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abinthebooks
*4.5
I don’t really know how to write reviews for classics, it’s such a hard thing to do. Everyone else is putting pretty words and pretty quotes in their reviews and I’m just like “should I just review it like a normal book???” Anyways beside my internal monologue, I feel like 99% classics are 300+ pages of deep thoughts, pretty writing, psychological meanings, and highly unlikeable or very likable characters. And that’s really what The Great Gatsby was. I don’t really know what my expectations were going in, but I feel as though they were exceeded.
This story was so beautiful and so melancholic. I cannot believe I enjoyed Gatsby as a character as much as I did. He was captivating but from the moment we see him first introduced, he’s very lonely and sad. I really sympathized with him the entire time, and I loved his character arc. (Also btw, Gatsby isn’t the narrator of the story which really surprised me but I ultimately agree with the decision not to make him the narrator, he definitely would have concocted it into a love story).
Also Fitzgerald’s writing is bewitching. His prose is utterly stunning, and his metaphors are absolutely incredible. I couldn’t stop tabbing pages of The Great Gatsby because I kept finding so many pretty quotes. It was also so interesting to read about the thrilling night-life of the 20s, especially New York City at the time. I had to stop reading at times because I was laughing so hard at how utterly ridiculous these characters were, and their ideals and values (because they were party people ya know?)
I guessed the ending for this, but I ultimately wasn’t too mad because I really really liked this overall. I think I reread this in a few years I’ll definitely appreciate just as much, probably more to be honest. Overall, definitely worth the read.
- I know I’m supposed to hate Daisy but I don’t exactly, there were times where I laughed at her and sympathized with her character. Tom however…
- You know what Tom? Screw you, you sucked and you definitely didn’t deserve Daisy
- Just me arguing with fictional characters, nothing to see here
Ok I’m done (:
I don’t really know how to write reviews for classics, it’s such a hard thing to do. Everyone else is putting pretty words and pretty quotes in their reviews and I’m just like “should I just review it like a normal book???” Anyways beside my internal monologue, I feel like 99% classics are 300+ pages of deep thoughts, pretty writing, psychological meanings, and highly unlikeable or very likable characters. And that’s really what The Great Gatsby was. I don’t really know what my expectations were going in, but I feel as though they were exceeded.
This story was so beautiful and so melancholic. I cannot believe I enjoyed Gatsby as a character as much as I did. He was captivating but from the moment we see him first introduced, he’s very lonely and sad. I really sympathized with him the entire time, and I loved his character arc. (Also btw, Gatsby isn’t the narrator of the story which really surprised me but I ultimately agree with the decision not to make him the narrator, he definitely would have concocted it into a love story).
Also Fitzgerald’s writing is bewitching. His prose is utterly stunning, and his metaphors are absolutely incredible. I couldn’t stop tabbing pages of The Great Gatsby because I kept finding so many pretty quotes. It was also so interesting to read about the thrilling night-life of the 20s, especially New York City at the time. I had to stop reading at times because I was laughing so hard at how utterly ridiculous these characters were, and their ideals and values (because they were party people ya know?)
I guessed the ending for this, but I ultimately wasn’t too mad because I really really liked this overall. I think I reread this in a few years I’ll definitely appreciate just as much, probably more to be honest. Overall, definitely worth the read.
- I know I’m supposed to hate Daisy but I don’t exactly, there were times where I laughed at her and sympathized with her character. Tom however…
- You know what Tom? Screw you, you sucked and you definitely didn’t deserve Daisy
- Just me arguing with fictional characters, nothing to see here
Ok I’m done (:
”I’m haunted by humans.”
This book was fucking amazing. I haven’t read a book for school that I’ve actually enjoyed since I was a kid. So to get the experience of reading this over 2 months has been amazing. I was genuinely blown away by everything about this story. The narrative was crazy, and the writing style was absolutely gorgeous. I was originally going to rate this 4 stars, but I was sobbing for 20 pages so I’m giving it 5 stars.
I loved this story with my whole heart. Liesel, Max and Rudy are everything to me, and I hope that I will get a chance to reread this book one day.
This book was fucking amazing. I haven’t read a book for school that I’ve actually enjoyed since I was a kid. So to get the experience of reading this over 2 months has been amazing. I was genuinely blown away by everything about this story. The narrative was crazy, and the writing style was absolutely gorgeous. I was originally going to rate this 4 stars, but I was sobbing for 20 pages so I’m giving it 5 stars.
I loved this story with my whole heart. Liesel, Max and Rudy are everything to me, and I hope that I will get a chance to reread this book one day.
Reread
So...yeah. This is my most hated book of all time. No lies, no exaggerations, no fucks given. Honestly why the fuck were trees wasted on this??? Like honestly fuck you Shakespeare. Sink further into your damn grave and go die further.
I didn’t want to reread this book. I hated this with my whole entire existence the first time I read it, but we had to read it for my class with West Side Story (still haven’t finished yet, although that will probably be a 2 star) to compare and contrast them. (Comparing and contrasting retellings are a fucking joke). Why we couldn’t just read These Violent Delights instead, I couldn’t tell you.
I just HATE this book. I hate the characters, I hate the romance, I hate how pretentious everything is, I HATE it.
I laughed, I laughed when these characters died. I smiled and said, “THANK FUCKING GOD, YOU ALL DESERVED IT”.
In conclusion, fuck you.
0 stars
***
Read this when I was 12 and understood most of what was going on. FUCKING HATED IT, and I still hate it and will never read this ever again. God, I hate this book with a fiery passion
So...yeah. This is my most hated book of all time. No lies, no exaggerations, no fucks given. Honestly why the fuck were trees wasted on this??? Like honestly fuck you Shakespeare. Sink further into your damn grave and go die further.
I didn’t want to reread this book. I hated this with my whole entire existence the first time I read it, but we had to read it for my class with West Side Story (still haven’t finished yet, although that will probably be a 2 star) to compare and contrast them. (Comparing and contrasting retellings are a fucking joke). Why we couldn’t just read These Violent Delights instead, I couldn’t tell you.
I just HATE this book. I hate the characters, I hate the romance, I hate how pretentious everything is, I HATE it.
I laughed, I laughed when these characters died. I smiled and said, “THANK FUCKING GOD, YOU ALL DESERVED IT”.
In conclusion, fuck you.
0 stars
***
Read this when I was 12 and understood most of what was going on. FUCKING HATED IT, and I still hate it and will never read this ever again. God, I hate this book with a fiery passion
Read this when I was 8 and thought it was ok. Reread it when I was 12, and realized how racist it is
‘“I cannot fathom it,” she breathed. “You destroy me and then you kiss me. You give me a reason to hate you and then you give me a reason to love you. Is this a lie or a truth? Is this a ploy or your heart reaching for me.”’
These Violent Delights was a spectacular reatelling of Romeo and Juliet, and easily outdoes it’s predecessor. The story itself is set in the lush world of 1920s Shanghai, where gangs, criminals, and new blood rule the city. The plot follows Roma and Juliette, past teenage lovers, and each heirs to their respective rival gangs. Juliette has returned to Shanghai after her departure from the city many years ago—and she’s determined to finally have her father take her seriously as the true heir to their gang. Roma, the son of the rival gang and Juliette’s past lover has been tasked by his father to figure out the mysterious deaths happening in Shanghai. People are killing themselves, and Roma has decided to team up with his lost love Juliette to figure out these strange deaths. Part mystery, part romance, part historical fiction and hints of fantasy, These Violent Delights had many things to live up to, with all these combined genres. But it did so beautifully (and if you have been my friend or following me, you know that I absolutely despise the original Romeo and Juliet story).
I loved so very many things about this story. The world of mobsters in this time-period was so captivating, and the gang politics (especially with the Chinese culture and how it differed from American gang politics) was so interesting to read. Having Juliette be the heir to the Scarlett gang, yet still being the underdog because of her gender, and her having to work towards becoming the heir was also so badass. I also adore stories set in the 1920s period and although this isn’t set in the typical sort of 1920s setting (usually New York or Los Angeles), Juliette is still a flapper girl through-and-through. It was very interesting to read about the differences in cultures as well in this time period between America and China, and especially how Juliette grapples with her Chinese heritage and the new American identity she inherited because she was sent to live there for so long.
The romance in here is also flawless. As I said earlier, I hate the original Romeo and Juliet, and one of the main reasons is because I just hate Romeo and Juliet together (which is…quite literally the entire plot of the story lol). There is no chemistry between them, only lust and suddenly they will drop everything just so they can fuck…it’s just goofy to me. And then they commit suicide all because they want the O. It’s not a tragedy it’s just fucking stupid…but in here it’s less fucking stupid !!! (Shakespeare is probably rolling are in his grave rn, I’m sorry bestie). Roma and Juliette actually manage to have really good chemistry, and a whole lot of sexual tension. We get multiple knife to the throat/gun to throat scenes and it’s beautiful. If these two decided they’d commit suicide just to fuck…well they have my vote. I really think these two work so well together because of their past even if we don’t get to much of it at all. Usually that irks me when authors try to build relationships off of past ones where we see no flashbacks, but it really didn’t bother me. This was just really believable, and you could tell how much these two yearned for the other, but knew that their duty, gangs and family came first (which was definitely a striking difference to the original Romeo and Juliet and I very much enjoyed it). The way Roma acted towards Juliette, and the fact they both just couldn’t stop talking about how the other adored each other in each POV. I genuinely haven’t read this great of a romance in such a long time.
I’m honestly kind of mad at myself for waiting so long to read this. This was my most anticipated book of 2020, and I’m just getting around to it in 2023…like girl you need to get your priorities straight. Anyways, I loved this book, and I was literally crying for almost the entire last half of the book. This was so good, and I cannot wait to read the sequel, but I just know the pain is going to be so raw.
➸ 5 stars
★ listened on audio
These Violent Delights was a spectacular reatelling of Romeo and Juliet, and easily outdoes it’s predecessor. The story itself is set in the lush world of 1920s Shanghai, where gangs, criminals, and new blood rule the city. The plot follows Roma and Juliette, past teenage lovers, and each heirs to their respective rival gangs. Juliette has returned to Shanghai after her departure from the city many years ago—and she’s determined to finally have her father take her seriously as the true heir to their gang. Roma, the son of the rival gang and Juliette’s past lover has been tasked by his father to figure out the mysterious deaths happening in Shanghai. People are killing themselves, and Roma has decided to team up with his lost love Juliette to figure out these strange deaths. Part mystery, part romance, part historical fiction and hints of fantasy, These Violent Delights had many things to live up to, with all these combined genres. But it did so beautifully (and if you have been my friend or following me, you know that I absolutely despise the original Romeo and Juliet story).
I loved so very many things about this story. The world of mobsters in this time-period was so captivating, and the gang politics (especially with the Chinese culture and how it differed from American gang politics) was so interesting to read. Having Juliette be the heir to the Scarlett gang, yet still being the underdog because of her gender, and her having to work towards becoming the heir was also so badass. I also adore stories set in the 1920s period and although this isn’t set in the typical sort of 1920s setting (usually New York or Los Angeles), Juliette is still a flapper girl through-and-through. It was very interesting to read about the differences in cultures as well in this time period between America and China, and especially how Juliette grapples with her Chinese heritage and the new American identity she inherited because she was sent to live there for so long.
The romance in here is also flawless. As I said earlier, I hate the original Romeo and Juliet, and one of the main reasons is because I just hate Romeo and Juliet together (which is…quite literally the entire plot of the story lol). There is no chemistry between them, only lust and suddenly they will drop everything just so they can fuck…it’s just goofy to me. And then they commit suicide all because they want the O. It’s not a tragedy it’s just fucking stupid…but in here it’s less fucking stupid !!! (Shakespeare is probably rolling are in his grave rn, I’m sorry bestie). Roma and Juliette actually manage to have really good chemistry, and a whole lot of sexual tension. We get multiple knife to the throat/gun to throat scenes and it’s beautiful. If these two decided they’d commit suicide just to fuck…well they have my vote. I really think these two work so well together because of their past even if we don’t get to much of it at all. Usually that irks me when authors try to build relationships off of past ones where we see no flashbacks, but it really didn’t bother me. This was just really believable, and you could tell how much these two yearned for the other, but knew that their duty, gangs and family came first (which was definitely a striking difference to the original Romeo and Juliet and I very much enjoyed it). The way Roma acted towards Juliette, and the fact they both just couldn’t stop talking about how the other adored each other in each POV. I genuinely haven’t read this great of a romance in such a long time.
I’m honestly kind of mad at myself for waiting so long to read this. This was my most anticipated book of 2020, and I’m just getting around to it in 2023…like girl you need to get your priorities straight. Anyways, I loved this book, and I was literally crying for almost the entire last half of the book. This was so good, and I cannot wait to read the sequel, but I just know the pain is going to be so raw.
➸ 5 stars
★ listened on audio
DNF 2 AT 69%
I can’t do it anymore. This writing is god awful, and the narrator makes it even worse. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me, and all enjoyment I had at the beginning of this book is completely gone. I honestly don’t know what I hated more: the audiobook narrator, the writing, the characters, our heroines inability to communicate, the romance?Actually I hated it all. This is like a really shitty formulaic Hallmark movie with a queer couple and very cringey smut. Would absolutely not recommend.
* * *
DNF 1
I’m just gonna put this down and wait until next year to read it! It’s not that I’m not enjoying it, but I’m just not in the holiday mood anymore. I will definitely pick this up again though, I was really enjoying where this story was going.
Started: December 22nd
DNF: January 6th
I can’t do it anymore. This writing is god awful, and the narrator makes it even worse. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me, and all enjoyment I had at the beginning of this book is completely gone. I honestly don’t know what I hated more: the audiobook narrator, the writing, the characters, our heroines inability to communicate, the romance?Actually I hated it all. This is like a really shitty formulaic Hallmark movie with a queer couple and very cringey smut. Would absolutely not recommend.
* * *
DNF 1
I’m just gonna put this down and wait until next year to read it! It’s not that I’m not enjoying it, but I’m just not in the holiday mood anymore. I will definitely pick this up again though, I was really enjoying where this story was going.
Started: December 22nd
DNF: January 6th
DNF FOR NOW ON PG. 233
I’m listening to the audiobook for this one, and I just cannot seem to get into it. I’m a little bit more than half way through it now, and I’m just unfortunately not enjoying it at all. I think this one will work better with me physically reading it. The world is very complex, as are the characters. Atp I’ll probably wait for book 3 to come out, and then binge read this series physically! I think this has the potential to be a favorite of mine, I just am consuming it wrong.
I’m listening to the audiobook for this one, and I just cannot seem to get into it. I’m a little bit more than half way through it now, and I’m just unfortunately not enjoying it at all. I think this one will work better with me physically reading it. The world is very complex, as are the characters. Atp I’ll probably wait for book 3 to come out, and then binge read this series physically! I think this has the potential to be a favorite of mine, I just am consuming it wrong.
coloring lily skydiving down the stairs rn