I really enjoyed this one. It wasn't the most exciting novel ever, but it was still very very good and kept me hooked. It felt like I was reading about a real aspiring novelist's life. I love the writing and I related to Casey in so many ways.

Wow, I loved this book! I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the description of mourning and loss. I haven’t quite got my head around how much I enjoyed it, but I didn’t want the book to end.

4.5

This book is about ennui and grief, and everything in between. I can see how this novel might not be for everyone, but “Writers and Lovers” found me at the right time.

I don’t know if I can say this is a book to be “enjoyed.”There are parts of it that are enjoyable, sure. However, the main character struggles immensely. Perhaps authenticity and the sheer range of emotions King manages to encapsulate and make the reader feel are far more than the phrase “I enjoyed the book” could ever express.

This book explores the realities of growing up. Sometimes, more often than not, those realities are difficult. So, no, this book didn’t make me happy to read it but, yes, it will absolutely stick with me.

A lovely, engaging read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I love these geese. They make my chest tight and full and help me believe that things will be all right again, that I will pass through this time as I have passed through other times, that the vast and threatening blank ahead of me is a mere specter, that life is lighter and more playful than I’m giving it credit for. But right on the heels of that feeling, that suspicion that all is not yet lost, comes the urge to tell my mother, tell her that I am okay today, that I have felt something close to happiness, that I might still be capable of feeling happy. She will want to know that. But I can't tell her. That's the wall I always slam into on a good morning like this. My mother will be worrying about me, and I can't tell her that I'm okay.

The geese don't care that I'm crying again. They're used to it.”

This book was a lovely read.

did not expect to like this as much as i did!! contains many tropes i typically dislike but somehow it all worked for me

4.25 stars

rep: gay side characters
cw grief, depression, suicide ideation, mentions of a sudden death of a parent (mother)

oh this was a swirling mess of grief and anxiety and depression and then out of that stemmed a lot of hope. I stayed up to finish this so my brain is a bit eurghhhhhhhh but yeah this was very good.

Wow! Where should I begin?
Reading this book reminded me of The Bell Jar.
The constant melancholy and emptiness, the struggles with mental disorders, the indifferent tone of the main character as she narrated the events, all of it. The only difference is that there's more hopefulness towards the end of this book. The events never get as severe and gut-wrenching.

Sometimes, the pace of the story was really slow it became boring. I suppose it did a good job reflecting on how mental struggles can make everything dull and gray. As if the world is moving too fast, but you're stuck in slow-motion, unable to catch up.
But that's up for debate.

Some parts felt a bit cheesy and dramatic, but I could easily turn a blind eye since it wasn't too much.

Other than that, I adored the different dynamics between characters. Loved howl the chain of events took a different turn, and I could see the growth and improvement of the main character.

My advice? Read the book. It's good, and there's little to regret afterward.