booksonmars's Reviews (670)

a sentimental chronicle of growing up and boyhood, with lengthy lessons learned on philosophy, history and physics. from the heartwarming relationship between the uncle and the main character, i can see why miyazaki used this book as inspiration to write a movie for his grandson.

i had high hopes at the beginning of this book, thinking that it would be a lovely and hilarious best friend's brother + grumpy/sunshine romance. after learning that the bulk of the plot would revolve around the fmc making tiktoks about her exes, i still continued, despite that being my first warning sign.

so much of this book felt underdeveloped. aside from the main characters, everyone else felt one dimensional and almost caricatures instead of real people. there was no build-up to their romance, it felt like they 'liked each other' very soon, but where was the evidence? where was the tension? a one bed trope is very clearly used, particularly because the fmc is a romance writer, and they skip to the next day, when this could've obviously been used to build tension between them! also the smut was very telling and not showing, it felt like it was over the second it had began and the emotional intimacy was lacking.

what was written well was both mc's vulnerabilities, and how they affected the growth of their relationship. however, i felt that the mmc dash had more depth than sophie, the fmc, with a more compelling and emotionally raw story arc. i wished we went more into sophie's burnout and her relationship insecurities, instead she seemed kind of self-absorbed? she leaked to the press about her sister's problems with conceiving and then is the one who's hurt that her sister doesn't tell her right away that she's pregnant? and the fact that she constantly thought she was better than all her exes only for them to remind her that she was the one who broke up with them or that she was the one who treated them badly. 

a disappointing book but that's what i get for trying to put off reading my other current read.

i was pleasantly surprised by this book, having not liked the dead romantics. i found this book reminding me of a warm summer day, or when sunlight filters through the windows in the morning. it really did feel like sunlight in a book! the romance was enjoyable, and we got to see the characters not only fall in love but deal with real life problems, like struggling with grief and burnout. i was kicking my feet at their meet-cute, laughing out loud at the funny bits and the friendship, and crying as our MC grapples with a lot of changes in her life.

the only thing for me is that i hate pet names! plus the time travel stuff did get confusing some times but most books that involve time travel always do, and because it's not the main part of the story, i could ignore it. other than that i really enjoyed this.

a raw and beautiful lamentation on the poet’s childhood, their connections to home and how, along with race, it ties to their identity. 

a astute study on surveillance, privacy, and information; the thriller aspect was more of a frenetic background hum that increased towards the end, and so much of it had me incredulous yet not surprised at the inner machinations of this society. i do think men still don't know how to write women's sexuality and this author is an example. also (tw: homophobia)

the comment bailey made that if every lgbtq+ person came out in countries that view homphobia as a criminal offense, it wouldn't be illegal because they wouldn't kill all those people was insane to me

 

what i liked:

things i wished more/less of:

i’m still living for rin on her path to utter destruction and chaos, i’m just wondering when i’ll be able to pick up that 600+ page book…

the moral of the story: don't start a relationship with a summer fling.

i'm serious. although it was nice to read how they got together, addie and dylan had so many issues and miscommunication it was hard to root for them in the present day. particularly with how dylan and his best friend marcus (the most irredeemable and insufferable character in this book) constantly thought of addie as this sex  goddess/vixen, which  made me question if dylan even loved her or he just was attracted to her. the present day plot was a little funny if tedious at times, and by the end i cared more about the side characters than the main couple. i'd recommend if you want a emily henry type romance, similar to people we meet on vacation. 

i feel like this book is going nowhere 

serapio my beloved. xiala my beloved. okoa you’re a real one. (naranpa you have to grow on me i guess). the world contained in this book was so easy to delve into, the plot engaging, just an all round amazing fantasy book.