elizlizabeth's Reviews (242)

Beautiful art, touching words. Had a lot of fun annotating some of my interpretations and I am sure that over time I will notice more and more details. My only complaint is that I wish I could print and frame some of the panels because I fell in love and won’t ever get tired of seeing them.
I am not personally Christian, but I could connect with what was being said, didn’t feel at all like it was a repetition of religious discourses of enduring blindly. Rather, it managed to be hopeful while staying true and realistic to the threats we face, while reminding us of the strengths we possess already and ever.
The quality of the binding and print is gorgeous. You can really tell that a lot of thought and time and care was put into it.

Entertaining and witty. I listened to it on my daily commute and it helped pass the time. Though I’d warn you to be prepared so loudly snort-laugh and scare your fellow passengers -it uh… happened to a friend.

Such a good continuation to the series! Classic urban fantasy and so vividly narrated. I almost felt like I was watching a tv show instead of reading a book. I love how it starts tying up some things but there's still plenty to solve yet. Jumping immediately to the next.

It was ok, but I wouldn’t say it’s any similar to Gentleman’s Guide to Virtue series as the author of that one does take history (specifically historical context) seriously. This is more campy and modernized but not always fun or funny. I feel like the authors wanted to discuss “heavy” topics (eđians vs verity, plus the weird feminist lesson shoved in there) but when push came to shove they took the easy way out of pretending it’s all a joke. Lots of things go unquestioned and overtime it made me care less for the characters as the stakes were so low and the romance kind of set in stone from the get go.
Would recommend if you have time to kill but definitely not if you liked Monty et al and want something similar.

I'm thorn because I really liked the first few chapters and it was perhaps my fault for expecting something other than what the book is. Most of the reflections are around art and artists, mostly men, mostly gay or queer. It is an interesting reflection but since I am not versed in most of their works it was an exercise in taking everything at face value -not enough time/interest right now on my part to go and search every work and name that was mentioned.
I didn't like the contradiction between arguing against the pathologization of loneliness, explicitly in the text, but then taking only examples of people who themselves suffered some illness or trauma that made them "outcasts" to society. Her final thesis being that loneliness IS an illness, but a community one makes sense but it was unsatisfying to me. It left me a bit back on square one, this time with even less answers as to how to deal with loneliness in a community that has decided to shun you and cast you to the fringes.
It was nice that she didn't take a judgmental stance, it made me feel a lot of empathy towards them too. It often takes the easy way out though, almost arguing that every good deed was an individual victory over loneliness, and every bad or disturbing action (such as in Hopper or Darger's case) was just a product of them being subject to loneliness. Schrodinger's agency but.
Honestly it was a well woven and written essay, often calling back to things said prior in a way that made sense and felt like coming full circle. I came out curious about some artists and the pop art movement in general, and there were several quotes I really liked and think will help me when I explore my own "home" in this lonely city. I just wouldn't recommend it to everyone, and especially not if you're already in a complicated mental state.

Legit one of the most underrated romance novels ever. This was my third re-read and it still makes me laugh and fall for Beth through Lincoln -and viceversa ;)
Great pacing, I just wish she'd taken a bit longer with the ending since it felt a bit rushed and anticlimactic considering how long the pining was. I liked the epilogue tho.

Beautiful, hopeful prose. There's a world out there! And we're in it :)

I loved Joanne's reading of the audiobook, very immersive and great audio quality. 
As for the actual story, I don't know what else I could say that hasn't been said already. It was entertaining. I like that the author doesn't cast any moral judgement on the characters and instead forces you to reside in the complexity of it. Top tier representative of the gothic romance genre tbh.

Laughing, crying, screaming, etc. What a journey. This was like watching thee perfect season of a favorite show. A perfect way to weave both halves of this saga.

Tacky and thoughtless. Like watching a bad comedian’s skit that extends for far too long. I don’t understand why many people rank it higher assuming that it’s their fault for not being intelligent or well-versed enough to get the text. You don’t get it because it’s an empty string of the author’s simplistic headcanons -and it’s boring to boot. Period.
The only good parts were other author’s texts, including the bible verses which are not even credited and I would not have noticed had I not reread those passages in preparation for this book.
So underwhelming, save your time and go read something else.