I'm not sure how I came across this book exactly, but it was on my kindle so I decided to give it a shot...and it was a little all over the place as a romance novel. Trying to fall for balance between Carter as a goofball and dominant partner was a major struggle-

Spoiler

The sex scenes would vary between steamy and cringey...like he worshipped Olivia which was hot, but then he calls his dick the sword of thunder, would call Olivia anything between princess and pumpkin, always describes how she has a perfect body, etc.

. I wasn't all that crazy about the story. Mack's tone and voice for the lead characters (and chapter titles) is definitely fun. She knows how to let Carter and Olivia hang loose or to be more serious and challenge each other as partners. The latter was more enjoyable to see them grow, especially Carter. But the transition of Carter going from HIMBO to dedicating himself to one woman, and Olivia's initial hesitation to Carter to all of her insecurities/confidence stemming from him was pretty abrupt. They are pretty much each other's whole worlds after a month of knowing each other; and the conflict of their personalities and choices ends just as suddenly where a lot of Olivia's insecurities and confidence comes from either accepting his past life as a playboy and dealing with his spontaneity. Both Olivia, Carter, and their supporting character of friends read as immature sometimes. Even though Carter's fame and history should be a major exterior conflict to their relationship, it mostly falls to the background until the third act twist

Spoiler

of an ex-friend finding Carter's phone and copying his nude photos of Olivia to blackmail him/break them up

that comes across like fanfiction. Parts of this was enjoyable; other parts were difficult to get into.

One of the slimmest books I've ever read about facing your fears. Maybe it's supposed to work in the sense that in context of what happens to us in life, flinching is more about anticipating pain than facing it head on; when we don't focus on the fear so much, we can move through it instead of stopping dead in our tracks before something bad has happened. The trick to lessen the degree of flinching is to do more uncomfortable things - stop drinking coffee every day because that's what you always do, ground yourself in nature more, take a cold shower, do something unexpected that's against your every day status quo.

But by the end of the book, as other reviewers pointed out, there is no meat in varying degrees of flinches and what their root cause may be. The author might've wanted to avoid all that since many other similar books do the same thing. But it might've been more helpful to see how talking to someone at a party or even going to a party when you don't want to can help if your flinching is more social anxiety related; having a vulnerable conversation with your partner can help with deeply rooted flinching caused by family trauma; engaging in a playful activity can help with connecting the inner child that was taught to be scared of everything at an early age. Most of the chapters regale the same decrees about why it's not worth it to spend your whole life doing everything the way you normally do it, and five homework assignments to break the flinch, but the book could've offered something more in-depth about why we flinch the way we do, how flinching has evolved since the early dawn of time. It would've been really interesting to go into it more. After reading, I definitely want to ~*RAWR face the flinch RAWR*~ but there isn't really a descriptive of what the flinch is - generally the book, or something I feel I can give a name in my own life - except as that pause you feel before you do something small that seems big or is actually BIG. I thought about maybe not writing all of this and just giving it a two star, but I guess I got over the hurdle of a flinch and to post it instead, so at least there's that.

If anyone in Hollywood, especially this generation of celebrities, needed a clear the air kinda memoir, Britney Spears would be at the top of the list. I didn't find this to be painful to read or find the writing childish - given that there is 13+ years of abuse that Britney has to find a way to heal from, I thought the timeline of what she endured was descriptive enough for readers to understand what she went through and how she's using time now to find herself whether you're a longtime fan or curious about her lost post-conservatorship. Perhaps I would feel differently if I read a physical copy instead of an audiobook (my first ever!!), but I found the narration to be a master class in capturing someone's voice as physically unique as Britneys (a mix of LA Girl and no-****-given Southern charm) without sounding like a caricature. You can hear the heaviness of what happened and what it took for Britney to bare her story as she only voices the prologue before Michelle Williams takes over. Similar to many celebrity memoirs, the chapters in the beginning and middle are much more in-depth, and by the end, they thin out to the point that the story doesn't feel as complete or thorough as it could've been. I wished that there was more insight in how she crafted her earlier albums versus her later work, but it's understandable how those experiences might be too painful or close to her to delve into. As horrible as it was to learn of how much she endured since her childhood as well as her rise to face and the conservatorship, it's odd to feel grateful to be able to read (or in my case - listen to), her experiences as a woman who has also been through a lot of toxic gaslighting-heavy relationships. This book isn't just about exposing the juicy details that people want on a superficial level, but a first person's personal point of view on the pressures of unsolicited fame, how women are treated in the media, and how the rare of beloved public investment in one of their faves can help give them the courage to save themselves.

This one had me in the first half, I’m not gonna lie. I enjoyed the structure of Lovelace’ writing on one page, her fears, expectations, and doubts, and the fairy godmother answering on the next in the first part. There were a few sentiments that read very deeply as much needed reminders. And the artwork is wonderful accompaniment to the poems throughout. But by the second part of the fatefully tragic love story and the last part of Lovelace becoming her own princess, it felt full of empty platitudes. I felt like I kept being told about what she went through but there’s no emotive or thought-provoking imagery in her words. A lot reminded me of other works by Atticus and RH Sin, very generalized ‘the author fell in love with someone who isn’t a good person / now look at them shine’. It might worked better if she brought in other characters as conversations as part of her story instead of mentioning family and the prince in passing.

I always want to love these poetry collections, the ones that are popular on Instagram by taking in a single sentence to fill half a page. But it just never works put that way. I have a real tough time understanding how fragmented sentences taking up half a page is considered poetry.

I came across this book randomly while I was at the library, and read the first few pages of it. The narration of the book immediately reminded me of the narration used in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film), which I loved - quirky, odd, funny. I thought because of the narration, along with the subject (searching for happiness), I would this a fun little read. Though I did find it fun, I sorta found it quite boring. There isn't really much that held me together to keep reading, though I did finish the book to get to the ending. I thought the whole story was sweet, but in the end, not very intellectually stimulation...and the narration came rather repetitive.

I'd recommend this book to readers who aren't into self-help books /spirituality books - but would enjoy a book about happiness that isn't preachy/religious.

As part of my research for finding monologues to perform in acting class this semester, Crimes of the Heart was one of the few where a monologue is spoken by a young female character (such a shame).
While it was an enjoyable read, I found the language spoken by the characters a little difficult to get used to. I couldn't quite put my finger but the way the sisters interacted with each other, and Babe's personality, didn't quite mesh well for me in most scenes. Though I enjoyed how each sister was different, there wasn't much between the lines I find to be very interesting even though the circumstances for the family gathering are. The fifteen/twenty pages towards the ending had me keep reading, and it is a fitting ending for the play (ambiguous)...but most of the dialogue/circumstances felt like they could do with a bit more polishing.

Since I was thirteen years old, I've had an interest in self-improvement, or perhaps the psychology behind why the problems, mistakes, and pain of our lives can become the only way we see life - whether we caused it ourselves or it was caused by a loved one. In my time reading these books that were supposedly cures to - ultimately, feel like a better person, or someone who can conquer feelings of isolation, guilt, loner, and even the pain that had been caused in our lives. They all told me to look for religion in certain ways or to be spiritual, I had to do this and this. The books I read, and like I said there were plenty, felt more like things I was forcing upon myself to deal with the past rather than ways to heal it.

When I'd just about giving up on reading good "self-help" books I checked out This Is How by Augusten Borroughs. And, I think it's one of the very few books I've read that have spoken to me on so many levels.

Almost every chapter I learned something new about myself. Almost every page I had several ah-ha moments. Borroughs doesn't sugarcoat life. Some of what he says may offend you in the way he explains how to just deal with your shit. But, all that he writes makes sense.

I can't even say which chapter is my favorite. How To Love, How To Feel Like Shit, How To Be Thin, How To Be Confident. I'm only halfway through the book right - partially because I'm very busy but also I think a small piece of me is trying to hang on to reading the rest to savor it.

If there's one book, or one thing, I'm asking for this Christmas - if my family can afford it, it's this book. Because I can't wait to write in the margins, highlight my favorite lines, and use this for the rest of my life as reference of moving on with life and going with the flow.

I really think if there's one book every college student should read - especially a college student who have may have had a dysfunctional family, horrible relationships, crappy friendships or distorted body image - all things I've experienced. Or if you have something in your past or future that terrifies the crap out of you - you may find some answers. It's this one.