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typedtruths's Reviews (1.8k)
Oh, Connor. This was... buddy, this was just not your finest work. I read A Work in Progress two years ago (or something like that), and adored how it was so authentically Connor. The tone, the wording, the pictures. It was like seeing a printed version of one of his videos. It was surprisingly touching and I got so much out of it. My copy is so sticky-noted, it isn’t even funny… so anyway, that was a sloppy segue me for to say: I adore Connor Franta (if you couldn’t already tell). His videos were not just the first videos on YouTube that I watched (although they literally were) but also the first I fell in love with. No matter what he does he always manages to make me smile and for that, I can never thank him enough.
… but Note to Self was unnecessary. I know a lot of people have problems with so-called “YouTube books” but I have always had the attitude that if they can write something worth reading than to go for it. Unfortunately, this was not worth writing. I hate having to say those words. It’s killing me to admit this but it’s true. I expected to get a lot out of this. It is meant to be a reflection on Connor’s experience with depression, anxiety and an awful breakup over the past two years (or so) and it was just… not that.
For one, the poems were cringey. I seriously hate having to write those words! When I saw his Frames video, I was so, so excited to read more of his poems. It was so beautiful but dear God, they poems were awful. I had to force myself to read them. I desperately wanted to skim them, they were that cringey. They were not poetry, they were recycled Tumblr quotes broken up or artfully arranged. They were not insightful, not touching or even enjoyable. I am so, so sad to say this but I think Connor’s thing is strictly photography. He is not a poet and it made the whole premise of this book fall apart…
The anecdotes in between the poetry were so… generic. I wanted to get an insight into Connor’s personal experiences with mental illness and the break up we have all heard about (and know really affected him) but everything he wrote so unoriginal, so unengaging. He even bastardised TFIOS at one point and I couldn't help myself literally, physically cringing. I was so uninspired by this and it makes me so, so sad to say that. I feel like this was something that Connor needed to write for himself, not for an audience.
The photography was jaw-droppingly on point as always, though, so there’s that…
Overall? Umm, not Connor’s finest moment.
… but Note to Self was unnecessary. I know a lot of people have problems with so-called “YouTube books” but I have always had the attitude that if they can write something worth reading than to go for it. Unfortunately, this was not worth writing. I hate having to say those words. It’s killing me to admit this but it’s true. I expected to get a lot out of this. It is meant to be a reflection on Connor’s experience with depression, anxiety and an awful breakup over the past two years (or so) and it was just… not that.
For one, the poems were cringey. I seriously hate having to write those words! When I saw his Frames video, I was so, so excited to read more of his poems. It was so beautiful but dear God, they poems were awful. I had to force myself to read them. I desperately wanted to skim them, they were that cringey. They were not poetry, they were recycled Tumblr quotes broken up or artfully arranged. They were not insightful, not touching or even enjoyable. I am so, so sad to say this but I think Connor’s thing is strictly photography. He is not a poet and it made the whole premise of this book fall apart…
The anecdotes in between the poetry were so… generic. I wanted to get an insight into Connor’s personal experiences with mental illness and the break up we have all heard about (and know really affected him) but everything he wrote so unoriginal, so unengaging. He even bastardised TFIOS at one point and I couldn't help myself literally, physically cringing. I was so uninspired by this and it makes me so, so sad to say that. I feel like this was something that Connor needed to write for himself, not for an audience.
The photography was jaw-droppingly on point as always, though, so there’s that…
Overall? Umm, not Connor’s finest moment.
4.5 stars
It’s taken me nearly two years of blogging to realise that I kind of suck at writing those glowing, five-star, positive reviews. Maybe it’s because I’m a little bit of a glass-half-empty sort of person and brilliant books don’t come my way all that often. If you were to give me a one-star mess of a book and I’ll happily tear it apart in a review for you, but when you give me a mind-blowingly amazing and completely captivating read, I’m stumped.
I honestly don’t know what to say other than the fact that I just did not expect to like this book. After the disaster that was Tintera’s [b:Reboot|13517455|Reboot (Reboot, #1)|Amy Tintera|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350931774s/13517455.jpg|19075624] series, how was I to know her fantasy series would be so much better? I think maybe a list will help? Lists are always good.
• This story wasn’t scared to get gritty. The first scene of this book is literally the protagonist murdering someone. Straight away we see that Em is a no-nonsense sort of person, and I loved that she was kind of scary and very Slytherin (which speaks to my soul) but interesting and different to the other YA fantasy protagonists.
• The romance made me swoon a million swoons. I know that that shouldn’t be the make or break thing in a book - especially a fantasy that should primarily be about the world/plot - but how could you not love Cas? I don’t even enjoy love/hate relationships most of the time or ones that are based off lies (as Em is undercover), but… I just couldn’t help it. Cas! <3
• Like I said, Cas was perfect. Cas was honestly everything I love in a character. His development across the story was just on point. I love seeing character overcome their prejudices. It’s one of my all-time favourite tropes. (If you love it too, read [b:Of Beast and Beauty|16113606|Of Beast and Beauty|Stacey Jay|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370661183s/16113606.jpg|21930225]. I promise it’ll change your life).
• The sarcasm. I have literally mentioned this at least fifty thousand times to everyone who posts about this book, but just… the sarcasm! It was perfect. It literally had me laughing out loud like a lunatic. It just gave the story the perfect amount of comic relief it needed.
• The ending was an open ending, but not in a bad way. It wrapped up the story, but definitely left us with questions and the potential for a sequel (which is confirmed, so all is good).
Overall, this was the first YA Circle (my book club) read that I truly loved. I didn’t expect this author to wow me, but she did and I’ll be forever grateful for that. I’m holding out for the second book so bad… hopefully, 2017 will come quickly!
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
It’s taken me nearly two years of blogging to realise that I kind of suck at writing those glowing, five-star, positive reviews. Maybe it’s because I’m a little bit of a glass-half-empty sort of person and brilliant books don’t come my way all that often. If you were to give me a one-star mess of a book and I’ll happily tear it apart in a review for you, but when you give me a mind-blowingly amazing and completely captivating read, I’m stumped.
I honestly don’t know what to say other than the fact that I just did not expect to like this book. After the disaster that was Tintera’s [b:Reboot|13517455|Reboot (Reboot, #1)|Amy Tintera|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350931774s/13517455.jpg|19075624] series, how was I to know her fantasy series would be so much better? I think maybe a list will help? Lists are always good.
• This story wasn’t scared to get gritty. The first scene of this book is literally the protagonist murdering someone. Straight away we see that Em is a no-nonsense sort of person, and I loved that she was kind of scary and very Slytherin (which speaks to my soul) but interesting and different to the other YA fantasy protagonists.
• The romance made me swoon a million swoons. I know that that shouldn’t be the make or break thing in a book - especially a fantasy that should primarily be about the world/plot - but how could you not love Cas? I don’t even enjoy love/hate relationships most of the time or ones that are based off lies (as Em is undercover), but… I just couldn’t help it. Cas! <3
• Like I said, Cas was perfect. Cas was honestly everything I love in a character. His development across the story was just on point. I love seeing character overcome their prejudices. It’s one of my all-time favourite tropes. (If you love it too, read [b:Of Beast and Beauty|16113606|Of Beast and Beauty|Stacey Jay|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370661183s/16113606.jpg|21930225]. I promise it’ll change your life).
• The sarcasm. I have literally mentioned this at least fifty thousand times to everyone who posts about this book, but just… the sarcasm! It was perfect. It literally had me laughing out loud like a lunatic. It just gave the story the perfect amount of comic relief it needed.
• The ending was an open ending, but not in a bad way. It wrapped up the story, but definitely left us with questions and the potential for a sequel (which is confirmed, so all is good).
Overall, this was the first YA Circle (my book club) read that I truly loved. I didn’t expect this author to wow me, but she did and I’ll be forever grateful for that. I’m holding out for the second book so bad… hopefully, 2017 will come quickly!
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
me, sobbing in a public bathroom: you bastards told me this book was funny
➸ Trigger warnings for homomisia, queermisia, racism, misogyny, ableism & ableist language, slut shaming, child abuse, anxiety attacks, ptsd, suicide ideation, blood/physical injuries, needles, medical procedures, grief depiction, death of a mother & wife, gun violence, physical assault, torture mentioned, murder, kidnapping, hostage situation, and imprisonment.
➸ Trigger warnings for homomisia, queermisia, racism, misogyny, ableism & ableist language, slut shaming, child abuse, anxiety attacks, ptsd, suicide ideation, blood/physical injuries, needles, medical procedures, grief depiction, death of a mother & wife, gun violence, physical assault, torture mentioned, murder, kidnapping, hostage situation, and imprisonment.
#1) Reign of the Fallen ★★★½☆
➸ Trigger warnings for
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➸ Trigger warnings for ableist language, sexism, slut-shaming, sexual harassment, physical, verbal & emotional child abuse (central theme), intimate partner violence, elder abuse, cheating mentioned, depersonalisation, suicidal ideation, self harm, alcohol consumption, smoking death by childbirth, traumatic childbirth mentioned, dementia (central theme), burns, physical injuries, mild blood depiction, emesis, hospital grief depiction, death of a mother & wife recounted, physical assault, and homelessness (central theme) .
▷ Representation: Marla (sc) has dementia.
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▷ Representation: Marla (sc) has dementia.
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➸ Trigger warnings for
▷ Representation: Nessa (mc) uses mobility aids for her polio; Nigerian & queer mcs.
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