How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
When I read the blurb, I thought this book was MEANT for me. But in the end, I have very miHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
When I read the blurb, I thought this book was MEANT for me. But in the end, I have very mixed feelings about it. About 20% in, I could barely make myself keep reading it, and only really got into it around 40-50% in. That's quite a lot of effort for getting into a book.
I feel like I missed out by not reading the first book, The Book Charmer, because while this seems to technically be a standalone, you're still missing some of the setup for the story (when I requested it, I wasn't aware that it's part of a series.)
What I had the most trouble with, though, was the amount of characters. The book does feel stand-alone in the sense that people who were mentioned in the first book are still described well enough and in detail, and you get given all the information. But then again... There are just SO MANY PEOPLE. New super minor characters keep getting introduced in every other page it seems, to the point where it just became too many for me to keep track of at one point. The idea of building a whole fictional town you can keep writing stories about is brilliant... But it was just a little too much.
For example... "This and this person moved in, met someone, promptly moved out, so Ava now has space. She is thinking of calling a third person now cause maybe he'll want the rental, but he's been commuting to another town which hardly even matters because we'll never ever talk about him and his significant other ever again, but in this paragraph their gay relative and autistic son will be mentioned anyway. So Ava makes a mental note to ask him and moves on to completely unrelated things and never thinks about this ever again." And I'm left wondering, WHY did I need to know all this..? What did this completely unrelated infodumping have to do with the story? Okay, maybe that was laid on a bit thick on my part, but that's what it felt like reading it, and it's not even far from the paragraph that inspired me to write this bit :D
Anyway, it did feel a lot like a Hallmark movie. Small cute town, adorable plots, a million of characters, and nobody has actual work to do so they can be in each other's business starting from the very morning. And actually, I think it would have worked great, if it WAS a movie or mini series. It's much easier to deal with a million of new names when you've got a face and a voice to attach them to.
In the end, the story did work, but... I'm sad, because the premise was just SO perfect, the idea of the town and the bunch of characters very promising... And yet. Such dry detail. Such a crowded story. Such simplistic solutions and characters suddenly snapping 180 degrees in the other direction because that fits the narrative of the story.
The blurb likens A Cup of Silver Linings to Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison-Allen (at least the one I've read does). Sure, the vibe and aim is the same - but it doesn't scratch the depth of these authors' writing. Their stories always have something deep, dark and profound, magical in them. This story was TRYING to be those things, but I wouldn't really say it succeeded. It's a shame, cause the plot could have been perfect for it.
And yet, I won't discount it completely. I kind of want to read the first book now, because while the story was kind of flat, it's nice to get attached to the characters, and I would like to read more about them.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
I was on page 15 of this book, when I took a long deep breath and covered my eyes, so I couHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
I was on page 15 of this book, when I took a long deep breath and covered my eyes, so I could deal with the emotion better. I grew up as a single mother’s daughter. The novel is just getting started, and no, my dad didn’t die and my mom wasn’t a traditionalist housewife, and yet… Everything is the same. Somehow.
It just gripped my heart, and I nearly started crying. “No matter what she did […] or what she ended up achieving, she and her daughter remained on the other side of everyone else.” THIS. EXACTLY THIS. All my life.
There’s a glass wall that was put in between me and the world DECADES AGO. And it’s a gap I am still unable to close, at age 33, myself now married and with a good career.
How I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
And, Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again – Malibu Rising is an unbelievable, steady burn nHow I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
And, Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again – Malibu Rising is an unbelievable, steady burn novel that doesn't let you down a for a single moment. Strong characters, unique destinies and a sufficiently tangled, yet chill plot that will leave you hoping she'll produce one more of these gems sometime soon.
Despite the hype, Malibu Rising did not disappoint at all – it's somehow strangely, both a very similar book to Daisy Jones & the Six, and at the same time, completely different. It's got a similar tone and vibe, and it will make you feel just as attached to the characters as that one did. Also, while there is an abundance of characters, you still get to know them and their struggles just as well as you did in Daisy Jones & the Six. And yet, Malibu Rising is also so very different from Daisy Jones & the Six. It's about families, but also sort of... From the other side of the view.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
4.5 stars
This was a very refreshing book to read. I have been stuck in a loop of 'meh' books for How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
4.5 stars
This was a very refreshing book to read. I have been stuck in a loop of 'meh' books for a while, slogging through them and thinking I'll probably never like one ever again. But when I started this one, it engaged me immediately and I finished it in two days. The ideas were fresh and interesting, and the voice was unique as well.
It's hard to tell you what the story is about. At the start, you'll think it's about a dystopian society order, and in a way, maybe it is - but that's not really the main point the book is driving, I think. (view spoiler)[ So what starts of as a society critique, ends up being about meaning of life and understanding yourself. I don't think I've ever read a book which so purposely misleads the reader, and I mean it in a good way. You think you're reading about one thing, so you form your opinions, and then the real stuff comes out of left field. It's like a whole dance for the reader, and it totally got me. I never figured that's how things would end, or that that's where it was going. (hide spoiler)]I don't think this is a particularly big spoiler (or even a spoiler at all), but I think this book is best started without knowing much of anything about it, so I've just spoiler tagged it regardless.
From a scifi world set up, some of the things didn't make sense, but I've decided to let them go for this review, because the book had deeper meaning than just the setup of the dystopian society. That was not the point. Ultimately, I think there are so many things that can be taken away from reading this story that I should probably read it again sometime. It's a short book, and it addresses meaning of life, depression, understanding yourself, finding yourself, family and society dynamics and so much more. More than that, it's just original, and honestly - also kind of weird. I'm sure you'll enjoy this story too.
I thank the author for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
From the Ashes made me sad, like every single book about Native/indigenous people's strugglHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
From the Ashes made me sad, like every single book about Native/indigenous people's struggles in the post-collonial world does. The saddest thing of all is that most of the stories carry a lot of the same vibe, same reasons and tragedies, so despite having read only a few, you still know that it's a story of so many more people's lives - people who simply couldn't afford to tell it. And that as bad and as sad as it was, it isn't even the worst one, most likely. My heart always hurts knowing how these cultures were robbed of their future. It's such a loss to our world as a whole.
From the Ashes is told in a straightforward manner, and the key takeaway for me was that unless you are loved, you will not thrive. And that it's not even poverty or hardship that undermines your chances in life so much as the fact that nobody has properly loved you as a child, or at least hasn't made it known to you that you were loved and someone believed in you. As a child, the author felt that maybe his parents' shortcomings were his fault somehow (as most children feel about their parents' problems or divorce), and that only as an adult he realized that every carer he's ever had looked at him and his brothers as burdens, transactions, duties... But not children. Not people who needed love to not only thrive - to simply survive and not crumble.
As for the story itself, it really kind of baffles the mind - in the sense of "how did he even survive". Some of the things the author went through... You think, it's plain impossible that he's here, publishing this book right now. Because it simply can't be humanly possible. Nothing short of a miracle or a few in fact. And they're a bit scary. I'm obviously glad the author was given so many chances and managed to get back up eventually. But it's also scary to think how many chances he just let go of, how many chances given it took for him to stand up and get out of the darkness.
It really is a powerful story, but it's not an easy one. There are many hard points to this story - assault, homelessness, violence, disease and emotional trauma, abandonment and so, so much more. Most of the book is dedicated to these points, and not the ascension "from the ashes". It's a powerful story, but a sensitive reader should think twice before they tackle it - it's not for someone who is struggling through anxiety or depression at the moment. Keep this story for when you're stronger. But you won't regret reading it - I wouldn't call it inspiring rather than just "awakening". After reading something like that, you will count your blessings in life.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
Three Girls from Bronzeville is a serious memoir about three very different lives that cameHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
Three Girls from Bronzeville is a serious memoir about three very different lives that came out of similar circumstances. I don't know why, but I started reading it thinking it was fiction - I guess I just forgot the blurb (and what's written on the cover, apparently! *facepalm*) But I quickly realized that this can't be fiction - I don't know, there's just something about it. When we write fiction about hardship, we write it differently. Life has its own, sometimes quite unromantic ways of making hardship play out in real lives. Perhaps less dramatically expressed than in fiction, but real life has ways of grinding down 'the characters' like you wouldn't believe. This is what happens in this story as well.
That said, it's not all sad things. The story of Dawn (who wrote this book about herself, her sister and her best friend) is an inspiring one. The core of the story is these three girls' lives and how differently they unfolded. The main thing here, is that the girls all came from similar or even the same backgrounds, and yet their lives worked out very differently. The book raises the question of why this happens.
Two of the girls had sad stories. The third girl did well, despite what life threw her way. However, even one of the sad stories has a redemption, and the last third of the book is dedicated towards the 'rising of the phoenix'. I thought it was very inspiring how a life can be picked up even out of a very deep ditch. In fact, this was the bit of the book I enjoyed the most, because for the first half, I had trouble getting into it - it was a long setup of just the girls' childhoods and their younger lives, which of course brought them to the later stages and decisions of their lives, but somehow that bit dragged for me a bit. However, when I made it through it, the second part of the book greatly paid off and I felt uplifted by the end message of it all. Three Girls from Bronzeville is definitely a worthy read, especially if the subject of racial inequality and life in poorer areas is a subject that is interesting to you.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
In this book, two women, one 17 and one 83, meet in the hospital as they're headed towards How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
In this book, two women, one 17 and one 83, meet in the hospital as they're headed towards the sunset of their lives, only one of them is going there much too early. It's a book about friendship, but not just that. It's so much more - it's also about finding yourself, understanding love, accepting things and just... Life. Living it out. However much you've got left.
If you thought this book was going to be weepy cause the main character is dying and that's the premise, well - you're wrong. As we meet Leni, we instantly realize she's got a good backbone and plenty of fire in her. And a good sense of humor! The first pages often made me smile.
The funny thing is, I never thought a book about dying people could be so... Comfortable. And so... Alive? One of the characters describes Leni as "so alive", so she can't possibly be dying - and when I read this and thought about it, I realized that, indeed, that's a great description of the character - I couldn't sum her up better. From the very first pages of the book, Leni just comes off the page.
And yet... The book is also sneakily sad. It's not outright sad, and yet... You realize that prolonging the life of a terminally ill patient is both a saving grace, as well as kind of cruel, really. But there is just no good solution. Leni doesn't want to die - and yet, the hospital is a prison for her. Bed rest is a punishment. Her days are all the same, and things she loves are taken from her one by one, as her world shrinks. It's truthfully very sad to watch, but you realize that you're not sure what is ethically more correct - to let a person suffer the drudgery longer? Or to let them live life fully, but with their time shortened..? Much to think about.
Aside from all this, The One Hundred Years of Leni and Margot is also a book about loss, complicated love and figuring yourself out. A love that's hard to pursue. And it's queer! I will not elaborate, cause it's kind of a spoiler if I do, but I did want to just mention it at least, so you knew it was there.
So now, the name of the book. Bet you're wondering why it's called that, especially because we know that both the characters are dying and probably won't get to live to 100. Well, let me spoiler tag this, but (view spoiler)[between the two of them, they're a hundred years old. (hide spoiler)] How cool is that? And it's even better than that - because (view spoiler)[ Leni and Margot make an artistic monument to their 100 years - a drawing for each year of their lives. Something to remember and relive the years through. And that's how we learn their stories as well. (hide spoiler)]
In reality, although the book is continuous, it's made up of snippets of now and of the past from both women's lives. So ever so slowly, we learn about who Leni and Margot were, before they became patients with terminal conditions. We learn to love them, we wonder about their quite complicated and not at all easy lives. And then it's time to say goodbye. This is why the book really leaves a mark on you.
By the time it's time to say goodbye, you can feel your heart breaking for the characters. The goodbyes are so gentle, so quiet. It affects you deeply. It makes you stop and think. And you know you'll remember the story for quite a while.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley for TheWriteReads blog tour
Instructions for Dancing may heal your heart, or break your heaHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley for TheWriteReads blog tour
Instructions for Dancing may heal your heart, or break your heart – or actually both, but either way you won’t forget the story. It’s a very gentle YA with an incredible book boyfriend and a deep message.
This book was mostly chill and lovely, despite dealing with some really tough topics and this is a huge spoiler BUT also a huge trigger, so proceed at your own peril. (view spoiler)[ This is not a happy ending book, not really. There are many death topics. If you are looking for a happy book, this is not exactly it. It is comfortable, and sweet for the most part, but it’s not a happy-making romance. (hide spoiler)] That’s the least spoilery way I can say it.
Despite that, it was beautiful. It’s about letting go, living in the now and realizing that it’s not (view spoiler)[ the endings that matter, and not even the beginnings, but the experiences. Life is messy and hard and unpredictable, and the only thing we can hope to keep are our experiences that we had going through things, and that’s why we should treasure them. (hide spoiler)]
I thank the publisher and The Write Reads tours for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: borrowed through BookBeat audio subscription
Mixed feelings about this one. I liked it a lot at first, and the audiobook narration is How I read this: borrowed through BookBeat audio subscription
Mixed feelings about this one. I liked it a lot at first, and the audiobook narration is brilliant. But then, I don't know... Things kept going nowhere, and at the end, everything (view spoiler)[ falls into place as if it's an afterthought. Things that weren't in the story for most of the book suddenly matter. It kind of felt a little deus ex machina that way. (hide spoiler)] The book was certainly good entertainment, but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be.
I also had a pet peeve about this book. There was a bit where they spoke about a blood test for paternity ascertainment. But DNA testing wasn't used before the 60s or 70s. This is 1956. So I'm still confused about whether this was lack or research or maybe something else was meant. Meh.
I mostly enjoyed the plot and writing of this novel and even though it's not my favorite, I thought it was worth the read. HOWEVER, please keep in mind that my opinion is a European person's opinion and I know next to nothing about what India is really like. So please take a look at some opinions by genuine Indian readers here on Goodreads. Some of them saw certain problems with exoticizing India and real critique on how the caste system was represented. My rating remains as it is because I don't know anything about these subjects, therefore it only expresses my emotional enjoyment of the story. Please read Indian people's reviews too to form a complete opinion. One such example could be Shruti's review.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
This is perhaps the first book I've ever read on couple relationships and building them. I How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
This is perhaps the first book I've ever read on couple relationships and building them. I wanted to read it because when I saw it, I thought, I'm now married too. A year or two ago, this was something seemingly off limits, but as I read it shortly after my first wedding anniversary, I thought, it could now be interesting to read about how people have lasted for ten years. It's now something that concerns me as well (go figure).
I found the storytelling quite interesting, because it's not a standard format. Both of the partners write their side of the experience, year by year. And they write it all separately, without consulting each other. At first, I thought that might get repetitive - like maybe they'd both talk of the same things. But it wasn't like it at all - I guess it only goes to show how differently the same situations can be experienced and remembered by two different people, even if they are in a close relationship. For one person it's one certain situation that was more memorable, and for the other it's something completely different. I found it very interesting how without reading back each other's stories, they managed to tell it through different angles, centering on different aspects. It was an interesting and surprising format for sure.
I especially liked Meg's parts of the story. Somehow, we have so much in common. Maybe it's being a millennial woman, but I don't know, I think I share more traits with her than just that. Meg very openly talked about her insecurities in regards to her body (actually, after one particular chapter, you will know which squirrel is which on the cover and why! I loved that reference of the cover to the story.) I could also relate to her stressing over having to keep control in various situations, including house cleaning and jobs - I could see myself in many of those. I laughed when I read that she too was floored when she learned that marriage isn't just you taking care of your husband, it's also the husband taking care of you (I really can't explain why I didn't feel that was the case, myself. Perhaps my family history, coupled with how we women are brought up. I vibed so much with that moment though.) Then there is also the bit where I loathe change, just like Meg - or, as she put it, unnecessary discomfort is kind of your native tongue, when you're a woman. So very true.
I also liked reading the bits about 2009-2013 which were somehow really nostalgic for me. People who were teens and young adults during that time will vibe hard - I didn't even know so many things from that subculture of ours were already gone, until Joseph and Meg reminded me. Like the way we used social media, which is now completely different. The way we understood and felt music. The way we all tried to be exceptional in these incredibly 2010-ish ways that can't be repeated now, somehow. Those and more are things we just don't do anymore - things that I thought were just me, but actually, they're US ALL - even though we lived half a world apart, me and the authors. It's such a strange feeling of generational togetherness that I've never experienced before.
And you know, the funniest thing... Is that this book and this couple was the exact right read for me. Me and my husband think of ourselves as very, very weird people. So do the authors of this book. Which is why it shouldn't surprise me that I found so many similar quirks in us as couples. It's very nice when you think you're the two weirdest people in the world, but then there's someone else just like you! I loved reading their story for that, among many other reasons - but for this one especially. It's definitely worth picking up though, even if you're not even half as weird as me and my husband!
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
What a beautiful book - but so bittersweet. It's a book about so many things - teenage frieHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
What a beautiful book - but so bittersweet. It's a book about so many things - teenage friendship, first love, standing up for yourself and figuring yourself out, but at the same time - about a town that's not ready for change, for acceptance, for accepting people who are even a little different. And it's about change - how it happens at a very personal level, one day at a time.
If you already read this book and loved it and are looking for more similar reads, I thought Angie had a similar vibe to this one.
This was a very slow book, which is what many readers mention in their reviews, but I absolutely loved it being that way. To me, it felt like that one summer we've all probably had, when we were at the border between childhood and adulthood, when time moved ever so slowly and everything that happened made an indelible impression on you, made you who you are. For the main character, that's meeting a girl named Lia. A girl so special, so different, yet unafraid to be who she is, that she shakes his entire worldview and helps him discover his true self.
As a love story, it's very casual and chill. Since the main characters are both young teens (14-15ish), it's really innocent, and it focuses more on the emotional, formative experience that our first romance usually becomes for us. But the romance is not the only thing the story centers on.
Another core thing is values - changing values, acceptance of others in communities, religion, despite small town conservatism. Matthew's town isn't quite ready for the things that happen, but the story is one of progress, and it's hopeful. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you, so I won't explain more - but it's definitely worth a read.
This book ever so gently and ever so subtly celebrates diversity and tries to open your eyes to how the times are, or should be, changing. The love story is incredibly bittersweet, and once you finish it, you'll realize you've always known that this was how the story would go. But it's a good story. And it leaves you with a full heart, and a hopeful mood. I greatly enjoyed it.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Overall, this was a sweet story of letting go and it's mostly about grief and dealing with How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Overall, this was a sweet story of letting go and it's mostly about grief and dealing with it. Geraldine is a childless woman in her 70s who's just lost her beloved husband and she's dealing with it in increasingly weirder and more dysfunctional ways. The story is about how her friends helped her deal with it and how she got better.
It was meant to make you feel warm inside, I could tell - but I know I won't remember the story after I close the book, and I found myself bored quite a few times. However, there will definitely be readers who will be more in tune with the themes, so I think it can be a meaningful and enjoyable story, just not for me. It does have a few triggers though, they are (view spoiler)[the husband's death of cancer, abortion, inability to carry a child to term / conceive and miscarriage. (hide spoiler)]
In this book, I was only really uncomfortable with one thing - the hobby of the main character's husband, catching butterflies and pinning them in boxes. It's talked about as if it's romantic, but... It's just killing. It's killing beautiful butterflies. It's even mentioned that it's not allowed anymore, because species are going extinct. And I do get that it's realistic that pensioners of now might have had this hobby in the past, back while it was perfectly acceptable. But it was quite upsetting for me to read 'romantic' descriptions of a man waiting to catch AND kill a beautiful creature, to put it in a box in his room. Catching and killing butterflies was described as sensitive and romantic. Not something I'll ever understand, and I don't feel like this is something that should be romanticized.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
This is a good book, but also terribly sad and heavy. CRH's stories are often on the heavy How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
This is a good book, but also terribly sad and heavy. CRH's stories are often on the heavy side morally and emotionally, but this one was more so than the others, in my opinion. While in most of her stories, we often have a young person, most of the times a teen coming of age and learning to exist in a world with a lot of adults who make questionable or poor decisions, there is usually one or two big figures who are moral, good and steer the young person towards the "light", so to say, but in this story... The only moral light comes from the main character himself (there is a very small positive influence from a neighbor, but he's a super minor character who appears very late and for a very short time, nothing like it usually is in CRH's stories). So what I'm saying is, pretty much every adult who would be able to help in any way, shape or form, is either complacent or outright evil in this book, and things constantly go from bad to worse to utterly awful. It doesn't let up. The book is depressing.
With that said, I still think it's a good story to read - just know that if you have anxiety issues right now, maybe read it later. But also, it talks about horrible things like the internment of the Japanese during WWII and racism and prejudice, and not only racial prejudice (the main character is a teen finding out he's gay).
There's also that bit where since the start of 2020 we've all been feeling like things are in a constant downward spiral and nothing will ever get better anymore, cause we're constantly getting bad news about something, and no one's optimistic about the future anymore. Reading this book gives you some kind of perspective - at least, it did for me. Yeah, things kind of suck now - but they kind of sucked a lot more back then. In fact, some of the things sucked SO MUCH that a lot of people didn't know how the sun would rise ever again (say, after everyone found out about what REALLY happened in concentration camps in Poland.) And yet, people somehow persisted. The world rebuilt. Life went on and recovered. And that gives you perspective, and maybe even hope.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
4.5 stars - This book was SO COOL. To anyone who liked The Clan of the Cave Bear books, thiHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
4.5 stars - This book was SO COOL. To anyone who liked The Clan of the Cave Bear books, this will be gold. I finished it in basically two evenings and only pried myself off because it was honestly time to sleep already.
Two girls, Shinoni and Keena, one an early human, the other a Neanderthal, meet in dangerous circumstances - both abducted by a dangerous man, they have to run, and it's safer in numbers. The girls couldn't possibly be more different - both in terms of culture, as well as skin color, build and even language. Luckily, the Neanderthal girl can speak Shinoni's language, so they slowly form a bond. Soon, a wolf joins them and becomes their faithful companion.
These girls do EVERYTHING, starting from simply hunting, healing wounds, and ending with, I swear, riding a mammoth. It's incredibly cool, and you can feel the book was written to encourage girls to be who everyone says they can't be. Perhaps that was the case for early women as well.
For comparison with the Cave Bear Clan books, this story is a lot more quickly paced, less concentrated on explaining and more on doing, which I liked a lot - that's the reason I'm currently on hold with reading the first Cave Bear Clan book, although I love the concept. So Sisters of the Wolf is basically the same, but more YA, more action and more about human relationships with each other. It's great.
The only thing I didn't particularly love about this story was that there was always this superiority of early modern day humans against Neanderthals in between the lines. Yes, we are the survivors and it is generally accepted that humans were better fit in the evolutionary sense, but we don't strictly know why, do we - we don't really know all that much about Neanderthals at all. For all we know, maybe it was some disease that particularly affected the Neanderthals but didn't really affect us much - so it's not necessarily that Neanderthals were 'stupider' than us. They were just different. I'll bet they had their own wisdom that they could teach us, who knows. Which is why I kind of felt sad that it's always Shinoni teaching Keena, and it's almost never the other way round. But this is purely an opinion! It didn't really affect my enjoyment of the story, and I don't think it will affect yours.
All in all, I'm so happy I chanced upon this book. It was an amazing read and I'm sure it'll stay in my mind for a long time. Now I'm motivated to pick up the Cave Bear Clan books again! And I wish Sisters of the Wolf was translated into Lithuanian too, so my mom could read it. She's a huge Cave Bear Clan fan and I know she would LOVE Sisters of the Wolf too. In general, I wish there were more books written about prehistoric times! They're just so incredibly interesting. Come on, my author friends - give us more!!
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Wow... Lights Out in Lincolnwood was definitely one of the more original stories I read thiHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Wow... Lights Out in Lincolnwood was definitely one of the more original stories I read this year, and maybe not even just this year. I’m very glad I chanced upon this book, because not only was it snarky and kind of funny, but it was also serious in the way of, “but what if?”
This is not a zombie apocalypse book, but it is a realistic exploration of the idea of a possibly apocalyptic event, and in that sense, it reminded me of Station Eleven (although that story is set much farther down the road – Lights Out in Lincolnwood only happens like three-four days into the trouble.) The story flings a family of privileged entitled people into some real trouble and asks them, how would they cope? You see them flail, but you start wondering, how would YOU cope, if your entire world come crashing down? Would you believe it's temporary? Or would you enter the new dark tomorrow with a fury?
And I have to say, the Altmans are pretty messed up. They’re a disaster waiting to happen, but because of the distorting lens of daily life and routine problems, nobody has noticed that the family is on the brink of certain desctruction. Every single one of the Altmans is focused solely and entirely on himself or herself, without a single thought of what might be going on in the universe of the person next to them. It’s no wonder that they all fumble about the newly developed situation with completely disastrous circumstances. Watching the Altmans navigate a possible apocalypse is a little bit like watching a bunch of cows trying to stand up on the surface of a frozen lake. It’s sad, but also just that little bit funny, and so you just can’t look away.
4.5 stars, rounded to 5. This was brilliant, although maybe a little long winded, but when you get attached to the characters as in this series, that'4.5 stars, rounded to 5. This was brilliant, although maybe a little long winded, but when you get attached to the characters as in this series, that's actually quite desirable. Also, bonus points for if you're a Shakespeare nerd! You'll love it.
Oh, and I listened to the audiobook (on the Bookbeat subscription service). The full cast did a brilliant job. Incredible quality audio.
Ever since I interviewed a book blogger with dyslexia, I’ve been interested in reading more books on the topic. I’ve since read a few, most of them for a middle grade audience – so it was incredibly interesting to check out one geared at a YA audience too. My Name is Layla is a book that immediately drew me in! In read fast and fluently, and I didn’t even notice how I made it through the first half in just one evening.
I felt like My Name is Layla was a very relatable book. And it’s odd, because I don’t have dyslexia, and neither did I have a hard time keeping up with my schoolwork. My reasons for disliking school were completely different.
And yet – somehow Layla’s experiences are universally relatable. Reyna Marder Gentin makes the main focus of the book be being an outsider – the theme is started with the teens reading The Outsiders for English class, then watching a movie and the teacher having them write an essay about it. The theme continues on, as Layla stays the outsider among her peers – able to do things, but hindered by brain fog, anxiety, pressure to perform and of course, dyslexia at the root of it all.
This book was great, and I loved it so much. The only drawback which docked a half a star for me was that it stopped just as I got going (the book is quite short, only 140 pages or so.) Layla gets to the point where she starts solving her problems, but we don’t get to see how she does it – the time just skips to where everything is solved. The switch felt kind of quick and inorganic to me. I wish we had more process, because I truly enjoyed all the characters and also the budding teenage romance that was tentatively forming between Layla and Samuel (also written very well!) But, you know – when you find yourself wishing the book was longer, it simply just means that the book was really good and you want more, right?
How I read this: Free ebook copy received for a blog tour from publicist and tour managers via NetGalley
WOW WOW WOW. Unforgettable story. A 560+ page How I read this: Free ebook copy received for a blog tour from publicist and tour managers via NetGalley
WOW WOW WOW. Unforgettable story. A 560+ page beast that I gobbled up IN TWO DAYS. Grand, looming and incredible. If you: - are a fan of Mass Effect - loved The Three-Body Problem - love not-only-human and not-only-able-bodied casts - love cool strong fighter women - love a dark story - are prepared for many pages and a whole series of that
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
Oh, I have so many thoughts about this book. Please read the long review for those. This isHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
Oh, I have so many thoughts about this book. Please read the long review for those. This is the short version. The Startup Wife was an amazing book, and I find myself still thinking about it long after I’ve finished it. It was just one of those books where you start reading it, and you know it’s going to be an instant hit with you. I can only compare The Startup Wife with books like Daisy Jones & The Six, Oona Out of Order, maybe even The Oracle Year (although they’re all a completely different kind of story, there’s a mood and a vibe that matched for me.)
It’s hip, even a little hipster, but it’s also down to earth. You can somehow relate to it, even though your life isn’t even close to the one the characters are living. It’s serious, and yet has quite a lot of humor and easy going vibes, despite exploring some really dark, tough human relationship areas. All I can say is I wish I chanced upon more books like The Startup Wife, because these books are why I read in the first place – these are the kinds of books I’m always looking for.
For women who have worked in newer companies, or possibly engineering and IT, there will be a lot they can relate to. There were times when I had those “oh, girl” moments when I was reading it. It’s amazing to be able to read a book and know, with your heart and soul, what the author means, and yet, at the same time know that it’s something only another woman will understand. It’s sad and it makes you angry, but then again, it’s also good to know you’re not alone, and that other women also understand this. And especially – that you’re not making it up (a thing even I have heard, despite working with very nice men.) That’s why The Startup Wife is an absolute must-read!
Evelina | AvalinahsBooks
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