5 waah, crying out loud, snuffling, rolls of paper towel consuming but still having a nonstop runny nose, damn! Stop it! I can’t take it anymore, I ha5 waah, crying out loud, snuffling, rolls of paper towel consuming but still having a nonstop runny nose, damn! Stop it! I can’t take it anymore, I haven’t cried so much after seeing Di Caprio freezing in the ocean, oh God, after 2 hours I keep crying, “when does this torture end ?” stars!
They tell you BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.
I got bored to death because of reading soft, sweet, lovely rom-coms in which those characters do silly things, full of clichés, some laughs, ha ha, some resentment and heartbreaking, and final revelations, happily ever after, riding into the sunset kinda novels!
So I wished to read something angsty, edgy, dark, rough, some book which could shake me to my core, smash my heart into smithereens.
I kept reading reviews and try to choose a book, left some of them at first pages. And finally my genie in the bottle( a.k.a my GR friends who have great taste) granted my wish and I found ” The Other Side”.
Yay! My dreams come true. So I was finally happy. Not so fast! Yeap, I found the ideal book which properly can satisfy my high level pain tolerance. But I think this book was a little extreme.
Ask me why and I tell you: Main traumatic issues on this book that the characters suffered from:
Mental illness, self-destruction, drug addiction, underage pregnancy, rape, alcoholism, AIDS, blindness, Vietnam syndrome, suicidal tendencies, shoplifting, Sid and Nancy addiction( okay, this one not so bad, I actually have that, too) etc.
Reading this book, surrendering your heart to the author with complete obedience, so first she can rip it apart and toss it against the wall like a tennis ball over and over again. So you got back your heart, you feel like carrying a beaten meat!
I felt like somebody ran over me with his/her car all night long. But I still survive with my jellied legs, emotions all over the place. Just like Rocketman’s last scene I keep singing” I’m still standing, yeah yeah yeah!”
Don’t get me wrong I got what I deserved, this book deals with so much depressing, disturbing, heart-wrenching issues. Too many times I wanted to throw it away from my window and start screaming “Why why oohhh why is life so unfair!” but I took a break, cooled down and returned to my reading.
Well, the result is amazing because the author is like an amazing composer, burrowing your sadness, hopes, failures, dark thoughts, playing them like an amazing instrument and creating a remarkable symphony by using her talented, heart-warming, soul-crushing words.
This is not only a romance book. This book is dedication to the broken people who are the strongest, toughest people on the earth, who are brave enough to fight against the struggles, learn from their mistakes and finally love themselves exactly who they were!
This book is for SOUL SURVIVORS
This book is for FIGHTERS
This book is for LOSERS who are also not afraid to try again!
I liked each character starting with Toby. From the beginning, he told his story and defined himself like a total douchebag. He acted like a real scumbag by hunting broken, problematic, lonely ladies from the bar and leave them for one night (mostly half night) stands, impregnated a girl when he was only 17, wearing a steel armor not to connect with people. He’s loner, outsider and he thinks he doesn’t deserve to breathe in this world because he has killed his own sister.
Well, you start to hate him, right? But let’s hear the other side of his story from the people connected with him and understand how an evil genius, brilliant author can fool us!
So what can I say? I fell in love with all those characters, starting from TOBY, JOHNNY, ALICE, CLIFF!
I suffered a lot from runny nose, hickups, ugliest sobs but with the surprising ending, revelations ( YES THERE ARE SO MAY UNEXPECTED TWISTS at the end.), I got my happy ending and shut my mouth, putted a smile on my face makes me look like Jack Nicholson’s version of Joker.
As a summary; I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT!
I don’t recommend to readers who have low pain tolerance! If your motto is “No pain no gain” as like me, this book is your match made in heaven.
Five blood freezing, rage boiler, pump squeezer, creator of several lumps on your throat, tear jerker, wake up call for all the injustice, unacceptablFive blood freezing, rage boiler, pump squeezer, creator of several lumps on your throat, tear jerker, wake up call for all the injustice, unacceptable, unfair wrongdoings of the system stars!
As soon as I closed the book, I just sat for at least two hours, paralyzed, did nothing, lost, confused, agitated, speechless, deeply, wholeheartedly, painfully sorry for the characters and all the suffering they had to endure. The worst thing is I didn’t read a fiction, I definitely read something based on true stories.
When you’re surrounded by your own choices which make you feel safe and careless and stick to your daily routine, reach out to your own comfort zone,you always tend to forget what happens at the outside! This book makes you remember it with a harsh, vulgar, ugly slap on your face! It makes you remember, outrageous, darkest shameful era of American history.
It starts with Elwood’s story who is smart, who likes comic books so much, who is hard-worker and who has bright future by starting his college education. But everything changed as soon as he found himself a stolen car and accused wrongly as a thief, was sent to Nickel Academy, segregated juvenile, full of racism, torture, abuse, brutality.
Elwood seems like a naïve who still thinks he could fight against injustice, corruption, repression in the school. As soon as he meets with cynical, smart, practical Turner who finds his partner in crime to survive in this jungle.
You can find the great balance and mash-up of many produced, perfect stories of injustice in this book starting from “Kill a Mockingbird”, “Fruitvale Station”, “ Do the right thing”, “When They See Us”, “Shawshank Redemption”.
If you could survive after reading brutal, aggressive, raw, raging things that the characters endured and fought against by sharpening their survival skills and have a good stomach to absorb the details you’re gonna read because there are so many truths hidden inside between the lines, this book is great way to face the other side of frightening human history that encourages you do something by raising your voice and stop acting like three wise monkeys by opening your eyes!
The ending was another surprise and gut wrenching twist knocks you out!
I wanted to finish my review with the remarkable words of Martin Luther King Jr’s quote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”
Sigh… Sigh…Sigh… I think I will continue to sit, speechless, lost, shaken, angsty, sad…I need more time to absorb what I’ve just read!
5 thousand stars first for wonderful, amazing illustration on the cover and five thousand stars go for rest of the heart throbbing, one of the most cr5 thousand stars first for wonderful, amazing illustration on the cover and five thousand stars go for rest of the heart throbbing, one of the most creative, colorful, joyful journeys to many different imaginary portals you can never imagine to visit!
FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT, OPEN YOUR EYES, READY TO COUNT TO 10 THOUSAND!
This is amazing combination of McGuire’s Wayward Children Series and Stephen King’s Dark Tower series!
BLURB: Seven years old January’s revelation of finding a door opens to Faerie, Atlantis, Valhalla, and the places never found on a map. Of course I’m intrigued and wanted to learn more!
HEROINE: January is definitely; brave, witty, sarcastic, loyal, gifted, young heroine. It’s enjoyable how she compares herself with regular book heroines with her great sense of humor!
FAVORITE CHARACTERS: Of course the badass, loyal, brave dog!
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS: Mr. Locke, blood freezing, teeth grinding, nerve bending villain who deserves to be putted on a dart chart so you can be more concentrated to hit the target!
Jane is memorable Amazon woman! Straightforward, tough, protector. Samuel: sweet, loyal, romantic, impossible not to love and care for!
And January’s parents and their love story are definitely heartbreaking! I sighed so many times when I’m reading their parts!
WRITING STYLE: Pacing was not fast but not too slow! It keeps your attention alert and hooked you from the first page, you don’t want to stop, want to learn more and more till your head starts to turn because you passed your sleep time five hours ago and you start to see the sunrise and you realize it’s too late to go to the bed so you’d better finish the book!
ENDING: When I close a book and see my smile like Cheshire cat cover my face all night, it means I’m so satisfied with the ending. So yes! It’s the best emotional, joyful, smart ending to this unconventional, creative, well-crafted, remarkable story!
FANTASY LOVERS, GOOD STORY CHASERS, PORTAL TRAVELERS, this book is highly recommended for you!
4.5 rounded up 5 stars to an apocalyptic, dystopian , bloody, vulgar, harsh, nerve-bending, nail-biting, heart-throbbing version of Red Riding Hood! I4.5 rounded up 5 stars to an apocalyptic, dystopian , bloody, vulgar, harsh, nerve-bending, nail-biting, heart-throbbing version of Red Riding Hood! I never see this coming ! This author is more merciless and definitely wilder than Grimm Brothers and I literally devoured each pages but I’m still hungry for more!
This book is gruesome, reminds of us so many “The world is ending” and “ contagious virus” theme projects starting from Bird Box ( Just like movie version the two children accompany Red are “ he” and “she” just like Sandra Bullock call them), “28 days later”, so much better version of Shymalan’s “Happening” ( the situation of abandoned houses, stores with full of dead people), Sodenberg’s ”Contagion” and finally this is not the dystopian movie but as it is admitted on the book, the creature’s technique of ripping apart of the people’s abdomens is totally great tribute to Ridley Scott’s “Alien”!
We have a remarkable heroine like younger but definitely rougher and tougher version of Sarah Connor( mostly the second movie and ore muscled version) meets girl version of Mad Max( let’s say Maxine )!
When I was a child I have read too many Grimm Brothers’ nightmarish fairy-tales and I was also disappointed about the naivety of red riding hood ( she cannot differentiate her grandma from a wolf, come on Red! Wear glasses!) but this super version of her , Red so smart, also intelligent ( a book worm, know-it-all kinda girl like Hermione Granger), a loner, isolated one because she has hard times to trust people completely. At more parts she makes you think she is the protector of her own family. She never acts like a young girl, she’s old soul, always calculating every move, knowing how to use sharp objects, she’s born as fighter and survivor.
Amazing heroine, gripping, fast paced story-telling, nonstop action capture your attention and hook you from the beginning. You don’t want to put it down. ( I confess I let my husband feed me at the dinner when I was frantically turning the pages! At least I was having sushi ) For most parts of the book I wanted to raise my punch at the air and scream” Yessss! Atta girl!”, some parts made my stomach churned, but at the end I can hear my own evil laughs because I enjoyed it.
Only the unanswered questions about the government experiments and the cause of the contagion a little disturbed my mind. But this book is about Red’s story and her surviving fight to reach to her grandma’s house.
I love the ending! Never ending action, thrilling, captivating, shocking parts. I already added gruesome versions of Alice and Peter Pan’s stories. I need to read more from the author because I had so much fun!...more
Hey GR friends are you ready for my second auction for stars bidding? Yes, sure you did! Here we go!
Let’s start with five hundred stars because anyonHey GR friends are you ready for my second auction for stars bidding? Yes, sure you did! Here we go!
Let’s start with five hundred stars because anyone read this book can easily fall in love with those characters, five thousand, five million, I think I heard five billion, whaaat red haired crazy woman raised her hand and raised to five trillion, SOLD to five trillion starts to this year’s best crime, evilish, mind bending, grey cell killing, agitating and surprising book!
Yes, I was the crazy red haired woman and as soon as I opened this book, I wanted to buy it a romantic dinner, take it to the movies and spend my last 10 hours.
This book wasn’t only glued to my fingers, it captivated my mind and conquered my soul. Well done, Mr. Robotham, I already dashed down to the bookstores to buy your other books because I will feel better when I’m gonna read the paperbacks ( Okay, I confess, I got terrified on some parts and threw my kindle against the wall, at least I cannot hurt the papers, am I right?)
The story starts by introducing us Evvie Cormac who’s staying on a ward for a long time. Nobody knows her real name or anything about her past. There is nothing can be found about her on the records. But later we’re learning two things about he :
1)She’s a lie detector. ( As like Tim Roth at “Lie to me” but she doesn’t feed herself with science, she achieves to catch the lies instinctively. )
2) She’s ANGELFACE, who is the survivor of murder house and spent days while a corpse was rooting at the next room of the house and at the end, a woman officer saved her.
And then we’re introduced to psychologist Cyrus Haven who was also a survivor of a murder house (His own brother massacred their family)
So we interacted with two broken souls, two not victims but survivors, two grifted, original, straightforward, smart characters. It was impossible to love them.
Then two of them found themselves to solve a young skater girl’s murder mystery.
What I enjoyed about this book:
Unpredictable pacing of the story. First time in my life I tried to read a book slowly because I didn’t want to finish it. I wished too many times, I had 10 more sequel books so I can binge reading and start to sing “psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est? Fa, fa, fa, far better` from Talking Heads. Well, unfortunately the book ended and I felt like I left the dinner table with hungry stomach, I wanted moreeeee!!!
And the blood freezing, gut wrenching, darkest, WTH I just read it kinda ending, final, harsh revelations about murder mystery ( This book reminded me with its ominous, disturbing, chilling atmosphere, Danish series “Forbrydelsen”- “The Killing” is the US version)
After you finish it, you’re mumbling some unidentified words and you’re brushing your cheeks several times because the author slapped you several times. And the interesting fact is you want to get more slaps. I spent all my stars at the auction but it was truly worth it! I’m telling you this is my favorite crime thriller of this year! Brava, well down, fantastic job! As an ending to my review I’m adding a small thank you note to the writer:
Dear Mr. Robotham, Thank you for writing this amazing book. Thank you for reminding me there are still so many gifted writers out there I had to discover and devour their books. And please please pleaseeeee don’t make us wait too long. I’m kindly begging you, write the sequels sooner than ever. I need to read more Cyrus-Evvie books. All the best, Your newest and permanent fan Nilufer...more
Four somebody hold the door please, because I’m volunteer to get this bloody, scary, mind twisting and shouting, terrifying, not nail biter but whole Four somebody hold the door please, because I’m volunteer to get this bloody, scary, mind twisting and shouting, terrifying, not nail biter but whole arm biter, making you addict to the anxiety pills but you’re going to need to taste your boundaries stars!
THE INGREDIENTS TO CREATE THIS GRUESOME, SMART, WTH I’M READING, TAKE THIS AWAY, BUT ONCE YOU START YOU CANNOT DROP OUT BOOK: Two cups of “ Handmaid’s Tale” One table spoon of “Hunger Games” Two pinches of “Beach” and “Annihilation” And one cup of “ Lord of the flies”
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING THIS HEART THROBBING BOOK Mixed them with anger, frustration, witchy spells, pure magic, violence. And finally add some survival and combat skills, harshness, vulgarism, mercilessness and as soon as it gets cold, please serve it with feminism, equality, women friendship, liberation ( For the French version it will be served with fraternite, egalite, liberte)!
It can be better pair with thriller, apocalyptic , dark, violent, nightmarish book fans!
Don’t let pink cover fool you! If you expect a soft chic lit about women’s journey, please drop it before it gets glued to your hands! If you’re not ready for this book, as soon as you’re gonna want to finish it and you’re gonna start dreaming but I can assure you are not going to see a little girl in your dreams as like as our heroine did.
My minority report for the characters:
Tierney James: Mashup of Katniss Everdeen , German TV series Dark’s parallel universe Martha( the girl we saw at the last scene), Michonne from `”The Walking Dead”. Tough, survivor, problem solver, smart, pure feminist, idealist, skillful fighter.
Ryker: Avenger’s Clint Barton( Jeremy Renner’s archer character) meets Caprio’s Revenant character, Hugh Glass ( at least Ryker doesn’t raw liver) ! Protector, loyal, real good fighter, healer. He’s mysterious, wounded, man of his word but he’s also romantic guy who is ready to sacrifice himself for his love of his life, Tierney.
Michael: Noble, decent guy is about to start his prestigious job, reminds us of Mr. Darcy. Maybe it’s not fair to talk about him at the third place. Because we don’t much see him on the book ( we see him at the beginning and the ending but he makes life changing moves and changes Tierney’s life completely so I have to mention him.)
WRITING: Smart, fast paced, surprising, gripping.
CHARACTERS: All those girls could give you nightmares! They’re acting like incarnated Betty Davis and Joan Crawford ! They’re pure evil, batshit crazy, violent and ruthless! Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest could be considered as a Disney princess if I have to compare those girls with her!
ENDING: A good one, at least there is no total massacre or elimination. It was bloodless, bullet-less , wound-less ! Gives us hope and soothes our anxiety!
WHY I CUT THE ONE STAR: It was chaotic, fast pacing thriller but as soon as I reach at the middle of the book, romance parts didn’t suit so well but the horrifying and severe parts of the book !
And I’m so pissed off that one of the worst villanelles didn’t get what she deserved!
The love triangle was not necessary for me ! ( It doesn’t count as triangle because two men never meet or cross with each other) This book might have stayed as manifesto of women’s uprising to decide their own destinies!
But still it is a good try, well crafted, capturing story and I enjoyed it!
Special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me ARC COPY exchange of my honest review!...more
Five jaw-dropping, unforgettable tango of lyrical mysticism and coming of age !
This book is magic! It connects five different characters by the meaniFive jaw-dropping, unforgettable tango of lyrical mysticism and coming of age !
This book is magic! It connects five different characters by the meaning of their names and ties their destinies by unexpected mysterious road between life and death!
It’s about life after death, love, siblings’ affection, abuse, feminism and awakening of women by discovering their own capabilities, murder, passion, class system, Malaysian and Chinese folklore with vivid characters and captivating storytelling.
The author combined those different subjects exquisitely and did a meticulous, detailed work!
The story starts with the promise of Ren, 11 years old boy whose life purpose is finding out the missing finger of his recently deceased master to give him his peace and prevent him return back from death by disguised in wild tiger body that kills to feed his hunger. He has only 49 days left to find it and bury it in his grave before his soul has elapsed!
And other main character, Jin Li, sewing dresses, dancing with men to pay her mother’s debt, recently gave up on her dreams because of her stepfather accidentally finds the finger. And she needs the help of her taciturn brother who is a doctor for finding out whose finger it was.
This book makes you question if the superstitions, lucky numbers , rituals designate how we live and how we should make our choices!
Could the vengeance of spirits and ghosts affect our lives? Could the people who died with unfinished business reach us in our dreams and govern the critical choices we make?
I loved the murder mystery, taboo relationship/ love story, poignant, soul caressing words and the amazing imagination of the gifted writer who did fantastic job to give us an unforgettable journey to the miraculous worlds by broadening our minds!
Yaaayy!!! Good news my friends! Nina is back for holiday! Click this amazing author’s website: abbiwaxman.com to get your story and boost your holiday Yaaayy!!! Good news my friends! Nina is back for holiday! Click this amazing author’s website: abbiwaxman.com to get your story and boost your holiday spirit!...more
Five gazillion misfit, outsider but truly entertaining stars! For so long I didn’t have so much fun when I was reading a page turner, captivating scieFive gazillion misfit, outsider but truly entertaining stars! For so long I didn’t have so much fun when I was reading a page turner, captivating science fiction/ action book with witty, sarcastic characters!
This was like reading a great combination of Guardians of Galaxy, Firefly( without space cowboys and hottie Captain Mal, don’t worry we have Tyler reminds of us new Star Trek’s Chris Pine)and80’s Brat Pack movies!
Let me introduce you the misfit and magnificent seven!
Tyler: Hottie Golden boy, young Chris Pine, but not arrogant and womanizer, he just knows how to use his dimples to attract opposite sex’s attention. Quiet work oriented, disciplined leader with his own principles....more
5 ugliest, wittiest, fantastic, anti-fairy tale, bravest ,strongest, applause to the strength of women, Hell yeah stars!
Retellings crash into art of w5 ugliest, wittiest, fantastic, anti-fairy tale, bravest ,strongest, applause to the strength of women, Hell yeah stars!
Retellings crash into art of war doctrines, feminism thesis and here’s an amazing, smartly written fantasy book!
You never thought that you could love this new version of Cinderella story! You already knew the old version of fairy tale before Grimm Brothers rule the stories with their honest reality, the beautiful ones are always kind, good hearted, vulnerable and their faces and appearances are reflections of their genuine hearts! They always get the prince and their HEA! Blah blah blah! So being ugly is equal to being cruel, mean, evil and loser of the stories!
What if all the equations could change and beauty would not be the only requirement to get your happy ending. What about being brave, smart, hard-worker, intelligent, sophisticated, determined, skillful, creative, charismatic, game-changer and help you turn into a real leader!
Isabelle and Tavi are ugly sisters who tried to ruin Ella’s life and now they were punished, abandoned and abused, harassed by their own town people. Are the biased people who judge them because of their appearance uglier or our misled daughters who only obeyed what their Maman told her and felt guilty because of their actions?
Every people has FATE and CHANCE! But do they have to do strictly what their fate lead them or do they have their own free will?
This book is about women’s right to reject to be judged by their appearances and choose to transform themselves whoever they want to be! So this is not a random retelling of popular fairy tale. This is witty, encouraging, enlightening version of storytelling about what women deserve in their lives!
And I loved the final twist which changes all the facts we learned from fairytales. The beautiful, kind hearted queen of the story can turn into a cruel villanelle if she gets jealous!!!!!
Our untraditional heroine Isabelle won my heart with her determination, toughness, honesty, fighting soul! She knows she made mistakes and learns her lesson, accepts who she is and finally she understands she can rule her own fate and chances!!!
“ Most people will fight when there’s some hope of winning, no matter how slim. They are called BRAVE! Only a few will keep fighting when all hope is gone. They are called WARRIORS! Isabelle was warrior once but she has forgotten it” This book is wake up call to find yourself and embrace your skills, your inner wolf sleeping inside and tearing you apart if you don’t set your inner wolf free and take any risk, you just accept your fate, let the wolf kill you slowly and painfully!
This part of book below is a great summary of the story and characters’ great fears and challenges :
“This is world the people in it- my mother, Tantine- they sort us. Put us in crates. You are an egg. You are a potato. You are a cabbage. They tell us who we are. What we will do.What we will be.” “Because they are afraid!Afraid of what we could be” Tavi said. “But we let them do it!” Hugo said angrily. “ Why?” Tavi gave him a rueful smile. “ Because we’re afraid of what we could be, too”
So; don’t be afraid who you are! What you’re capable! Embrace yourself! Love yourself! Try to become better version of yourself by finding your life purpose, holding your fate into your hands!!!!
Five deserved, burning, spooky, creepy, witchy, goosebumps stars!
The reasons I enjoyed so much about this book: - We meet with Hattie, a real gifted wFive deserved, burning, spooky, creepy, witchy, goosebumps stars!
The reasons I enjoyed so much about this book: - We meet with Hattie, a real gifted witch, who was just being killed by locals with false accusations. ( She’s still witch but not she is not danger to the community, she just wanted to help for saving children) That prologue gives you creeps, by disturbing your feelings push you turn pages faster!!!
- It starts with the moving of couple, Helen and Nate, recently resigned from teaching jobs to shape a different life by changing their living place, coming to rural Vermont for building their own place! The same land Hattie has died ! Oh yes, you can hear Twilight Zone’s theme music in your ears! Because they’re entering another dimension! A different, quirky place with ghosts! Boooo nananana ( Okay, I’m cutting from here, it gets frustrating!)
- Olive is their 14 year old neighbor who was recently abandoned by her mother, living with her father who loses his marbles each day after his wife’s departure, remodeling house by destroying every part of it to bring his wife back! ( He thinks he can deceive his wife with wider wardrobes and Mountain View!) Olive hates newcomers, she thinks there is a secret hidden treasure on their land ! If they leave their land, she can make a proper search! So she starts stealing them to confuse their minds, wearing white dress, walking into their land at midnight, acting like Hattie’s ghost! Yes, this girl is strange, weird, crazy, wild, tomboy but still so lovable, well developed, amazing teen character!
So there are too many interesting and also typical horror story instrumentals such as; A ghost who is searching for her child and grandchildren! A hidden family treasure A disappearing hypnotizing white deer which could be the reflection of Hattie Spirits connect with real people by quija board A group of weird people’s monthly meetings/ seances to connect with the spirits Rising questions to differentiate what is real and what is madness Five generation of women’s unfortunate stories!
It’s a long book which gave me red eye because I felt like my hands were glued to the pages, I couldn’t put down, I couldn’t stop to think about the story , I couldn’t easily give up on Hattie!
The writing was remarkable , well crafted, gripping! I’m so happy to finally find a book about good spirits not the evil but unfortunate ones with unfinished business! Because it is so boring to watch and read about the ghosts and their vengeance stories!
I loved this, I enjoyed it, I’m satisfied with the ending! Last twist was a little expectable but I still liked it!...more
Look at love, How it tangles With the one who falls for it. Look at spirit, How it fuses with the earth, Giving it new life.
Five lyrical, heart-wrenching, Look at love, How it tangles With the one who falls for it. Look at spirit, How it fuses with the earth, Giving it new life.
Five lyrical, heart-wrenching, soul-shaking, perception-changing, revolutionary, magical, eternal love stars!
The list of things you’ll urgently need after finishing this book:
• Rolls of tissues! Toilet paper, napkins, paper towels—anything to help wipe away the ugly-cry evidence! • Fresh air! You’ll need it as you howl at the moon, releasing all your bottled-up emotions, anger, and frustration. • Punching bag and gloves! Some characters will infuriate you beyond belief (I’m looking at you, She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named), so use the bag instead of smashing up your house! • A good comedy show or movie to binge! Because trust me, you’ll need to remind yourself that there are still funny things in life! • Pasta and chocolate! To lift your mood out of the blues! • Stay away from Xanax or heavy alcohol! It might seem tempting, but stick to smoothies, ice cream, or lighter drinks to avoid deepening your post-read depression. • Good makeup products! To hide those puffy, red eyes from all the crying.
This story begins in Tehran, in a stationery shop owned by Mr. Fakhri, a man who quietly supports the political awakening of young people seeking reform while offering a safe haven for book lovers hungry for intellectual growth.
At just 17, young Roya, a bookworm, finds herself drawn to this shop—both for the books and for self-discovery. There, she meets Bahman Aslan (his name means “lion,” fitting his brave, passionate nature). From the moment they meet, they know their lives will never be the same.
They fall in love at 17 and get engaged, despite Bahman’s mother’s disapproval (she struggles with mental illness). They plan to marry in the summer, even as the political unrest looms like a sword of Damocles over their heads.
But then Bahman and his family suddenly vanish. Roya can only communicate with him through letters hidden in books, with Mr. Fakhri’s help.
At last, they plan to marry and arrange to meet in the town square to head to the mayor’s office with their paperwork. Roya waits for Bahman but instead witnesses Mr. Fakhri’s tragic death during a political upheaval. Then, she receives a letter from Bahman saying he wants to break up.
Heartbroken, Roya decides to move to the U.S. for college with her sister, hoping to mend her shattered heart.
This is a 60-year-old story of two lovers who went their separate ways, struggling to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts. After decades apart, they reunite for closure. But you know, lovers don’t finally meet somewhere; they’re in each other all along—just like Bahman and Roya.
I cried so much! I hurt so much! I cursed so much! This is a poignant, emotional, life-changing story—filled with passion, ideals, dreams, sisterhood, trauma, betrayal, abortion, loss, devotion, trust, friendship, and psychological struggles.
I still feel a lump in my throat! Especially the final pages—they’re so hard to get through! But it’s all worth it. This is an incredible journey of faith, love, and beautiful Rumi poems.
I enjoyed every second of it. I’m so lucky to have received this amazing ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I can safely say I loved this book, and once again, thanks to NetGalley for introducing me to this gifted writer!
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Five billion stars! I need an urgent brain transplant because my old one is just blown away and out of order!
My head still hurts like I tossed it agaiFive billion stars! I need an urgent brain transplant because my old one is just blown away and out of order!
My head still hurts like I tossed it against the wall a thousand times, and I started to see cartoon stars as soon as I finished this one! I cannot say I’m speechless because I’ve forgotten the four languages I knew (including my native one), so I’m out of words.
This revolutionary, innovative, and creative book makes you think deeply, feel thrilled, and numb your mind! It makes you question your values and morals. At some points, I felt like a jury member, pondering which was worse: being the decision-maker of someone’s fate or being stuck inside a death trap car when all of your skeletons in the closet are revealed one by one.
I really doubt that Mr. Marrs is from this planet because he has outsmarted most of the genius writers with this book. He is incredibly talented and knows how to deceive readers with his conspiratorial moves and amazing twists.
I liked "One" a lot, but I liked "Passengers" so much more!
This is the most surprising and exhilarating book I’ve ever enjoyed! It really exhausted me because it was not an easy adventure for anyone!
This book like a gun blast to my chest, ripped my emotions and scatter them all over the places. This book made me sooo angry, this book made me cry, tThis book like a gun blast to my chest, ripped my emotions and scatter them all over the places. This book made me sooo angry, this book made me cry, this book made me curse, hate the characters, made me feel sorry for the unfairness, inequality, ignorance ! There was not any exaggeration, there are too many women in the world suffering the rules from patriarchal culture, customs, illogical traditions made them feel vulnerable, worthless and weak. They never know how important their lives, how to define themselves and mostly how to stand up for their rights. No matter what is culture, religion, country, race, most important thing in the life is not to lose your humanity inside. As you read the book, the leading male characters are all losing their humanity and choosing abuse as an excuse of their traditions. This book is slap on your face and harsh wake up call to change the point of views about strength of women and their capabilities. Four women’s story of different generations rocked my world. I loved them, I got angry of them. I felt sorry for them. But mostly I respected them! This book is not an easy read, some parts deeply froze my blood,shocked me that I wanted to throw my kindle against the wall. But every word you read and everything that make you feel are so worth it! That’s so far best thing I read in this year!!!!
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Four addicted, compelling, tragic stars! Mindy McGinnis is one of the most amazing writers and storyteller, grabs your heart, steals a huge Parton it Four addicted, compelling, tragic stars! Mindy McGinnis is one of the most amazing writers and storyteller, grabs your heart, steals a huge Parton it by creating her realistic, flawed, natural characters. As soon as you take back your heart, you feel like so many things, especially your perceptions about life, family, friends already change with it.
The first few pages of the book like a ticking bomb about to explode! So you start to turn pages quickly to reach the spot at the beginning.
At this book our heroine Mickey Catalan is a successful softball player. Playing is her life, her future, team members are her only friends so when you are at the risk of losing the thing that defines you perfectly, you do whatever it takes to keep it! When you think like that everything makes sense, right! But it isn’t! Because after her traffic accident, Mickey starts suffering from too many surgeries , her leg hurts! Every part of her body starts to betray her! So she finds the most harmful way to protect herself not to suffer more . She becomes a drug addict! Pills help her ease her inner psychological and physical pain,endure her parental issues, numbs her feelings, her aching leg. She does whatever it takes to hold her position at her team even it results with losing herself , selling her soul, happiness, her future to the drugs!!
Mickey’s journey to the dark roads of her self destruction takes her so many dangerous places. McGinnis did a perfect job by telling her journey so objectively, you cannot judge her , despise or detest her. She is not flawless, she made so many bad choices and she knows how to differentiate right and wrong but she just choses the bad things and eventually she pays for her mistakes.
This is not heart and flowers kinda book! It’s terrifying, depressing and blood freezing one, so this is not for everyone! If you’re ready to take a dark journey, face with the addiction issue with a fresh perspective and also ready to put aside your biased opinions about the drug addicts, this may be the right choice!
At least, the bomb that I was expected to explode at the end was dismantled! Thanks to the writer, my heart rates turned to the normal. ...more
This is gonna be one of the kick-ass, fast paced, astonishing YA novels of the year with full of non-stop action, introduces us one of the brilliant, This is gonna be one of the kick-ass, fast paced, astonishing YA novels of the year with full of non-stop action, introduces us one of the brilliant, badass heroine, November! Her name belongs to month of Scorpio sign and so there’s so much hidden potential and secrets inside this character and I think she’s going to discover herself and turn into her perfect version on the upcoming novels of the series which I cannot wait to read them. It’s great to see a movie producer and actor can write so powerful, entertaining, captivating book! I really recommend it to action, mystery fans! It reminds you of the combination of Syfy channel’s Deadly Class series and some darker Harry Potter books( starting with book 4 when Cedric Diggory dies to book 7) without magic but full of violence. I tried to read it slowly because I didn’t want it to end but in the meantime I couldn’t put it down. But I had really great time when I was hooked by the story....more
5 is not enough, it deserves 10 brutal, brilliant, heart wrenching stars!
This book is not an easy read! It tears your heart apart! It punches you seve5 is not enough, it deserves 10 brutal, brilliant, heart wrenching stars!
This book is not an easy read! It tears your heart apart! It punches you several times on the face! It makes you cry aloud ! Your emotions scatter all over the places when you’re reading it!
Raw, realistic, violent, dark but definitely fantastic! Alex is so far a different girl who only wants to be normal, she doesn’t deserve be acknowledged by her dead sister’s name, she deserves friendship, she deserves love, she deserves joy, happiness in her life. She deserves to go to college because she’s real smart. But she cannot! Because she cannot fight with her killer instincts and she cannot function as like a young girl who dreams her HEA.
Her character is definitely not Dexter. She is not sociopath, cause she feels too much and she cannot know how to deal with her feelings. She knows how to defeat the real demons in outside world but she has no idea how to defeat her inner demons . That’s what seals her destiny.
I’ve been totally shaken after the shocking end. But I have to admit that is fair ending of the story.
Some books take your piece of soul and leave unforgettable emotional scar on your hearts. It is definitely that kind of book! I loved it so much but the words and story hurt me so much, too.
Five trembling, unputdownable, put my nerves on edge stars! As I start that book, I didn’t have too big expectations. But it really surprised me becausFive trembling, unputdownable, put my nerves on edge stars! As I start that book, I didn’t have too big expectations. But it really surprised me because I loved every part of it! Not only it can be defined is a fantastic thriller but also it can be considered as a great psychological family drama! This book is shocking, frustrating that slaps you across your face, pushes your buttons incessantly, pisses you off, makes you question your values and amazes you with its unexpected twists! I got shocked because of cruelty and meanness of little girls, angry of parents who are clueless about what’s going on with their children’s lives, the school system that has no power to fight against bullying! Three girl’s disturbing story starts with violent attack at the railroads but as soon as we turned back in the time, there were more of that! Too many lies, fairness, misunderstandings! The end of the book might make you devastated, surprised and sad. Definitely gives you never see this coming or what the hell it cannot be true moments! Unfortunately it is all real and I want to shake your hand of the author for creating amazing book and wounding me with her harsh, realistic but absolutely gifted words!
Edgy, angsty, heartbreaking but definitely deserved five shiny stars! Great news, I finally found an amazing romance book to give five full stars. But Edgy, angsty, heartbreaking but definitely deserved five shiny stars! Great news, I finally found an amazing romance book to give five full stars. But this is not simple, plain emotional read. This book was a knife repeatedly stabbed into my heart and each stab wounded me deeper! It made me scream, cry, curse, it made me exhausted, numb, angry and mostly it broke me into tiny pieces. It was frustrating, captivating, unputdownable! I adored heroine, Mila. She was smart, sophisticated, sexy. She was a great wife, knowing her husband strengths and weaknesses, how to manage him perfectly. She fights tooth and nail to keep their marriage alive. At some parts I thought our tormented, broken hero Lucas didn’t deserve him. His dedication to the acting even it may hurt her wive’s feelings,his inferiority complex about his lack of education could be dealbreaker for me. But as soon as I connected with them and learned more pieces about their pasts, the beginning of their story , I deeply understood why they were so great together! Their love for each other is dysfunctional, unconventional, but mostly unconditional! This book is not only about the demands of acting job and how the method acting can push your boundaries and take you to a dangerous zone that you never discovered before. This is about grief, this is about ups and mostly downs, emotional balances of marriage. This is about learning yourself, communicating about your feelings, finding your purpose at life by understanding who you are! There are too many great quotes from real actors from this book. But the most effective one that might the summary of the story is: “All it takes is beautiful fake smile to hide an injured soul. And they will never notice how broken you really are”/ Robin Williams 😭😭😭 This quote also helped me understand and empathize with the hero! I’m so happy to read and wept ! I’m still pissed off myself cause I only read Kate Stewart’s books written with her pen name Angelica Chase. I already discovered and downloaded seven other fantastic books of her! Better late than never! This is so far one of my favorite romance books of 2019! If you’re ready for heartbreaking, tear jerking, soul capturing journey, this book is definitely for you !!!!...more
Look at my photo and fake smile because there is nothing in this book makes you smile! My dog is scared so much and had nightmares because I read him Look at my photo and fake smile because there is nothing in this book makes you smile! My dog is scared so much and had nightmares because I read him some passages!!! [image]
Five- this book turned me into creepy paranoid who is afraid of her own shadow, leave the lights on before sleeping, scream as soon as hearing any approaching footsteps inside the house, wow actually I was doing all of these before, but it’s still good to point a finger to something as a reason of my awkward behaviors- stars!!!!
As soon as I got the printed copy of this book, I became so agitated because there was another gift with the copy! A FREAKING CARD! As soon as you open the card, a creepy young girl’s voice started to sing the ominous words: “If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken…” I threw away the card urgently like there was some burning object into my hands! But my vengeful husband saw my reaction! Oh the biggest mistake!!!(I always scare him off when he was watching a horror movie. I approach behind his back and at the most terrifying moment of the movie, I shake him and say BOOO! Ha ha you should see him cry like a baby!)
So my husband; whose sign is Scorpio (relentless avenger), used this singing gift card for his revenge plan! When I was about to take a beautiful nap in front of the television playing “Secret Obsession` (The last worst Netflix fiasco), he put the card into my ear and open it. Yes, you should see me screaming like toddler!
So I hesitated too many times to start this book. But I told myself, I’m living in LA, there are scariest thing at the streets (walking botoxed and bleached blondes everywhere). So I buckled up, put my earlaps (as a precaution for another prank attack from my husband) and start to read!
I loved this book completely. The things most I liked:
-DYSFUNCTIONAL FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIPS: From Frank and Francis( the freakiest father and son) to Pete and Tom and finally Tom and Jake. All of them have connection issues and all of them have inner demons to strangle. (First ones didn’t achieve to do that, Pete made his best and Tom is still trying.)
STORYTELLING -Well-crafted story-telling, smartly organized twists and shocking surprises, unputdownablity, fast and furious pacing!
CHARACTERS - All the characters have too many flaws and they don’t carry ideal heroic materials but I still loved every one of them. I loved to see how Pete is willing to pay his past dues and struggle but always win his fight with alcohol.
I loved to see Tom’s efforts to connect with his son and show how much he cared for him even he was in deep pain of the recent loss of his beloved wife! And little, sweet but also a little bit scary Jake: This little one is combination of Sixth Sense’s Cole and Ring’s Aidan with amazing drawing skills and quiet flourished imagination. He’s the key element of the story. Because he’s always one step ahead from all the characters. (including the murderer)
ENDING: Two parts of ending (Jake’s bedroom part and prison part) were fantastic and also spooky as hell!
There was a “Friends’ episode” that Joe was hiding the “Shining`” book at the freezer because he was too afraid to finish it. I thought I should have done the same to this book, too many times. But I wanted to see the finish line and now I will probably suffer from nightmares! And that sweet singing card don’t help me!!!
This book is definitely one of the best thrillers of this year! And maybe it’s my number one on my favorite thrillers list! (I know it’s early to decide, there are so many upcoming releases) But I highly recommend it to readers who are brave enough to face their nightmares (as Pete told little Jake, nightmares help us to get rid of our stuffed frustrations and overloaded anxiety), and real devoted fans of mystical, surprising, twisty thrillers....more
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