reubenalbatross's Reviews (521)

This was a nice collection to read mid-December, it definitely helped me to get into the Christmas spirit. It made me realise that I might actually enjoy reading Dickens now. I’d sworn off him after trying to read a book years ago, but now I think I was just too young to properly get it. It also introduced Trollope and Wodehouse’s writing to me, and I’m definitely interested in reading more from them both. 

I don’t really enjoy poetry in general, and most in here were take it or leave it for me, but I did really enjoy Stevenson’s ‘Christmas at Sea’ – it really did something to me. 

However, the way the collection was put together had a LOT of flaws, which definitely impacted my enjoyment. 

On a positive note, I did enjoy the order some of the entries were in, with either specific themes linking them together, or newer work referencing the older work that had preceded it. I also appreciated that the ‘Christmas at War’ section was not only about the World Wars.  

Now to the negatives. One of the biggest was that the for the majority of the entries the publication date wasn’t included. This meant I really struggled to understand a lot of them, as era is such an important piece of context, especially with such short pieces of work. I ended up having to look most dates up online, because the experience wasn’t good without them. I don’t understand why they didn’t think to include them, especially in a collection that spans such a wide timeframe.   

Additionally, some of the excerpts from novels were hard to understand without the wider context of the novel, the worst of which was Emma. The excerpt made ZERO sense to me, as it was exclusively characters nattering about other characters with absolutely no context. And to top it off, it was barely even on theme – it was the characters travelling in a carriage in the snow, but the actual weather/season was barely mentioned. 

I also didn’t like the Nativity section at all, but that is more a personal preference. 

But the thing that stood out to me most while reading was the lack of diversity in the stories and authors. The ONLY non-white author (Benjamin Zephaniah) was the most recent work published, and it honestly felt like a token diversity entry, rather than the editors wanting to include it. Non-white people have been writing just as long as white people have, so surely they could have found at LEAST one other work from a similar time period as the rest of the entries to include as well? The work also had a completely different tone to the rest of the entries, which felt pretty jarring. Everything else was ‘poncy white people tone’, and Zephaniah’s was completely the opposite. If there were more entries from people of colour, this wouldn’t have been as much of an issue to me, but the fact that the only non-white author’s work was so unlike all the rest made me feel they just picked Zephaniah’s work because he’s a well-known poet and wanted the diversity points, rather than cared about the context of the collection. We can do better than this people! 

So, overall this was definitely a mixed bag. I do intend to keep the collection, but will be more selective about which works I re-read. 

Well the actual storyline of this was fine, if very predictable. Apart from that, I don’t really have anything good to say. 

I found it weird that Jenkins Reid chose to name two characters Carrie in her ‘universe’, both with main plotlines of affairs. 

I thought it was extremely unrealistic for the letters to include the amount of detail they did, especially when it was a character describing in detail an event the recipient was also present for (e.g. the first time both of them met). 

Also, at one point Carrie cays she’s the only person who takes in the mail at her house, and we’re told she’s in the house most of the time. So HOW has she never noticed any of the other woman’s letters being delivered?? 

And David sending a POSTCARD to Carrie? As in a postcard that doesn’t have any level of privacy, so anyone could see what was written on it before it got into her hands??? Wild.
 
 And what the fuck is 'the twist' that so many of these reviews are on about?? Is the twist the two people who were very obviously having a sexual affair having a sexual affair? Or that, shock horror, it was Ken with the fertility issues, and not Carrie? Wtf. 

On a format note, italics being used for some lines in a handwritten letter?? As if. 

And the different font sizes used in my Kindle edition for the different letters was ridiculous. To not have to change the font size every other page I had to have the normal writing MASSIVE and all the other fonts still pretty tiny. The ebook formatter dropped a massive fucking ball there. 
 
So a mildly enjoyable read, with massive believability issues. Not what I expected from an author I usually enjoy reading from. 

Another great read from McGuire. 

I do wish there had been a little more exploration into Regan’s feelings about her body. For one of the pivotal themes of the plot, it seemed a little glossed over. 

There was one scene that really baffled me, as there always seems to be in a Wayward Children book. At one point Regan was tied up, with her 'wrists' tied together 'in front of her', yet she had 'no use of her hands'. This made absolutely no sense. There’s plenty you can do with your hands if your wrists are tied together – a point McGuire then makes when Regan manages to open a door latch WITH HER HANDS. So why she didn’t at least try to undo the rope around her ankle with her hands, rather than just shuffling her feet around, I’ll never know. This is definitely something that should have been picked up by the editor. 

I definitely struggled with my star rating for this one. So much of the book was amazing, but the few things that annoyed me annoyed me SO MUCH. Let’s start with the negatives: 

1. I find it incredibly difficult to believe that so many people avoided or thought negatively about Clover because of her job. It wouldn’t even cross my mind to cut someone off for having such a good natured, impactful job - bankers, corporate workers etc. yes, death doula, no. It’s like not wanting to interact with someone because they're a therapist. And helping someone in their last moments of life is way less 'problematic' than something like a coroner or morgue worker. 

Yet throughout the book, people react as if Clover is weird for being comfortable talking about death. I’m sorry, what? Not a single person I know would think it’s weird for someone to be emotionally intelligent and mature enough to sensibly discuss death. 

And it’s not even framed as if Clover is reading these situations incorrectly - people are just straight up arsey to her about it. So maybe she sounds a little preachy and hypocritical when she talks about her work, but enough for so many negative reactions from everyone she has ever met in her life?? 

Majorly unbelievable. 

2. The concert scene pissed me right off. No even vaguely competent classical musician 'counts themself in' before they start playing, let alone when PERFORMING. And Bach's Cello Suites are UNACCOMPANIED SOLO pieces, so why the fuck did the other three 'join in' with Suite 1??!! And they wouldn’t be TAPPING THEIR FEET. 
Clearly Brammer knows absolutely nothing about classical music, so you’d think a little research might have been a good idea. 

3. I really disliked that one of the main physical features pointed out between Sebastian and Hugo is that Hugo is really tall whereas Sebastian is only around Clover's height. It completely plays into all of the stereotypes of shorter men, and means this book gets added to the list of books I’ve read where tall man = the best possible outcome. 

For reference, not one single book in my 27 years of life has included a f/m relationship where the man is shorter. Its actual bullshit. 

So, to be fair to Brammer, this is definitely a societal problem, not the sole fault of Brammer. But seeing a different take would be nice once in a while - short guys also deserve happiness. 
 
Despite these annoyances, I still found this book incredibly impactful. The accuracy of rejection sensitivity disorder is completely wild, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it portrayed so well in media. Reading this was like seeing myself at my worst, so it was definitely a challenging read at times. 

Other reservations I had while reading were clearly Brammer’s intention, as they were resolved later in the narrative.

I’m so glad Sebastian didn’t end up being end game for Clover, he was such a total prick, and I was worried for a while that they’d end up together. And I’m also incredibly glad that old Hugo was already dead. If they’d found him still living I think it would have lessened the impact of the story, so I’m glad that didn’t happen.

 
 
The book put into words so many of the thoughts I have running around in my head, yet still struggle to do anything about. Hopefully this will kindle something inside me and I’ll be able to be a little more reckless. 

I don’t normally pick out quotes I want to remember from books, but I’m going to leave these ones here for future me: 

 

 A truly beautiful read. I just wish I didn’t find the annoying points as enraging as I did.  

25% into this book and the only complaint I had was that one of the characters is called Elizabeth Bennet and nobody once made reference to Pride and Prejudice. How I wish that was the biggest problem I came across. 

Because Holy. Fucking. Shit. What the FUCK with the predatory age gap ‘romance’???????? 

1. Joe ‘chose’ Ox when Joe was TEN and Ox was SIXTEEN. What the fuck. 

2. They then spend basically all their time together, with Ox an extension of the family. So they were brothers, brothers!! I was thinking it would even be weird if Ox shacked up with Carter, but JOE???? 

3. With the knowledge that they were ‘mated’, all of Joe’s possessiveness wasn’t just an insecure kid wanting attention, he was JEALOUS that a kid SIX YEARS OLDER than him was fooling around with other people. I was really hoping that Joe’s possessiveness would be presented as an insecure/overly attached child learning to let people live their own lives. But nope. This is just gross.  

4. Ox gets the crazy hots for Joe (who has strictly been his ‘little brother’ until this point) when Joe is SEVENTEEN and Ox is TWENTY-THREE. Gross gross gross. 

5. And then every single family member justified Ox and Joe’s feelings, and said it isn’t a problem at all. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. 

The only way their relationship might have been acceptable would be if they didn’t see each other for (at minimum) ten years, and reunited when Joe was 27ish and Ox 33ish. Then I think it could be ok. But straight out of high school?? Despicable. 

How did such a delightfully cute book turn so deranged so quickly??? I’m glad this isn’t the first of Klune’s books I’ve read, as I would definitely have sworn him off for good. I’m still considering it even now. 

This was a pretty easy read, but nothing special. It did have some pretty dodgy elements, the majority of which I’d like to think are products of the time it was written. 

Everything came together in the end, and we got all the answers, but most felt pretty anticlimactic and matter of fact. I also thought it was pretty unbelievable that all the characters were so intertwined, and I really don't see the point of the axe murderer stuff at all apart from as some kind of red herring? At times it felt like I was being bounced all over the place with the different storylines, in an erratic, confusing way, rather than an interesting, interconnected mystery. 

The ‘ni-ev’ pronunciation of Niamh in this audiobook is WILD. It’s Neve, not whatever the hell Jameson was doing. 

Also, Jackson is so weirdly horny. Almost every single woman he encounters turns him on... and he’s always misogynistic and objectifying about it. Pretty weird coming from a female author. If the book knew he was being an arse and making commentary on it that would be different, but we're just presented with it as fact, and no further commentary is made. 

The worst part was the n-word cat name. It was COMPLETELY unnecessary. If Atkinson wanted to show the old bat’s racist character, she didn’t actually have to use the word itself. Or if she was dead set on the bat calling the cat it, she didn’t have to actually write it out, then have the characters saying it all the bloody time. And then for the choice to be made in c.2015 to read it out loud so much?? Eesh. I’m sure Jackson's best friend was black purely in an attempt to make it seem slightly less bad (and probably a choice made by the editor, rather than Atkinson).
 
I will be continuing the series, because I’ve been recommended the 4th and 5th books, but wanted to read from the beginning. If this was a book I’d come across naturally, I would not be continuing.  What strange choices authors make… 

I love this book SO MUCH. Yes, it does consist almost entirely of pretty overdone tropes, but the book doesn’t feel tropey because of the originality and emotional maturity Carey brings to the story. 

First of all, Carey never had excuses, or simply explained things away. Everything was shown to the reader, which created such a rich and enveloping world. For example, when Yarit tries to escape from the Brotherhood – so many authors would just include a throwaway line like "it’s pointless trying to escape, so no one ever does, no need to worry", which always leaves the worldbuilding feeling pretty weak. Instead, we actually see his escape attempt and WHY it’s pointless trying, which adds so much context to the world and story. 

The emotional maturity of so many the characters also really impressed me, and isn’t something I’m used to reading. This was especially clear in Khai and Zariya’s relationship. The way they talk to each other really opened my eyes to what healthy communication is. For example, this exchange after Zariya asked Khai a difficult question, and Khai asked a heated one in return: 

-- 'I could tell the question injured her.
 "Forgive me," I apologised. "I fear I am overly sensitive in the matter."
 "Yes, and not without cause," Zariya observed. "It was a thoughtless thing to say and I'm sorry for it."' 

The love they have for one another means they have the confidence to be completely honest with each other, without worrying that any prickly/hurtful things they say will get a bad reaction from the other person. I could only dream of such a thing. They also have the self-awareness and humility to apologise when they have offended the other, and the confidence to say when they have been hurt. This was all so beautifully refreshing to see. 

The representation/diversity in the story was also amazing, it was seamless and beautifully empowering. The trans representation was astonishingly accurate and poignant, and Zariya’s disability was handled with such grace and dignity. I love that neither issue was resolved using some far-flung magic, as in both cases this often strikes me as disingenuous and alienating for readers with similar life experiences. 

So, while on the surface the book is pretty tropey, in this case I didn’t care at all. The tropes (and honestly the plot as a whole) were such relatively minor details for me while reading this. It was the tender relationships, impeccable representation of all kinds, and emotionally intelligent characters that made the book for me. Absolutely gorgeous. 

!!!THIS BOOK IS A SEQUEL!!! 

Nowhere, and I mean nowhere, indicted that this book is a sequel. I only found out that it is after reading the author’s note at the back of the book that literally says ‘SPOILER ALERT! Don’t read this until you have finished the book’. How the fuck was I meant to know then?? I will say it didn’t really affect the reading experience, but I would much rather have read the first book in the series to get a wider context of previous events and character’s backstories. Absolutely insane how publishers do their best to hide when books are sequels. 

Anyway, besides all that, I did have a good time reading this. 

The beginning was really captivating, Mark’s first chapter in particular brought tears to my eyes. 

I was wary about the book’s Covid-19 backdrop, but I actually found it really interesting to read, and not at all overwhelming. I thought it was really tastefully done. 

Stacey is a great character. The memory loss stuff was both realistic (rather horrendously annoying and gimmicky) and tender. Really thought-provoking ideas about what memory is. 
 
I also really like how it wasn’t ALL about the reveals. We actually get most of the answers 100+ pages from the end, and the rest is an engaging story as the situations progress. Both mysterious and entertaining. 

I feel I should have known better than to expect good things from this. I’ve been reading all the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award winners this year, and all have been terrible. 

The first warning sign was that Kate’s POV is set in 2019, when video/smart doorbells were already pretty common. Yet, in all Kate's incredibly important planning, the idea of her husband installing a smart doorbell doesn’t even cross her mind?? If he isn’t tracking you with your phone, obviously he’ll be monitoring the door to visibly see you leaving??? She’s also of the opinion that it’s completely wild for a doorman to keep tabs on her if asked, when it really isn’t. 
 
The next warning sign was Violet’s POV being set during WW2, need I say more?
 
The final kicker was the incredibly BASIC writing style, and absolute absence of originality or nuance in the themes and discussions broached so far. From reviews this doesn’t get any better, and it goes on to include a shit tonne of gratuitous violence towards women. No thanks.
 
Thus I come to the end of my 2023 Goodreads winners reads. I will not be doing this challenge again. 

Holy. Fucking. Shit. 

This is incredible. 

First of all, on a bit of a technical note, I loved that the tablet etc. quotes were at the end of chapters, rather than the start. It meant I could actually understand the elements of the chapter they linked to, because I’d already read the context. When quotes are at the beginning of chapters it feels so vague, and I can never keep the quote in my mind. 

And good LAWD - when I figured out the link between the POVs (around 190 pages in) my mind. Was. Blown. Because I realised it pretty early it meant I could pick out all the hints, while still questioning my theory, really adding to the experience. 

And when the narration turns on you at the end?? Full body chills. 

And I LOVED last line. It gave me Captain Barbossa appearing in Tia Dalma’s hut vibes (“So tell me, what’s become of my ship?”), and made me smile through floods of tears. 
 
AND THE SEEMLESS DIVERSITY. 
 
Fuck. Me. Sideways.