kat 🍓

5:

Short and sweet, but it took me a month to finish it. Man, January sucked major ass. This was all, of course, because of my general state of mind and being, and not a fault of the story.

Even over a year after reading, it won't leave my soul. This little book lingers at the back of my mind at all times when I'm in need of comfort.

(There was an unspeakable act of animal cruelty that broke my heart, I feel that I must mention. Yikes!).

5:

Although I'm not quite sure this is in fact my favorite out of the very few books I've read this year, it was the one that accompanied me through the hardest period of my life this year, it brought my mind to less grief-stricken places, and helped me tackle my months-long reading slump; for that I'm very thankful.

As for the story itself, oh man. At this point it's been months, and I'm still not 100% sure about how I feel regarding the baby's storyline outcome! I loved that it got me thinking; I've seen reviews and some feel that Celeste was spoon-feeding a certain stance, but to me it did not feel that way.

I did have my suspicions regarding Elena from the very beginning, though, because to me she seemed very white-savioury. And I was right, what a raging bitch. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's self righteous hypocrites. I was full of schadenfreude, dying to see her reaction to the pregnancy issue, but oh well.

I wish she'd fleshed out some of the characters a bit more. Especially the Richardson children, or at the very least she could elaborate on Chip some more. With such a ridiculous name there had to be SOMETHING to him, for Pearl to like him that much. I also wasn't crazy about the ending, I wish Izzy hadn't been left all on her own, my girl did not deserve that. In my heart I know she and Pearl and Mia reunited, and became a family.

Overall I'm happy I read this! Celeste's writing is enrapturing, I can't wait to read her other stories!

5:

This was the hardest and longest I've cried over a book this year, and I am so, so sorry that Jaycee and, unfortunately, so many kids around the world have had to go through such sickening ordeals.

And it was so hard to get through. Jaycee has a very sweet voice, and she is quite descriptive of the cruelty she had to endure. I had to physically step away at times because I couldn't handle it, I just can't understand how there can be people like that just walking around, and HOW society all around the world keeps failing these children, and people in need. I am beyond disgusted.

She had so much taken from her, and it's impossible to stomach the unfairness. But despite it all, Jaycee is such an incredible woman, and a loving, devoted mother. Many of my tears were out of anger, but most were because, when she finally takes that deep breath of relief, I felt it too and it shook my whole body.

I am so glad that she and her daughters are out of reach from those revolting individuals, so glad that justice was served in regards to them, and so happy that she is back with her mom and the rest of her family, that she is moving on, and that she can, hopefully, one day, leave this all behind.

(Also I'm not here to pass judgement but I saw people leaving 1 and 2 star reviews because they expected her to write an in-depth psyschoanalysis of her state of mind through this whole thing and I just have to say: eat a dick.)

3:

The only reason I picked up this book was that I kept thinking about how I read it a dozen times back in middle school, and could just not rest until I found it and read it again, since my memory of it was hazy.

It was good. Very devastating, and even more so when I, in fact, have known girls who went through the exact same hardships as Anita here. And Vannina, too. Like, the exact same hardships, a whole continent and several decades away from 1980s Sicily.

I'm not rating higher because there were so many things left unanswered and it irritates me. What in the world ended up happening with Rosanna and Aurelia? My heart is breaking.

3.2:

There's no way I'm letting myself get stuck in a slump, when I've been having so much fun, and doing so well with my reading. I felt one creeping in—I didn't want to have three DNFs in a row—, so I decided to give this one a go. It seemed short and sweet.

And it was. There was no discernible plot, it's just fragmented glances into Macarena's life, from early childhood to the angst of her teenage years. I thought back to how I myself fared during those years, I went through similar experiences (curiously, the home invasion. But also, the desperate craving for the seal of approval of that one female friend, the awkwardness of middle school parties, and not fitting in. The dawning realization that your parents are just people).

It was engaging, even if I didn't feel any strong pull towards the characters. That's probably on me because I don't particularly enjoy thinking about that part of my life.

Anyway, it was fun and I think I've cleared the fog up a little. On to the next!

2.5:

There's not a lot I have to say about this book, really. I'd read it was similar to Convenience Store Woman, which I loved because I resonated with it; but I don't see the similarities, other than having a female protagonist with a “menial” job.

I like how descriptive Elisa was of Sokcho, its sights, its inhabitants, and their food. I felt I was walking around with the MC. The dreariness of a tourist location in its off-season made me think of my own home.

I feel like we didn't really get to know the MC that well, and for me it takes away from the story, which doesn't seem to have a plot at all. If her relationship with the Frenchman was a romance, albeit a seemingly unrequited one, it wasn't very convincing. There were different paths the story could have taken, maybe she could have delved deeper on the topic of body image, and beauty standards.

To me it wasn't all that memorable in the end, but it flowed nicely and was easy to read.

4.5:

Ghastly. revolting. frustrating. I couldn't get enough. I'm so mad at the nauseating, awful old fuck and at Luciana's mom and dad and at the entire population of Key West, Florida. And since finishing this book, every time I think about it I get so ANGRY because this shit happened to an actual woman! María Elena, honey, I'm so sorry you had to deal with all those buffoons.

This was so deeply upsetting. With each chapter, my blood boiled hotter. My skin crawled at von Tore's retelling of the story, and all his delusional fabrications. But then I got to reading through everything that goes on after he's found out. And what the FUCK, man. What the FUCK. I want to reach into the book and punch some faces in.

I liked having Gabriela's account of Luci's life in contrast, but I wish the author would have spared a few more pages to her POV.

This is closer to 4.5 for me, but I'm rounding down! I'd love to read more of Heather's writing in the future.

3:

This was terribly sad and unexpectedly violent. Rowan's feelings of rejection and the way she dealt with them were hard to witness, especially in the latter half of the book which for the most part left me unsettled.

I wish there had been a bit more character development, or that her relationship with her mom could have been improved somewhat, it seems to me that they stayed the same in the end regardless of everything that went down. But since this is semi-autobiographical, I can see why that may have been.

5:

See, it was written in the stars that this book would come into my life, because I just love::

1. Stories where men get what's coming to them
2. Gingerbread houses
3. A good ol' fairytale
4. Women

And this little story had all of them. It also got me out of a months long reading slump, so I give it points for that. Thank you Joanna Corrance.

4:

I read this one right after finishing We Have Always Lived in the Castle, both because I LOVED that book and needed more, and because duh, Halloween was right around the corner.

Quite enjoyed this! There's a scene with persistent knocking that spooked me pretty badly, I didn't find it traditionally frightening otherwise, but the atmosphere was all eerie and mysterious and sad.

The story was great, I enjoyed the ambiguity and still find myself pondering what might have actually gone down during those days in Hill House. Amazing how such a tiny book can tell so much.

5:

This Rob guy STINKS! I wish his life were way worse.

Actually this was a very entertaining story and I sure do love reading about a big-headed loser just completely torpedoing his entire life because he's afraid of committing to a beautiful woman that's way too good for him. Also the conclusion sucked so bad, it was SO fitting, it was great. I'd never watched the movie before this but I was pleasantly surprised that it was John Cusack as Rob, he's such a Some Guy kind of man.

4:

My boy Klaus just had the saddest birthday party in the history of ever.

In this one the children are burdened with an entire village of nincompoops, as well as having to deal with their recurring crowd of nincompoops. The whole mob thing was particularly frutrating I won't lie, but hey, at least there was one (1) positive outcome at the end, instead of the usual zero positive outcomes from all the previous installments!

3:

Is it terrible that I kind of wish Harriet and Wyn had just stayed broken up for good? EIGHT years and they NEVER EVER talked about the stuff going on in their lives? Why even be in a relationship with each other? What did they even do then, in all that time? Brood, sleep and fuck?

As is the case with her other books, the writing was lovely and the banter was fun to read, but I didn't connect with the characters as much as I'd hoped, and in fact at times they got on my nerves — especially Sabrina: I kept half expecting Cleo to smack her across the head whenever she uttered one of her little passive-aggressive remarks.

Be that as it may, I did enjoy reading this because duh, Emily Henry. My EH book ranking looks like this at the moment:

1. Book Lovers
2. People We Meet on Vacation
3. Happy Place
4. Beach Read

I'm not discouraged and am currently, patiently waiting for whatever Ms. Henry has planned to share next.

3:

Reviewing autobiographies is always weird to me. But especially so now, when I'm giving it only three stars. I'm glad Elliott chose to share this part of their story; now, more than ever, it is of utmost importance to make trans and queer voices heard. Judging by the content of the book, it must not have been easy, and I commend them for that. I only wish they'd waited a few more years to write this.

To me, this was a lot like taking a glimpse at fragments of Elliot's life and their journey with queerness, but it doesn't go any deeper than just glimpses. I feel like there were moments, such as in the stories pertaining to their childhood, where they were able to reflect more and dig deeper into what they were going through at the time, but that insight is lost when it comes to their later years, with them struggling with their identity, and embracing their transness. I wish they'd held off a bit more in order to be able to get that hindsight. I'm down to read a second memoir if they decide to share it!

Also I know that they explained their choice for a nonlinear structure at the beginning, but it was disorientating at times when it jumped from them being 9, to 33, to 20 all of a sudden. My tiny brain had a hard time keeping up.

5:

Before anything else, I must say, Jennette's decision to narrate the book herself was brilliant. I don't know about anyone else, but to me it made the reading all the more intimate. She has a very sweet voice, and she displays her raw emotions as she speaks; she touches on quite heavy topics, so when it gets to a particularly difficult memory and her voice breaks, then your heart breaks also. And at the same time, she's downright hilarious, so when she gets to a punchline you can't help but snort at it. It was overall a very pleasant auditory experience.

Now then, with that out of the way I just want to say: ouch.

I did not expect to relate to her story as much as I did, but there were so many hard hitters that I filled my notes with quotes I'd want to bookmark. I got teary at times, not only because of the horrific things that she's had to overcome, but also because she explains things I myself have felt, so eloquently; things I've never been able to put into words, and I'm thankful to her for it.

Jennette has gone through so much, and putting aside the unfairness of it all, it fills me with joy to know that she decided to put her well-being first. Against all odds, she's worked very hard to get herself out of the dark place she'd been in for so long. She has finally reached a point where she's genuinely proud of the person she's become. I'm proud of her, too, as I'm sure anyone who's heard her story must be as well. She says she considers herself to be a work in progress. That's valid and beautiful. I think I am one, too.

I think this is my favorite memoir I've ever read.

(And that's saying a lot because On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King, has always been one of my all-time favorite books).

(As a second afterthought, I also want to mention that I, too, condone the blocking of manipulative, abusive assholes in your life. Family included. The block button is my version of crack cocaine).

5:

So like, I am aware this is only 32 pages and it can be difficult to rate short stories but this is for damn sure a 5. I feel like I've been liberal with them, but on this one I'm certain.

Completely bonkers, and sweet. And funny. This is the first I've read of Margaret Atwood, and I'd been looking forward it for a while, and I was not disappointed. What incredible use of the language. She painted such a clear picture in my mind, it left me hungry.

I kinda wanna go hug my mom now.

5:

First and foremost, I am a Carrie Soto apologist. I am justifying every single despicable thing Carrie did and said, because I love her. Oh Carrie, you and I are in a parasocial relationship, except ours is way worse than every other parasocial relationship, because you don't even exist ♡

I say that, but I didn't know who to root for at the end, because I am tender-hearted and I love Nicki Chan as well. I had an inkling of what she'd turn out to be like, but damn, she was so much better. What blossomed out of her and Carrie's rivalry felt like a breath of fresh air. I wanted it and squealed with glee when it happened, because I did not dare just hope for it.

This was everything I'd ever wanted from a TJR novel and although at times it was predictable and somewhat clichéd, as it stands, it is perhaps my favorite out of all of them. I couldn't put it down. Just... wow. Consider me wowed.

My heart raced and leaped and broke. I am sad to part ways with Carrie and Javier (that's where most of my heart broke), and Bowe, Nicki and Gwen, but it was so fun a ride.

DNF at 7%: Tried my best to soldier on and get to 10% of the story before shelving as DNF, because I wanted to be the kind of person that gives stories a fair chance. I'm quitting at the 7% mark instead of at 3% like I originally wanted to. Moral of the story is, not all books deserve a chance!!! I should've listened to myself.

Shame, the cover is insanely pretty.

DNF at 11%: Oooh, big fat no.

I wanted to listen to the audiobook during work. It was going fine; I didn't really care for Tova yet, and although Marcellus rubbed me off as pompous, he was funny. And an octopus, so of course I could overlook that.

But then, Cameron. Only one chapter into his narration and I was already annoyed. He speaks like an angsty teen that just learned how to swear. He said, “bicep day's been lit at the gym lately.” How very how-do-you-do-fellow-kids of you, Shelby.

I wasn't enjoying it at all. That change in tone gave me whiplash. It was so dull, I spent close to three hours replaying the chapter because I wasn't taking anything in. I assumed he would make regular interventions, and the feeble interest I had in the other characters was not enough for me to put up with this. As Cameron once said, “...ugh.”

The premise sounded really interesting but oh well, on to better books.

4.7:

An eerie story as October is coming to a close! I've been thinking about it all through the week. It's the second I've read this month regarding a sea creature but the difference is that this one is so beautifully written, and I actually DID care about the characters.

I could feel my submechanophobia, growing from a casual fear at the back of my mind, to an unsettling thought at the forefront, constantly. I wonder what was going through Leah's mind as it all faded.

There's something about grief and letting go that I'm pretty sure I'm just too dumb to grasp. And it's still not completely clear to me how things came to be as they were at the end, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and want to look more into Julia's work.

4:

Aw, man. That was so freakin' cute. I totally decided to read this because the first episode dropped yesterday, and after watching it I realized, I'm already rooting so hard for Mitsumi to do well that I just had to read the manga immediately.

As a bonus, the art style is LOVELY!! And the characters, too. Can't wait for Kurume to come out of her shell, and for Mika to let loose. That ‘mean girl playing nice' trope is so worn out, and I can tell she can be genuinely nice. Give in to the power of friendship, Mika!!

This seems like a good start to the story, very fun. I wanna know what happens next!