toreadistovoyage's Reviews (1.58k)

I picked this up after I started planning a trip to Istanbul. There is a museum based off of this book, which is ultimately a museum based off a book based off a museum or something totally weird like that. The actual museum was the European museum of the year in 2014 (I think that's the right year).

The first quarter of this book was great - lots of drama, setting up what was sure to be a tragic story, interesting characters. However, the bulk of the book (I would say from the quarter-ish mark to about ninety percent) was repetitive, slow, and, honestly, boring. The ending redeemed it somewhat. It was strange that the author placed himself in the story as a character.

It took me a long time to read it. Like I had to force myself at times to pick it up. I used all of my library renewals and it is technically late. Just overall not worth it.

I loved this. A blend of biography and poetry, this was a fascinating look into the life of Octavia E. Butler.

So, I enjoyed this book but had a hard time visualizing what was happening. Not the author's fault - definitely a me thing. Would love to see this in movie format. 

This wasn't what I expected. It is sold as a dark comedy where a woman uses literature to find happiness. It wasn't funny, this woman wasn't really trying to find happiness so much as escape her current situation (which, to be fair, was very strange and manipulative), and the literature was used to

justify her constant daydreaming/plotting her husband's death

. The "romance" was creepy -

Victoria basically stalks a guy, lies to him, and ends up in a relationship with him after using her "wits" to get her husband killed

- and everyone in this book was unlikeable. There was also a series of strange supernatural dream-state scenes that seemed out of place. 

The writing was good, which bumped it up to a 2.5.

Well....I read it. And I have some seriously mixed thoughts (mostly pertaining to the romance itself and the science behind a lot of what happens). This was weird. I would suggest reading trigger warnings.

This was an engaging reimagining of Sleeping Beauty. That being said, the length (it's fairly short) made character development feel incomplete and plot feel rushed. I was genuinely confused by a few parts where it just seemed to skip without explanation. 

Beautifully written memoir. Heart-wrenching. Covering multiple topics, including grief, loss of parents, impact of Covid, healthcare, family responsibility, adoption, and more.

I loved this world. I loved these characters. I loved the resolution. I am sad that this was only a duology, but it was so well done. 

Not sure what made me decide to read this. I like family dramas, but nothing about this one really stood out to me. That being said, this is a family with drama - and that drama kept my attention. I have a few issues with how some of the issues were resolved, but nothing is perfect in life so I guess this is reflective of that.

I am only reading these for my son. We have read all we currently own, but I have a feeling we will be continuing this series.