kae

What an amazing book! Honestly, the series has been such a joy to read. The author did such an amazing job looping every storyline together with twists and no plot holes at all. Many of the characters experienced extreme character development throughout the trilogy, but also from book to book. I never would've guessed the ending. And many of my least favorite characters ended up being my favorite characters at the end.

I wish there were more books for me to move onto that were readily available, but I am definitely looking forward to reading all of the works that Alka Joshi she has in mind. She's definitely one of my favorite authors and I recommend her books to anyone!

Her ability to describe a scene is unmatched and her word choice really made the story come off the page like I was right there next to the characters watching in real time rather than reading. I am going to miss these characters but would love more stories in spin-off from the children's point of view and as they make their way in the world. 10/10

This book was such a treat, especially after coming off the last one. I so much appreciated the growth and character development as relationships between characters became even more intertwined. I honestly didn't even mind the Yennifer parts. I also enjoyed the fact that Dandelion is kind of getting his own side quests (as much as other characters). This book is first and foremost part of the ‘Witcher' series and ya know ya girl LOVES her some Gerault (hi Henry Cavill) BUT I AM ENJOYING SOME OTHER CHARACTER SHENNANIGANS! Short review but since this is one of a series y'all already know how I felt overall about it. 4/5 ⭐️ book in a 4.5/5 ⭐️ series (yes it ranked up .5 star bc of this book!)

3.5 stars

The reason for this was because for 2/3 of the book, it was boring as hell. And the writing on the wall for Carrie. As someone who is a fan of an unreliable narrator, I have no problem disliking characters. However, this girl was annoying as hell. Super stubborn, persistent to a fault–it makes sense. The thing that gets me was that there was no reprieve for the reader from this constant situations of Carrie “shooting herself in the foot”, because there are no other POVs or narrative shifts, like Reid's other books. There are a few newspaper articles and sport casters, but nothing like Malibu Rising or Evelyn Hugo.

Another thing I continue to be disappointed about is that Reid is a wonderful world builder. As a historical fiction/ contemporary writer, I feel like I have never seen this level happening before for a non-fantasy/ Sci-fi genre, between several ‘stand alone' novels. Are we forgetting Carrie Soto's large cameo in Malibu Rising? I was hoping to be able to hear her point of view as the reader for that in this novel. And i truly cannot wrap my head around why this isn't happening for multiple of Reid's books. Its such a missed opportunity and truly unfortunate. I really hope we get unreleased chapters at some point because this point ALONE is making me really unenthusastic about her most recent and future work. (Also, can we talk about how Daisy Jones makes a cameo as well?)

This book was riding 2 stars hard core, but ended up being 3.5 because of the last 100 pages. As someone who recently lost her father, the relationship that Carrie and Javier have is fantastic and pulled at my heart. There were several instances at the end with evens that made me relive a lot, but I appreciate the talent of Reid to be able to put such a loss into words. I also loved Beau and Nikki's characters. I think they were dynamic and expressive people, I only wish they were introduced earlier in the narrative to break up the monotony of Carrie's dialogue.

TW TW TW TW TW:

I feel as thought this book should have came with an extreme trigger warning at the beginning of the book. (Maybe it did but I took it with a grain of salt and it did not measure up to the actual amount of abuse in here)

TW: EATING DISORDERS, verbal abuse, gaslighting, Stockholm Syndrome, absentee-father, heavy drug and alcohol use

I loved this book. I really appreciate Jennette's candor and no-nonsense retelling of her story. You can tell by her writing tone and overall narration of the book how exhausting and struggling her life has been. It was really refreshing to hear from someone who is so ready to move on with their life that they retell all the nitty gritty details of the abuse they faced.

I would highly recommend not reading this if you have every struggled with or have not solidly healed from that trauma as this couple cause a spiral back into old behavior.

One of my absolute favorites. This novel reminded me a lot of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. So much so that when recreating the town and setting in my head for this, it shard the same locational setting is developed for Capote's book. I've read a lot of this genre, and this was the one of the first to have truly grabbed me and not let go. I loved the unreliable narrator, whom was very incapable, but in a way I hated her for it. She was actually incapable and capable at the same time (no spoilers). Flynn is known for Gone Girl, but don't sleep on this (and Sharp Objects) for that matter. I really enjoyed the craft here, of composing binding literature that seizes the reader in unsteady suspense as they try to piece together the pieces of a life that deserves justice.

Wow. Just Wow. I learned so much from this book about myself, life and people in general that I almost feel too humbled to have an opinion. I will say this: I enjoy Jessamyn so much. I am a follower of her Instagram page, a subscriber to the Underbelly and have read both of her books. Her take on life and fluidity of truth and knowledge of self in this world inspires me and makes me feel whole. I hope that she comes out with more content, I cannot wait to consume and reconsume it all 10/10 would recommend reading this book on your yoga (and self-acceptance) journey.

4.5 stars. Slow burn, witty banter, ‘i-dont-like-anyone-but-her trope (we stan).

I really liked this book because I saw a lot of my witty quirkiness in Olive, especially being involved with someone that she grows to love. However, there were so many times that I was screaming ‘GIRL SAY IT SAYYYY IT' to her because she stutters sooooo much. Sometimes I wasn't sure if she really knew how to speak, and that was infuriating juxtaposed with her very good tennis-match worthy banter back and forth in previous chapters.

A lot of this was predictable. Did it make the plot bad? Absolutely not. There was a solice and comfort reading this book because I knew how it was going to end, but the route to get there was not exactly the same as other things I have read. I would definitely recommend for a quick, feel-good read that will make you smile and laugh out loud.

This was probably one of the best books I have read in terms of self-help. The self-help I need it totally addressing my limiting beliefs when it comes to all sorts of things. In this case it was/is money. After each chapter, Amanda gives you some end of chapter homework to journal and answer the questions correlating to the content that was spoken about & introduced in the chapter. I honestly hate journaling but it was through this process that I was able to really confront my shite and dig in. I still have a hard time with a lot of this because I am in the process of getting rid of my “it has to be hard to be successful” mindset, but this really helped. Peep my notes that transferred over from kindle (God, I love technology) if you want a sense of what this book is about beyond reading the synopsis. Read as May book for bookclub, “The Law of Attraction Changed My Life” via Patreon which includes chapter analysis via podcasts. highly recommend all of the above for catapulting personal self growth.

-1 star because even though Taylor has done such an amazing job of creating this universe of movie stars and rockstars and tennis pros, she FAILS to reference them in each other story lines!!!

You mean to tell me that although Mick Riva was referenced in not one but TWO of her other novels, those people are not even referenced in Mick's life?? And to be honest, this story is written in 2 separate timelines, 1 from Mick Riva and 1 from the alternating view of June (Riva's children's mom) and his kids (Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit). Its a damn shame because the Mick chapters are relatively short and it would not be too much to reference his interaction with both Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones with the Six. That is the true shame.

This book was good, but all in all you could really tell that it was a world-building book. It set up the cast of characters for Taylor to expand upon in future novels. At the time I read this, I knew that ‘Carrie Soto is Back' was coming out, so I read the parts that mentioned her with more intent because I knew she would be expanded upon from her own point of view very soon.

As for other instances, there was a part at the party where she was naming random actors, producers, financial gurus, etc. etc. The few sentences of pure name drops were clearly for reference later in future novels.

This book really reminded me more of a stepping-stone novel as opposed to a stand-alone. It was good, don't get me wrong, because I really enjoy Taylor's writing and the way she humanizes her characters. Her play on drama is more down-to-earth comparted to other contemporary/historical fiction writers, which is a feat when talking about actors and rockstars, etc. with big egos. BUT, this book did not measure up to Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones, which I have read several several times over (and I don't normally do that).

I gobble this whole book up in one weekend. It was probably one of the most wholesome, witty, lighthearted, best romantic comedy novels I've read in a long time. Last year I read Beach Read by this author and absolutely loved it it was a perfect summer book to keep me going on vacation. I wanted something equally as lighthearted this weekend stuck inside for a rainy Fourth of July. I started this book on Saturday morning and I am glad to say that I finished it Monday morning. This book took me so many different places and made me Feel so many different emotions. Alex and poppy have been friends for over a decade. I love that the author chose to recount previous stories of vacations they had took leading up to the one that they were actually taking for the main storyline. I feel like I was able to get a full grasp of the characters because we were able to see them in so many different regions for travel but also social situations and financial situation. We learn a lot about the characters from their upbringing in their hometown and family life from Wayback win and it really added to how the reader was able to create a connection to the main characters. All in all this is probably one of the best books I read this year and I'm really looking forward to reading more of what Emily Henry is coming out with in the future. I've been really impressed with her work as of late and I am really looking forward to more spicy beach and vacation rates that are the epitome of summer in a novel. Highly recommend!

3.75 stars/5

Okay this was a good book! But I just wanted more. Especially more insight into the goddesses of this war. Like some straight chapters of Athena, etc. Maybe an unpopular opinion. But this lower rated review doesn't have me looking at the high reviews in disgust (like a lot of other books - Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, I'm looking at you). I honor those and can see how people would feel that way about this book. This is just my opinion.

Okay ima shoot you all straight I wish she put the Afterword as a Foreword because I was super unaware that this was her attempt as an epic and I think I would have appreciated it more knowing that ahead of time.

One thing I think was unique to this book (besides showing a woman's perspective on war and strife), is the underlining of grief that scored the whole thing. Let me explain: when there is a work that discusses or dives into war, grief is always an inevitable part of that. However, those works primarily focus on the violence. This movies being rated ‘R' with a disclaimer of ‘gore and violence', but there is never a warning about grief. To me, the grief is almost more impactful because you cannot explicitly see it. You can see someone getting torn to shreds, blood oozing on the battlefield but the only grief one can see is through a characters experience. Because of this, it is emotional. When we see grief, we are seeing an individual going through an experience and how that unique individual processes this. This is what Natalie Haynes does so incredibly well in this work. She works through countless women with many separate personalities, but writes as those personalities seeing through a veil of grief. This is constant through the whole novel.

I would say if you're looking for some high points as a respite from the feelings of loss and grief within this book, you are looking in the wrong place. It took me so long to get through it because I did not realize the emotional impact of subconsciously dealing with all that was like a buffering symbol on my head.

In other words: would highly recommend the works of Madeline Miller if this is your thing!

This book was really interesting because it views the very familiar story of Twilight from Edward's perspective.

A couple things I loved about this format:

1. You get to actually hear what he is thinking about Bella (more on this later). This (at first) was great. Because Edward is such a stoic character whose face does not give away much, it was hard to discern what exactly he was thinking about any particular subject at any time. HOWEVER, BY THE END OF THE BOOK I WAS SO TIRED OF HEARING HIM TALK SHT ABOUT BELLA'S WANT TO BE A VAMPIRE. Like he was the “bad guy” and that she didn't know what she was doing or how he is always putting her in danger. For those who have read the normal books from Bella's perspective, you know that Edward straight up just leaves Bella in ‘New Moon' because he is “saving” her from himself. This possibility that he was going to do this actually started early on in the novel and he grappled with it up until the end. Obviously we all know what happens, but in New Moon from Bella's perspective, this is quite a shock (I cried hard for a whole day when I read this in my teens... heartbreak...) BUT you know where New Moon is going from Edward's perspective in this novel. The foresight is real. SO, I am very excited for how Stephanie Meyers alternate to New Moon is going to be. I mean she has to keep going now that she opened this can of worms. And actually that book has the opportunity to go even deeper in an explanation into the vampire world, Edward's life and also give intro to the other covens that just show up in Breaking Dawn (because I believe Edward goes and visits a lot of other covens), because New Moon is so primarily focused on building up Bella and Jacob's relationship.2. You get more clarity on hoe everything actually goes down because you are hearing Edward's thoughts and also the thoughts of others because he can read minds. This gives so much more depth to the story, especially because for a large portion of the end drama you are hearing Edward read Alice's thoughts of the future. This is basically like having two narrators. And the fact that Alice and her beginnings are more explained is phenomenal because I love her.3. For whatever reason I like Bella a lot better in this book than I remember?? Idk she just sounded smarter that what I remember but this could be fake news because I read Twilight a LONG time ago.It took me a long time to finish this book solely because I was tired of hearing martyr Edward's pity rants about ‘loving Bella' but having to leave her because he is a monster, etc. etc. (you can obvi tell I was always Team Jacob but alas...) Also something to note is that there is a lot more explanation in this book as a preface to the things Bella learns in New Moon about the treaty, because Edward was actually there for it. Also, you can start to see the relationship between Jacob and Edward form as well that was only ever highlighted in Eclipse. Because Edward can read Jake's mind he can see that he is pure and wholesome and his intentions for Bella are only that of love (cue the AWKKKKK love triangle early.)Anyways, loved this book. 3.75/5 stars. The only reason I didn't round to 4 in the review above is because I'm still mad about how much time was wasted and how much harder it was to get through bc of Edwards inner monologues about morality. *sigh how many times can you say the same thing ,my dude? (But also love/hate to Steph for actually coming up with 75 different ways to say the same thing and still keep it the tiniest bit fresh to capture enough intrigue to drag yourself as the reader through yet another pit of despair.

Side note: I would have much preferred if she formatted this book to be like 1500 pages and literally merged Twilight and Midnight Sun so you could start reading a chapter from Bella's perspective then jump to Edward's or do some co-mingling in the chapters. I have seen this done in other romance novels and really enjoyed it. If she could pull this off succinctly it would make the monologues worth it.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!!

This book was pretty good, but it had some major flaws. It had a fast start and fast end but the middle really dragged for me. No joke– from about page 30 to 230 it was like replaying the same 3 paragraphs over and over. Its like, how many times can you rephrase the same event over the course of 200 pages? Obviously this tactic was made to have a ‘slow-burn' and build unease within the reader for the events taking place at High Place (main family home of Naomei's cousin's husband). Basically Naomei gets sucked into some crazy shit attached to the house. But the thing is that there was a lot that happened and a lot that didn't happen. For example the first 30 and last 70 pages really a TON happened that was just not parced through correctly enough to do the plot justice. The details were all there, but they just weren't explored enough. We don't know enough before and after the events that happened at High Place take place. The neglect of this really dulls the climax of the book. I attribute this to the fact that the writer is young, but not inexperienced. So this can be up for debate. Though she has written a lot, Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic contained tones of YA, despite it not being a YA book. That is actually a turn of for me, because I feel as though YA books are underdeveloped, hold back and thus leave the reader (me) with a sense of emptiness and time wasted–especially when these storylines are MUCH too well imagined to have that happen to them! An injustice! I just heard that this book ws picked up by Kelly Ripa to be made into a Hulu limited series, and I think this will help the plot and the slow and frustrating middle stretch (200 pages) of this book. Visually and graphically, you can get more grostesque horror in and add to the eerieness of the book that I believe it lacked. 3 stars/5.

YOOOOO I've been on a roll this month with good books!!! This one was a bit different from my usual go-to's (those who have been peeping my reviews know I love murder), but this was literally a book about reality TV.

Bea, a plus-sized fashion blogger and feminist icon, gets approached as being the contestant as basically a fictional version of the Bachelorette (aka the Main Squeeze). Sounds like fun right? Well, yeah of course, but having every move criticized, publicized, and judged as a plus-sized women makes everything 10000x harder because everyone thinks they know what's best for you in terms of your health.

i FELT this book in my core. The fat shaming, comparison, diet culture, mansplaining and overall awful behavior from the male population. Yeah, it struck a chord. I was really invested in the main character because of this connection, and the fact that she and I have similar personalities. For this, I felt like this book was made for me. I could not put it down. It was exactly what I needed for a change of pace. Normally, with romances, l feel like after the time I spent reading was kind of wasted. Romances to be lack substance and are altogether really simple and are very easy to guess the ending to or what is going to happen. There is no real plot twists because every romcom movie has already covered everything. BUT this was SO different!! I was really impressed at what happened. I could somewhat guess the ending because of Bea's personality, but that was literally only happening as the ending was happening. You guys, I was obsessed with this book. I remember sitting in my car literally thinking to myself “what the hell is she gonna do?? Bea what is happening??”

All in all would highly recommend for any and all, but especially those who associate and can relate with feminism and the plus-sized community. I hope the author continues to write from this point of view, because it really is a sub portion of the Romance genre that is severely lacking. Hell, it's a subportion of ALL genres that is severely lacking!!

SOLID 4.2/5⭐️. Actually felt so many emotions about this book as the story woven through its plentiful amounts of themes and twists. I fucking cried. I never cry with books. I felt SO many things. I thank Henry for giving me a book that I truly tore through (and did read entirely on the beach). 2 days. And I actually did many other things in those 2 days besides straight beachin. The characters were so relateable and each possessed such a pure human hang up. It made them incredibly real but without being too present in the main story line. Everything felt like it was there for a good reason. I think my only thing was that I sincerely felt like the book was about 30 pages too long. There was a very brief gap in the middle that was slow to me and I just felt like I was dragging through it, but once past that hump it was smooth sailing. The relationship that January has with her dad was extremely personal to me, because even though my father is living, it rings so true. I don't want to spoil but the end display of love in the form of truth broke my heart more than any of the twist of romance throughout the novel, because I too felt all of that with my dad. And have for the past few years. If anything, this ending was a testament to everything I needed to hear right now in my life. The truth can sometimes be painful, but in the end today can be a good day if you believe it was a good day.

I liked this book. Liked not loved. There was a lot going on with this book. I read Taylor Jenkin Reid's ‘Daisy Jones & the Six' last year and absolutely loved it. I knew this book was not going to be as good (saw some lackluster reviews on here before I started it), but it had a lot of the same themes. High profile band, sex, drugs, abuse, anxiety, betrayal, pride, you know, the usual. But I am still wracking my brain for why the hell this book had to be over 400 pages when the ending literally didn't start until page 400. Yup, the total count was 419 and the end started at 400. It was really trash. It was like all of this background was given just for you to not finish the story. Like when someone tells you this really elaborate joke with all this preamble and then the punchline isn't even a punchline its just a statement so then you wonder why you wasted minutes of you life getting caught up in the details and listening to some schmuck who doesn't know what they are talking about. Yeah, that was this book.

Overall I felt that the things that were supposed to be big scandalous plot points were just not intense enough, and the things that were subtle points had too much focus on them in the scheme of things. I really think if you are going to write a book that opens up with someone's funeral, you better spend the rest of the book hitting that “Unraveling” home. Maybe I have just built up a tolerance to violence, mistreatment and abuse though my usual psychological thriller/murder mystery books, but I don't know, this kind of seemed a little lackluster. What I think should have happened was everything that did, but shortened to like 300 pages, shit should hit the fan from 300-350, then the ending could be 20 for a total of 370 pages (50 less than actual).

Nothing has brought me greater joy than diving head-first into this memoir. Do I like memoirs? No. Do I have kids? No. Am I gay? Also no. Did I love the hell out of this book? Abso-freaking-lutely. What a feeling it is to empathize with another woman about the various tipsy turvey mountain of a life this is. I think I cried a different time for over half the chapters in this book (that NEVER happens). I honestly feel liberated. Glennon Doyle has such a way of describing in this book, which I would determine is composed of many mini-chapters (mini-tangents but potent with reflection and morality). Let's just say in the span of 48 hours, I've listened to this book twice and I bought the hard copy for underlining/bookmarking/ and future cherishing. This book is bible. It creates space for the reader to reflect, process, create, sink, be free, grow and grow some more and then when you couldn't take any more grow a liiiiiiiiittle more. I appreciate this book because in Glennons reflection about her role as a mother, I remembered my own childhood. I have been Tish, Glennon, Amma, Liz, and her mom in various situations during my life in moments and all at the same time. This book will be the book of the year for 2020-mark my words. And read this goddamn book dude. 6⭐️/5

I am amazed at the quality of this book. Let me explain: it is not that i thought that this book was going to be bad, but rather the author's past works have been so varied in content and timelines, this was the first stab at a ‘who-done-it' for Moore (at least of this caliber). Calling all Christie fans this one's for you! (Although he does spoil the plots of a few of her works, just skip page 116 for less frustration and no impact on this plot). All characters were clearly laid out in the primary with minimal involvement from secondary characters. The trick that kept it captivating was this: there were a TON of primary characters. Thus, a TON of primary suspects. It was your job, as the reader, to keep the facts straight (but one of the main protaganists, Maya, had a fantastic organizational manner of thinking to help you out.) I'd say for someone who is ready to dabble in the thriller/suspense genre: this is a soft intro into a deep dark world. For those of us who are experienced: this was no ‘Sharp Objects' or ‘Behind Her Eyes', BUT it was enjoyable all the same to fly through an easily digestable story line in a legal setting through the eyes of the Juror's. This book begs the question: when it is your decision to decide the fate of another person without you physically being present at the time of the crime, how are you to factually know and confidently decide a verdict? What if that haunts you for the rest of your life? What would it look like and how would you deal? What does redemption look like to people of different backgrounds, races and social situations.

Additionally this book was organized with shorter chapters with multiple perspectives which made it even more of a highly addictive page-turner WOULD RECOMMEND

You know, I really wanted this book to be different. I had high expectations, and it just didn't hit the mark for me. I thought when it came down to it:

1. there were too many characters
2. relationships were not explicitly called out all the time
3. the story would have been totally different if Bug didn't decide to pay his mom's burden when she didn't deserve it

Perhaps unpopular opinion, but it really would have been the same old life for them if that didn't change. What did I like about this novel? It was very raw, there was nothing alluded to. The author was very black and white about the way things were (which was why some character relationships ended up being confusing because they were much murkier than the storyline). I kind of wish it ended differently. I wish that men weren't always like “oh it's just the way men are in my family so that's now I am”. BOY STOP YOUR TOXIC MASCULINITY and literally think through your choices!!!! There was quite a bit of sexism in this book. Meaning the women were just supposed to sit there and take whatever decisions that the men made. I was glad for what happened at the end with Kia, but it was still too soft for all the shit this dude did. In the end, just disappointed in such a highly talked up novel.

3.75 stairs/5

I am of 2 schools of thought on this book. 1. I wish, for once, that someone would give a rape victim a happy goddamn ending, because NO ONE BELIEVES THE VICTIM IN REAL LIFE. 2. I am not surprised this did not end in appropriate justice because the American legal system fails women on a regular basis. I'm sorry, but it is true. This book brought up so many points and harsh realities of what it is like to live as a woman in this country. A sixteen year old girl, forced to chose between the decision to relive her rape over and over again through examination in the hospital, and questioning and cross questioning in the court room. The trial depends on her testimony. Meaning, that unless she tells it from her end, there will be no resolve. But even if she does tell it, the change of resolve in her favor could not be impacted. Tell me how this is justice when the rapist gets to sit in the room and is not required to undergo the same humiliating and traumatizing treatment?? Why in this era do we think it is okay to say “well his life will be ruined”... SHE WAS GD RAPED DUDE WHAT THE HELL. Not to mention the side plot of a rape/murder covered up by the chief of police for his son bc he didn't want to smear the family name, etc. Violence breeds violence, hate breeds hate. TEACH YOUR CHILD BETTER BC EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT TEACHING YOU ARE SHOWING.

Anyways, there were several areas that this book could have segwayed into having a sequel and the author missed the opportunity to do. She should have made it so Dan Moore didn't commit suicide but rather Rachel was literally in the courtroom (like she had been for the podcast) but on the other side, in the testimony spot. Then she could have had a potential new podcast from another angle.. anyways the rest of the book was wrapped up but like not all nice and neat. It was wrapped up like a present you get from you niece on Christmas who is 5. Like she tried so hard to wrap that up and used a whole thing of tape... the idea and the thing is technically wrapped up, but is that an insta influencer shot? No. its not.

4⭐️/5. Classic who-dun-it, but with a twist. With every chapter, a new tidbit of information was revealed. This made the expected income pivot ever so slightly. Over time and while feverishly reading, one doesn't notice how this influences the end result but when you look at a side by side comparison of what you thought was going to happen at the beginning of the book to what actually happened at the end— it's totally different. This was my first Sager novel and I thought it was quite good. I do wish this was less hyped by the time I picked it up. I debated back and forth between a 3.75 (too low) and a 4.0 (seems a tad high), but decided to round up because my mouth made an ‘O' formation at the end (my bf has the pic to prove it... [yes he took my picture at a supremely vulnerable stage—the unveiling of The Who did it in a who-dun-it!!]). Anyways, would recommend. Especially on a crisp New England fall day with cinnamon rimmed hot hard cider.