"Connor reached out and gently pushed a stray strand of hair off Justin’s face. “I’d give you the whole sky
3/5
Didn't expect it to be so cute.
"Connor reached out and gently pushed a stray strand of hair off Justin’s face. “I’d give you the whole sky, Justin, and all the stars too. I’d give you all the constellations, the planets, the Moon, the Sun, the Milky Way. Hell, I’d give you the entire galaxy, if you’d look at me, even for just a moment, the same way you look at yourself.”
An amazing heroine I could relate to, the most precious golden retriever hero who would worship her to death if he could, a romance that had me 4.25/5
An amazing heroine I could relate to, the most precious golden retriever hero who would worship her to death if he could, a romance that had me smiling and blushing like crazy even though the book itself wasn't focused on it, messages that simply brought tears to my eyes and the most beautiful ending that made me cry both from sadness, but most of all from happiness, at how beautiful it was.
"Choosing to love-despite all the ways that people let you down, and disappear, and break your heart. Knowing everything we know about how hard life is and choosing to love anyway… That's not weakness. That's courage."
"But I do it anyway. I do it because I believe that human connection is the only thing that will save us. I do it because I believe we learn empathy when we listen to other people’s stories and feel their pain with them. I do it because I know for certain that our world has an empathy problem with women, and this is one brave thing I can do to help fix it."
I didn't expect to pretty much adore this book, but I'm so incredibly glad I came across it. Maybe it was a bit too cheesy and too-good-to-be-truth at times, but when I cry with happiness in the epilogue, it's usually a sign that I really liked it....more
Boring, forgettable and just nothing special. I've been looking forward to Briar's book since I met him in the story about his best friend becaus2.5/5
Boring, forgettable and just nothing special. I've been looking forward to Briar's book since I met him in the story about his best friend because I adore his type of characters, but I felt nothing while reading it.
I'm the biggest fan of the grumpy/sunshine dynamic in books, but while I liked our sunny Briar, Derek seemed too grumpy and honestly, I just didn't like him most of the time.
Unfortunately, a bit of a disappointment for me. There's supposed to be a sixth book, which looks promising, so I'll probably give it a try.
*I received a copy of this book from GRR, and this is my honest review.*
I hate it when I'm completely obsessed with a book at the beginning, and I'm so engrossed in it that an hour feels like half an hour, but at som2.75/5
I hate it when I'm completely obsessed with a book at the beginning, and I'm so engrossed in it that an hour feels like half an hour, but at some point in the story something suddenly switches in me and I completely lose interest in it. In the first half of this book I was having such a good time, I was laughing, blushing, sweating and my kindle must have had enough of me because I was constantly highlighting something, but then one second and suddenly I didn't feel anything at all. To be honest, I was even thinking about giving this book five stars, but then my rating gradually started to drop and drop until, unfortunately, it dropped to just barely three stars.
As I already said — I liked the first half, but the second half completely lost me. I think one of the main reasons for this may be that I often had moments where I was genuinely confused. Confused to the point where I felt like I missed a chapter or two, because one moment I understood everything and then the next chapter came and I was completely lost. The explanation usually came later, but I can't remember the last time I felt like that while reading a book.
This was my first time reading Jay McLean’s book, and while I liked the writing style, some of the quotes here, let's just say, left me quite confused.
"He has a couple of inches on me, but I have a couple of pounds. I also have enough rage to kill a small horse. Rage I’ve kept contained for far too long."
What type of comparison is that? I literally had to google whether it was an idiom or something — English is not my first language, but as it turns out, it was not.
"I switch positions and hug her to me, noting how small she feels in my arms. One wrong move, and I could break her."
What kind of thought is that? Did his intrusive thoughts won or what? If a man thought that about me when we cuddled, that would be the last time we did it.
Overall, the book wasn't that bad — the characters were alright and at one point I was really invested in their story, but unfortunately it turned out the way it did. I've actually heard and read a lot of good things about this author's books, so I'll probably try reading something different from her one day and maybe I'll like it better. We’ll see. I hope....more
Not gonna lie here, it actually deserves one star because the amount of things I didn't like in this story was quite large, but it's so rare for me3/5
Not gonna lie here, it actually deserves one star because the amount of things I didn't like in this story was quite large, but it's so rare for me to basically binge read a romance in one day these days, so three stars for it....more
Kelley McNeil just found herself a huge new fan because her books fall into the category of novels that remind me why I love reading. I know this a4/5
Kelley McNeil just found herself a huge new fan because her books fall into the category of novels that remind me why I love reading. I know this author only has two stories, but reading these two books stirred so many emotions in me that even if I combine all the feelings I felt from some of the twenty books I have already finished this year — even all the emotions from them wouldn't have affected me as much like these two from McNeil. Her books just work for me, and I have to thank lorenhalelover for introducing me to them. I’ll always love you for that.
A Day Like This tells the story of Annie Beyers — mother of the full of life Hanna, and wife to loving husband Graham. Her life seems almost perfect until one accident changes it completely. Her daughter suddenly exists only in her imagination, and the love of her life turned into divorce papers lying on the table. Annie's past and present begin to blur, which raises the question of whether the last five years of her life even happened. Despite people in her life questioning her memory, our heroine tries to find the truth, which may turn out to be something she never expected.
I must admit that the first half of the book was a solid three or three and a half stars for me because the action was still slowly unfolding, but the rest of the story hooked me to the point that I didn't want to stop reading until the very end because I had to find out the truth. Every suspicious thing made me start creating new and new theories about the ending, but in the end none of them — to my surprise, because I usually even manage to predict the ending — turned out to be true. Some were close, some weren't, but even though I thought the ending would be more epic, it still surprised me quite a bit — in a good way.
"Some choices are easier than others. The key is to be at peace in the moment. To celebrate the here and now. No life is perfect, I've learned. But if you're lucky, it can come pretty close."
I already can’t wait for the day when this author announces a new book, because I know that as soon as it comes out, I will sit down and read it. Anyway, I highly recommend this story! It was completely different than Mayluna, but fascinating nonetheless....more
A bit boring, unoriginal, with lots of overused phrases that can probably be found in hundreds of romance novels these days. These are the first2.25/5
A bit boring, unoriginal, with lots of overused phrases that can probably be found in hundreds of romance novels these days. These are the first things that came to my mind after finishing it, because seriously, you could find hundreds of almost identical books, but I still somehow enjoyed it to some extent as I basically read it in two days.
I think the book could have been more enjoyable if the main characters were more likeable. The heroine was okay, even though some of her actions were just stupid, but the hero? This guy was insufferable most of the time.
"Emmy is in Meadowlark?” Gus’s tone was tight. Shit. I definitely threw Emmy under the bus. “Yeah, she left my bar with Kenny Wyatt last night.” Again, shit."
You definitely threw her under the bus.
"I felt the smallest of smiles tug at the corners of my mouth, thinking about Luke Brooks having to ask that girl to drive him to go pick up his best friend’s little sister."
He shows up tipsy and late with his hookup to take you home because his best friend asked him to, and you smile at the memory because at least he showed up? The bar is in hell.
The writing style was entertaining enough to keep me engaged in the story, although I still skipped some things because I didn't care about them, but some of the sentences here were painful to read.
"You can take it, sugar. I’ll go slow.”
Is this sentence a requirement in romance books nowadays? I've seen this exact phrase in at least hundreds of romances.
"How much do I owe you?” she asked. “On the house.” “You sure?” she asked."
It’s literally the TikTok sound. The originality is dead in books these days.
Honestly, I picked up this book because the second story is coming out in a few days and I wanted to see if this series is worth reading, and now I'm not even sure if I'll read it. Maybe, maybe not. I remember liking some of the books in the Chestnut Springs series from Elsie Silver and I feel like Lyla Sage took a lot of inspiration from it, so like I said, maybe I'll read the second book, because it might be the same situation as in the Chestnut series, in which some books worked for me and others didn't. We’ll see....more
I'm done. Another new release that turned out to be a huge letdown for me. This book had such a potential, reverse age-gap, opposite attract, sdnf 30%
I'm done. Another new release that turned out to be a huge letdown for me. This book had such a potential, reverse age-gap, opposite attract, small-town romance? It sounded so good, but reading it felt illegal. It also didn't help that although the writing style was okay, some of the sentences here were quite painful to read.
Let's start with the fact that I knew what I was getting into when I chose to read this story, or at least I knew it partly. I'm talking about the age difference between our main characters, Sloane (36) and Dempsey (18), whose exact ages you find out when you start reading the book because the blurb just says "older woman/younger man age-gap romance". I'm a fan of age-gap romances where the woman is older, although I prefer the hero to be at least twenty, not eighteen like here.. but I was too curious about this book not to at least try it. The second thing I prefer - or more like need - to like this type of story is for the hero to behave maturely, not like a spoiled teenage boy. Dempsey's character could literally be the definition of "spoiled teenage boy." It was honestly painful to read all their dialogues because they had no chemistry and their conversations were just juvenile and boring. The last thing, a rather important thing that has to happen for me to enjoy this trope, is for the characters to meet each other later - when they are older, not like this
"I’m obsessed with her, but she’s completely off-limits. She was in the room when we were born, babysat us twins on occasion when my parents needed a break, and has been a part of our lives for eighteen years."
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I know that this book was supposed to be taboo, like the entire series, but the fact that Sloane was there during Dempsey’s birth is a fact that makes me unable to continue reading it. The way she talked about him also made me feel quite uncomfortable and was one of the main reasons why I dnfed it.
"Plus, despite my confusing attraction toward Dempsey, he’ll always be the little turkey I watched grow up. Gross. I feel like some kind of pervert. That’s how Jamie would see it if I ever allowed anything to happen. Which I won’t. I won’t."
I think I'll leave it no comment.
Like I said, I was curious about this book so I wanted to give it a try, but I don't think it’s a story for me....more
Do you want an intense, passionate declaration of love in the rain? Read this book. Do you want childhood best friends to lovers with the most be3.5/5
Do you want an intense, passionate declaration of love in the rain? Read this book. Do you want childhood best friends to lovers with the most beautiful friendship? Read this book. Do you want years of pining that will frustrate you in the best way? Read this book. Do you want characters with the best and most supportive families? Read this book.
This is the story of two best friends, or rather soul mates, who were everything to each other and who, after years of pining, finally got the love they deserved together. A story about Ellis and Lucky. Lucky, our sunny character who was passionate about photography and wanted to see the world, despite also wanting to stay in his small town for his best friend, and Ellis, our second neurodivergent character with selective mutism, who was the sweetest small town farmer with an artistic talent for creating beautiful things out of glass whose best friends was the only person he could imagine his life with. The former was afraid that he would lose their friendship if he confessed his feelings, the latter didn't want to trap him in their small town when he knew about his dreams of traveling the world. They were best friends who always felt something for each other, but only after years of growing up together and discovering the truth about their feelings, they found what they wanted most — a life together in the love they both longed for. Their journey to get there is just so beautiful, intense, and at times frustrating, but trust me, it's worth the wait.
This book made me feel so many emotions — mostly good ones, I laughed, I cried, I wanted to get inside the book and hug our main characters. Their love was so tender, deep and simply beautiful that you are just sure that they will stay together until their last days, because being apart is like losing half of yourself.
"Promise we’ll still do this when we’re sixty or eighty or a hundred. I want a lifetime with you, El. Me and you. ’Til the end of time.” I draw an X over Lucky’s heart. Promise."
"And every time I stayed away a little longer, it felt like I was losing my breath. Like I had less oxygen in my lungs. I was starved of it without you, El. You don’t make me feel trapped, okay? Never. You’re the air I breathe.”
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While reading, you could literally feel the love they had for each other. I'm a huge fan of friends to lovers romance books because I will always believe that your partner should also be your best friend and that's exactly what Lucky and Ellis were — that's probably why I loved their relationship and connection to this extent. Their grand gestures, El's emails, the way they understood each other perfectly — even without words, their constant phone calls, how understanding they were of each other, the firefly nickname, how their families were close and would do anything for them, their wedding, the prom scene, how they were childhood friends who were always together. I just wanted to cry and cry and cry at how beautiful and perfect they were together, even though they were almost complete opposites.
So far I've only praised and praised this book, but I still haven't rated it five stars, so what exactly were my problems here? Some spoilers start here!
The first thing, or rather a person, is Lucky's friend/ longtime sex buddy/ coworker — Danil. I know he and Lucky worked together, but I personally didn't like that it didn't change in the end. I think I would go crazy if the love of my life worked with his former sex-buddy, with whom he was intimate for over a year and with whom he travels around the world. I'd probably die of jealousy, but maybe that's just me, because I understand that Lucky and Ellis might trusted each other enough to not let it bother them. I also wanted to go into the book and punch Danil in the face for having that weird confession at our main characters wedding that he loves Lucky and “I think if I ever could have felt more for someone, it would have been you.”. I know it wasn't exactly a romantic declaration of love as it turned out, but did he really have to have this type of confession at their wedding? I don't know why, but it irritated me a little, it was not his day for confessions.
The second thing that probably won't be a problem for everyone is that Lucky had a wild sex life — I'm talking about almost described, but fortunately not, threesomes and hookups with Danil in various places — when he went to college and later to work, while Ellis remained a virgin — a virgin who didn't even watch porn. Again, maybe it's just me who has too high expectations for the heroes, after reading about some who remained virgins their whole lives for their love interest, even if they weren't sure if they would be with them. I guess I thought he would still experience, but less when he loved Ellis so much and maybe he wouldn't be able to sleep with so many people when all he could think about was El. I know Lucky had every right to be sexually active because he thought Ellis was straight and not interested in him romantically, but after he kept saying how much he meant to him, how he was everything to him, etc., it left me with this unpleasant bitter taste in my mouth when, for example, after hooking up with Danil, he went to talk to Ellis for hours. So, it’s on me and my high expectations, and it definitely won’t be a problem for all readers. Also, when Lucky said to Ellis that he is his, and "I don’t want you to be with anyone else,”, I was like "You should be saying that to yourself, not to him.". Thankfully, when they confessed their love for each other, Lucky stopped sleeping around.
The last, rather small thing is that when they finally confessed their feelings to each other, the book seemed to focus on them having sex, that at one point there was just sex scene after sex scene. These scenes were extremely hot and full of passion, because the main characters loved each other and that's when sex is the best, but I wanted them to happen a little later, not that Ellie's first orgasm was already a moment after their love confession. I guess the author wanted to show how starved they were for each other after years of wanting and pining, so like I said, it was just a minor issue for me. And finally, it was mentioned that they could switched, but I don't remember that happening. Why suggest some sexual activity or change in character dynamics and then not show it? I felt robbed.
I could probably write and write about this book, because there are a few more things in it that I liked and I didn't write about them at the beginning, but I'll end my review here, because it's best to discover them yourself while reading it. Anyway, I think I can recommend it, because despite a few things that bothered me, it was still a strong three stars book....more
Initially, this was supposed to be a long review — seriously, probably one of the longest I've ever written on my goodreads, because I have so many?/5
Initially, this was supposed to be a long review — seriously, probably one of the longest I've ever written on my goodreads, because I have so many thoughts about this story in my head, so many annotations written on my kindle, but this book just exhausted me mentally to such an extent that I don't know if I will ever be able to write everything I think about it here. I literally don't even know how to rate it, so I think it'll stay without any stars for a while. Maybe I'll come back after Every Breath After: Part 2 to review and rate it, we'll see, but I sincerely doubt it will ever happen.
Mason and Jeremy's story is just so damn messy that I'm not even surprised when Jessie Walker herself said that the initial endgame was supposed to be Mason and Izzy as I myself couldn't physically root for Jer and Mase most of the time I was reading their love story. I was extremely excited to read this book and eagerly awaited its final release date because I absolutely fell in love with Jeremy’s character in Will and Way's books. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the story that Jessie Walker had prepared for him, because years of pinning for his "straight" twin sister’s boyfriend, with whom he had many firsts with — although I know that who really matters is the person who stays with you at the end, but unfortunately it still didn't make me feel better as I thought Jeremy deserved the best and I wasn't sure if Mason would be that "best". Personally, I could never imagine myself being with my sibling's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend — or as in this case, at least for now, my dead twin sister's boyfriend because it's just weird and not right to me, so when I was looking forward to reading this, I started this book mainly because of Jer as I needed to finally see this guy getting his very much deserved happy ending. Now that I've finished it, I honestly don't even know if I still like Jeremy and Mason. These two have been through a lot in their lives, I know they're human — we're not perfect, but some of the things they said/did and thought made me so incredibly mad that even though I tried so hard to understand them, I just... I just couldn't, so unfortunately with a heavy heart I deleted them from my "favorite characters" folder, or at least Jeremy, who was there for a long time. I never in my life thought this was possible in any universe.
I'm so happy for all my friends here who loved EBA, but at the same time I'm sorry that I can't share these feelings with you. I'm definitely going to read the second part of their story because I hate leaving things unfinished, but unfortunately my excitement won't be as great as for this part.
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The FINAL release date is MAY 3 omgggg I’m crying right now, after YEARS of wait it’s finally coming to ussss
Oh how much I enjoyed it, there was a moment when I even thought it would be a five-stars read for me, which unfortunately did not happen, but i3.75/5
Oh how much I enjoyed it, there was a moment when I even thought it would be a five-stars read for me, which unfortunately did not happen, but it doesn't change the fact that I had a really good time reading it. I have over a hundred and fifty highlights and over a hundred notes. I think that says enough how much I enjoyed it. And these are not notes in which I complain about something, no no no, these are notes in which I either scream or write how much I love our hero — like here for example "GOD HE IS PERFECTTTTTTTTT", "God i needd him", "Omg im cryingggggg". These are the less embarrassing examples obviously, as I'm too scared of the digital footprint to add my not PG13 notes. I'm probably in the minority of people who have never read any book in this series and started with the last one, but surprisingly I had no problem with the side characters, as each of them was introduced in such a way that it was easy for me to remember who was who.
Business Casual is about Nova and Charlie, Charlie — our golden retriever hero who works for a wealthy investment firm in New York, has a penchant for three-piece suits and wristwatches that cost as much as most of the characters' rent here, and who has been shamelessly flirting with his friend Nova for ages, and Nova — our grumpy heroine who owns the only female-owned and female-operated tattoo shop on the East Coast, and who like Charlie, is not interested in relationships. Or, at least it was like that until they both decided on one night together to get each other out of their systems, which didn't exactly end the way they planned as one night turned into several with an ending they never planned.
Honestly, I loved both of our main characters. I could relate to both of them, which in some situations hit close to home, sometimes even too close, but for this reason this book will definitely be among my favorite stories this year because it will be hard for me to forget about it. They both struggle with different things, and they both healed together, learning that they needed each other more than they thought. One night stand books are not something I usually reach for because I feel like the bond between the main characters is usually built on lust, but here you could just feel that Nova and Charlie truly loved each other and their bond, instead of being based on lust, was based on friendship and trust.
"His eyes drag up to meet mine, red rimmed but bright. Forget-me-not blue. “I’ve never been anyone’s favorite,” he whispers. “Well,” I say, feeling defensive. “You’re mine."
One of my favorite dynamics in books is the hero who is clearly obsessed with the heroine and shamelessly flirts with her at every opportunity, and the grumpy heroine who wants nothing to do with him, although secretly likes it, but in the end she gives up and gives him a chance, which turns out to be one of her better decisions. So it was hard for me not to like this book as Nova and Charlie basically had the same dynamic. Charlie boy had it bad and had not problem showing it.
"She looks like she could eat me alive. I fucking love it."
"I always get the feeling Nova wants to crack open my head and take a look around. I’d probably let her and thank her for the pleasure."
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It was basically them.
"his gaze back to me, his eyes tracing my face like I’m something precious. Like I’m something he can’t believe he gets to keep. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life, Nova girl.” He says it in a whisper. Like a secret. I drop my mouth to his and make it a promise. “Me too."
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"He finishes climbing around Alex and grabs the only available seat in the tiny room. It screeches as he drags it across the floor, right next to me."
"Could I take your name?” he finally asks. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat with a heavy swallow. “When we get married, I mean. Could I—could I be a Porter?” I have to take a second to breathe through the pinch in my chest. “Is that something you want?” He nods."
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Charlie was so much my type that I felt like the author went inside my brain, find out all the things I love in men, and decided to create Charlie out of it. Seriously. He was rich, tall, loved his family and did everything for them, he was honest and not afraid to cry, he was obsessed and worshiped his woman, was full of respect and responsibility, and a million million other traits that made me simply love him and put him in my "favorite hero" folder.
I didn't plan to write a long review, but I couldn't stop writing and it turned out the way it did. This was my first book in the Lovelight series and it definitely won't be the last, even though this book is the last in the series. Don't ask me why I read from the end, I'd like to know myself. Anyway, if you want to read a book with golden retriever rich hero and grumpy tattoo artist heroine, opposites attract, flirting as a love language, "just once to get it out of our systems" turns out "oh sh*t, it's not getting out of our systems", run and add it to your tbr!
*Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!*...more
Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable, at least at the beginning, but I mainly came here for the book boyfriend people claimed The**spoiler alert** 3/5
Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable, at least at the beginning, but I mainly came here for the book boyfriend people claimed Theo Silva was, but instead I got a man who does the bare minimum. I mean, a man who cleans, takes care of his child, loves his woman, protects her and stands by her side, is and should be the bare minimum.
This series was either a blast for me or a complete disappointment. The second book was great, I had fun reading it, but the rest I either didn't like or couldn't get through the first chapters. And yes, I'm mainly talking about the last book, which I gave up on in the third chapter because a hero who drives home drunk several times is not someone I could ever like. This book was okay. Honestly, I devoured the first fifty percent of this book in one sitting, I couldn't stop reading because I really wanted to get to the point where Theo founds out he has a daughter with Winter. I'm not a fan of unexpected pregnancy books, but I live for a man's reaction to finding out he's a dad. Only if it's a good reaction, but waiting for it always keeps me on my toes. That's probably why I liked the first part, but I found the second part of the book boring. I don't know exactly why, but I just lost interest. Maybe because nothing interesting was happening. Probably, but that's the main reason why my rating is this way.
Moving on to our main characters. I liked Winter, I didn't love her, but I could relate to her in many ways. I liked how the author portrayed her as a doctor who was described by her relatives as an ice queen, but she also had a vulnerable side where she was more delicate and sensitive.
Theo Silva, our bull rider and former manwhore who, despite doing the bare minimum, still had his moments. For example, moments like this.
“Oh, my bad. I didn’t realize you were with someone.” His eyes slice over to mine, busting me. Again. “I’m not. Yet.”
Unfortunately, there were a few things I hated about him, like the fact that he called women "buckle bunnies". Can we please leave this term? It’s terrible. A woman wants to have sex or simps for her idol and suddenly people call her like that? I don’t even know if there’s a term like that for men who simp and would love to sleep with their favorite celebrity. Honestly, I've never heard of it. I wonder why.
The fact that Winter only could orgasm with him. A woman who was married for five years and slept with some men, never reached her O? And suddenly it happens when the hero appears in her life, and she magically manages to do it on their first meeting? Are we going back to wattpad? And the fact that no one ever put Winter first and didn't defend her, and all this happens when a hero appears. This woman was married for five years. Why did this marriage even happen if all those things didn't even happen before it? How can I believe that she is smart, intelligent and brave like the author tried to portray her when she got married to something like this?
The last thing is that I still can't comprehend how Theo didn't find out about his baby sooner. They had many of the same friends and family. How could anyone never talk about it? I know Theo was busy with his career, but no one mentioned it for eighteen months? This part, still has me confused.
I'll end my review by saying that yes, I really enjoyed some parts of this book, but there were aspects of it that made me not love it as much as many people do....more
Don’t get me wrong I love Will and Way, but please please please, I’m begging on my knees, I need Jeremy’s story. I won't be able to sleep if I don4/5
Don’t get me wrong I love Will and Way, but please please please, I’m begging on my knees, I need Jeremy’s story. I won't be able to sleep if I don't see him happy. I know his book will hurt like hell, but I need it so bad. I'm not entirely happy with the story Jessie has prepared for him, he deserves the best and I'm not sure if Mason will be that "best", as he should be someone's whole world and first choice, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see in his book.
"For years. Until one cold rainy day last September, when I realized I was no longer hanging on to her… But hanging on because of him."
I will always be a proud member of 'Team Jeremy' club. This guy deserves the whole world and more. I can't wait for his book and the emotional damage it will do to me....more
The next book, the next problems, the next characters and my next mental breakdowns caused by this series. I still don't know if I love this small,4/5
The next book, the next problems, the next characters and my next mental breakdowns caused by this series. I still don't know if I love this small, flawed town or if I hate it, but I definitely know that this series will always have a place in my heart.
I think I have to accept that I will never fully express my feelings about Fredrik's books in my reviews, as it's hard for me to find the right words to say how much they mean to me. I could write essays about each book and its characters, and I still think it would not be enough. I just adore everything about this series. Or, almost everything. Not to mention the way these books are written, Fredrik's writing, despite its simplicity, always moves something in me.
The second book is a continuation of the threads that started in the first. However, this is not all, because there are new problems and new characters behind them. One of them is Richard Theo, the new politician in town. I wasn't the biggest fan of this guy, his chapters were quite hard to read because I simply wasn't interested in him. I know he was important to the story, but I just wasn’t. Luckily, the book only focused on him in the beginning and then his povs basically ended, so it wasn't that big of a deal for me. The second new character that caught my attention, although for a different reason, was coach Zackell. This woman made me laugh at least ten times. I’m basically obsessed with her. Zackell, Benji, Kira, Romona and Amat are officially my favorite characters. I love each of them for different reasons and I can't wait to see them again in the final book. I mean, I'm excited and terrified at the same time. From the beginning of the series, Fredrik drops quite obvious hints about how each character's life will unfold. Hints that I choose to ignore for the sake of my mental stability, even though I know they will eventually happen. But let me be delusional. At least for now, as I haven't started the last book yet.
"Benji hears himself crack as he asks, “How did you bear it? Back in the spring, after . . . everything . . . how did you cope?” The look in her eyes is hard, her voice brittle. “I refuse to be a victim. I’m a survivor.”
"Maya tilts her head and asks, “Have you forgiven Ana?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Because people make mistakes, Maya.”
I already said it in my first review, but I'll say it again. The relationships, the friendships, the way Fredrik portrayed small community is just beautiful. It's real, it's raw, it's heartbreaking to the point where it’s hard for me to understand how these characters can be fictional and not real.
"Fatima replies firmly, “Do you know what I learned when I came to Beartown? That if we don’t look after each other, no one else will.”
I know that this book probably deserves a higher rating, but I didn't feel exactly the same emotions and the same attachment to the story as in the first part. At least at the beginning, which was quite slow. It took me three days to get fully into the story, but once the book reached a certain point I couldn't stop reading. This is one of two reasons why my rating is only four stars and not five.
Honestly, I don't know what Fredrik Backman put in these books, but they remind me why I love reading. Some people just know how to write good stories. I already can see myself finishing all of his books, it will definitely take me some time, but it will be worth it....more
aleksandra
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Books:
trope-small-town
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