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“How had it begun? Like everything: with mothers and fathers. Because of Lydia’s mother and father, because of her mother’s and father’s mothers and fathers.”
Everything I Never Told You reveals the deep, dark secrets of a Chinese American family that led to the untimely death of the favorite child, Lydia. It explores the past and present of this family, the formation of the parents and how this affected their children quite strongly in the end. It is a study of the emotions, stereotypes, and pressures hidden within every family, and what happens when the cracks finally start to show.
I listened to this novel in a haze of sickness, so it’s hard to judge how I truly felt about this book because I spent most of my time listening to it hidden under covers and trying to work through the first sickness that kept me home from school in a while.
Everything I Never Told You is poignant and heartbreaking and fit the exact mood I was in at the time. It focus both on the individual family but also how this message and story can be applied to a larger group of people and families. It discusses heritage, the choice to ignore it or cater to it, the pressures put on children by their parents, and the cracks that can form in a marriage when honesty is lost. It is a extremely emotional story seeped in culture and it makes you question beliefs you may have had, to ponder bigger questions in life.
The story itself is quite beautifully written (and narrated) as it spins the tales of generations and histories, and it keeps you hooked and intrigued into the story of this family. However, this writing also makes the story feel quite slow, as the story ends up being one that unravels and reveals itself slowly, rather than in one explosive burst. That means the 292 pages of this book feel much longer, in the end.
The characters themselves are all quite interesting, especially the parents. From the perspective of the children only, we would have quickly grown to hate and blame all the family’s problems on the parents. However, since we’ve learned their histories, as well as that of their parents, we sympathize with the mistakes the parents have made in the upbringing of their children, as we know the pressures they faced from their own parents, society, and their own heavy dreams. However, you are still made to understand the flawed aspect of the parents, since we do still see the suffering of the children. It makes the story feel quite heavy, and it leaves you questioning how to feel about certain characters and events and actions.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Everything I Never Told You, for the story it told and the questions it made me think about. I’ll definitely be reading Ng’s other books!
Everything I Never Told You reveals the deep, dark secrets of a Chinese American family that led to the untimely death of the favorite child, Lydia. It explores the past and present of this family, the formation of the parents and how this affected their children quite strongly in the end. It is a study of the emotions, stereotypes, and pressures hidden within every family, and what happens when the cracks finally start to show.
I listened to this novel in a haze of sickness, so it’s hard to judge how I truly felt about this book because I spent most of my time listening to it hidden under covers and trying to work through the first sickness that kept me home from school in a while.
Everything I Never Told You is poignant and heartbreaking and fit the exact mood I was in at the time. It focus both on the individual family but also how this message and story can be applied to a larger group of people and families. It discusses heritage, the choice to ignore it or cater to it, the pressures put on children by their parents, and the cracks that can form in a marriage when honesty is lost. It is a extremely emotional story seeped in culture and it makes you question beliefs you may have had, to ponder bigger questions in life.
The story itself is quite beautifully written (and narrated) as it spins the tales of generations and histories, and it keeps you hooked and intrigued into the story of this family. However, this writing also makes the story feel quite slow, as the story ends up being one that unravels and reveals itself slowly, rather than in one explosive burst. That means the 292 pages of this book feel much longer, in the end.
The characters themselves are all quite interesting, especially the parents. From the perspective of the children only, we would have quickly grown to hate and blame all the family’s problems on the parents. However, since we’ve learned their histories, as well as that of their parents, we sympathize with the mistakes the parents have made in the upbringing of their children, as we know the pressures they faced from their own parents, society, and their own heavy dreams. However, you are still made to understand the flawed aspect of the parents, since we do still see the suffering of the children. It makes the story feel quite heavy, and it leaves you questioning how to feel about certain characters and events and actions.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Everything I Never Told You, for the story it told and the questions it made me think about. I’ll definitely be reading Ng’s other books!
I always feel like classics are hard books to judge and critique, since my own experience of the book is more modernized than the intended audience of them. Additionally, I generally read these books for academic purposes, leaving my intentions behind it more critical than enjoyable.
However, I do have some opinions regarding the general enjoyability of Moll Flanders, and while this review is much shorter than my others due to everything I said above, I hope the review still carries some benefit.
This book only clocks in at 332 pages, with the last 15-20 being filled with notes and footnotes, but it reads as long as one of 500+ pages that I'm used to. It is so insanely wordy and length, with paragraphs spanning pages, that I had to turn to an audiobook to even get through it. I simply couldn't stay awake otherwise (which is probably due to having 9am classes for the first time in a while if I'm being honest).
Additionally, this story contains the plot and events of a whole trilogy almost. It spans Moll Flanders entire life and all her many anecdotes, of which there are many. There were times when this was fresh and entertaining, like, but many other moments where it was just waaay too much and way too repetitive
All in all, it's an interesting book to discuss for class due to it's implications (in terms of being one of the first novels, it being published as a true story, and it being one of the first female driven narratives in mainstream culture), but it's definitely not something I would have read on my own time, or would have dropped if I had ever tried to start it.
However, I do have some opinions regarding the general enjoyability of Moll Flanders, and while this review is much shorter than my others due to everything I said above, I hope the review still carries some benefit.
This book only clocks in at 332 pages, with the last 15-20 being filled with notes and footnotes, but it reads as long as one of 500+ pages that I'm used to. It is so insanely wordy and length, with paragraphs spanning pages, that I had to turn to an audiobook to even get through it. I simply couldn't stay awake otherwise (which is probably due to having 9am classes for the first time in a while if I'm being honest).
Additionally, this story contains the plot and events of a whole trilogy almost. It spans Moll Flanders entire life and all her many anecdotes, of which there are many. There were times when this was fresh and entertaining, like
Spoiler
when she turned out to have married her brother and had 3 kids with himSpoiler
specifically the 8 years of her thievery. The stories were intriguing and sometimes even funny, but I didn't need to hear her happen upon the perfect heist 700 times in a row, thanks.All in all, it's an interesting book to discuss for class due to it's implications (in terms of being one of the first novels, it being published as a true story, and it being one of the first female driven narratives in mainstream culture), but it's definitely not something I would have read on my own time, or would have dropped if I had ever tried to start it.
Short but sweet, and while the information it provides isn't really new, it's the perfect refresher before diving into Defy Me!
First off I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this ARC. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition. While the copy was provided for free, all opinions are honest and my own.
In Killing November, November Adley must learn to navigate a new school, but it’s unlike any other school. It’s hidden in a place no one knows of and trains its students, all elite children of secret Families, in the arts of deception, battle, and secrets. November is thrown into this world without ever having heard of it and must figure out how she fits in, fast. After all, it seems someone is trying to kill her.
This is my first book of Mather’s, though I have wanted to read How To Hang A Witch for a while. When I was accepted for this ARC, I was so intrigued by the synopsis that I started it almost right after being approved. Unfortunately, while this book was far from a bad one, I never truly connected with it.
On a structural level, this book is a pretty good one. The world itself is decently constructed, with explanations for almost everything. While you’re still left with lots of questions of how things work, you know enough quite quickly to understand what’s going on. There were a few moments of major info dump, but generally, November learned about the world around her slowly, gleaned from little hints dropped by her peers. It led to an easing into the chaotic and complicated world of the Families and Strategia, meaning there was no point where I was too confused or overwhelmed.
Additionally, the plot itself is pretty decent too. This book is dipped heavily in the idea of secrets, betrayals, and hidden plots, and it delivers on these promises pretty well. Even though you’re told not to trust anyone, the way the characters are written and sold to the main character still leads to November, and the reader, trusting and writing off the wrong people. While one of the twists was fairly easy to spot from early on, most of the other twists and turns were cleverly hidden. Lastly, all the puzzle pieces clicked together quite neatly, which is an important aspect of this book. It sells the idea of deception and reading others so much that if the book itself had been unable to accomplish that itself, it would have fallen quite short.
Like I mentioned above, the characters are also quite well written and planned, continuous even through the reveals of their various ‘faces.’ And while there are a few “tropey” characters, the book tries to spin these tropes and assumptions that come along with them on their heads, leading to an interesting ending. However, I did have a few issues in this category as well. Firstly, the romance of this book was pretty insta love. It was also just your standard YA romance, in the first book the characters start liking each other and by the end, they’re willing to do anything for the other, even at the cost of themselves. In a story like this, I felt like this made even less sense than usual. Secondly, November was a hard character to pin down, especially at first. She is shown entirely clueless at some moments, and other times extremely skilled in odd arts like knife throwing and archery. While this is all explained later and through her memories, it makes it hard to connect with her as a character at first because you feel as if you don’t really know her at all. And once you’ve missed that initial chance for connection, you don’t really get another, which led to me being distanced from the characters and therefore the consequences of certain events.
Lastly, I’m not necessarily that into where the series seems to be going. We seem to be leaving the boarding school to move into a larger, save the world/save the society plotline, and I’m just not sure how well that will fit with what we’ve seen of the characters and the world so far. However, I may still end up continuing the series, but we’ll see!
In Killing November, November Adley must learn to navigate a new school, but it’s unlike any other school. It’s hidden in a place no one knows of and trains its students, all elite children of secret Families, in the arts of deception, battle, and secrets. November is thrown into this world without ever having heard of it and must figure out how she fits in, fast. After all, it seems someone is trying to kill her.
This is my first book of Mather’s, though I have wanted to read How To Hang A Witch for a while. When I was accepted for this ARC, I was so intrigued by the synopsis that I started it almost right after being approved. Unfortunately, while this book was far from a bad one, I never truly connected with it.
On a structural level, this book is a pretty good one. The world itself is decently constructed, with explanations for almost everything. While you’re still left with lots of questions of how things work, you know enough quite quickly to understand what’s going on. There were a few moments of major info dump, but generally, November learned about the world around her slowly, gleaned from little hints dropped by her peers. It led to an easing into the chaotic and complicated world of the Families and Strategia, meaning there was no point where I was too confused or overwhelmed.
Additionally, the plot itself is pretty decent too. This book is dipped heavily in the idea of secrets, betrayals, and hidden plots, and it delivers on these promises pretty well. Even though you’re told not to trust anyone, the way the characters are written and sold to the main character still leads to November, and the reader, trusting and writing off the wrong people. While one of the twists was fairly easy to spot from early on, most of the other twists and turns were cleverly hidden. Lastly, all the puzzle pieces clicked together quite neatly, which is an important aspect of this book. It sells the idea of deception and reading others so much that if the book itself had been unable to accomplish that itself, it would have fallen quite short.
Like I mentioned above, the characters are also quite well written and planned, continuous even through the reveals of their various ‘faces.’ And while there are a few “tropey” characters, the book tries to spin these tropes and assumptions that come along with them on their heads, leading to an interesting ending. However, I did have a few issues in this category as well. Firstly, the romance of this book was pretty insta love. It was also just your standard YA romance, in the first book the characters start liking each other and by the end, they’re willing to do anything for the other, even at the cost of themselves. In a story like this, I felt like this made even less sense than usual. Secondly, November was a hard character to pin down, especially at first. She is shown entirely clueless at some moments, and other times extremely skilled in odd arts like knife throwing and archery. While this is all explained later and through her memories, it makes it hard to connect with her as a character at first because you feel as if you don’t really know her at all. And once you’ve missed that initial chance for connection, you don’t really get another, which led to me being distanced from the characters and therefore the consequences of certain events.
Lastly, I’m not necessarily that into where the series seems to be going. We seem to be leaving the boarding school to move into a larger, save the world/save the society plotline, and I’m just not sure how well that will fit with what we’ve seen of the characters and the world so far. However, I may still end up continuing the series, but we’ll see!
“Sometimes light illuminates things that are better left in the dark.”
Aru Shah is just your average twelve-year-old wishing for an adventure to shake up her boring life. Only she actually gets her wish. After a grand villain of her own making reveals himself, Aru must risk it all to save it all. And she has to do it all while wearing Spider-Man pajamas.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Rick Riordan and his takes on mythology, so when I heard he was launching a line of novels spanning a larger variety of myths tackled by diverse authors, I was stoked! More mythology in the easy to consume format of middle grade novels? Sign me up!
Now, I didn’t necessarily expect that these books would follow the exact format and styling of Riordan books (the explicit questing, the strict time lines, the sort of humor), and I’m not quite sure how I feel yet about the fact that this one did. I honestly thought I was reading a Riordan book at first. (I still need to read Roshani’s other books, so I can’t compare this work with her others). However, as I got further along, I did notice some plot and stylistic choices that distinguished from Riordan, and that did make me enjoy it more. I was just surprised how similar this book was to Riordan’s own.
It also did take a while for this book to grow on me, but that may just be on me. It’s been a long while since I’ve read an MG (middle grade) novel, and the books I’ve recently been reading are more of the dark, emotional YA/Adult contemporaries, so this is a complete switch from that. In the end, the book did hook me anyways, and for a few key reasons.
It seems to tackle the fine line between villain, hero, and anti-hero. You have multiple characters who have made distinct evil/bad decisions and are forced to question their inherent evilness because of these actions. The motives of characters also leave you wondering whether you can really consider certain characters villainous. I always love when books bring this into play.
It plays with the idea of destiny. A strong theme in this novel, and probably series, is the idea of inevitable destiny and the choices people are forced to make either according to this destiny or in spite of it. It seems to reach every part of the narrative, from the narrator to her family to the villain. It opens a lot for Roshani to play with, and I’m super excited to see where this goes!
Our narrator, Aru, is not the stereotypical heroine. Yes she wants to be a good person, yes she wants to be the hero of the story, but above all she wants to save the world, to rescue who she loves. In this book alone we see some questionable choices she makes in the pursuit of these goals, and I’m left wondering what else she’s willing to do to get what she wants.
My biggest issue, and the main reason this novel was bumped to 4 stars instead of 5, was due to how it ended. Now the ending of the narrative I quite liked, but this did not line up with the ending of the novel itself. The last 4-5 chapters are basically just the beginning of the next book, going so far to introduce new characters and new plot points. It’s far from a cliff-hanger, it’s practically one of those teaser releases of the first few chapters of a book. It’s rather frustrating that I don’t have time to process the book I just read before being forced into the next, and I generally don’t even read series in order. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and ruined the reading experience at the time.
However, even with my frustrations with the ending, I’m pleasantly surprised by Aru Shah, and cannot wait to read the next one!
Aru Shah is just your average twelve-year-old wishing for an adventure to shake up her boring life. Only she actually gets her wish. After a grand villain of her own making reveals himself, Aru must risk it all to save it all. And she has to do it all while wearing Spider-Man pajamas.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Rick Riordan and his takes on mythology, so when I heard he was launching a line of novels spanning a larger variety of myths tackled by diverse authors, I was stoked! More mythology in the easy to consume format of middle grade novels? Sign me up!
Now, I didn’t necessarily expect that these books would follow the exact format and styling of Riordan books (the explicit questing, the strict time lines, the sort of humor), and I’m not quite sure how I feel yet about the fact that this one did. I honestly thought I was reading a Riordan book at first. (I still need to read Roshani’s other books, so I can’t compare this work with her others). However, as I got further along, I did notice some plot and stylistic choices that distinguished from Riordan, and that did make me enjoy it more. I was just surprised how similar this book was to Riordan’s own.
It also did take a while for this book to grow on me, but that may just be on me. It’s been a long while since I’ve read an MG (middle grade) novel, and the books I’ve recently been reading are more of the dark, emotional YA/Adult contemporaries, so this is a complete switch from that. In the end, the book did hook me anyways, and for a few key reasons.
It seems to tackle the fine line between villain, hero, and anti-hero. You have multiple characters who have made distinct evil/bad decisions and are forced to question their inherent evilness because of these actions. The motives of characters also leave you wondering whether you can really consider certain characters villainous. I always love when books bring this into play.
It plays with the idea of destiny. A strong theme in this novel, and probably series, is the idea of inevitable destiny and the choices people are forced to make either according to this destiny or in spite of it. It seems to reach every part of the narrative, from the narrator to her family to the villain. It opens a lot for Roshani to play with, and I’m super excited to see where this goes!
Our narrator, Aru, is not the stereotypical heroine. Yes she wants to be a good person, yes she wants to be the hero of the story, but above all she wants to save the world, to rescue who she loves. In this book alone we see some questionable choices she makes in the pursuit of these goals, and I’m left wondering what else she’s willing to do to get what she wants.
My biggest issue, and the main reason this novel was bumped to 4 stars instead of 5, was due to how it ended. Now the ending of the narrative I quite liked, but this did not line up with the ending of the novel itself. The last 4-5 chapters are basically just the beginning of the next book, going so far to introduce new characters and new plot points. It’s far from a cliff-hanger, it’s practically one of those teaser releases of the first few chapters of a book. It’s rather frustrating that I don’t have time to process the book I just read before being forced into the next, and I generally don’t even read series in order. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and ruined the reading experience at the time.
However, even with my frustrations with the ending, I’m pleasantly surprised by Aru Shah, and cannot wait to read the next one!
“I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else's muse.
I am not a muse.
I am the somebody.
End of fucking story.”
Daisy Jones and the Six is at it’s simplest a story about a girl and a band, though it explores so much more than that. Told through a mash-up of interviews, creating an oral history of the characters, Daisy Jones tackles ideas of drugs, loves, music, and the humanity behind it all.
Daisy Jones and the Six is a fantastic book, but the audiobook is a masterpiece. After hearing all my friends rave about the audiobook, I knew I had to listen to this book rather than read it. It was a beautiful experience. Using a full cast of narrators, the audiobook made Daisy Jones truly come to life, adding even more emotion to an already volatile tale.
On top of my absolute love for the audiobook, a lot of love exists for the story itself. It’s overall an interesting story to love, as you don’t necessarily get attached to the characters in a normal sense, nor are necessarily cheering for some of the actions either. It’s one of those stories that exists entirely in the morally grey area, one you can only enjoy if you try not to judge the characters too much. You need to find an appreciation for Daisy Jones that’s different from how you appreciate most books.
I loved how honest and human this book was, especially since this is the exact type of mood I’ve been in lately (or all of 2019, if I’m being honest). Give me truth and complexity, even if it brings along the dark and the heartbreaking.
It’s honestly hard to judge this book how I normally do. The plot wasn’t necessarily shocking or surprising (though I love the twist Reid threw in there!), but it didn’t need to be. The characters weren’t lovable, admirable, or even good, but they affected you anyways. The characters and their actions were flawed, reckless, sometimes downright horrible, but they were human, and I believe that’s what I love about this book the most.
I’m left with a much shorter review than I normally write, but it’s hard to judge a book like this. All I really have to say is that I need all of you to read it, or listen to it if you can. It’s utterly fantastic.
I am not a muse.
I am the somebody.
End of fucking story.”
Daisy Jones and the Six is at it’s simplest a story about a girl and a band, though it explores so much more than that. Told through a mash-up of interviews, creating an oral history of the characters, Daisy Jones tackles ideas of drugs, loves, music, and the humanity behind it all.
Daisy Jones and the Six is a fantastic book, but the audiobook is a masterpiece. After hearing all my friends rave about the audiobook, I knew I had to listen to this book rather than read it. It was a beautiful experience. Using a full cast of narrators, the audiobook made Daisy Jones truly come to life, adding even more emotion to an already volatile tale.
On top of my absolute love for the audiobook, a lot of love exists for the story itself. It’s overall an interesting story to love, as you don’t necessarily get attached to the characters in a normal sense, nor are necessarily cheering for some of the actions either. It’s one of those stories that exists entirely in the morally grey area, one you can only enjoy if you try not to judge the characters too much. You need to find an appreciation for Daisy Jones that’s different from how you appreciate most books.
I loved how honest and human this book was, especially since this is the exact type of mood I’ve been in lately (or all of 2019, if I’m being honest). Give me truth and complexity, even if it brings along the dark and the heartbreaking.
It’s honestly hard to judge this book how I normally do. The plot wasn’t necessarily shocking or surprising (though I love the twist Reid threw in there!), but it didn’t need to be. The characters weren’t lovable, admirable, or even good, but they affected you anyways. The characters and their actions were flawed, reckless, sometimes downright horrible, but they were human, and I believe that’s what I love about this book the most.
I’m left with a much shorter review than I normally write, but it’s hard to judge a book like this. All I really have to say is that I need all of you to read it, or listen to it if you can. It’s utterly fantastic.
The Red Scrolls of Magic is a step back in the timeline of the Shadowhunter world, taking place a short while after City of Glass. It reveals the details of the mysterious European vacation Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood took in between City of Glass and City of Fallen Angels. Full of romance, danger, and of course demons, The Red Scrolls shines a new light on Downworlders, the European Shadowhunters, and Magnus and Alec’s relationship.
When I heard about this new series, I was endlessly excited. Magnus Bane is hands down my favorite character in all of the Shadowhunter books, maybe even of all books ever. And Malec was one of my first ever true ships. And now there’s a whole series following him/them? It was my dream come true.
The first installment definitely lived up to my dreams. While I got off to a rocky start, as I had started with the audiobook of the book and ended up not liking how it made me feel about the characters and scenes, I ended up getting quickly hooked once I picked the book up physically. It was a short book, meaning a faster pace, and it was an easy book to get lost in. I very easily could have missed my stop while taking the train, and almost did!
It’s been a while since I’ve read the original series, so I can’t really tell how this novel compares to them in terms of focus (between plot and romance), but I felt this book balanced the plotline well with the romance. There was a lot of focus on Magnus and Alec and their new relationship, but I feel like that’s what a lot of readers of this book want, and it also just made sense in the context of the story. There’s a lot that Magnus and Alec are trying to figure out between them, as well as about themselves. It led to a quite emotional and romantic story, and I loved it.
The plot was also interesting by itself. I was worried it would be kind of a throwaway plot, as it’s being written into the past of this series, but I was worried for no reason. This book cleverly adds new insights into old events while also revealing information that might be impactful later on, all without making it feel like it came out of nowhere. I also loved how much more of the Downworlder experience we saw, as that’s something I’ve been wanting a long time.
I also felt that Clare did the gay relationship of Magnus and Alec justice without over-sexualizing or making it problematic. She mainly focused on their love for each other and how they navigated uncertainties, which is something that is relevant and relatable to a lot of people. She also focused a lot on the immortal vs. mortal issue, or shadowhunter vs. warlock issue, which was a purely fictional one, and therefore one she can draw from her own lore on. When it came to the sexual parts of their relationship, Clare didn’t go into too much detail nor focus on any acts themselves. This meant that Magnus and Alec weren’t sexualized purely for the audience, and the romance and desire felt intimate and meant for them, rather than the reader. It seemed to avoid the pitfalls of many other straight women trying to write gay relationships, though of course I am not the best judge of this and you should not take my word as the final say on the matter.
Overall this book just made me really, really happy, and anyone into Malec, Alec, or Magnus will definitely love this book. There’s just a lot to love about it.
I also wanted to mention the acknowledgments. It’s not something I generally review, but it almost felt like a part of the story. Clare gave some insight into Magnus and Alec and their creation as characters and as a couple, and what that meant for her career and the series. It was wonderfully interesting to read, and it definitely added to my opinion of the situation/characters.
When I heard about this new series, I was endlessly excited. Magnus Bane is hands down my favorite character in all of the Shadowhunter books, maybe even of all books ever. And Malec was one of my first ever true ships. And now there’s a whole series following him/them? It was my dream come true.
The first installment definitely lived up to my dreams. While I got off to a rocky start, as I had started with the audiobook of the book and ended up not liking how it made me feel about the characters and scenes, I ended up getting quickly hooked once I picked the book up physically. It was a short book, meaning a faster pace, and it was an easy book to get lost in. I very easily could have missed my stop while taking the train, and almost did!
It’s been a while since I’ve read the original series, so I can’t really tell how this novel compares to them in terms of focus (between plot and romance), but I felt this book balanced the plotline well with the romance. There was a lot of focus on Magnus and Alec and their new relationship, but I feel like that’s what a lot of readers of this book want, and it also just made sense in the context of the story. There’s a lot that Magnus and Alec are trying to figure out between them, as well as about themselves. It led to a quite emotional and romantic story, and I loved it.
The plot was also interesting by itself. I was worried it would be kind of a throwaway plot, as it’s being written into the past of this series, but I was worried for no reason. This book cleverly adds new insights into old events while also revealing information that might be impactful later on, all without making it feel like it came out of nowhere. I also loved how much more of the Downworlder experience we saw, as that’s something I’ve been wanting a long time.
I also felt that Clare did the gay relationship of Magnus and Alec justice without over-sexualizing or making it problematic. She mainly focused on their love for each other and how they navigated uncertainties, which is something that is relevant and relatable to a lot of people. She also focused a lot on the immortal vs. mortal issue, or shadowhunter vs. warlock issue, which was a purely fictional one, and therefore one she can draw from her own lore on. When it came to the sexual parts of their relationship, Clare didn’t go into too much detail nor focus on any acts themselves. This meant that Magnus and Alec weren’t sexualized purely for the audience, and the romance and desire felt intimate and meant for them, rather than the reader. It seemed to avoid the pitfalls of many other straight women trying to write gay relationships, though of course I am not the best judge of this and you should not take my word as the final say on the matter.
Overall this book just made me really, really happy, and anyone into Malec, Alec, or Magnus will definitely love this book. There’s just a lot to love about it.
I also wanted to mention the acknowledgments. It’s not something I generally review, but it almost felt like a part of the story. Clare gave some insight into Magnus and Alec and their creation as characters and as a couple, and what that meant for her career and the series. It was wonderfully interesting to read, and it definitely added to my opinion of the situation/characters.
“Everyone has that moment I think, the moment when something so momentous happens that it rips your very being into small pieces. And then you have to stop. For a long time, you gather your pieces. And it takes such a very long time, not to fit them back together, but to assemble them in a new way, not necessarily a better way. More, a way you can live with until you know for certain that this piece should go there, and that one there.”
The Girl in Pieces is the story of Charlotte Davis, a girl in pieces. Her life has so far been one of loss and pain, some of it self-inflicted. A harrowing narrative told in haunting prose reveals the fractured pieces of Charlotte, and the difficulty in trying to piece them all back together.
While I hadn’t necessarily heard that many good things about this book, it was one that had been catching my eye for a while. Every once in a while I’m in the mood for a book like this, one that shows the darkness of humanity or the hardships of mental health. Plus, the book was an award winner as well as a Target book club choice, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, the book didn’t end up living to them at all.
If you look at my reading history for the book, you can see a large gap of time where I just stopped reading, and that was due with me just kind of being done with it. I just didn’t want to force myself to keep reading it. In the end, I did push through and finish it, but mainly due to the fact it was a gift and I could get points for it in my reading challenge.
This book just didn’t work for me at all. We got thrown right into the thick of it, as we join Charlotte’s story in the ‘After’, after she just attempted suicide and after all the events that led to it and her cutting. It was a bit jarring of a start, you’re thrown into a situation and need to quickly understand what’s going on while the narrator isn’t offering up a lot of information herself. It also leads to a disconnect from the narrator, as you only see the consequences of what happened at first. You have less pity for a person’s situation if you don’t understand everything about it.
The book was also just quite slow, and never managed to truly grab me. There were a lot of scenes that just dragged and felt fairly mundane, and I may have skimmed a passage or two. I never ended up liking Charlotte either, making it even harder to continue. I saw some other reviews comment on how Charlotte just makes poorer decision after poorer decision, and that was extremely accurate. I get see was in a cycle of pain and hurt and that it was very hard to break from that, but since I didn’t have a connection with her, it was harder to understand her decision. I feel horrible for saying this, but I just never ended up having any sympathy for her.
I did end up liking how it all wrapped up though, and found a lot of beauty in the life Charlotte ended up creating for herself and the ending she had. It all felt very fair yet still happy, an optimistic note humming through the words. It was what gave this book an extra star.
I’m not gonna say I won’t try any more books from this author, because I feel there’s definitely something here and it just didn’t connect with me, but I’ll be less optimistic going in next time.
The Girl in Pieces is the story of Charlotte Davis, a girl in pieces. Her life has so far been one of loss and pain, some of it self-inflicted. A harrowing narrative told in haunting prose reveals the fractured pieces of Charlotte, and the difficulty in trying to piece them all back together.
While I hadn’t necessarily heard that many good things about this book, it was one that had been catching my eye for a while. Every once in a while I’m in the mood for a book like this, one that shows the darkness of humanity or the hardships of mental health. Plus, the book was an award winner as well as a Target book club choice, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, the book didn’t end up living to them at all.
If you look at my reading history for the book, you can see a large gap of time where I just stopped reading, and that was due with me just kind of being done with it. I just didn’t want to force myself to keep reading it. In the end, I did push through and finish it, but mainly due to the fact it was a gift and I could get points for it in my reading challenge.
This book just didn’t work for me at all. We got thrown right into the thick of it, as we join Charlotte’s story in the ‘After’, after she just attempted suicide and after all the events that led to it and her cutting. It was a bit jarring of a start, you’re thrown into a situation and need to quickly understand what’s going on while the narrator isn’t offering up a lot of information herself. It also leads to a disconnect from the narrator, as you only see the consequences of what happened at first. You have less pity for a person’s situation if you don’t understand everything about it.
The book was also just quite slow, and never managed to truly grab me. There were a lot of scenes that just dragged and felt fairly mundane, and I may have skimmed a passage or two. I never ended up liking Charlotte either, making it even harder to continue. I saw some other reviews comment on how Charlotte just makes poorer decision after poorer decision, and that was extremely accurate. I get see was in a cycle of pain and hurt and that it was very hard to break from that, but since I didn’t have a connection with her, it was harder to understand her decision. I feel horrible for saying this, but I just never ended up having any sympathy for her.
I did end up liking how it all wrapped up though, and found a lot of beauty in the life Charlotte ended up creating for herself and the ending she had. It all felt very fair yet still happy, an optimistic note humming through the words. It was what gave this book an extra star.
I’m not gonna say I won’t try any more books from this author, because I feel there’s definitely something here and it just didn’t connect with me, but I’ll be less optimistic going in next time.