A classic John Green novel, I didn't mind this one, it felt similar to his other books, and that was okay, I needed a light easier read to get myself back on the reading wagon, it worked, I've finished a book in a few days.

I found this cast of characters pretty annoying by the end of the book but overall it was a sweet(ish) story. 

I found it very repetitive, as far as books under 300 pages go, I felt really frustrated going over the sand ground, making a point about mental health I get it but also I felt like it was hammered home. 😂 

I thought the focus was on the otherhood, but it's not, it's on the motherhood, well at least the first 100 or so pages. I just don't feel I'm in the headspace for this right now, and am going to put it on the back burner, maybe go back to it another time, or maybe just donate it! 

This was a tough book to read, so much neglect and violence. In parts it was so hard to stomach what those children had to go through. 

I cannot imagine having to live through such hardship, and under such a pig headed man, who was nothing short of a conspiracy theorist. 

It was totally understandable that she has a breakdown and stops believing her own version of events, the gaslighting and abuse was there from day one.

I was good to know that she got out and that she was able to get herself an education, and build back a family, and a safe space. 

Unbelievable in parts. It was wild. 

This was not my favourite TJR book, there was something that just didn't hit with me, perhaps I have binged a few too many of her books, but it felt predictable from the off.

I enjoyed parts of this, but I found myself picking up and putting this down quite a lot, as it wasn't really holding my attention. 

On the plus side, it was an extremely easy read, and I could breeze through quite a large chunks at a time, without much effort. 

I found there were a lot of characters introduced quite near the end of the book, and it felt as though TJR was just putting them in so maybe she could write about them in the future and be like "already part of my book universe" which I don't know, felt like a cheap way to do it. 

I am overall not in love with this book, but it's also not all bad. Very middle of the road, great for the beach. 

This was my first bookclub book of the year and I would literally never picked this book up if it wasn't for bookclub.

In parts this book was funny, insane and downright unbelievable. 

Honestly I don't really know where to start with this book, but I actually did enjoy reading it, it was like reading through a Louis Theroux weird weekend with insane US army intelligence people. 

This book was an easy almost immediate 5 stars for me. I loved it from the moment I picked it up to the end, it was warm, funny, hopeful, sweet, and just overall good vibes.

I really enjoyed following Ulysses and all of his life's ups and downs, what a fabulous character and I was so sad when I finished and would no longer be hanging out with this cast of characters. 

Sarah Winman has made me want to travel to Italy and fall in love with the place just like everyone in this beautiful book. 

This was a strange book, I'm not 100% sure that I understood it, and I really felt disconnected from it, and I'm not sure if that's the book, the differences in cultures or the translation.

I found the main character Shibata decides to fake a pregnancy, as she is bored/sick of being the work mother, picking up and generally doing jobs her colleagues are more than capable of.

She tracks her "pregnancy" on an app, and goes to pre-natal exercise classes, but doesn't tell her family she is "pregnant" but then later complains of such terrible loneliness. 

I don't really understand what this book was for, I enjoyed myself while reading it on the whole, it felt cozy, but I think I may have missed something. 

This book is so bloody weird. A woman has a devesating breakup and goes away to her sisters seaside home to care (not very well) for her sisters dog Dominic, whilst in therapy and whilst she rebounds with many inappropriate men, she meets a man at the shore, and falls in love with him, he is not all man. So odd. Page turner and I loved it. 😅 

Started but just never got back to it, realistically got to let it go. 

This was an okay book, I enjoyed my time with it but I also doubt it will be in my top books of the year. 

A family saga, it has in my opinion far too many points of view, you spend a lot of time bouncing between characters and obviously some are more fun to read than others, and I felt a lot of time I was rushing through one character to get to the next who I preferred. 

Also the characters weren't that distinct, and so I was always trying to remember who was who. 

Essentially the story of a family who is thrown into crisis because their dad has a stroke, and the family business is in Spain but the children's lives are in England and the challenges that it brings. 

It made me think about my own parents and that I live far away from them and how difficult it might be should they need more care, but as this book points out there is usually a way that makes sense.