Hi!
I read five books in January and here are my thoughts and reviews.
Warning! Spoilers ahead!
After You by Jojo Moyes (sequel to Me Before You)
Genre: romance, fiction
About: After the death of Will Traynor, Louisa Clark is now lost in life. She’s working a job she doesn’t like, living in a flat that doesn’t feel like home and has a strained relationship with her family. One night, she gets a visitor that changes everything.
Review:
The beginning of the book was slow but after the first 50 pages it got good.
I liked Lou of course, and the new characters, Sam and Donna.
But I didn’t like Lily, she only grew on me at the very end of the book. I understand she has a hard life but that doesn’t mean she has to be a brat and take advantage of Lou’s kindness. She kept coming and going into Lou’s flat as she pleased and brought strangers there too. Who does that? It’s so obvious that you can’t trust people like that (Lou definitely shouldn’t have given her a key to the flat though). She was also quite dumb. I could tell something bad was going to happen with all her clubbing and disappearing. She could’ve been smarter and avoid the whole private photo situation. I only liked Lily at the end when she became a nice person and got her head straight. But I still think she should’ve apologised more and show more gratitude towards Lou who was way too kind.
My absolute favourite part was when Mrs Traynor / Camilla apologised and reconciled with Lily. It was absolutely amazing and touching.
The ending was super happy and feel-good, seeing everyone have their happily ever after. With Lou getting a great job and being with an absolutely amazing guy, and Lily going back to school and reuniting with her new family.
I love the overall message of telling us to live even when dealing with grief. It reminds us that life goes on and we can’t be afraid of what-ifs. The progress Lou makes throughout the book is amazing. It was amazing seeing her deal with her struggles and moving on.
The writing was really good. The plot wasn’t groundbreaking but the writing was what made the book great. I couldn’t stop reading and the next thing I knew, I finished the book.
Rating: 3.8/5 (you have to read the first book to fully understand the book though!)
Spice: 2/5 (almost closed door, only two non-explicit, short scenes of it)
Trigger warnings: death, grief, sexual assault, gun violence, drugs
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
Genre: young adult fiction, mystery, thriller
About: Five years ago, five cheerleaders died. Monica’s sister, Jennifer, was the last of them to die. But Monica’s sure there’s more to her sister’s death than anyone will admit. Soon, she finds herself in the centre of it all, and is going to get answers.
Review:
Maybe I’m good at it, but it was easy to figure out who the killer was. I was suspicious of Brandon and Ginny, and I was right. Brandon didn’t bring anything to the story so his character wouldn’t have been necessary unless he was the killer. As for Ginny, the way she went out of her way to help someone she just started talking to and tensed up at the mention of her father and his truck made me suspicious.
I liked the parallel between Monica and her sister’s life. Getting on the team freshmen year, become best friends with the only other two freshmen who made it, being popular, feeing like they’re losing their friends etc.
Monica’s relationship with her family is pretty normal, but I liked how her stepdad actually cares about her and treats her as his own daughter.
A little detail I really liked about the story was Jimmy. It was cute seeing his interactions with Monica throughout the book, and asking her out at the end, not caring about what happened and all the gossip.
Overall, it was a nice read and story, but the mystery aspect isn’t too great.
Rating: 3.5/5
Spice: 0.5/5 (closed door)
Trigger warnings: death, statutory rape, pedophilia, teen pregnancy, mention of throwing up, general violence, mention of domestic violence, drug use
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: historical fiction
About: Daisy Jones is a wild and beautiful L.A. girl who has an insane talent for music. Her voice starts getting noticed around the time a band, The Six, starts rising to fame. When a producer has a genius idea to have them collaborate, they take the world by storm.
Review:
First of all, the way the story was told was so so so good. I loved having the story told by everyone, and getting to see everyone’s perspective. The interview format really made the book great for me.
The story was really well developed and interesting. I was surprised I liked it so much considering I was definitely not around during the 1970s and am not exactly a rock n’ roll fan.
Most of the characters were complex.
Daisy Jones was iconic. I wouldn’t say I aspire to be her, but I admire her self-confidence and boldness so much. She wasn’t someone you could push around. She did what she wanted to and never backed down on anything.
Billy Dunne wasn’t my favourite person. But, I did really root for him. I wanted him to live a happy life with his family.
Camila was such an interesting character to me. She was so strong and knew how to handle things and get her way. She had so much faith in Billy and cared so much for her kids. She did everything in her power to keep her family together and happy, and she got just that. Her relationship with Daisy was interesting, especially at the end.
Simone was an absolute angel. I think everyone needs a Simone in their life. Someone who always wants what’s best for you and helps you even when you don’t want or don’t think you need it.
However, I felt like Warren, Eddie, Pete, and Karen didn’t bring much to the story. They were just there, part of The Six.
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 1/5 (mentioned but not explicit)
Trigger warnings: drug use / abuse, alcohol abuse, addiction, cheating, abortion, rehab, death
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Genre: romance
About: Eleanor is the new girl who sticks out. Her messy red curls and mismatched clothes definitely don’t go unnoticeable. Park is the guy who wears black and closes himself off from the world by wearing headphones and reading comics. Through conversations and mixtapes, they start getting closer and fall for each other.
Review:
There was nothing exactly wrong with the book. I just didn’t like it.
First off, I was NOT warned about the dark parts. I thought it was going to be a cute love story between two misfits. It was, but, omg why did the back of the book say “chaotic family” and not something stronger like broken or horrific or abusive or anything that would’ve told us there was domestic abuse and that it was a HUGE part of the book?!
For the love story itself, I cringed so so sooooooo many times. It was insta-love. They went from disliking to loving each other so quick. Their romance was honestly just weird and gross. Park was so patient and loving towards Eleanor but why? There was never a real explanation as to why he liked her so much. Something that was really off putting was the way Eleanor described her feelings in her thoughts. They were just so weird, e.g. eating Park’s face???
As for the characters, I was fine with Park but his character could’ve been developed more and be more interesting. He was also wasn’t a very good friend, he never paid attention to Cal and practically forgot he existed when Eleanor came into the picture. I didn’t really like Eleanor. I understand why she acts out given her home life, but it just irked me. Also, why does she never try to get help? Why does she never ask the counsellor for help when she clearly could have? I know it can be hard for people facing abuse to ask for help, but Eleanor seemed like she was capable of getting herself and her siblings out of that mess. AND if she really couldn’t do anything, what about the people in town????? It’s not like Richie pretended to be a wonderful person outside their house, the towns people knew he was a terrible person!
I think I liked the side characters more than the two main ones. Steve and Tina were interesting, they were mean and popular but they weren’t cruel like how most stories make the popular kids. Tina helped Eleanor when she was in trouble, even when she didn’t need to, even when Eleanor didn’t ask and didn’t even know she was there. Steve actually considered Park his friend even though he was considered weird. Eleanor’s siblings were much smarter than she thought. And Park’s parents were great, they had their problems like all families do, but the main thing was that they wanted what was best for their sons.
The ending was so underwhelming. It was so selfish of Eleanor to ignore all Park’s letters for so long, and finally reply with three words after ages. I know it was supposed to make me feel something but it didn’t.
In my opinion, the most well written part of the book was the domestic abuse, not the romance. The domestic abuse felt real and I felt for the characters, the romance made me feel nothing.
Rating: 2/5
Spice: 1.5/5 (only words, nothing graphic)
Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, child abuse, bullying, body shaming, alcohol abuse, transphobia, racism
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: historical fiction
About: Four famous siblings throw an epic party at the end of the summer every year. But in 1983, it’ll be the last one they ever throw.
Review:
I liked the general story that was told. It seemed like a simple dysfunctional famous family story on the surface, but it’s so much more.
I liked the first 65% of the book better though. I liked jumping back and forth between the past and present. Seeing the story of Mick and June, and how the four siblings ended up where they are. When we got to the party, I didn’t really see the point of the snippets from random party attendees.
All the main characters had a purpose and a story to be told. No one felt undeveloped and pointless to the story. Some side characters didn’t seem too important, but with the story being set at a party, of course there’s a need for a lot of extra characters.
Mick Riva is a terrible, terrible person, and June was so kind but also quite dumb. Doesn’t she know once a cheater, always a cheater. June should’ve never let Mick back into her life. I’m so glad the siblings didn’t make the same mistake as their mom.
I felt so bad for Nina throughout the whole book. She’s always been there looking after her siblings. She sacrificed so much for them. But her story made her ending so touching and wonderful. She finally got to live for herself.
Jay and Hud were brothers but also best friends. Jay was the loud and bold one while Hud was more laid back. Jay wasn’t my favourite, but I didn’t dislike him. You can tell he really does care about his siblings a lot by how he forgave or is in the midst of forgiving Hud. I liked how Hud carved his own path with photography. He didn’t follow his siblings and surf because it wasn’t him. What he did was really something though… He seriously should’ve just told Jay right from the start and avoid all the mayhem.
I liked Kit the best out of the four of them. I think it’s cause I related to her the most. My sister is also five years older than me, and I’m baby of my immediate and extended family. When they were kids, Kit was too young to do everything they did; When they were adults, she lived in their shadow. But Kit has a strong attitude and is slowly discovering herself. I loved how she took on the role of an older sister to Casey at the end.
I loved the unity between the siblings. Since they were little kids, they always looked out for and cared deeply about each other. They didn’t care that Hud was only a half sibling. He was their brother and that was it.
Also, I think Tarine was awesome and I seriously want a friend like her. She was direct and blunt, but was such a good friend to Nina.
Rating: 4.2/5
Spice: 1/5 (mentioned but no explicit scenes)
Trigger warnings: alcoholism, death, parental abandonment, cheating, drug use, fire, sexual harassment, abortion (mentioned), misogyny
That’s all for this week, have a great week ahead!
- Grace :)
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