I'm waffling between 2 and 3 stars so I'll round up. I loved the intro and set up, but once it really got going it got boring. The characters are insuI'm waffling between 2 and 3 stars so I'll round up. I loved the intro and set up, but once it really got going it got boring. The characters are insufferable and very very dumb. By the end of the book I was actively yelling at them to stop being so damn stupid. Unsatisfying ending. I wouldn't recommend it....more
I'm surprised at how much I liked this! I'm not into mysteries as a general rule, and as soon as she introduced herself as a Private Investigator I siI'm surprised at how much I liked this! I'm not into mysteries as a general rule, and as soon as she introduced herself as a Private Investigator I sighed heavily. But it was recommended by someone in my classics book club so I soldiered on, and I'm glad I did.
Origin stories are a Thing for me, so I loved the middle half. I think some people will be bored by this and want to get back to the "mystery." I put this in quotes because once the set up is done about 50 pages in, it is abundantly clear what is going on with said "mystery." But I liked getting there anyway. War as a set up can be frustrating if I feel it's not being accurate, but this felt real. I even found myself getting a little weepy at some parts. World War One was such a painful war. The view point of women ten years afterwards, still pining for their lost loves, is not one I have ever experienced before. It was heartbreaking and I love to have my heart broken.
The audiobook narrator was excellent.
I might try book 2, but now we have done the origin story I probably will not enjoy it as much as I assume it's going to be much more mystery....more
Another case of a fiction writer deigning to descend into the science fiction loving masses, taking a few samples, then ascending back into the heightAnother case of a fiction writer deigning to descend into the science fiction loving masses, taking a few samples, then ascending back into the heights where "literature" belongs.
TBH I did enjoy the weird zombies. They were at least different, and horrifying in a very capitalist way....more
Oof. I missed this one growing up, despite reading and rereading Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie, books I still pick up every fewOof. I missed this one growing up, despite reading and rereading Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie, books I still pick up every few years to revisit. Rebecca is just so perfect and everyone loves her soooo much. So quirky! So talented! Her beautiful eyes! Well, that's what I get for reading it as a jaded 40-year-old.
Also, what's with the guy in his 30s falling for her? Ew. There was a chapter about him called "Aladdin Rubs His Lamp." Uhhhh??
I really liked the intro, up until the story actually got going. This novel was bloodthirsty. Many people brutally die.
It read a bit like a D&D campaiI really liked the intro, up until the story actually got going. This novel was bloodthirsty. Many people brutally die.
It read a bit like a D&D campaign, with picking up different classes as it went along, getting really lucky with supreme intellectual deductions, wizards fighting over knowledge, etc. I would like to be a steerswoman though that's my new chosen class okay thanks....more
I feel like this is mistitled. This is 100% a memoir and very little about "the surprising magic of a sober life." I mean I loved that part, but it waI feel like this is mistitled. This is 100% a memoir and very little about "the surprising magic of a sober life." I mean I loved that part, but it was like 5% of the book that was mostly about reaching rock bottom, making terrible mistakes, and finding AA. At one point, she lists all the sober memoirs on her shelves and how sober people love a sober memoir. And you know, I do! It's a reminder of why I don't want to struggle again, even though the siren song is sweet.
Like many people, the pandemic changed my drinking habits from "I'm a fun drunk and I make everyone laugh, aren't I awesome for drinking wine," to "My only social outlet is drinking, my only hobby is drinking, I cannot be in this slightly awkward social situation without a glass of wine in my hand." It's a great time to find sobriety with all the options in the world now. Go me for doing it, and go you for considering....more
Clever use of sci fi to make a statement about our current world- exactly how the genre shines. It could have used more story. The climax fell a littlClever use of sci fi to make a statement about our current world- exactly how the genre shines. It could have used more story. The climax fell a little flat and the ending was just the last page. Although I loved the characters they also didn't get enough time to be characters, because there was a lot of commentary on the prison system to make and too many other minor characters to swap between. I liked it, but I also wanted to read a book with a story and people I could care about. Really close to being a 5-star read, even with those (slight) criticisms. This world is not very far away from us....more
What a strangely readable Holocaust account. It was horrific, obviously, but explained in simple, elegant language that flew across the intervening yeWhat a strangely readable Holocaust account. It was horrific, obviously, but explained in simple, elegant language that flew across the intervening years. It sounds weird to say I enjoyed the part about the concentration camps but it was striking, heartbreaking, relevant.
"Otto, where are you now?" made me cry big ugly tears.
The part about "searching for meaning" is maybe a little basic, but there were a few key takeaways for me. I liked the idea of "live like you're living for the second time," as in, what do you think you would have regretted the first time around. One of my friends called it "baby existentialism," which I agree with.
If you've read much philosophy you probably won't have much to learn here. More than worth it for the first half about Auschwitz, though....more
Listen, author, I'm sure you are great, please don't read this. I don't mean this as a personal attack against you and I don't want to ruiOhhhhh dear.
Listen, author, I'm sure you are great, please don't read this. I don't mean this as a personal attack against you and I don't want to ruin your day.
For the rest of you who did not write this book, YIKES ON BIKES.
I'm going to start with the thing that gave me the biggest ick, and I'll move on to lesser icks from there.
We have a 40-year-old woman who time travels/teleports into her 16-year-old self, in a vaguely Peggy Sue Got Married mixed with Groundhog Day mixed with Back to the Future kind of way. She can effect the future but only minimally.
My friends, she sets about effecting the future as much as she can, whenever she can. Which timeline are we even in? WE DON'T KNOW. She's definitely not in the original timeline, because that is altered now and is long gone.
But you know, fine. She didn't like her current life very much. Except, by changing the past, she changed a TON OF OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES. The first time she time travels, she effectively murders a child from her high school crush who went on to get married and have babies, as one does. We never find out if that child gets to still exist when she's done meddling.
I'm still ramping up here, we haven't gotten to the major ick yet. Are you ready? Trigger warning my dudes.
So our 40-year-old protagonist goes into her 16-year-old self and immediately decides that where it all went wrong was that she didn't sleep with the above high school crush, and let him get away to marry someone else and have a baby she would later murder and never think of again.
Again, 40 years old. FORTY. I am 40. You might be 40. Maybe you were already 40 and you're like Great yeah let's not do that again. But you know what a normal 40-year-old DOESN'T do when put into their 16-year-old self? Fuck the high school crush.
Yes, that's right my friends. The first thing she does is fuck the 18-year-old high school crush, with her 40-year-old mind in a 16-year-old body. The amount of rape and wrong that is should be all over every single review. I can't even find it mentioned! ANYWHERE!! Can you imagine if it was a 40-year-old man in his high school body and he decided to sleep with the homecoming queen?? NO!! BECAUSE NO ONE WOULD EVER SAY THAT WAS OKAY. They would, rightly, call that rape. Because that's what that is.
Somehow, it all becomes even worse with how little she cares about him. She changed the timeline by doing said raping, but you know what, it wasn't actually the future she wanted, so let's go change it again. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, she goes back in time again, and fucks the high school student again, "BECAUSE SHE COULD." SHE LITERALLY SAYS THAT. AM I LIVING IN A BIZARRO WORLD WHY IS NO ONE ELSE YELLING ABOUT HOW WRONG THIS IS.
You know what, I don't even want to talk about the lesser icks, though there are several. I'm pissed and somehow feel like maybe I'm being too sensitive?? Even though this was so clearly WRONG??? Somebody please confirm for me I feel like I am going crazy over here....more
I liked the first 100 or so pages. It was heartbreaking but beautiful and readable in a really sad way. Once the "story," if you can call it that, begI liked the first 100 or so pages. It was heartbreaking but beautiful and readable in a really sad way. Once the "story," if you can call it that, began, it stopped working for me. I couldn't keep the characters straight and regretted not listening to it on audio so the different voices would help me.
What a nation of immigrants did to the natives of the US was abhorrent. The cycle of addiction and abuse that continues because of past trauma will make your grateful for your beautiful mess of a life. But I'm not sure what the author was trying to do with the ending besides saying, "Yo did you know this country is fucked up." I mean look around us. We know....more
This was a reread, originally on audio a few years ago and now on paper. On audio, I had a hard time keeping track of characters, so I assumed on papeThis was a reread, originally on audio a few years ago and now on paper. On audio, I had a hard time keeping track of characters, so I assumed on paper I would have an easier time.
I was very wrong.
I could not keep the characters straight, with the 5 names for every character. And no list in the back! War and Peace at least recognizes characters are hard to keep track of and gives a list.
I have mild ADHD and autism, and one of the reasons I like reading is it quiets the inner voices. This book had the exact opposite effect. So much of the book is dialogue, and all that dialogue is...I'm not even sure how to describe it. Innervating I think is the closest. People coming and going and yapping and moving around and sitting down and getting up and AHHH just CHILL would you? This book has no chill.
Supposedly, you fall into one of two camps - Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. Guess I'm the former....more
Perhaps not the ending I would have chosen, but it was nice to get to the conclusion of this long series. I enjoyed the journey and being with the chaPerhaps not the ending I would have chosen, but it was nice to get to the conclusion of this long series. I enjoyed the journey and being with the characters as they grew. I only wish the author had similarly blossomed - his writing didn't evolve and after thousands of pages it seemed like it should have been better by now.
Much like the climax of book 3, simply killing the villain is way anti-climatic to me. Wow so after all these books we're just gonna...shoot him? I dunno, just not very interesting.
My favorite character, Nick, didn't get enough screen time and killed way too many people. Ever since book 2, when he leaves the HCP, he got a lot less interesting.
All these people started dating each other when they were like 19 and not a single person breaks up, ten years later.
The final boss battle was almost very cool with an Avengers type scene of all our peeps showing up.
Still, I will remember the Melbrook 5 with fondness. They're definitely going to stick with me, especially Alice's character arc who went from least interesting to very cool by the end. Even if I thought she could have done a lot more with her power than she did.
Also, this guy is terrible at naming things. Go read Worm where every superhero has the pitch perfect name and uses their powers in cool, interesting ways, and this will seem rather pedestrian....more
Extremely silly, but was fun enough, at times. I didn't like the sex scenes at all. I should really stop reading books with sex scenes, all I do is wrExtremely silly, but was fun enough, at times. I didn't like the sex scenes at all. I should really stop reading books with sex scenes, all I do is wrinkle my nose in distaste and say "ugh gross" like I'm a ten-year-old.
The first 50 or so pages were the best, and once the story really got going it got less interesting....more
I was already aware of the mind game Allen Carr plays with you, but it was interesting to see it in use. I paid attention to every time the phrase "yoI was already aware of the mind game Allen Carr plays with you, but it was interesting to see it in use. I paid attention to every time the phrase "your last drink" came up, which started happening with more and more frequency as the book went on, until suddenly it is time for Your Last Drink. I had my last drink months ago, so I didn't do the ritual, but I have a similar Important Moment that I recognize as Kaila's Last Night of Drinking. If I ever drank again, that event would be ruined, and there is some poetic justice to it that I won't bore you with now but it involves a large group of friends deciding I was no longer a friend because I stopped drinking. They of course would not tell you that, it's for a hundred other reasons, but it was definitely because I stopped drinking.
Not that I'm still bitter about it.
It was nice to further cement the importance of that night. It was My Last Night of Drinking, and can be cherished as such. ...more
The first 90% was the easiest 5-stars I've ever encountered. This is exactly my kind of shit. I grew up reading Little House on the Prairie and Anne oThe first 90% was the easiest 5-stars I've ever encountered. This is exactly my kind of shit. I grew up reading Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables. Because of that, I've always been slightly obsessed with the end of the 19th century, especially in the Americas. Something about the homestead has always appealed to me. In fact, I just moved to the "country," though anyone from the actual country would probably scoff at how urbane my location is. But it's acreage and it's a 10 minute walk to get my mail! It feels like the culmination of a lifetime of preparation.
The descriptions of the land and Alexandra struggling and then succeeding against that backdrop, were beautiful, sweeping, soul searching. I felt like I was reading the grown up version of Little House on the Prairie, what is was really like and not a fantasy for children. The characters are wonderful. This is a short book but I will remember them all for a long time to come, especially Alexandra. Her no nonsense practicality and the trust everyone has in her (except her two dastardly brothers) were refreshing in their simplicity. There are some angry feminist moments that felt like Willa Cather had experienced them.
And then, the last ten pages.
They almost ruin the whole book. Someone clearly threatened Willa Cather in a back alley and said to change the ending from what it should have been and add these 10 pages of utter nonsense, culminating in a bullshit romantic comedy ending. There's no other explanation. The characters completely change, the feminist anger cools to a knowledge that maybe men are right after all, and we're subjected to a twist that sure, was set up a little through the book, but not worthwhile at all.
I did love everything except that, and I'd like to reread it in print to really soak in the descriptions of the land....more
What a strange book. I couldn't put it down, but also nothing happened. It's like Slice of Life: Six Duchies Edition. If you like the world and the chWhat a strange book. I couldn't put it down, but also nothing happened. It's like Slice of Life: Six Duchies Edition. If you like the world and the characters, you will like this. If you don't, well, why are you still here?
Needed 120% more Fool, 100% less Lord Golden.
Random things still made me cry. Cannot wait to pick up the next book....more
This didn't really work for me. I never got to a place of caring about the characters, they all just kind of annoyed me. Winnie vaguely disgusted me, This didn't really work for me. I never got to a place of caring about the characters, they all just kind of annoyed me. Winnie vaguely disgusted me, Isaac was a whiny little baby and frustrating, and Bellatine was also a whiny little baby and frustrating. The proper nouns seemed designed by committee (The Long Shadow Man, the Happening (yes, really), Embering). I was hoping the climax would get me there but I just kind of shrugged through it. I'm sure this was emotionally very difficult to write! But it wasn't for me.
10/10 audiobook narrator though. I honestly thought there was a second narrator for the house....more
If you're looking to revisit your childhood love of Roald Dahl, look no further. A dark children's story with just enough heart.If you're looking to revisit your childhood love of Roald Dahl, look no further. A dark children's story with just enough heart....more
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