pineconek's Reviews (816)

I've re-read this book a few times now - both in hard copy and in audiobook. I think this is the author's tour de force. So many of the scenes and sentiments remain memorable long after you put the book down and the central tenant (survival is insufficient), albeit lifted from StarTrek, takes on additional beautiful and inspiring meanings.

What I love about this book is how familiar it feels. The setting, the plot, the little moments, feel like a story from my own childhood that I either lived or read but can barely remember anymore. That's the magic of Neil Gaiman I suppose.

The alternate title to this book should be "oranges are not the only fruit but for real this time". They're amazing books to read back to back (or side by side). Jeanette's honesty and wit resonates so much with me - I feel at home in some of her books, and this one in particular.

There's a lot of Eugenides I do like - I think Middlesex is complex and masterfully crafted, and I think the Virgin Suicides left an impression on a generation. The Marriage Plot, on the other hand, is highly forgettable. It's... fine, I suppose, with its main strength being painting complete pictures of characters in that particular timeframe and that particular environment. I finished it, hoping more would come, and ultimately found it had wasted its potential. The author has shown us he's capable of much more than this.

Oof ok. This book took me ages to finish - not because I didn't find it interesting or well written (it was both of those things) but because everything and absolutely everything is in this book. Want to know who made who cookies after the Manson trial? That's in here. Where all the lawyers of the case have ended up 25 years later? Also in here. I had to renew it from the library twice to make my way through all the nitty-gritty.

That said, I highly recommend it to true crime junkies but definitely not a "casual" reader. I'm a fast reader and my app says this took me 15 hours (tbh feels more like 50) - Bugliosi is thorough.

I picked this up mainly as a pallet cleanser from the more serious slow books I'm currently reading. I have very mixed feelings about the book so:
Pros:
- quick easy read
- fun creepy photos
- some layers of genuine intrigue
- enigmatic dying words
- welsh countryside charm
Cons:
- a painful and bizarre romance
- very YA, to the point where the ending isn't an ending
- a system of demons and such with their own unique names and lore and I just... nah
- reveals that are painfully obvious 50 pages before they're made
- in general, this just isn't for me

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 i.e. I liked it and would recommend it with caution.

I was going to put this book down around page 70 and never pick it back up. I strongly disliked the writing style (including no quotation marks for dialogue, which was furstrating) and the heavy-handedness that went into some plot and characterization.

But then we got to the ~Themes~. I'm a sucker for anything that explores the frightening experiencing of confusing love and abuse and all the gory aftermath. That kept me hooked, and helped me overlook until frustrations with the book.

This book was tremendously inspiring and I highly recommend it. It reminded me a lot about the importance of practicing authentic self compassion. I really enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook since Brene has a soothing way about her when she reads and it definitely helps the anecdotes come to life.

Well, I stayed up late to hate finish a book. That hasn't happened in a long time. I stayed up even later to read other one star reviews before drafting my own just for reassurance that I wasn't missing something.

Nope.

(Very mild and vague spoilers below)

So I picked up this book because I loved loved loved the Sinner so "woman kills someone for seemingly no reason and then won't talk about it" felt like a familiar and exciting premise full of promise. Between comparing it to a book I love and knowing this book had won a Goodreads prize last year, my expectations were high.

First mistake.

About 40 pages in, I reached my first disappointment: the writing was... Pretty bad. It was easy and quick to read, easy to follow, but the dialogue was painfully unrealistic and incongruence of details were frustrating at best and ridiculous at worst.

But ok, this wasn't a literary book. I decided to enjoy the fun pulpy ride and buckle in for the Big Twist. My enjoyment of the book kept decreasing with every ridiculous thing that happened (for starters: literally every scene with Paul, Jean Felix, Elif, and Max) and with the amount of times we were beaten over the head with Greek references. Show, don't tell!! Please!!

And then the twist happened. And I was so goddamn disappointed that I hate finished the novel. There's clever ways to fool your audience, where you leave them feeling smart, satisfied, delighted, horrified... An excellent cocktail of emotions for a thriller. The twist here left me feeling frustrated and incredulous that this book had such high praise

Sprinkle in a bit of:
- terrible "men writing women" tropes (the betraying sexy ones and the evil ugly ones woo)
- godawful relationship dialogue where everyone actually hates their SO
- great outdated mental illness tropes (referring to people as "borderlines" and also changing meds on a whim without tapering?? Seriously?)
- literally therapist-client boundary violation with literally every single mental health care professional in this book
- a coma for good measure

I love over-the-top books - I think VC Andrews is a world of fun. I love twisty thrillers. I can overlook stiff writing. I can even overlook shitty portrayals of women cause hey, I've built a tolerance over the years. I don't need books to be perfect for me to enjoy reading them. But good lord am I pissed off I wasted my time reading this.

Tl;dr: I'm giving this book one star because my life was better before I read it.