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aftereliza's Reviews (946)
This review has been made possible thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books. Thank you for giving me the chance to review the book honestly prior to its publication.
I was originally drawn in by the stunning cover (ignoring what they say about judging books by their covers) because it conveyed a sense of melancholy in its simplicity. And I am always partial to some minimalist colour-blocked covers! The second thing that appealed to me what the concept - Johnny opens his door to his five year old son, a byproduct of one night with the girl he’s certain was the love of his life while on a road trip around the US with his best friend Will. It gave off very strong Three Men and a Baby or Baby Daddy vibes, just with a five year old Luke instead.
The rest of the book focuses on Johnny stepping up to be a parent, with the help of his friends and family - as they say, it takes a village to raise a child. He was also coming to terms with missing out on the years he could have spent with Lauren, raising their child together, and Luke’s early years and first milestones, which he writes up in songs to and about her. Another fun aspect of the novel was the imagined conversations between Johnny and Lauren, through the letters she left with Luke, answering any questions he would have about parenting.
I found that the book was really quick to read, I finished it in less than a day, the writing flowed smoothly and the chapters divided different scenes and time periods well. At points, I did find the characterisation of the children as too mature in their speech or too infantile, and the adults felt like they fell within tropes and were a bit one-dimensional. I was also hoping there would be a resolution regarding Johnny and Lauren, or someone else as a potential partner for him but was disappointed. There were also a few moments that felt a bit forced or too serendipitous, such as songs conveniently coming on the radio, very specific movie choices etc.
On the whole, it was a sweet story about kismet between two people, a man coming to terms with suddenly being responsible for a child, and a community coming together to help him raise Luke. I would have loved to read more about Johnny’s friend TSP (though I did not like her name) and her relationship with Will, as well as their other friend Susan and her personality outside of her career.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s in the mood for something bittersweet, a little bit melancholy and who loves music and song lyrics.
I was originally drawn in by the stunning cover (ignoring what they say about judging books by their covers) because it conveyed a sense of melancholy in its simplicity. And I am always partial to some minimalist colour-blocked covers! The second thing that appealed to me what the concept - Johnny opens his door to his five year old son, a byproduct of one night with the girl he’s certain was the love of his life while on a road trip around the US with his best friend Will. It gave off very strong Three Men and a Baby or Baby Daddy vibes, just with a five year old Luke instead.
The rest of the book focuses on Johnny stepping up to be a parent, with the help of his friends and family - as they say, it takes a village to raise a child. He was also coming to terms with missing out on the years he could have spent with Lauren, raising their child together, and Luke’s early years and first milestones, which he writes up in songs to and about her. Another fun aspect of the novel was the imagined conversations between Johnny and Lauren, through the letters she left with Luke, answering any questions he would have about parenting.
I found that the book was really quick to read, I finished it in less than a day, the writing flowed smoothly and the chapters divided different scenes and time periods well. At points, I did find the characterisation of the children as too mature in their speech or too infantile, and the adults felt like they fell within tropes and were a bit one-dimensional. I was also hoping there would be a resolution regarding Johnny and Lauren, or someone else as a potential partner for him but was disappointed. There were also a few moments that felt a bit forced or too serendipitous, such as songs conveniently coming on the radio, very specific movie choices etc.
On the whole, it was a sweet story about kismet between two people, a man coming to terms with suddenly being responsible for a child, and a community coming together to help him raise Luke. I would have loved to read more about Johnny’s friend TSP (though I did not like her name) and her relationship with Will, as well as their other friend Susan and her personality outside of her career.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s in the mood for something bittersweet, a little bit melancholy and who loves music and song lyrics.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review - The Testimony of Alys Twist by Suzannah Dunn
This review has been made possible thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review has also been posted to Instagram.
This book follows the story of Alys, a laundress for Queen Elizabeth, through her friendship with the tailor’s assistant, Bel, through their work within the household. Alys has a secret, a long-forgotten husband, the story of how she moved from place to place to evade him and their past, and it’s this uncanny ability that lands her a spot in doing the laundry for the Queen’s half-sister, the Lady Elizabeth, as she is confined and sent away from the palace.
This review has been made possible thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review has also been posted to Instagram.
This book follows the story of Alys, a laundress for Queen Elizabeth, through her friendship with the tailor’s assistant, Bel, through their work within the household. Alys has a secret, a long-forgotten husband, the story of how she moved from place to place to evade him and their past, and it’s this uncanny ability that lands her a spot in doing the laundry for the Queen’s half-sister, the Lady Elizabeth, as she is confined and sent away from the palace.
Laurie suddenly gets dumped by Dan, her boyfriend of 18 years, when he leaves her for another woman to have his child. Distraught, Laurie has to see her ex everyday at the law firm they work at when she gets stuck in a lift with the office heartthrob and player, Jamie, after which they devise a plan: to pretend that they're dating so that Laurie's ex-boyfriend gets jealous and Jamie can be up for a promotion to partner. The word gets around about their "relationship" following some posts on social media and everyone in their lives seems to have an opinion. They have many close moments, worries about their ruse being discovered, work enemies that want to sabotage it from the beginning.
It's an interesting take on the rom-com trope, with the main character being of dual-heritage and the leading man having a deep back story, and the way they deal with the situations thrown at them is graceful more often than not, which makes the characters that much more relatable and likeable and you end up rooting for them. While I dislike the trope where characters don't communicate and that leads to misunderstandings, this novel had very little of it, which was refreshing. The characters felt well-developed and you could really see the progression through the book as Laurie came into herself after losing her spark over the course of her relationship with Dan.
I really enjoyed listening to the Audiobook version of this book, the narrator conveyed the tone and accents so well, it made me relate to the characters that much more and even laugh out loud at points. I was engaged in the story the whole way through and I wanted to know more about the characters and the side-characters too! It felt like a very mature story, it handled every situation with grace and the characters seemed very classy. I would definitely read this again and again, and I recommend it to anyone who is in need of a good rom-com that have a bit more to it than just the romance and whimsical scenarios.
It's an interesting take on the rom-com trope, with the main character being of dual-heritage and the leading man having a deep back story, and the way they deal with the situations thrown at them is graceful more often than not, which makes the characters that much more relatable and likeable and you end up rooting for them. While I dislike the trope where characters don't communicate and that leads to misunderstandings, this novel had very little of it, which was refreshing. The characters felt well-developed and you could really see the progression through the book as Laurie came into herself after losing her spark over the course of her relationship with Dan.
I really enjoyed listening to the Audiobook version of this book, the narrator conveyed the tone and accents so well, it made me relate to the characters that much more and even laugh out loud at points. I was engaged in the story the whole way through and I wanted to know more about the characters and the side-characters too! It felt like a very mature story, it handled every situation with grace and the characters seemed very classy. I would definitely read this again and again, and I recommend it to anyone who is in need of a good rom-com that have a bit more to it than just the romance and whimsical scenarios.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Review - The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
This review has been made possible thanks to NetGalley and Vintage, Penguin Random House for providing me with an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows Esme from 6 years old through her adulthood as she grows up with her father, a scholar working on the first Oxford English Dictionary, surrounded by words the team of editors decide between including and rejecting. She starts collecting the discarded words, keeping them safe in the bottom of a trunk under the bed. The words she discovers take her through the journey of growing up from a middle class child, through boarding school, and then back through her young adult years.
She experiences friendships, widens her horizons by discovering new words, used by working class and, having never been written down, they won’t be included in her father’s project. So she inadvertently starts her own, collecting phrases from women in her life, like Mabel selling her carved wooden figurines and very knowledgable in the kind of vocabulary that Esme was searching out, to Tilda, an actress friend of hers who gets very involved in the Suffragette movement, and most importantly, her love of words supported from an early age by her aunt Ditte, who invites her to Bath to be a research assistant for a novel on English history.
I loved the concept from the very beginning, as I have also been fascinated by the etymology of words since childhood, especially where there are different meanings used by different groups. The setting really appealed to me as a lover of historical literature but I think Williams really carved out a niche for herself and Esme in the existing history of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. The story seemed to me as full of wonder, firstly childlike, then a more grown-up, mature interest and passion for language.
The book was written beautifully, and while the first half took me a few days to get through, I never once lost interest. The second half I finished in a morning. There are moments of incredible depth in someone who is still a rather young person and there is also heartbreak and loss and grief. It’s an incredibly varied and complicated book with many sweet, funny, and bittersweet moments, just like there are in life. You find yourself rooting for the characters you’ve seen grow up before your eyes. It’s definitely a book I would recommend for anyone interested in linguistics, history, especially during the lead up to WW1 and the Women’s Rights movement.
My only wish is to go back to the start and read it again without having any memory of reading it the first time. It’s truly a unique, wonderful experience that I can’t get enough of!
Review has also been posted to my blog and Instagram.
This review has been made possible thanks to NetGalley and Vintage, Penguin Random House for providing me with an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows Esme from 6 years old through her adulthood as she grows up with her father, a scholar working on the first Oxford English Dictionary, surrounded by words the team of editors decide between including and rejecting. She starts collecting the discarded words, keeping them safe in the bottom of a trunk under the bed. The words she discovers take her through the journey of growing up from a middle class child, through boarding school, and then back through her young adult years.
She experiences friendships, widens her horizons by discovering new words, used by working class and, having never been written down, they won’t be included in her father’s project. So she inadvertently starts her own, collecting phrases from women in her life, like Mabel selling her carved wooden figurines and very knowledgable in the kind of vocabulary that Esme was searching out, to Tilda, an actress friend of hers who gets very involved in the Suffragette movement, and most importantly, her love of words supported from an early age by her aunt Ditte, who invites her to Bath to be a research assistant for a novel on English history.
I loved the concept from the very beginning, as I have also been fascinated by the etymology of words since childhood, especially where there are different meanings used by different groups. The setting really appealed to me as a lover of historical literature but I think Williams really carved out a niche for herself and Esme in the existing history of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. The story seemed to me as full of wonder, firstly childlike, then a more grown-up, mature interest and passion for language.
The book was written beautifully, and while the first half took me a few days to get through, I never once lost interest. The second half I finished in a morning. There are moments of incredible depth in someone who is still a rather young person and there is also heartbreak and loss and grief. It’s an incredibly varied and complicated book with many sweet, funny, and bittersweet moments, just like there are in life. You find yourself rooting for the characters you’ve seen grow up before your eyes. It’s definitely a book I would recommend for anyone interested in linguistics, history, especially during the lead up to WW1 and the Women’s Rights movement.
My only wish is to go back to the start and read it again without having any memory of reading it the first time. It’s truly a unique, wonderful experience that I can’t get enough of!
Review has also been posted to my blog and Instagram.
Have you ever had a near-death experience that made you want to reevaluate your life?
I enjoyed listening to the book, but I didn’t find the character relatable. I understand the struggles she was facing but it felt like she was downtrodden in every aspect and she needed someone else to tell her what to do. She has bad relationships with everyone in her life and she’s overworked without being able to stand up to her supervisor. I didn’t feel like there was enough character development by the end and I didn’t come to like her either
This was a good story, I enjoyed the fast-pace of the plot, how there wasn't just one thread but there were flashbacks to previous points in the characters' relationships. I thought the characters were well developed and properly fleshed out, there were multiple issues for the characters to work through, a lot of character development on both sides and I really appreciated having the dual POV narration. This was also well represented through the Audiobook.
This review has been made possible thanks to NetGalley and Yale University Publishing for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the way this book demonstrates different parts of a poem as a poem itself. I feel that Newlyn did an excellent job in showing and not telling, and this could definitely be used as a poetry bible for past, present and future creative writing students. This would be the most useful poetry anthology, almost a bible. I am expecting many to have tags flying out from all sides.
I look forward to picking up a physical copy!
I liked the way this book demonstrates different parts of a poem as a poem itself. I feel that Newlyn did an excellent job in showing and not telling, and this could definitely be used as a poetry bible for past, present and future creative writing students. This would be the most useful poetry anthology, almost a bible. I am expecting many to have tags flying out from all sides.
I look forward to picking up a physical copy!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review - Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
This review has been made possible thanks to @NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review. This review is also posted on my Goodreads, blog and Instagram.
Big Summer is about plus-size influence Daphne, who rekindles a friendship with her high school bestie Drue, just before her wedding. Everything that can go wrong does and Daphne is looking into Drue's past, trying to find out how she went from high school mean girl. This is a story about friendship, forgiveness, and a search into Drue's family and her secrets.
I love the tie-ins with social media content, the social commentary and discourse about attitudes plus-sized women receive from 'well-meaning' friends. It's also an insight into how mean girls grew up, how their actions had consequences on other people and even how actions can come back to bite you. I was expecting a lighter story, something like an easy read, but the story was much more complex and I really enjoyed it!
The writing in this book flowed really well, I enjoyed the content and I would read it again, though I feel like the surprises would be spoiled for me, but I would be able to trace all the hints and foreshadowing from the start. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a mysterious story about female relationships and friendships. There is a lot of diversity and I think this book does a lot in representing people who don't usually take centre stage in stories.
This review has been made possible thanks to @NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review. This review is also posted on my Goodreads, blog and Instagram.
Big Summer is about plus-size influence Daphne, who rekindles a friendship with her high school bestie Drue, just before her wedding. Everything that can go wrong does and Daphne is looking into Drue's past, trying to find out how she went from high school mean girl. This is a story about friendship, forgiveness, and a search into Drue's family and her secrets.
I love the tie-ins with social media content, the social commentary and discourse about attitudes plus-sized women receive from 'well-meaning' friends. It's also an insight into how mean girls grew up, how their actions had consequences on other people and even how actions can come back to bite you. I was expecting a lighter story, something like an easy read, but the story was much more complex and I really enjoyed it!
The writing in this book flowed really well, I enjoyed the content and I would read it again, though I feel like the surprises would be spoiled for me, but I would be able to trace all the hints and foreshadowing from the start. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a mysterious story about female relationships and friendships. There is a lot of diversity and I think this book does a lot in representing people who don't usually take centre stage in stories.