... which creeps me out to say. I knew from the first paragraph I was going to love the book. The way Vlad writes is such a treat. As I read it I actually let my tongue travel down the roof of my mouth and felt the tap on my teeth on three. Lolita. An object in my mouth now.

Then, to my horror, I realized what he was going to write about. Who Lolita was. Who Humert Humbert was. Now I want to know who I am. The fact that at some points I was rooting for a pedophile deeply disturbs me. I even had nightmares about it. It's been days and it's still sitting with me. I think the story may haunt me forever.

Wow. What a story!

At a shallow glance, it's lesbian erotica, and the 4 and 5 star reviews convinced me to read on despite not being the authors target audience. I'm so glad I did. Everything you think it is, it is, but also not.

Nancy, the main character, is so lovable but often unlikeable. It's a coming of age/love story that you can relate to but also not relate to at all. It's a bit slow in the beginning, but by the end I was up all night just to see what happens next. It's raunchy, but also sweet. Above all, it's beautifully written.

Loved it.

Loved this book. The full story is scattered across many characters (that you switch between rapidly which keeps you up all night reading) and you'll have a roller coaster of feels for many of them, not just the central three. I found the story unbelievable at first, but the characters feel so real that it consumed me quickly. The author mixed bits of real like quotes and articles amongst fictional ones, which opens you up and makes you start to notice parallels in life and then you start to see what's sickeningly possible.

I haven't read a story quite like this, but it kind of reminds me of Ready Player One and Girl With All the Gifts for different reasons. If you liked those (which I did) you might like this one.

I like the 4 agreements and I enjoyed thinking about them over the last few days and probably will for a good long time. There's a lot of freeing wisdom in them.

But.

The front bookflap was enough for me. It was the TLDR and I wish I stuck to that. So succinct and somehow more practical and relatable. While I greatly enjoyed the lessons and got a lot of value out of it, I hated reading the book. All the talk about smoke and mirrors and stars and poison and curses and dreams made me feel like I showed up at the wrong party. Super uncomfortable, not relatable, and didn't feel true. I'm reminded why I never read this when gifted to me 7 years ago. This says more about me than the book, I know (see? I read it!)

But the flap? That's good stuff.

2.5 stars = ok/good, did not finish but might reread.

I gave this book 2.5 stars because while some of it really resonates, a lot of it is just too out there for me right now. I might enjoy it and maybe even finish it later on. I'm not spiritual, but spiritually curious. This book definitely helped me tap in a bit more. I would also agree with others that the Q & A writing style for this book is borderline obnoxious.

I loved this book. I should know by now what to expect from a John Green book, but I was surprised at how smart and deep and thought provoking it was. He's a master at bringing a motif or symbol all the way through the book, and as a reader it's so fun and rewarding to follow them.

I wish I read this when I was younger, it would have made me rethink some of my relationships and expectations of others and myself. So good. Will reread. Now I'll have to check out some Whitman and Woody Guthrie.

This is a translated book, and the prose was not what I was expecting. It was very simple and tell not show, which annoyed me at first but I got over. The narrator's internal monologue and reactions are strange and don't seem to meet the moment, but it might be a cultural difference.

This is a cozy little book that is about estranged family relationships, grief, and how we deal with it. It's broken into two parts, the first is more about books and the bookstore, the second focuses more on the relationships.

Pairs well with tea.

4.5. Nearly perfect, it lagged enough in the middle that I put it down for a week, but it fully redeemed itself in the end. This is my first Blake Crouch book and I'll be reading the others. It's a surprising mix of heavy science (no idea how real or accurate it is but it was believable and not eyeroll-y), thriller, and also super emotional with some beautiful writing. It definitely made me think and feel. So good!

A beautiful story. I loved every page of it and I think I'll miss the characters and the place where they all live. The author built such a rich and magical environment and characters you actually care about. It also spans a wide range of topics: family, death, grief, mental illness, wealth and poverty, but most of all love. I'm not really sure how the author fit it all in!

I read this book because BookTok said it was “vibes” and no plot and I wanted to know what that meant. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

To me, it's a character study and I loved it. Stuff happens and there is a plot, but it's a close up, intimate study of two people and how their relationship impacts their circle of friends and family.

A lot of reviews complained that it was a bunch of unlikeable people, but I found them unlikeable in ways that we all are and by the end I actually loved them all. Everyone grew or changed and that feels very human to me. Except Quentin, he really was the worst.

The prose was occasionally a little cringey and extra, and I thought the self harm parts were in poor taste and ick, but somehow I couldn't help loving it anyway.