Things I loved about this book: - The main character and the main character's love interest are both asexual - The cover - There are excellent explanatioThings I loved about this book: - The main character and the main character's love interest are both asexual - The cover - There are excellent explanations of asexuality without it feeling like an infodump - The dream elements of the story were fascinating
Things I was confused about with this book: - How old Victoria's brother was supposed to be. I mean, he's her YOUNGER brother, so he's 17 at the oldest. And a lot of the time, it read like he was meant to be 14-16. But at other times, it seemed like he was 7 or 8?? So basically, any time he was discussed, I was trying to work out how old he was and failing constantly. - Why there were so many random side plots. Like...why was there the whole ballet audition side plot when we never find out the outcome? Why was there the going-with-Ellie-to-get-a-tattoo side plot? Why was there the go-to-Ellie's-for-a-sleepover side plot? Considering the book is less than 180 pages, all of these felt like they distracted from the main story and made it feel slightly undeveloped. - Seriously, why the hell was this so short?! It could easily have been doubled in length and the dreaming stuff, the romance, the friendships, the comatose brother, and the ballet side of things could all have been fleshed out in much more depth.
Things I wasn't really a fan of: - The romance. Don't get me wrong, I *LOVE* that it's a F/F relationship between two asexual characters. I love that there's no pressure to take things further, that Ashlinn wants Victoria to find out what she likes and what she doesn't like in her own time. BUT. The book was so short that it felt very much like instalove. And Victoria goes from "Oh shit, I guess I'm asexual?" to "Ew, kissing is gross" to "We should shower together so I can wash your naked body" in the space of about 10-20 pages and...it felt too fast. - Ellie. Yes, her reaction to Victoria's asexuality is realistic. But I'm not entirely convinced that any teenage girl would go "Oh, my best friend has a girlfriend now? COOL, I CAN TELL THE STORY ABOUT THIS GUY I SLEPT WITH WHO HAD WEIRD KINKS INVOLVING KNIVES!" Um. Nooooo. Keep that shit to yourself, girl. Especially when you're telling the story to two people who've LITERALLY JUST TOLD YOU THEY'RE ASEXUAL.
So yeah. I *loved* the diversity. I really enjoyed the fantasy elements to the story. And I liked the writing. But I suspect I would have enjoyed it MUCH more if it had been a 300+ page book rather than a 173 page book....more
20/5/2019 I love this book a truly frightening amounTrigger warnings: death, car accident, autopsy scene, torture, blood, explosions, murder, violence.
20/5/2019 I love this book a truly frightening amount and I love these characters even more.
9/2/2016 I stand by everything I said last time. This book is wonderful, I ship it like whoa, there were some niggling "this wouldn't happen in reality but I'm willing to forgive that because it's necessary to the plot" issues but they in no way impacted on my enjoyment of the story. Basically, it's great. And you should read it. Because I said so.
6/1/2015 OH. MY. GOD.
Okay, I thought I loved Every Breath, but I loved this so much more. And I'm going to do a pro/con list again, because I'm not sure my thoughts will be coherent otherwise.
Pros - LONDON. And much like the brilliant way Marney depicts Melbourne and its character and diversity, the same thing happens with the way she depicts London. The bustle, the ability to get a curry at any time of night, the nature of particular neighbourhoods, the diversity of the population is all really well done. - On the subject of diversity, just because we're on the other side of the world doesn't mean that we lose the diversity of characters that we had in Every Breath. Instead of Mai and Gus, we've gone Alicia by Rachel's side, and she's fabulous. The main police detective at Scotland Yard is Indian, there are West Indian school kids wandering around, and a Serbian villain. - Mike and Alicia. They're adorable and they made me squee. - Speaking of couples, WATTSCROFT OH MY GOD. I love them both so much. I stand by what I said last time - Rachel reminds me a lot of Ellie Linton from Tomorrow, When the War Began. She's a fighter and she doesn't give up, no matter how bad things get. Mycroft is so broken and in need of a hug. And they complement each other perfectly. Add in a large amount of steam/swoon at regular intervals, and you've got perfection. Especially when they Use Their Words. And they actually feel seventeen, despite the fact that they're investigating a murder on the other side of the world. Their relationship always feels authentic, and there's narry a love triangle to be seen. - The writing was fabulous. - ROLLER DERBY. I used to work with a couple of derby girls up in Canberra, and let me tell you, derby girls are seriously badass. While I didn't entirely buy Rachel going from total newbie to star jammer in the space of a couple of months, I didn't really care because it was fabulous. Especially when some guy is trying to knock her out, and she's all "LOL, you suck, I've been hit harder than that at derby training." Because that is totally what derby girls are like. And then they'll show you their bruises. - The actual crime. There were some nice red herrings, especially if you've read/seen any version of Sherlock Holmes, and in some ways it felt like it was setting up the Big Bad villain for the final book of the trilogy, but it worked a LOT better for me than the crime in the first one, where the big ending was given away in the blurb and it was pretty obvious from the get-go who the murderer was because they were randomly introduced to the plot for very little reason. This crime kept me guessing all the way through, and took a few turns that I wasn't expecting. - Mycroft being all "Doesn't everyone know how to make a flash bomb out of toilet cleaner?!?!?!?!". Uh, no. - Getting more of Mycroft's backstory. FEELS. - LIBRARIES AND CONSERVATORS AND GENERAL BOOK-RELATED AMAZINGNESS.
Cons - The fact that Rachel can get a return flight to London for $1700 like four hours before the plane leaves Melbourne. I just?!?!?!?! I WANT THAT. Honestly, 90% of the reason why this is on the cons list is that I want it. My flight to London cost $2100, and that was ON SALE and booked four months in advance. I want to live in this world where you can basically turn up at the airport and get a return flight to London for $1700. Sigh. - Occasional moments of "Okay, but now is REALLY not an appropriate time to be making out, you should probably stop." Not really a con, because the making out was totally hot. But seriously, Wattscroft really need to work on their timing. - Rachel leaving the country without telling her parents. I mean, I get why she did it. But I just loved her relationship with her parents so much in the first book, so it was a little hard to see that suffer here. Still, it's a niggling thing.
In short, it was amazing and I'm going to go and create a daily countdown calendar until Every Move is released. And yes, I've already preordered it, because I need it like I need air....more
Trigger warnings: violence, murder, PTSD, gun violence, serious physical injury to a family member, serious physical injury to a friend, explosions.
16Trigger warnings: violence, murder, PTSD, gun violence, serious physical injury to a family member, serious physical injury to a friend, explosions.
16/6/2019 This time around, I'm bumping it up to 5 stars purely because the love triangle aspects of things bother me far less now that No Limits is out. But everything else I said in the past stands.
19/3/2016 I stand by everything I said last time. Amazing book is amazing.
25/2/2015 4.5 stars.
I've been waiting for this book with baited breath since I finished Every Word last month. And it was well and truly worth the wait. I woke up this morning to a delightful "your preorder is now available for download" email from Amazon, and proceed to devour it in the space of a couple of hours. I'm going to continue with my pro/con list reviews, because THOUGHTS ARE HARD.
Pros: - WATTSCROFT 5EVA. (view spoiler)[They boinked, and it was adorable. (hide spoiler)] - Rachel's got a major case of PTSD following the events of London, and it was fabulously portrayed. - Oh God, the Mycroft feels. When he finally breaks down about his parents, I may have cried. - Harris. He's a pretty fabulous character. I was hesitant at first because RACHEL STOP TALKING TO THE BOY WHO ISN'T MYCROFT, but I ended up really loving his character. - Mai continuing to be the bestest friend of ever. I adore her. - Once again, the diversity. This time around, we learn that one of the past recurring characters is gay and in a long term relationship, and it's not even worthy of a "Whoa, I had no idea". - The tie-ins to Sherlock Holmes, complete with quotes. It was a nice touch. - Rachel's relationship with her mum. It's understandable that it would be rocky after she disappeared half way across the world, and it was nice to see that rockiness progress towards reconciliation. - Small town Australia. I spent a couple of months up in the Mallee when I was in undergrad doing archaeology fieldwork, and the one-pub-town-where-everyone-knows-each-other's-business was really well done. I also loved seeing Rachel's romanticised version of Five Mile contrasting with Harris' get-me-out-of-here version. - Mycroft staring at the stars. Not only is it adorable, but it's totally understandable. I never fail to be blown away by the stars in rural Australia. Never. (The only time I've seen more spectacular stars was when I was hiking the Inca Trail) - Excessive use of Mycroft's first name. It gave me a lot of feels. Because it's like all the barriers have been broken down between them, and he's finally let Rachel know the true James Mycroft. - (view spoiler)[HE HAD A CRUSH ON HER FROM DAY ONE AND WAS TOO SHY TO SAY ANYTHING OH MY GOD I MAY DIE OF CUTE. (hide spoiler)]
Cons: - IT'S OVER I DON'T WANT IT TO BE OVER I DEMAND MORE IMMEDIATELY. - I get why she did it, but Rachel once again going off without telling her parents where she's going (especially given what had just happened) bugged me a little. I know how parents would react under the circumstances and that it would grind the story to a halt, but the whole time I was reading the part where they're leaving Melbourne, I was like "GIRL. NO. STOP." - (view spoiler)[Hints of a love triangle. Sure, it doesn't go anywhere, and it never feels forced, but it did give me moments of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHYYYYYYYYYYY". (hide spoiler)] - I feel like the action took a front seat here. Which is totally understandable in trying to wrap up so many different threads. But there were moments when I feel like there was so much action and tension and stress that I ended up focusing more on that than the fact that it was happening to these characters that I love so much, which somehow stripped a little of the impact away. But honestly, this is *MY* problem more than a problem with the book. - Mycroft continues to be a smoker. I would have loved to see Rachel make a comment about how it was like kissing a dirty ashtray, because LOL.
But really, all the cons (except that first one. GIVE ME MORE IMMEDIATELY, MARNEY) are relatively minor things, and I loved every second of this....more
Do you ever finish reading a book and just find yourself staring blankly into space thinking "what the eff did I just read?"?? If you have, you'll verDo you ever finish reading a book and just find yourself staring blankly into space thinking "what the eff did I just read?"?? If you have, you'll very much understand my experience of reading this book.
I picked this one up because it was on a list of ace spectrum Own Voices books, and HELL YES. Also, the blurb sounds pretty stinking great. But honestly? I think the best word to describe this book is "disjointed".
Like, yes, it starts out being a story about an ordinary girl taking photos of a murder that subsequently vanishes without a trace, and her being all "Um. WHUT". But it rapidly turns into "Guess what? You've got paranormal abilities! And you have a twin sister! And you need to learn to use your powers immediately because of reasons! And also your father was a pretty bad dude! Who may or may not be dead! And also now there are more vanishing murders! But we can't really do anything about those, so go break into this museum and steal a CD instead! Also, there's this mysterious guy following you but don't worry about him! Instead, worry about the assassin who's after you!"
Like. There was a LOT going on. And it didn't seem to happen in any particularly logical order? Especially because there were SO MANY CHARACTERS and it jumped between them constantly.
And perhaps disappointingly, while there are very VERY strong hints that Isis is aro/ace (just like the author!!), it was never explicitly stated. She just did a lot of "nope, not interested" and "I don't really like people"-ing.
So...I liked the premise. I liked a bunch of the characters. But there were too many perspectives and it jumped around FAR too much. End result? Confusion. Sigh. ...more
Trigger warnings: murder, death, violence, blood, gore, mentions of rape.
26/8/2018 I want a million more books in this series, preferably where Julie'Trigger warnings: murder, death, violence, blood, gore, mentions of rape.
26/8/2018 I want a million more books in this series, preferably where Julie's over the age of 20 because I know I shouldn't ship it but after eight books worth of her having feelings for him (to the point where it's even obvious to Kate) and many MANY moments where it's obvious that Derek's lying about her basically being his sister, I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. This age gap was rude and unnecessary, people.
(Also, I love getting Derek's point of view and I really wish this had contained more of his sass)
30/12/2016 I'm going with 4.25 stars on this one.
I love this world and these characters so much. And it was FABULOUS to finally have a book from Derek's perspective and to see him and Julie dealing with a case on their own. Like, so much of this series is from Kate's perspective. And while we get to constantly read about shapeshifters, we rarely get things FROM THE PERSPECTIVE of a shapeshifter.
Yes, there was Gunmetal Magic from Andrea's perspective. But that was more about Andrea's rage and her embracing her beastkin side than it was about what's ACTUALLY going on in someone's head when they're in animal form. This was far more Derek dealing with the differences between the two halves of his existence, and it was pretty stinking great.
I love these two characters, I've always loved the dynamic between them, and I totally ship it even though it makes me feel super squicky about the fact that I ship it because she's 16 and he's 20. But, like, they've known each other since she was 12 and he was 16. And it's pretty clear that even though there are constant VERY. STRONG. HINTS. that they both have feelings for each other, the authors aren't going to do anything about it until they hit a point where Julie's 18.
That said, getting to be in their heads and getting all the (view spoiler)["You belong to another" and "She kissed him when he was unconscious" (hide spoiler)]stuff? I hate myself for loving it. But I totally loved it. Basically, I'm totally on board with this ship and I will sail it to the ends of the galaxy. But, like, when another two years have passed in the books and this shit is legal....more
I made it 63 pages into this book and had to quit reading it. I wanted to love it, I really did. It's set in 1948 and it's the story of two of the firI made it 63 pages into this book and had to quit reading it. I wanted to love it, I really did. It's set in 1948 and it's the story of two of the first African-American police officers in Atlanta, trying to solve the murder of an African-American girl. So the premise sounds AWESOME.
HOWEVER.
The language made me DEEPLY uncomfortable. It's not just that there are racial slurs. Which, obviously, you would expect given that this is dealing with two African-American police officers struggling against the system in the South in the 1940s. But it's the frequency with which racial slurs are used, and the fact that it's not just in the dialogue, but in the narrative.
Yes, I understand that it's the language of the 1940s. But when you've got racial slurs in the narrative as well as coming out of the character's mouths? It just...NOPE. Nope. Icky feelings all around. Especially when the author is a white dude.
Frankly, I think it's fairly telling that almost all of the reviews of this book are from white people.
So yes, I liked the two African-American police officers as characters. I felt for their struggles and I wanted to see them succeed. But when, on a page that I picked at random, you had the word "Negro" five times, the word "boy" (as in "you better watch your tone, boy") three times, and the N-word four times? NO THANK YOU PLEASE.
In short, I wanted to love it. But that many racial slurs and terms with racial connotation that many times on the page and written by a white dude? I can't read another 300 pages of this. I just can't. ...more
What I liked about this book: the concept. Like...the moon getting hit by a meteor and getting knocked closer to the Earth, causing all kind of catastWhat I liked about this book: the concept. Like...the moon getting hit by a meteor and getting knocked closer to the Earth, causing all kind of catastrophic weather and natural disasters and OMG HOW WILL PEOPLE SURVIVE? That's super freaking cool.
What I didn't like about this book: The writing and the main character. Miranda is meant to 16 and turns 17 in the process of the story. And yet for the majority of the story, she feels waaaaaay more like a 13 year old than anything else. Like, there's no emotion in the writing. When she likes a boy, she literally just says that she likes him. When she kisses a boy, it's just "we kissed". When she and her mother fight, it's all "I had a big fight with Mom". So as a result, it feels INCREDIBLY juvenile.
Honestly, I think I would have liked this book way more than I did if Miranda HAD been 13 or 14. Because as it was, I enjoyed the story. BUT. It was so freaking young that I just couldn't get engrossed in the story because I was too busy wanting to tell Miranda to GROW THE FUCK UP. ...more
9/2/2019 Boy howdy, Amber is an angry character. I mean, a lot of her anger Trigger warnings: alcohol abuse, alcoholic parent, shitty parenting, vomit.
9/2/2019 Boy howdy, Amber is an angry character. I mean, a lot of her anger is very justified. But it's not the easiest reading experience, being inside her head for almost 500 pages. That said, the feminism and the female friendships that flow through the story are fantastic.
27/12/2016 I didn't love this quiiiiiiiiiiiiiite as much as I loved Am I Normal Yet. I found Amber more difficult to relate to - she's so full of anger and despite being great at using her words when she's with her friends, she's terrrrrrrrrrrrrible at using her words where her parents are concerned.
The friendships between the core trio are still wonderful, even from half a world away. And the relationship that crops up in the course of the story is cute. Despite it being nearly 500 pages long, I sped through it.
So on the whole, it was super cute and I really loved the way the story resolved itself....more
I'd heard pretty mixed things about this book, so I was more than a little nervous about reading it. And it DID take me a while to get into this, partI'd heard pretty mixed things about this book, so I was more than a little nervous about reading it. And it DID take me a while to get into this, partly because it jumps around between SO many different worlds, and partly because it'd been a while since I reread the second one and there were a bunch of details I'd forgotten about.
Don't get me wrong - I loved seeing all of the different worlds. I'm particularly annoyed that we didn't get to see more of the Egyptology-y world. But there were so many of them. So much "Okay, where am I now? What's my family situation? How do I find Paul? Is this the Theo of this world or the Evil Theo?". So to be honest, it got a liiiiiiiiiiiittle repetitive.
BUT. The second half of the book? Was freaking STELLAR. I loved the way the final solution came together. I loved getting to see (view spoiler)[the various Marguerites (hide spoiler)] work together. I loved how it all ended. And most of all, I loved the cover, because all three of these covers have been ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.
(Although if I had to read about how thin Marguerite was ONE MORE TIME, I was going to reach into the book and slap her with a family sized pizza...)...more
First of all, the Australian covers of this duology are the most godawful shit. Seriously. They're soAlternate title: USE YOUR FUCKING WORDS.
I mean.
First of all, the Australian covers of this duology are the most godawful shit. Seriously. They're so, so ugly. We have Dash and Lily's Book of Dares at work and I can't persuade a single student to read it, even after nine months of trying. Which makes me sad, because the first book is super cute and I love it.
This one, however, is a) depressing as all hell, and b) just flat out frustrating. Lily drove me absolutely nuts from start to finish. She expected Dash to be a mind reader, and took things out on him and everyone around her when he wasn't. She seemed like the world's most naive 17 year old, what with her refusal to use swear words and her decision to use HER COLLEGE MONEY ON A CHRISTMAS PARTY and her "I have no idea what special ingredient these SPECIAL cookies contained. Like...?????"-ing. Girl. You were such a quirky LIKEABLE character in the first book. But in this one? I wanted to punch her in the face from start to finish.
Frankly, I think the thing I was most disappointed about by this one is how little the secondary characters were in it. I loved the secondary characters in the first book, and yet this time, we get page after page of Lily moping and Dash moping about Lily moping and uuuuuuuuugh.
Add in the fact that the one Hispanic character has four lines and three of them are exclusively in Spanish, and I was...not well pleased with this book.
The last third or so was cute. But not cute enough to bring it up to anything more than meh. ...more
This was the final book for my Around the World in 80 Books Project, and I'm so glad that I finished that project on a high note.
Where many of the liThis was the final book for my Around the World in 80 Books Project, and I'm so glad that I finished that project on a high note.
Where many of the literary fiction books I've read this year dealing with war focus on the brutality of war, with bloodshed and explosions throughout. In contrast, while this one still contains brutality, it focuses far more on the every day. The way that life goes on regardless. The way that despite all the bloodshed around you, the fact that there could be snipers waiting on every corner, you still have to go out and buy bread. You still have to go and get water. You still have to deal with cranky neighbours and seeing friends in the street and asshole bosses.
That said, the fact that Steven Galloway wrote a fictionalised version of Vedran Smailovic's story without actually talking to him about it at ALL (and yet the author's note indicates that he tried to track down a female sniper that he based the character of Arrow on??) is a total dick move. So even though I really loved the writing and the story and the characters, I can't rate this any higher than I did. ...more
I picked this up after absolutely adoring Melissa Keil's other book, The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl, earlier this year. I was hoping this I picked this up after absolutely adoring Melissa Keil's other book, The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl, earlier this year. I was hoping this would be just as cute, just as sweet, and just as Australian. And...it was, but it wasn't?
Part of the problem, honestly, is that I borrowed this from work and it turns out that we have the US edition. So there are various terms and phrases that have been...de-Australianed, shall we say? Things like math. Dining hall. Semester. Spring dance. College. I also wasn't sure why the characters were wearing casual clothes to school all the time, and I'm still not sure if that's something that was changed for the US edition or if they're meant to be at one of the handful of schools in Melbourne that doesn't have uniforms.
But I digress.
As far as the cute/sweet side of things went, it WAS cute and sweet. But it also came with a hell of a lot of frustration because Sam LITERALLY CAN'T SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE and so spent half the book being a whiny teenage boy when he could have changed that situation at least 25,000 times if he'd actually been paying attention to all the hints and clues and super unsubtle suggestions that were dropped.
The part that I enjoyed the most was (view spoiler)[right in the middle of the book, when Sam's parents split up and so Camilla - on holiday in Singapore - comes up with a bunch of strategies to keep him from basically curling up in a ball and refusing to move. (hide spoiler)] That was super adorable and I loved it.
So maybe if I'd read an Australian edition of this, I would have liked it more than I did. Because I loved the friendships and the relationships that develop in the course of this story (although the parenting is SPECTACULARLY shitty). And it was still a 4 star book. But if I hadn't found all the Americanisms grating on every second page, maybe it would have been a higher rating. WHO KNOWS... ...more
You guys probably know by now that romance books aren't my thing. But given the trash fire that has been 2016, the fact that the bookish community on You guys probably know by now that romance books aren't my thing. But given the trash fire that has been 2016, the fact that the bookish community on Twitter has been a clusterfuck over the past week, and the fact that I'm behind in my Around the World in 80 Books Project, I figured I'd pick this one up and give it a go when I saw April shelve it last night.
And honestly? IT WAS DELIGHTFUL.
The gist of it is that a 20-something girl doesn't do so great on her MSATs, but wants to get into medical school at Brown. So she goes to Nicaragua for a month to work for the clinic that her high school best friend's family runs. And then she gets there and discovers that her best friend's older brother is the doctor at said clinic. And OH NO, HE'S HOT.
The relationship between Annie and Felipe is adorable and funny and sweet. The friendship between Annie and Marisol felt authentic. The pranks between Felipe and Juan were delightful. And yes, it's a white-girl-goes-to-developing-country-to-boost-her-med-school-application story. But Felipe's frustration at the American "volun-tourists" that he has to deal with, who swan in to make themselves feel better about the state of the world and forget all about Nicaragua the second they hit air conditioning was great. Yes, Annie's Spanish is pretty crap, but she actually TRIES - she never resorts to talking louder and slower to make their patients understand her.
It's a fast, adorable little romance book, and the ending actually made me go "Awwww!!!". And it was a breath of fresh air after all the big-name-award-nominated literary fiction dealing with war that I've been reading over the past few weeks for my Around the World in 80 Books Project. ...more
I picked this one up because it basically ticked all of my boxes. I mean, it's a cozy mystery in which the protagonist is an archaeologist 2.5 stars.
I picked this one up because it basically ticked all of my boxes. I mean, it's a cozy mystery in which the protagonist is an archaeologist turned librarian and it's set in Canberra. I'm a librarian with an undergrad degree in archaeology who used to live in Canberra. It should have been a slam dunk.
And there were DEFINITELY elements of the story that I enjoyed. I loved the reimagining of the National Library, right down to the stained glass Celtic cross in the cafe. I liked how well archaeology was represented. I liked the friendship that develops between Elizabeth and Henry. I liked how unapologetically bookish it was.
However.
Elizabeth is possibly the most annoying brat of a character I've ever come across. First of all, I'm not entirely sure WHY she had to give up archaeology to stay in Canberra. Like...girl. There are stacks of jobs going with Australian archaeology companies. You don't HAVE to work in Egypt or Mexico or Azerbaijan. You could easily work in Australia as an archaeologist.
Furthermore, YOU HAVE A JOB ON THE GRAD PROGRAM AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY!! Do you know how many graduate librarians would murder all their colleagues to get that job?! And you're moping your way around the National Library because it's not a job in archaeology?? STFU.
And let's just talk for a moment about the fact that Elizabeth is supporting three of her grandparents, her two younger siblings - one of whom requires fairly significant medical treatment on a regular basis - and herself on a grad program salary. Like...most grad programs start you out as an APS3. I was an APS3 for two years, and the most I made was $52,000. Good luck supporting six people on that salary, particularly when you live in a house that's big enough to have a library and a courtyard, as well as bedrooms for all those people.
To be honest, an awful lot of this book felt like set up. We're getting to know Elizabeth (and how perfectly perfect she is). We're getting to know her family, who seem to do nothing but eat fancy soups that need to be prepared over two days. We're getting to know her friends and colleagues and her douchey boyfriend. And then finally, at about the 60% mark, we really start to get stuck into the mystery side of things.
And then at around the 90% mark, we're given all these hints that there's going to be a big dramatic ending where the douchey boyfriend returns. BUT NO. The book just...ends.
That said, I think part of my meh feelings towards this were because I interpreted "intermillennial sleuth" as "time travelling archaeologist investigates crimes", so I kept expecting her to time travel. And while I liked the parts where we get the story of how all the Olmec skeletons died (right up until the part where it got super rapey, anyway), I wanted Elizabeth to work out MORE of that, rather than just solving the present day stuff.
So I guess on the whole, it has promise. But there were a TON of unanswered questions (like WTF was going on with Mai) and given how much I wanted to punch Elizabeth in her perfect I'm-25-and-have-a-PhD-*and*-a-librarianship-degree-*and*-a-photographic-memory-and-a-developed-career face, I don't know that I'll be continuing on with it.
(In case anyone is wondering why I have it on my POC Narrator shelf, it's because Elizabeth's father was half Chinese, so she's biracial)...more
This...was a strange book. It's told from the perspectives of three different men in Sierra Leone - Adrian, a British psychologist who's det2.5 stars.
This...was a strange book. It's told from the perspectives of three different men in Sierra Leone - Adrian, a British psychologist who's determined to help the entire population of Sierra Leone. Kai, a gifted surgeon with a troubled past. Elias, a former lecturer basically making a deathbed confession about his experiences 30 years earlier.
Kai's story was by far the most interesting of the three for me. His past was intriguing, his commitment to his patients was sweet (when he finds out one patients was fascinated by an article about the Terracotta Warriors, he goes to the library to borrow a book about them so his patient can learn more), and the almost father-son relationship between his and his young cousin was adorable.
Elias' story was.......kind of icky, to be honest? Like, he becomes so obsessed with his colleague's wife that he finds a bunch of excuses to go to their house when he knows his colleague isn't home. And then (view spoiler)[when he gets arrested by the police for involvement in shady anti-government activities that he's not actually involved in, he basically dobs in his colleague, who then ends up dead. Allowing Elias to marry his wife. Who doesn't actually WANT to marry him. So when being married to her doesn't meet up with Elias' expectations of being married to her, he basically immediately starts cheating on her, and aaaaaaaaaargh (hide spoiler)].
Honestly, the biggest issue I had with this? Was the way that the sex scenes were written. They were all...just odd, frankly. Like...one ends with something about the guy holding his partner's nipple between his second and third fingers like it's a cigarette?? And...WHUT.
So yeah. If it had JUST been Kai's story, I would have enjoyed this a lot more than I did. ...more
This book can be summed up in three words: OW, MY FEELINGS.
It's split between 1991 and 2002, and the bulk of the story takes place in Zagreb. When thThis book can be summed up in three words: OW, MY FEELINGS.
It's split between 1991 and 2002, and the bulk of the story takes place in Zagreb. When the story begins, Ana is ten and Yugoslavia is falling apart. At the end of the first part of the book, something big and horrible happens to her. We then jump forward to a post 9/11 New York where Ana, now an American college student, lying about her childhood, is making a speech at the UN about child soldiers.
On the whole, I really loved this. It's brutal and heartbreaking and sweet all at the same time. It's about dealing with your past and finding that yes, you can actually come home again, though that home may not look the way it did when you were last there.
My one main gripe is that we find out Ana's story completely out of sequence. Like, I totally understand why it was done that way. And it definitely packs one hell of a punch when you eventually learn what happens to her between the big horrible thing and her ending up in America. But I found it really frustrating to suddenly jump forward to College Ana, going about her everyday life and keeping her past a secret and telling us about her life in America. Because really, the stuff in America was by FAR the least interesting part of the book for me.
But on the whole, this was pretty stinking great, if incredibly difficult reading at times. ...more
This was...kind of a surprising book. The gist of the story is that this English guy is a vacuum cleaner salesman living in Havana. He has3.25 stars.
This was...kind of a surprising book. The gist of the story is that this English guy is a vacuum cleaner salesman living in Havana. He has a 17 year old daughter who wants a horse for her birthday and to join the country club and to basically be rich. He can't afford all the stuff she wants. But then he's approached by someone wanting to recruit him as a spy for the British government. When he realises how much extra cash he can make from this, he agrees and then promptly makes up a bunch of random crap in his reports.
So the first half of the book was surprisingly funny a lot of the time as he finds himself going from "You want me to what??" to "LEMME SCALE THIS VACUUM CLEANER UP BY A FACTOR OF 200 AND PRETEND IT'S A NUCLEAR WEAPON A+ WORK SON" and he becomes more and more involved in making up lives and reports from his fictional recruits.
The second half of the book, in contrast, becomes more and more tense as he starts to realise that what he's reporting has actual ramifications and that the shit is about to hit the fan for him and everyone he's supposedly recruited.
Frankly, I thought it dragged a little at times. And, being a product of the 1950s, there were definitely racial slurs that I could have done without (like, the second word of the book starts with N. So it didn't get off to a positive start...). But on the whole, it was a surprisingly enjoyable - if slightly confusing - read. ...more
Trigger warnings: mental health, self harm, drug abuse, alcohol abuse.
4/2/2019 Sticking with 4.5 stars on reread. I LOVE the friendships in this seriesTrigger warnings: mental health, self harm, drug abuse, alcohol abuse.
4/2/2019 Sticking with 4.5 stars on reread. I LOVE the friendships in this series and the girls' realisation of how misogynistic the world is. There were a few moments where I cringed in 2019 ("periods are what all women have in common" type of cringe). But on the whole, this book is great and it gives me all the feelings.
15/12/2016 4.5 stars.
I've been putting off reading this book for the better part of a year now, and I have no idea why. I finally picked it up last night, needing something quick and contemporary to break up all the war-torn literary fiction I've been reading in a sad attempt to finish my Around the World in 80 Books Project in the next 15 days. And I absolutely SPED through this.
You can't help but feel for Evie, who just wants to live her life without freaking out over every little thing, the way she sees others living their lives. But as an adult, you're like "EVIE, GIRL. YOU NEED TO STOP. NO, SERIOUSLY. PLEASE STOP. OH MY GOD YOU POOR BABY WHY HAS NOBODY NOTICED YOUR SELF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR PLEASE START TAKING YOUR MEDICATION AGAIN."
Overall, I think it deals with Evie's OCD and anxiety pretty well and without it feeling cliched. There WERE a few moments where I was like "Um. I'm not sure your therapist should be doing this??", but there weren't many of them.
On the whole, the friendships and feminism in this book are A+. The mental health stuff is probably an A. Evie needs a hug. And Guy needs to be set on fire because he's the actual worst. Also, I really want to relive my childhood by having a conker fight now, but horse chestnut trees don't do too well in Australia. Also it's summer. So. Yeah....more
This book is set in Cambodia during the tyrannical reign of the Khmer Rouge. The 7 year old protagonist and her family - likeWell. That was...brutal.
This book is set in Cambodia during the tyrannical reign of the Khmer Rouge. The 7 year old protagonist and her family - like the author - are minor Cambodian royalty, and are constantly stuck trying to conceal their identities from soldiers while also not being able to successfully pretend that they're working class.
I'm honestly not sure who the intended audience is for this book. Because the protagonist - who, I should add, walks with a severe limp thanks to polio as a small child - is seven or eight for the bulk of the book. So it could arguably be middle grade or young adult. BUT. So much of the subject matter is so incredibly dark. I mean, it's set during a brutal revolution. Numerous characters die in horrible ways. Raami witnesses any number of atrocities and goes through any number of hardships.
It was a little slow at times, and Raami did seem a little TOO mature for a child that young at times. But the writing was often beautiful and I particularly loved the relationship between Raami and her father. ...more
Good Lord, this collection of short stories is beautifully written. They're all compelling. They're all full of wonderful characters. They'4.25 stars.
Good Lord, this collection of short stories is beautifully written. They're all compelling. They're all full of wonderful characters. They're all incredibly full of emotion. Every single one of them felt like it could have been fleshed out into a full length novel. And all of them had such an incredible sense of place and community and the immigrant experience.
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