An Other Man - 3
She And Her Kid And Me and Mine - 3
Mid-Town West Side Story - 3.5
All The Bullets Were Made In My Country - 4
-Carlitos In Charge - 4.5
The Great Potato Famine - 4
-The Man In 512 - 4
A Litany Of My Fears - 4
The Six Times Of Alan (And The First Two Hundred Of Eduardo) - 4
Comrades - 4
Grand Openings - 4.5
The People Who Report More Stress - 3 

Well written but some of the stories felt as though they cut off in the middle of the plot, but that's just an issue I often have with short stories. I loved Carlitos In Charge, The Great Potato Famine and Grand Openings, the first was a fascinating look at the guts of the UN, I really liked the speaker in the second and the third was a really enjoyable evocation of Atwood. The focus on race, sexuality, domesticity and class was interesting, very fresh. What I liked most of all is the way in which the vast majority of these stories are connected, it makes me want to reread the collection while looking for connections. 

Ah, I needed that. 

The atmosphere was well concocted, tense and passionate as it goes for books of this genre. It was very hard to not get sucked in; it was addictive, soothing in how different it is to reality. Which. Is escapism not what we seek? 

Tara was a good protagonist to follow. Dependable and unreliable at the same time which was a great contradiction to read about. Her loneliness was palpable, she seemed real, her self awareness was refreshing. Sometimes she made decisions I struggled to understand but it all made sense for her character. All of the supporting characters were well developed and interesting, I loved reading about them. Frankly, I even missed them when they were off page. 

Here's the thing. The book sort of felt like it was split in two, just a little? It's kind of like a two-in-one deal for the dark academia genre, which at the same time was what made this book stand out and also kind of detracted from it. One element especially felt like it disappeared from the narrative and I feel conflicted about it because I wasn't enjoying it but it was a major aspect of the story up to a certain point. (My crypticism is on par with the genre, no?).

The romance, though! Great stuff. I enjoyed the progression, especially as it was unusual and I loved the love interest. 

Overall, honestly, it's a great dark academia novel with wonderful characters and a clear message which doesn't feel like it's being pushed on you. Definitely worth putting on your tbr.

I genuinely loved this book in the beginning: the atmosphere, the writing, Bron's whimsical personality.

However, I'm sorry to report that it all got old very fast. The writing seemed great in the beginning because Bron wasn't interacting much with people: the dialogue is just odd. 

There's this particular discordance within this book: all the language is very old fashioned which is somewhat jarring when all the modern elements make it into the book, like just mentions of actresses. I don't understand why it had to specifically be actresses names in discussion of a role. That's not a genuine criticism, that's a personal pet peeve.

The romance. It really felt forced? Like. They just didn't really seem to really understand each other? Both just kind of had preconceptions and that was it. Also, when Bron was crushing, he did this one thing that genuinely creeped me out really badly, so there's that.

The mystery was not a mystery. Or at least not really a well structured one. Mostly because Bron would make whatever choice would least develop the mystery. It was incredibly slow moving and kind of boring. 

I enjoyed Bron, he was a distinct and interesting character although any discussion had about gender with anyone was somewhat one dimensional.

Overall, well. Not for me but I know many will love it 

ILL COME BACK TO IT I JUST DON'T HAVE TIME ATM I PROMISE

A very typical romance novel. I know I usually hate media references in books, but it worked here, mostly because it wasn't ever truly direct, so it was fun instead of somewhat embarrassing. 

Stella and Olive were both quite well developed although a lot of the side plots felt side-note-y. Olive's family situation was somewhat frustrating, mostly due to how little it was developed as it could have been a really interesting situation but it felt like it was left unresolved. 

Stella was great, I enjoyed her. I wish we'd gotten to see her point of view, but that's just a personal preference for romances. I wish we'd seen more about Olive's mental health -- it was mentioned often but we didn't really get to see how she dealt with it except for once or twice. Derek was a bit too one dimensional for such a recurrent character but he served his purpose. 

The novel did feel a little drawn out, but the trope-subversion added a new flair to the story and I found it quite enjoyable. 

Overall, a fun romance with some darker topics worked in. 

DNF (sorry, I hate doing that, too.)

Listen. I am not against social media in books. It works in thrillers and it works when used as background. It does not work as a plot device -- it simply becomes impossible to read due to the cringe. The protagonist is very quirky. Like, painfully quirky. The guy is bland. It's all just very sad. The side characters are irritating and seem to be developed too much, which is a weird thing to complain about except they info dump their entire lives in the most irritating manner possible. The writing was also kind of weird. I was just uncomfortable the whole time. There were way too many tropes. You cannot rely on tropes to carry your novel. Also? Is it not a little weird that the mc here is the author of the previous book in the series? Is it not weird to include meta in romance? 

Overall, I'm sorry, not for me. I know some people will love it though. 

It is…very difficult to explain how deep into my head this got. There are books that make you behave as though you’re in a trance (ha! like in the book??) because you just want to do literally nothing but find out how it all plays out. This was like that for me.

The writing is wonderful. Perfection, truly. Conveyed emotion so clearly that I felt like someone was twisting my ribs. Vivid description, exquisite atmosphere.

The world building was mildly confusing; I was confused when this was all taking place and exactly how much the public generally was aware of but that is entirely irrelevant because the characters entirely made up for anything that was lacking within the plot.

Rao is a delight, a character everyone will love. Gifted, rebellious, witty and very, very sad deep down, an archetype that is impossible to hate, really. Adam is more subtle and similarly impossible to hate. I promise you that you will still be surprised by what you learn about him.

The romance is masterfully, delicately crafted: you believe it, you feel the pain and longing the characters feel. I highly enjoyed the symmetry of their relationship, the complexity of circumstance and emotion. It was just… wonderful.

Plot wise, I’d say that you could split this book into parts. The first 2/3rds are one thing and the last 1/3rd is another; the blend of genres is simultaneously jarring and novel, undeniably contributing to the addictiveness of this book. To be very honest, the last 1/3rd was a little confusing and my suspension of disbelief wavered a bit, but I enjoyed the ending and that’s all that matters to me.

Overall, a must read, I am somewhat obsessed. You have to put it on your tbr, it is legally required now.