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niamhreviews's reviews
582 reviews
The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
2.0
If you're looking for a pretty PG, quick read romance - this is an okay option.
I was enjoying this book for a bit. The set-up and plot feel a little more original than others, particularly the use of finding your soulmate via science. The side characters really do make this book - because they're way more interesting than the central story. But from about halfway - I was getting more and more frustrated.
My main issue with the book - there are smaller ones, but we'll focus on one - are the two main characters. Jess has a decent background to her; she's got abandonment and trust issues and she's a single mother trying to keep a lot of plates spinning. However. She's also a horrible person. She's quick to judge River without even talking to him and has a real chip in her shoulder when it comes to anyone she doesn't like the look of. She's also incredibly rude to River when they first meet - he's just a guy who goes into the same coffee shop that she and her friend does.
The 'climax' of the book had me rolling my eyes insanely hard because NONE of it felt motivated or even interesting. She was picking a fight for no reason, she was making problems for no reason. It was like the authors had to wrap up and needed that big 'oh no it's all going to go wrong' moment and figured 'yeah, this'll do'. She has no particular sympathy to her - especially when her partner's entire career is about to implode and she's demanding to see him and pay attention to her. Like...maybe don't.
As many other reviewers pointed out, Jess and River don't have much chemistry. There's plenty of mentions of the 'electricity' between them but, like...show us, don't just tell us? They start off with this not quite enemies thing going and then suddenly they love each other and all they do is talk about having sex and maybe kiss a bit and then Jess starts being an asshole to him. The whole thing feels underdeveloped and underbaked. It needs more time in the oven.
I was enjoying this book for a bit. The set-up and plot feel a little more original than others, particularly the use of finding your soulmate via science. The side characters really do make this book - because they're way more interesting than the central story. But from about halfway - I was getting more and more frustrated.
My main issue with the book - there are smaller ones, but we'll focus on one - are the two main characters. Jess has a decent background to her; she's got abandonment and trust issues and she's a single mother trying to keep a lot of plates spinning. However. She's also a horrible person. She's quick to judge River without even talking to him and has a real chip in her shoulder when it comes to anyone she doesn't like the look of. She's also incredibly rude to River when they first meet - he's just a guy who goes into the same coffee shop that she and her friend does.
The 'climax' of the book had me rolling my eyes insanely hard because NONE of it felt motivated or even interesting. She was picking a fight for no reason, she was making problems for no reason. It was like the authors had to wrap up and needed that big 'oh no it's all going to go wrong' moment and figured 'yeah, this'll do'. She has no particular sympathy to her - especially when her partner's entire career is about to implode and she's demanding to see him and pay attention to her. Like...maybe don't.
As many other reviewers pointed out, Jess and River don't have much chemistry. There's plenty of mentions of the 'electricity' between them but, like...show us, don't just tell us? They start off with this not quite enemies thing going and then suddenly they love each other and all they do is talk about having sex and maybe kiss a bit and then Jess starts being an asshole to him. The whole thing feels underdeveloped and underbaked. It needs more time in the oven.
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
4.0
3.75/5
I'm at least 90% sure that I enjoyed this book. I'm sure it'll take a few days to really solidify because WOAH a lot happened in, like, 400 pages. Also, it would not surprise if this book gets snapped almost instantly for television adaptation because people love crime. And rich people getting what's coming to them.
Jumping between multiple perspectives, 'How To Kill Your Family' follows a woman named Grace who recounts the methods through which she killed the family of her father who abandoned her and her mother. It's an extravagant, clever, complex series of revenge plots played out across multiple months and retold in excruciating detail. But it's also incredibly compelling to read. It dives into the glittering falsehood of high society and sinks into the dingy depths of the seedy underbelly too.
The things that stops me from giving this book a higher rating is largely down to its stream-of-consciousness writing style - particularly in sections where nothing is actually happening. I'm convinced, with some decent editing, this book could have had many pages taken out of it. Grace, who is obviously an anti-hero, unlikeable protagonist, whatever - is RIDICULOUSLY judgemental throughout this book, and after it while it stops adding to her character and starts just making her sound like a dick. There's a clear superiority complex in the character and I got really irritated by it as the book went by because it was done again and again and again. You can tell that this book is a fiction debut, where it's got great moments, but some leave things to be desired.
If you liked 'You', you'll probably like this. It has that same creepy, sociopathic theme running through it. I wouldn't say this is the most original book in the world, but props for the ending - that one really did come out of nowhere.
I'm at least 90% sure that I enjoyed this book. I'm sure it'll take a few days to really solidify because WOAH a lot happened in, like, 400 pages. Also, it would not surprise if this book gets snapped almost instantly for television adaptation because people love crime. And rich people getting what's coming to them.
Jumping between multiple perspectives, 'How To Kill Your Family' follows a woman named Grace who recounts the methods through which she killed the family of her father who abandoned her and her mother. It's an extravagant, clever, complex series of revenge plots played out across multiple months and retold in excruciating detail. But it's also incredibly compelling to read. It dives into the glittering falsehood of high society and sinks into the dingy depths of the seedy underbelly too.
The things that stops me from giving this book a higher rating is largely down to its stream-of-consciousness writing style - particularly in sections where nothing is actually happening. I'm convinced, with some decent editing, this book could have had many pages taken out of it. Grace, who is obviously an anti-hero, unlikeable protagonist, whatever - is RIDICULOUSLY judgemental throughout this book, and after it while it stops adding to her character and starts just making her sound like a dick. There's a clear superiority complex in the character and I got really irritated by it as the book went by because it was done again and again and again. You can tell that this book is a fiction debut, where it's got great moments, but some leave things to be desired.
If you liked 'You', you'll probably like this. It has that same creepy, sociopathic theme running through it. I wouldn't say this is the most original book in the world, but props for the ending - that one really did come out of nowhere.
My Mess Is a Bit of a Life: Adventures in Anxiety by Georgia Pritchett
4.0
Told in little vignettes, writer Georgia Pritchett looks back on her life so far - and the neuroses and anxieties that came with it. Best known for her work on shows like Veep, Succession, The Thick of It and - as I discovered through reading - a whole host of incredibly funny women like Mel & Sue, Joe Brand and Miranda Hart. The stories veer from the hilariously odd to heartbreakingly sad, and there's no real distinction between either of them. Her stories of childhood worries rub shoulders with infertility issues, health concerns sit next to stories of visiting the White House and meeting Michelle Obama.
Pritchett writes with humour and wit - as you would expect - addressing masses of topics in the short little chapters. I particularly enjoyed her writing about writing and the experience of being a working television and film writer. I had no idea she'd worked on the script for the cult classic 'Spice World'.
It's a great book full of wit, wisdom and worry. It's audiobook, narrated by Katherine Parkinson, is also well worth a listen.
Pritchett writes with humour and wit - as you would expect - addressing masses of topics in the short little chapters. I particularly enjoyed her writing about writing and the experience of being a working television and film writer. I had no idea she'd worked on the script for the cult classic 'Spice World'.
It's a great book full of wit, wisdom and worry. It's audiobook, narrated by Katherine Parkinson, is also well worth a listen.
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
4.0
I’ll be honest here, and I think this is something that resounds with other reviews, that this book is not quite as spectacular as The Kiss Quotient. For something that was so revelatory, something so different to emerge in this genre, it would have taken quite a miracle to topple it. But this doesn’t mean this book is any less beautiful, romantic and heartfelt. The Bride Test is excellent and to read it made me incredibly happy.
The novel follows Esme, a Vietnamese woman who is offered the chance to spend the summer in California at the end of which she will marry an autistic man named Khai. She doesn’t speak much English and has little knowledge of the culture, but she finds her way through hard-work, determination and a sudden burst of romance that develops between the two of them. Though the novel follows a very formulaic, tried-and-tested plot, it adds a new spin to a story we’ve seen a hundred times, and that’s what makes it so endearing.
I think the best word to describe this book is intimate. At every moment, you feel as though you know the central characters deeply. The switching between narratives and thoughts is excellent- though I did dislike the way Esme tended to jump to immediate conclusions about situations. She acknowledges later on in the book that even after Khai said he was autistic; she didn’t ask him to explain further. Perhaps that’s just a part of the character, I’m not sure. It was a little frustrating that they refused to communicate on several issues, particularly when it was hardest for him. It seemed as though Hoang simply included these assumptions to create more drama, to increase the tension between them.
This book narrowly avoids the sophomore slump that several of my favourite writers have fallen into, but there are still issues. This book is joyful and sexy and funny with a core of what romantic love truly means to different people. But it’s also frustratingly base and has a tendency to fall into the rom-com clichés we’ve come to recognize as standard. I don’t know.
Something about this wasn’t quite as amazing as The Kiss Quotient. But I know that the only way is up and I hope that Hoang will continue to write as brilliantly as she already does.
The novel follows Esme, a Vietnamese woman who is offered the chance to spend the summer in California at the end of which she will marry an autistic man named Khai. She doesn’t speak much English and has little knowledge of the culture, but she finds her way through hard-work, determination and a sudden burst of romance that develops between the two of them. Though the novel follows a very formulaic, tried-and-tested plot, it adds a new spin to a story we’ve seen a hundred times, and that’s what makes it so endearing.
I think the best word to describe this book is intimate. At every moment, you feel as though you know the central characters deeply. The switching between narratives and thoughts is excellent- though I did dislike the way Esme tended to jump to immediate conclusions about situations. She acknowledges later on in the book that even after Khai said he was autistic; she didn’t ask him to explain further. Perhaps that’s just a part of the character, I’m not sure. It was a little frustrating that they refused to communicate on several issues, particularly when it was hardest for him. It seemed as though Hoang simply included these assumptions to create more drama, to increase the tension between them.
This book narrowly avoids the sophomore slump that several of my favourite writers have fallen into, but there are still issues. This book is joyful and sexy and funny with a core of what romantic love truly means to different people. But it’s also frustratingly base and has a tendency to fall into the rom-com clichés we’ve come to recognize as standard. I don’t know.
Something about this wasn’t quite as amazing as The Kiss Quotient. But I know that the only way is up and I hope that Hoang will continue to write as brilliantly as she already does.