lklitup's reviews
304 reviews

I can’t comprehend how, in a book about working for President Obama, working in the Obama Administration could take a backseat to anything, let alone a man-obsessed hot mess express, but this book made it happen. This story could have happened anywhere (some details aside) in any often-unfulfilling job. Author herself aside, the writing was a hodge podge of random anecdotes mixed with forgettable characters — even though these were her “best friends” and recurring individuals throughout the book. Couldn’t have told you the difference from one person to the next if my life depended on it. I came to this book hoping for an inspiring women-in-politics/-government story, and in all honesty, I’m just thrilled how my trajectory is going compared to this story.

Man o' War by Cory McCarthy

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Piglet by Lottie Hazell

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book did not work for me. I do think others can/will enjoy it. I felt very removed from Piglet and her struggles, perhaps because the readers were never told what THE betrayal was— although every other character found out, sometimes in spectacular fashion. I saw other reviews wondering whether keeping this information from the reader allowed us to accept Piglet’s reactions without judgment about what the reader would do. If so intended, it had the opposite effect for me. I wanted to root for Piglet, support her and empathize with her, but couldn’t. It felt like her spiral was for her, and her alone. And, to boot, I felt like there weren’t very many food descriptions?? This book seemed much more centered on Piglet’s complicated relationships with her family, her fiancé’s family, and her sense of obligation (or not) to them all. And even that was underdeveloped, especially with her sister’s food struggles. I kept reading because *something* kept me intrigued but by the end, I wasn’t sure what it was.

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

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emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved How to End a Love Story. Like, I almost can’t believe it. The premise is undoubtedly a unique and extremely complicated situation, but I do think it ends up making sense. The characters, both Helen and Grant, are developed enough that I mostly understand why they’re at the point they’re at with themselves and each other. There are frequent (and believable!) mentions of therapy; Helen and Grant don’t try to hide their messy, traumatic past or, quite frankly, screw it away. They’re honest and dealt with it head-on. I was extremely skeptical about how this story could work, especially after their first meeting and one-on-one lunch, but I fell for Helen and Grant HARRRD. How to End a Love Story is also one of the hottest contemporary romances I’ve read in a while. A contemporary literature reader could enjoy this book as easily and as much as an avid romance reader. Yulin Kuang will be an auto-read author for me.

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lklitup's reviews 304 reviews

lklitup's reviews
304 reviews