booksonmars's Reviews (670)

i really loved the relatability of this book, of being in your twenties and the aimlessness of it all. the accuracy of job searching, of friendships, even of going to a girls' school had me all the way zoned into this book. it more or less follows hera's life, which slows the pace but also lets you explore this character, following her in her hometown then abroad and back again. despite the odds, you do root for her and arthur, even though there are so many red flags. but they're the kind of red flags you don't really see when you're in love. it truly felt like you were hera's friend, and all the while i kept screaming internally 'LEAVE HIM!'. i also learned that a lot of hera's journey is reflective of the author's own life, which was why her emotions and thoughts were so poignant. if you're a fleabag fan i'd hugely recommend this book.

an interesting take on jane eyre that made me despise mr rochester. i enjoyed antoinette's perspective more and therefore engaged in the part one more fully, after that was where the plot/characters slid into confusing territory. i do think this would be a great suspense movie.

it is depressing to read about what is going on currently in the world right now, but it is important to understand why it is happening, and this book helps with that. it peels back the curtain to the dark machinations of the Western empire, and urges you to not act in self-interest like they are doing. maybe because i'm not american, i don't fully understand the continuous referencing to liberalism, and there were many passages that i had to read more than once (but maybe that's just me and my phone-fried brain). this is a book i will definitely come back to, and a book that should be required reading for these current times.

emily lloyd-jones is a queen of atmospheric fantasy. i felt completely re-immersed into this world of thieves and spies and royals, that brushes against the magic and otherworldly. mer is a strong character to follow, capable of holding out her own, distrustful from her betrayals and use as a weapon early on in her life. her relationship with renfrew, her old spymaster, is as complicated and tender as an adoptive father-daughter relationship would be in a fantasy setting. i think my favourite character was definitely fane, he definitely felt the most developed with his involvement with the fae. ifanna felt the least developed, and i didn't really care for her character save for the history she shared with mer. 

if you're looking for an immersive folkloric fantasy book, i'd definitely pick up one of these author's works. 

although this book is more of a mix between historical fiction and romance, i adore both genres so i adored this book. both parts of the book were appealing and entertaining, from the unraveling of this hollywood dynasty to the budding of romance against the typical em-hen backdrop of a small seaside town. the only thing is the pacing, it felt like both plotlines were on a fast track or competing for the spotlight in the book, and it did make me want for more at the end. i would still recommend for this summer and i am still a firm fan of emily henry.
having read all of her romances, my ranking now stands, from best to least favourite:

As a classic, or more accurately, as a 1200-page classic, I found this book surprisingly very readable. It's described as an adventure epic, and while there are elements of this (prison escapes, bandits, vengeful princesses to name a few), it's the pacing that makes it thrilling. From the beginning you are thrust into Edmond on the precipice of realising his most sacred dreams; you witness the enroaching machinations of those agents against his happiness; you follow the genesis of The Count of Monte Cristo, and the setup of his chessboard that will bring the downfall of the men who wronged him.

The Count, in his pursuit of vengeance, becomes an 'agent of Providence', rewarding and punishing those he deems fit. Dumas is excessive in his characterisation: The Count is handsome, rich, a skilled fighter, speaks several languages and has connections from the loftiest banking firms to the lowest crooks. He appears inhumane and impenetrable, removed from his mortal restrictions. Conversely, the men he has sworn vengeance against are portrayed as perpetual evildoers, reinforcing his belief that he is doing God's work by punishing them. It is slow, but satisfying, to watch the Count's plan come to fruition: at first every stranger he interacts with and every event that he orchestrates are seem singular, but are in fact a web of connections that made me gasp in realisation, sometimes even laugh (what can I say, I was swept in the pursuit and was also wishing for their downfall). 

The third act(? or the act where his revenge actually begins to take shape) occurs mainly in the cities of Rome and Paris. I might've preferred for all of it to take place in Rome: the twists and turns of the city, its dark underbelly of bandits there seemed like the perfect place, instead of the dazzling sunlit streets of Paris. But Dumas' choice is much better. It's here, in the heart of Parisian society, that the Count ingratiates himself with these men, almost like a snake in their polished and perfect garden. The cast of characters, particularly those in the Parisian set, are incredibly well-written, with their own interests, desires and vices. Their poignant humanity only emphasises how removed the Count is from it all, making him an indomitable character.

This book is a phenomenon of sheer and staggering might, and I'd definitely recommend it. I was not bored for any of the hundreds (and hundreds...and hundreds!) of pages I read.

a very hard read. this chronicles the days, months and year following dominique's arrest, and the devastating effects his crimes have on his family. especially how he still continues to have a hold on some members of the family. caroline's hatred for her father is justified, and is also rooted from previous disappointment in him. it's truly incomprehensible how depraved this man is, the other men involved, the whole online forum that this was based upon. it's a reflection of the state of misogyny is today, and that was very depressing to realise. however caroline does mention the work she does helping establish support in france for women who have either been domestically abused or a victim of chemical submission. i'm pretty sure caroline's trial against her father is currently underway, plus gisele's memoir will be coming out net year. i truly wish the best for both of them.

a pulling behind the veil of the supposed elegant and glamourous life of a ballerina. pazcoguin comes off as a sometimes cynical, sometimes pretentious, but most times warm-hearted older sister as she regales the readers of living as a young person in new york, the relationships she forms with her ballet community (for good and for worse), as well as well-worn advice for navigating the world of ballet. she is unflinching in the reality of what it takes to be a ballerina, from the occasional odd job pickup, to the abuse and harassment faced, in particular with her boss. the writing did come off a tad bit cringe, but my interest in the ballet world allowed me to stomach it. 

i would be remiss to say i haven't learned anything from this book. despite the cosy title, book and outline, this book does dwell on the particular myriad of feelings that comes with navigating the world as an adult. it discusses aimlessness, motherhood and frustration towards topics mainly career-focused. however, it was interesting to see that most of these adult problems were prescribed with solutions found in children's books. perhaps to show that adults put too much thought into the problems they have. the only reason it took me so long to finish this is because i read it as the audiobook and i couldn't mesh with most of the narrators.

this perfectly captures the messiness and aimlessness of your twenties, the rise and fall of your romantic relationships, the reckoning with your parents. the last one was my favourite part of the book: an examination of the main character and his mother's relationship as her health deteriorates. his struggle through a desire for an apology or even just an acknowledgement of the trauma she inflicted on him, as well as a desire to come out about his sexuality. the emotions are very palpable in this book, and you can tell the author draws on his own eperiences on living as a gay man in south korea. however, i do think the book is sold incorrectly; there is supposed to be a focus on young and jaehee's friendship, but it's only the throughfare of the first part, and then jaehee is hardly mentioned in the next parts. i found it very contradictory that they made it into a profound friendship only to disregard it for the rest of the book. i do think the book is very meaningful, and i found the author and translator's notes very touching, you can tell they both hold emotional importance to their work.