alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)

this book was SO good

i’ve read the books on hygge and lagom and now, on niksen, and really, i’ve just come to the conclusion that europeans (and particularly scandinavians) have life figured out.

this book was horribly depressing and super cynical and not very enjoyable to read? but it won a lot of awards and had strong voice (albeit a selfish, immature, angsty one)?

If you like stories of snobby, high society women without much personality who cheat on their husbands and shoot guns and have inappropriate affairs with the high school children of their friends… this one is for you…

but, like, it’s bizarre and uncomfortable to read and there’s a lot of murder because these people are genuinely messed up?

This was an interesting read that took me some time to really get into— the writing style is frank and blunt and pretty stream-of-consciousness, which wasn’t my favorite. It’s hailed as “a funny, sexy, profound dramedy about two young people at a crossroads in their relationship and the limits of love” but I don’t think i’d have used any of those adjectives.

The story of Mike and Benson felt slow, clunky, frustrating, and baffling to me. I really just wanted them both to go to therapy and learn communication skills!!! I might just not be the right reader for this one, but it really didn’t click for me at all.

(ps— even though i didn’t like this one, i’m glad i read it! reading books about people different than you by authors different than you is GOOD TO DO. it stretches you! it’s worth it!)

i loved this book SO MUCH and it made my heart nearly explode!!! truly, it was delightful and surprising and magical and so exquisitely woven together. casey mcquiston writes characters that have such depth and sparkle and winsome-ness to them, and her writing is just so INCREDIBLE (see all the posit flags!) that i literally did not put this one down once i started it. it made me feel so many feelings and was truly just a GEM of a book that i don’t have great words for!

this was a completely unbelievable and totally enjoyable female-family-focused fun read! perfect for fans of jane the virgin who want a zany, crazy, lol-worthy summer read.

(ps— loooves the author note about her own family’s Indonesian/Chinese heritage and how she represented them and their trilingual dialogue in her writing!)

TJR is the queen.