Hey people! How are you doing? I am Mia. Welcome, or welcome back to my Blog!
In my last post, I tried something new. I read 5 classics and blogged up the experience. Such experience videos have not only been popping a lot in my recommendations, but also they are a fun way to read books of a certain genre or books that fall in the same category, as well as you can compare them with each other. It becomes easier for me to recommend you an alternate, if I don't like a particular book or I think the other is better. Also, it keeps ME motivated to read more, enjoy my time actually thinking in between reading, evaluating in my head and think THROUGH, instead of just flying past. And I could put down my thoughts on spot, when I am having them, which I would otherwise forget to wrap up in the final review.
I honestly loved doing the experiment. And I couldn't wait to do more of the same thing... Last time, I combined the experiment with something that I tend to avoid – classics. This time, I decided that I will combine blogging with trending favorites/popular books, which everyone has been reading recently. I love reading popular shit, but at the same time, I'm the biggest effing procrastinator, and a mood reader. If there's a new release that everyone's been reading and loving, I'll probably put it in my 'want to read' shelf, but put it off till eternity. And when I finally get to it, my annoyance at this book being everywhere in my face, and everybody loving it, would've combined to make my expectations over the top of that hill. So that's fuckin' problematic, and I'm tryna avoid that from happening through the medium of this blog.
To pick the books, I went to Story Graph, an amazing community with the best feature being a monthly or yearly wrap up that you get, with everything sorted in categories - your most read genres, authors, average rating, and much more. And chose books that I was interested in from their ‘popular this week’ shelf. As the name suggests, these are the books that have been most read this week.
I was thinking of going blindly in, read the books at the top, call it a day for you and me. But then I realised there are books on that list, Love On The Brain by Ali Hazelwood, It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey, The Secret History by Donna Tartt and more (later It Starts With Us joined the list -_-), that I'm not ready yet or simply do not want to read. I do not want to read a book and hate it when I simply did not wanted to read it in the first place. My average ratings have recently been moving up because I'm focusing more on books that I genuinely want to read, instead the books that I want to read to tear apart. The first one is definitely more fun.
Like last time, I put them on a wheel but it didn't work out because this challenge lasted 5-6 weeks and new books arrived on the list that I was interested in so... The wheel got annoying lol .
Let's just get to the tea?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rating System :
🌠Stars -
⭐ : Either dnf'd or wondering why bother finishing
⭐⭐ : Okay.. but whatever, do something about the plot holes
⭐⭐⭐ : Hm.. but I don't feel it
⭐⭐⭐⭐ : You gave me something good which could've been better
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ : Talk about my favorite
❣️ Hearts -
🖤 : Disappointed really.
💛 : Oh.. I read it? Yesterday? No impact.
💚 : Confused if I should lower the ratings
💙 : Happy got to read it.
💜: I looooved it but boy where did you miss??
❤️ : Giddy, Crying, Screaming. Don't talk to me rn pls
✨No hearts, No stars : HATED
✨ ❤️ heart, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars : ALL TIME FAVOURITE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
I wasn't aware of the celebrity, haven't watched any of her shows or heard her songs, before reading this book (and that hasn't changed a bit, lol). So, I'm not a fan and I didn't share any sympathy or empathy with her prior to reading. Whatever build up inside me towards Jeanette, was through her book.
Please go through the trigger warnings, because things become graphic and it might be uncomfortable to you, before reading the book.
Following is my reading process, past me! :
Update 1 : Hi! It's day 3rd. Yesterday, I read like 3 pages and didn't update at all. I've been going through bad days. Messages are piling up for me to reply, my to do-list is all red and another weekend is passing without anything happening. Everything's demanding energy and I'm slowly losing it. In short, I'm having a depressive episode (which has nothing to do with the book, just a check up on my mental condition). I'm not sure about this challenge anymore. But to me, reading is what gives me MY release and keeps me sane. So, at the same time, I WANT to read more today, and I won't allow myself that – reading more, unless I update first what my thoughts are up untill now.
Here we are. I have read to the part one, where Net's mother dies. And it's apparent why she would be ‘glad ’ because of that.
Her mother exhausted me.
My own parenting was far from perfect. As a Desi child, who's also aware of what's happening around the world, especially in US, through social media, how some really amazing parents treat their kids, your parents' flaws are glaring at you. Most of all middle class people in my society have the same issues – father's absence and mother's too much involvement; privacy issues, financial issues, not addressing mental health at all, pursuing the career they want us to -- a life basically chosen for you and you have to fall into those steps, and basically, there's no other way. If you dare defy, that infamous mental torture, 'bad child' and I myself have heard brutal stuff coming out of my parents' mouth, like ‘Would have been better if such a child never existed’ and ‘I regret not being physically violent with her growing up, because she deserves it’.
So a lot of the problems that Net feels from the side of her mother, are pretty relatable to someone like me. And her feelings of frustration, I've been there. The difference is, being raised in a society where this is SO COMMON that the memes on mental issues are actually funny to us now, it's easier for me to see this, Net's situation, as 'not as bad as it could be’, or infact ‘pretty normal’. It IS bad, I'm not saying it isn't ,but Desi parents and news channels have told me far worse stories for this to be as affecting to me.
But she lives in America, thus she is more exposed and 'woke' about the things that she deserves and the independence her mother manipulates out of her life. That's serving as a disconnect between me and Net, that's all my point is.
Despite that, there are sometimes when things were truly horrible to even me. So, again, trigger warnings folks.
Her mother had cancer, and after a lot of waiting, she finally died of the disease and half the book is left. So I think the rest of it would be Net's life without her mother's control. And a much happier and healthier image of the 'desirable body' and Jeanette's path to self love.
The book is really easy to read, writing-wise. So I really like that.
Update 2 : Hi! I hope it's not a surprise that I listened the audiobook during the ending? Those are what are even keeping me reading these days (because of my depression and other books disappointing me.)
Whenever I dnf a book, I'm already one foot in, in reading slump. I'm not talking about this book, (I finished reading I'm Glad My Mom Died) but the one before this, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, I couldn't finish it. It was a book in my Immediate TBR. Yikes. Disappointment. And I felt terrible, nauseated.
That reminds me. Trigger warnings for this book, AGAIN, I'm Glad My Mom Died. Net has eating disorders – anorexia and bulimia. The latter half is about Bulimia, and it's VERY graphic. Don't read it if 'a person putting their fingers in throat, pushing food out with blood' makes you uncomfortable. Or skip those parts.
So, it's been a few hours since I finished reading. It was a really nice read *nods in affirmation*. Basically, there's Jeanette, child actress set to accomplish her mother's dream of being an actress. Her mother manipulates her into doing stuff that's not healthy and controls her, for as long as the mother lives. Most importantly, she controls Net's eating habits.
The book is about Jeanette thinking of her mom as her hero and best friend, and after a long time her mom passes, Jeannette allowing herself to see her mother as she was and allowing herself to break out of the unhealthy habits that she got used to.
I wasn't aware it being as graphic, so I got uncomfortable a few times myself. You should also know, here was also this one time when her 10 year older boyfriend.. or the guy she was secretly seeing then, manipulates her into giving him a blow job and she doesn't want to do it, but she does. A consensual rape. So that's quite disturbing.
Her journey through self love was very empowering and often times emotional. I hope it leaves a great impact on the world. It makes me happy that such a book is being promoted and that it being so widely read.
Overall, it was a good book that I enjoyed reading. Chapters were short. I liked that Jeannette McCurdy talks about her eating disorders. The mother-daughter relationship reminded me of 'How To Make A Wish' by Ashely Herring Blake, amazing book, highly recommend.
I can't say a lot about this one because the events are literally someone's actual life and healthy stuff is being promoted, which is nice.
I gave this book 3.5 stars. 💙 Heart.
Does it deserve the hype?
YES (in caps).
The Inheritance Games by James Lynn Barnes
The Inheritance Games trilogy is about Avery, a hand-to-mouth working teenager with zero financial security and brain cells stolen from Einstein himself. She doesn't know, that both of the facts are about. to. change. drastically. Just kidding, about the latter (OR AM I?👀). Anyway, she out of nowhere receives this huge inheritance from a person she doesn't know and things take a wild turn, but it's gonna be fun. Avery isn't your normal chick, she can't sit with so much money without knowing the reason why (girl use your braincells), so she sets out on a journey to find out her connections with the dead man and soon she's seeing clues in her new villa!
But that's not enough. Avery is a COOL GAL 😎. Unlike a normal person who'd be hoarding her bookshelves and transferring that cash into separate bank accounts, and having a romance with a rich bastard to get that money security in her pockets.. she is doing the mission. AndHavingALoveTriangleWithTwoBillionaires.
Aye, now shut up, I'm not romance shaming anyone or throwing the typical 'IHATELOVETRIANGLES' tantrums. I say, get those kisses, girl! Take them both BROTHERS to bed! 🍒🍒
Let's get to my thoughts lol :
Update 1 : Abandoned the wheel for Madita. I need this book right now. But, it was on the list of 'popular this week', so I'm not breaking any rules, alright?
Update 2 : Hey! I just wanna tell you that the only thing right now that's stopping from coming and screaming over the blog, is the side of me which just wants to read MORE of it. I will update in pointers, quick and less SCREAMING.
1) I love Max, Avery's bestie from old life. Her parents are conservative so she says curse words in fun way and I'm stealing her words. I foxing am! She has me laughing every time.
2) The love triangles, I HAVE to take sides. So I can root for a man. For now, I'm angling towards Grayson. He just is hotter. I appreciate a man in suite for a first impression, even if he's brooding and intimidating the main girl. Over a person whose first impression is, he was shirtless and drunk on an important day because he was SO SAD. No.
3) Alexander is cute. But also, he's just that. Nothing more.
4) Nash is cool. But also, he's just that. Nothing more.
5) That puzzle that Jayson asked....? uhhhhhhhh. How's the answer 2? I'm not smart, the book said. Anyway. But it also got me saying 'creepo' along Jayson's name, so yikes for him.
6) Avery. Period. Goddess.
7) Moneyyyyyyy!!!!
Update 3 : Hi! I almost forgot you there! I finished the book. It's been hours. And I might......... MIGHT IS THE KEY WORD, want to take a break here, from this blog and finish the series.Do you understand? I loved it.
YA mystery thrillers are THE BEST. They are such a retrieve! I might actually cry. The way they grab you and pull you out of the dark deep deep reading slumps. This was just like the time I read A Good Girl's Guide To Murder earlier this year. And, one more comparision – it reminded me of F.A.I.T.H., a story I read on Wattpad some years ago. And that was my favourite book for a long time. Exact same vibes – new money, secrets, daddy issues, love trouble and school drama. This, (Inheritance Games) lacked any school drama, but you get an unhinged old man who stalks a 6 year old for more than 12 years. I don't know, if that makes up for it.. and he gives her billions of dollars for a mysterious reason (which we uncover), so I guess it does.
See, this is the kind of book that you have to put your critical, error detecting, intelligent, brain in your pocket for, and only then read. Take a deep breath then, tell yourself ‘I am reading only for fun’, and then open the first page. Because this shit is fun, but only if you allow it to entertain you. And we got no room for a nitpicking brain that's there just to ruin your moment, saying shit like "WHY" and "HOW" and "WTF". No, sorry, enjoy the drama please. If I'm learning anything this year, it's that. To put that burden down from your head that you need to critique, and give yourself cute breaks like that.
Now, thoughts please.
The ✨BOYS✨. I like Xander. He's the smartest, hands down. Which is also why I don't trust him. Avery doesn't spend a lot of time with him, so we don't know how his brain works, except he's different from his brothers which makes him a threat in future. Next, Nash, the oldest. I like that he's the responsible one but he didn't do ANYTHING. So, he goes to my least trusted category lol. There has to be a bigger role for him than just some ex, who's throwing around 'darlings' here and there. Otherwise, I would be annoyed. He doesn't need to exist at all if that's all his role is. Jameson, mama's boy. Sweet, easy to break, the one with actual issues, needs some space and a vacation. Easy to be friends with. In dire need of clothes to cover his body. I trust him. But he's not my favourite because boy needs to sort priorities, his mental health, and he hasn't accepted that yet. Which brings us to... Grayson💕. Yep, team Grayson here. Jameson was insta-lovie. But Grayson made space in my heart. I appreciate a guy in tux ForEVER.
Avery's character declined throughout the book. Chapter one, she was BADASS 👩🏻💻. She could kick ass. But then she turned into a clueless princess with half ounce more brain than Cinderella, so she's bearable and telling the story, but has lost her personality. That was tragedy.
I say, read it people. It's the escape from reality you need. It's you being a millionaire and it's you having two hot guys in you hands and it's you not needing an education and it's you with more brain than you actually have :)
Overall, the plot HAD me, and I need to spend more time with the characters before I make a judgement. As a standalone, the book failed to serve whole and developed characters, with actual intersting stories.
I gave it 4 stars. 💜 Heart.
Excuse the future me, I'm interrupting. So, I did take a break from this blog, to finish the series. I say, smash that green button on your Goodreads page till it says 'read' for the first book. After that, forget that any more books exist in the Hawthorne world. Because the trilogy suffered heavy losses due to high early demand and the burden of expectations to deliver better than the standards the first book sets. After reading the whole series, I feel sorry for Barnes because she deserved more time, experimenting with her characters and creating a strong mystery as well as thinking through her ending, and it seems like she was robbed of all that by the audience and publishing industry.
The characters remain as flat as they could be, you could chop your tomatoes on them. Chop, chop, chop. Infact, Barnes seemed so frustrated by the end about which boy she should end Avery with, she changes Grayson's whole personality, takes everything likable out of him till there's only a shell left of him and the love triangle is squashed. I felt the slap on my face as Team Grayson, because I had invested my time in him and their (Avery and Grayson's) story.
I wasn't much interested in a romance anyway, so I could've avoided that, BUT Barnes explored absolutely NOTHING while weaving her mystery. All the bad guys were outsiders and all my ‘I don't trust this Hawthorne guy’, again, got wasted. In the first book, there was vacuum space for me to use my own brain to figure out the answers, but in those last two books, things were JUST HAPPENING. She's building this world, and literally introducing the bad guys, so how's that a mystery anymore. That's just drama, and don't serve me tea, Barnes when I came here for Jalebi (Indian sweet which metaphorically means riddle). And one of the bad guy, who I think everybody reading already knew was sus, wasn't confronted till the very end, which was extremely annoying. Barnes made me believe Avery and Hawthorne guys are really intelligent people so where the hell was their intelligence when the answer was RIGHT THERE.
This series made me look stupid, as opposed to the thrill I received after reading the first book. There were no grey characters. Nobody twisted or plotting... Except a dead man, and his old ass nemesis who no-one cares about. And he waves his hand cutely at the end and says ‘I respect the kids. Let them go.’, and that's your the end. Honestly, I felt disrespected.
Conclusion : Read the first book if you don't mind not knowing the full story.
Does it deserve the hype?
uh.... Not really. You have to TRY to like it.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before The Coffee Gets Cold is short story collection set in Japan, about this small cafe shop in Tokyo. In the cafe shop, there's a particular seat, that you can sit on only once in your lifetime and it will be empty only once a day, which will take you back in past or ahead in future. During the time you are travelling, you can't leave your seat and you won't be able to change your present or future. There are four stories in the book, 3 of which have angst.
I came upon this book first time on Jack Edwards' YouTube channel, it was among his favourites. There are workers in the cafe or regular costumers that you get to know and they appear frequently throughout the book, giving it a novel vibe. I think it's also trending on tiktok? That's new for an asian novel, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update 1 : Hi! It's been 2 weeks atleast since I read the first book of Inheritance Games and now after reading five books after that.. I'm back here. Because I'm committed, and also.. I am kinda lost what I should read next. I just finished The Folk Of Air trilogy.. and I'm basically experiencing hangover. That's my new favourite YA fantasy series. So fucking good!
I spinned the wheel and got this book, and I tried to actually pay attention to the author's name, which I don't do, if they have a hard name, and Japanese names ARE hard. Anyway, so I read the name and realised that I know this person.. Kawaguchi! From Shinchan!
And that's actually making me want to read this, lol. I have never read a Japanese book.. and this has been trending (of course it is. That's what I'm doing in this post duh), and I have no clue what this is about. I guess there's a coffee shop and this particular table can make you time-travel.. I don't know. But I will, in 2-3 days. Stay tuned!
Update 2 : This is 2 days later. I'm done with story one. The book is divided in 4 stories, so 25% done. The genre is 'magical realism' and I get the magic but it still gets a little repetitive. As I said, I've never read a Japanese book, BUT I have watched Korean and Chinese dramas and this is falling into same vibes... The politeness, the sassy 'i-am-not-like-other-girls' girls, nerdy tech guys... I've seen all of this before in dramas. The story was short but there were so much details for no reason, like too much screen time is put on one simple expression of the actors in dramas, and internal monologues. This is giving... East Asians. But okay, I'm down for it.
Update 3 : Hey there, 3 days after I have finished the book. My mental health, well, it's just going down at a very steep rate. I haven't wrote as many diaries in this whole year as much as I am writing now, and all of them are snot-filled, disgusting. Uh, that's not good. My ability to hold conversations is uncharged all the time. I have messages on my phone which I haven't replied to in weeks. God knows how they are still my friends, if they are at all, lol.
Anyway... It's surprising to me that I'm still doing it, this blog. I would say I'm doing a nice job. Oh, on a second note, to compliment my depression, I am jobless now.
🕺💃🕺💃💃🕺💃
They told me it's my last day today, without any warnings. They hired someone else days ago and I was too stunned to react in any 'throwing a fit' kind of way.. till I reached home, but then I ate the chocolate I bought for myself, 'fired, so party' chocolate. And I am not thinking about it anymore. I am in dire need of money but things would be okay, hopefully. For now, today is coming to an end.
[ Update : they called me yesterday begging to come back. And I said no. Who's crying now?😏 And THEY were throwing a fit that I am refusing! People these days! ]
Back to the book. I was underwhelmed. The four stories were about different people we know from this cafe. Some stories were good, some weren't as good. The lowest I would rate a story, is a 1 star, so nothing really falls into'hate this shat' category. The repetition stopped (not completely) after the first one and also the 'cutesy uwu' element, which was in the first story (it was about a girl who's upset about her recent break-up. Her ex got an offer to study abroad and he left and they couldn't talk). The latter stories were about more mature topics - losing a child very early, Alzheimer's and disowning your child because they have different dreams.
The writing was weird, something was amiss that I can't point out. The story about a sister wanting her sister to move back to their village and do their family business together, infact, got infuriating. I'm asian myself, so I understand what ego issues their parents have and what the first sister meant by coming back and being 'forgiven' by their parents for choosing different dreams, but fuck, they were so insensitive about what SHE wanted. It was legit guilt tripping, and that was glorified. And suddenly the other sister goes back. With that story existing, I don't know how the American 'woke' audience rated it this high 😐. It was upsetting to even me.
I haven't read a LOT of magical realism, but they're pretty hit or miss for me. This one missed. I wouldn't go on to say that this was terrible, but just not my taste. I would recommend anyone looking for a recommendation, Annarasumanara by Ha-Il Kwon instead. It's a manga and it's literally magic! It's absolutely beautiful, and a lot more substantial than this choppy mess.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold read like Exupery's 'The Little Prince', which I read in my last blog. If you liked that, read this. But I don't have a soft spot for Tokyo or coffee or small cafes so I will give it a 2 stars. 🖤 Heart.
Onto the next one!
Does it deserve the hype?
Nah..
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a 2022 released, character-driven contemporary set through 80's, 90's and 2000's. It recently won Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction 2022.
Once again, I was blind to what this book is about except that maybe there's video games in it, which is apparent to anyone who has seen the pretty cover. It's a story about the two main characters, Sam Masur and Sadie Green, who meet in a hospital in their childhood and form an immediate friendship. Soon after, they loose contact under the influence of a misunderstanding. They meet again in their 20's as students, and this time their joined passion for making and playing video games brings and ties them together. It's a story of their lifetime as friends, creative partners, and humans, into their old age. The story takes ups and downs, so does their friendship and all of it is memorable.
That said, I will also gladly tell you, it was my favourite of the lot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update 1 : Hey! I just finished reading part one of the book, there are 10 parts.. I am just not reading it quickly I guess. Anyway, I had no clue what I was going to find here and I kinda still don't know. It reads like a contemporary... There seems chemistry between the two main characters that we've been introduced to, but it's not really like those 'rom-com' cute or quirky stories, where they show you life before I met 'him' or 'her', and afterwards. I mean, it's THAT, but not cute and quirky. AAAH (fussing because I can't explain*), I don't know where this is going. But I like it.
I especially wanted to talk about this thing that happened during the last chapter, where she is feeling really low and depressed because of shit happening in her life and she doesn't want to meet anyone. She's locked up in her room and avoiding the world (just like ME!). So he (the other protagonist) – her old best friend for a short period of time in their childhood, who has recently come back in her life – visits her every single day, just giving her company, even if they don't talk because she doesn't want to and he brings her some things (food, flowers, just shit you know) and when she gets better.. they just decide to be besties again. I LOVE that!
I mean, lol, I wish I had a friend who would do that for me. Push me a little, try to break the pattern I adopt myself into when I'm having these episodes, just help a little.. just stay I guess. I wish I had someone who understood just a tiny bit so I could let them in and lean on them to listen a bit... This isn't the main 'thing' in the book, mental health. But I absolutely loved that part, but it kind of made me want to cry. Love these moments when friends, or family or a lover, whatever, someone takes care of you and you just let them.. there's something about it, it's beautiful. And it was beautifully written in the book. It stood out.
The other book I am reading side by side, The Charm Offensive, that's a rom-com with a lot of mental health representation, had similar moments when one of the main characters is going through a mentally negative phase and the other one would just ask them how they can help. Because they care and they want to do something genuinely. I SWEAR! These books are making it worse for me. But okay. Okay. I will take care of myself. That's fine. That's the update.
Update 2 : Hello! Well who would've guessed this would become a blog where I make everyone go through my progress as I continue to read my way into depression. This - my health condition, isn't on the book, the book is getting good now actually that I'm properly reading it, not just flipping the pages -- this is on me.
Yesterday, I deleted all apps on my phone so nobody can contact me except if they call me, and I am quite unashamed of that. I'm not beating myself over 'distancing' or 'pushing people away', it's just.. I have kind of adopted and accepted my depression and I let it come when it comes because if I try to avoid it, it stays LONGER and it becomes WORSE. So I actively try to keep my mind positive, but at the same time, I don't feel guilty over pushing people away when I need my space and I can potentially definitely hurt them by saying mean-ass shit that I don't mean. During these periods, I become really jealous and angry for reasons as simple as them smiling or being able to go out for a jog, and I also happen to have anger issues so I would say selfish shit and feel miserable about it later. So whatever anyone says about it being unhealthy to push life and people away, and locking yourself inside during depression, I don't care. I don't owe anyone shit for feeling the way I do, and it's my way of protecting myself from misery, and the people I love and respect from my horrible uncontrolled attitude.
[Uh, I just realised I kind of vented here. So sorry you had to see that but I'm keeping this in the blog for future reference, that is, if I ever feel guilty for 'pushing people away', I look at this and realise it's not unhealthy if you're doing it for a reason such as mine.
And I do still wish for someone to push through my boundaries but not the whole fuckin' world, just a few selective people who are indeed close to me and who make me feel safe from myself. I just haven't found anyone yet, I HAVE tried allowing people to strech those boundaries, it was a fail. I haven't given up though, I am waiting.]
Anyway, so after deleting everything, the only thing I can do on my phone, is read. And I got this app yesterday that motivated me even more and I read for 4 hours, 10 minutes.. and on top of that, I listened to the audiobook for 2-ish hours. And I'm suddenly 80% done with the book.
Maybe it's because I watched the movie today, but Sam and Sadie's friendship reminded me of Harry and Sally from'When Harry Met Sally'. And in the last chapter I read, something really emotional and devastating happened, and I don't know how to read this book anymore. On that note, it's also reminding me of A Little Life, 3 friends doing what they're passionate about and just living.. and you get everyone's prospective about how they think about different stuff that's happening. Sam has a leg injury and he gets these pains that's especially similar to Jude from A Little Life.
And there's representation and culture and Sadie giving us 'women in work', and how they're treated differently. And she's so passionate about creating these games, you just love her. Sam can be an asshole at times, but most men are.. so🙌. But I love that they have such bad flaws! They are SO human! You eventually like him too, flaws and all, AND the friendship!!
It's a great escape book, I'd say. You get to know characters and you like them and you follow them on their journey and there's no plot after that. They'll end up somewhere. But I will finish it by tomorrow. See ya!
Update 3 : Hey! It's the same day! I finished the book. Oh my God. This book gave me the kind of happiness that you only find after reading a great piece of literature. This wasn't a book, it was a novel. You know the difference? I was AMAZING! I have made friends, met amazing, loveable people. I have lived ages through it, in two days!
This book did what The Invisible Life Of Addie La'Rue was trying to do. I'm not saying that Addie La'Rue was a bad book. It just didn't do for me what it tried. The cultural references, the history through times, the connections she made in Addie La'Rue, through her life.. I think what was missing from all that, was passion. Something that motivated the main characters... In Addie La'Rue, there are two sad lonely people who meet each other after half the book is over and they are together for not long, so they have sex, sorry, 'make love', and build a connection, but they have no goals.
But in this book, these people thrive for making games. They are intelligent, passionate, ambitious people and that's what I want to read about! They make it big, they hit blocks, they come to full stops, they try again. This book is Taylor Swift! And the addition of virtual worlds through video games was AMAZING! It didn't matter that I have played just a few, because I am a reader and being in a different world in pages, is very similar, and just as magical as playing a video game.
I love Sam and Sadie, I love Marx and I love the other side characters, Ant and Simon, and Bong and Dong, and even Dov became a friend that I absolutely detest but it was fun knowing him. This book was fun time! This book made me realise how great reading is. It created this friendship that you just feel in bones now! And Sam and Sadie are MY people now, and I would love to meet them! They are real. You know the feeling?
I haven't felt this since I read Six Of Crows. This book is so different from SOC, but DAMMIT! If you read The Invisible Life of Addie La'Rue and loved it, or couldn't love it (in my case. Thought something was amiss), or you watched When Harry met Sally and you want something like the connection they had, the love, but they don't get together and THAT'S BETTER, or you want some similarities with A Little Life, not the depression or trauma, but growing up with someone in Generation X, or you love Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing because Zevin SERVED writing throughout the book, you'll love it! And I am GLAD I read it, because nothing has made me happier than this book these days, in my sad little life. I gave 5 stars. ❤️ Heart, to this pure joy of a book. UH-MAZING!
Does it deserve the hype?
OH MY GOD. GIVE IT MORE!
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
The last book I read for this blog was Hannah Grace's Icebreaker. It was rash, unplanned decesion on my part to read it without doing research, but I don't generally do 'research' for simply reading a book, so I didn't know what I was signing myself up to. The only reason I read it was because this book just refused to leave the top 5 spots on the weekly charts even after 6 whole weeks of me doing this, so I had to do it.
Despite having the weird rule in my head that I won't read any happy books when I'm depressed. Eh. I rock, I'm amazing✨.
:)
But I HAD been seeing it on my Goodreads homepage and Booktubers I follow were very hyped about it. I had heard about an amazing book boyfriend and a really cute rom-com, with found family. Nothing else.
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace is a New Adult EXTREMELY SMUTTY romance (actually, no, it's just a smut. And I'm salty not because I have something against smut and I don't consider it literature or whatever, but because I didn't knew the amount that would be there, because the marketing team completely forgot to mention that!) debut novel. I recently came to know that it's been under controversy and the author may or may not choose to write further of this supposedly 4/5 books, book series. Anyway, Icebreaker is a sports romance between university students and the book has cast as big as the whole GOT franchise. The two main characters are both athletes, Anastasia being a figure skater and Nate being a ice-hockey player. They back and forth from strangers to enemies to friends to enemies to friends to lovers, and as you may guess, end up together.
It's a big book, and aside from the romance there's representation of eating disorders (not really.. kinda.. you can read it. It's okay.), disability, muslims (uhhh, not in the updated version of the book), and daddy issues! There are many plotlines going, the romance is the centre, but Anastasia's guy friend who seems to have an obsession with her and he wants to control who she dates, hangs out with and what she eats, is also *main*.
Now, uh.. alert. Hannah Grace, dear, if you're reading this. I wish you all the very best in life and I feel sorry about your mental health. As a person who also suffers from mental illness and has difficulty dealing with hate and criticism, I really hope you don't read further. Take care, and keep trying. I know you can and will do better!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{I unfortunately read the first edition of the book}
Update 1 : Hey!
So far, so good. I like the book! It's reminding me of THE GIRLS on Booktube. It's a thing, I guess, THE GIRLS are (mostly) white American rich people in their 20's, with many book shelves and aesthetic outfits. They post the same kind of content, obsessed with Colleen, Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. And they're really pretty.🫠
[ Oh God, I'm cringing at how judgmental I sound. But I SWEAR I AM OBSESSED WITH THE GIRLS AND THEY'RE CONSTANTLY ON MY TIMELINE. ]
I am saying that this book reminds me of them because, this book is (going to be) a part of a series, with all these 20-30 characters, everyone having a romance with someone else in this college and each couple will get their book. The Girls read such books. And honestly, this is fun!
I'm having a great time living in a world where everyone is hot, and these guys are in sports teams and I LOVE THAT! Every guy is huge, muscles and dimples.. and every girl has a noticeable ass.. I mean, this is some kind of a perfect world. And being here is nice.
I'm 25% into the book and... Um... Controversial part. Y'all are gonna hate me. This a plea... Don't hate me. But okay, hear me out. See, I'm not judging anyone for 'casual hookups' and just 'playing around in the field'. I won't be your Mother Gothel. But, I don't know if people are actually that horny in real life. This book is making me question my sexuality lol. But I guess everyone has different amounts of sexual needs in them, and Anastasia seems to have it in quintiles. Lemme explain.
I love Anastasia. I love her confidence. My girl is sexy. My girl makes her rules. My girl governs her life.
But my girl is getting herself into heart trouble over nothing. She already has a no strings attached sex buddy who's a hunk and he gives her forehead kisses and hugs (ughh) and no drama. So why did she, no spoiler, ask this other guy, she didn't even like, to find her G-spot, OUT OF NOWHERE. Again, not judging. But definitely not a fan of this random horny, unplanned behaviour of either of those. Is that normal? I am not screaming 'whore' and 'slut', but definitely a 'what the fuck'. I simply don't get the appeal.
I feel exhausted by the weirdness of it, and the aftermath.. they feel awkward, they avoid each other. I mean, suck it up. And don't even ask me if the steamy scene was good or what because if the first thing they do to build something, a chemistry, between them is 'this', I am turned off like bad breath, lyk smn typn lyk ths.
I'm sorry for addressing this, because I might get called out for whatever. By feminists or girls on quora who are saying that they're more horny than any guy ever. Mind you, I did my research, the sexual appeal is apparently equal in men and women but women definitely control it better. And Anastasia randomly asks for it without knowing if this guy is douche bag or what? And I'm like... Girl! Is. THIS. REALISTIC?! I, for once, CRAVE emotional connection over ANY touch and it's a big deal to me who I give it to. Anastasia is definitely more confident than me, is she just that careless? His existence has been known to her since last week, they haven't spent 10 hrs around each other and... Umm... I don't know man. Is it safe? This guy could be an asshole. Even with the 'perfect world'. He could've STD. And I don't know, at this rate you might do it without protection. They are that GONE.
Maybe this is cultural difference. I'm brown and having sex isn't a dire need in my world. As a Desi kid, dating isn't as common for us and is considered scandalous in 70% of the country. I'm on okay terms with people dating. I have read so much romance for God's sake! And honestly, you do YOU! I understand the basic human needs.
What I don't understand, and I mean it in a gentle caring sister way, is why is she just making her life so complicated. I'm not shaming anyone for this! But dude, Anastasia, sister, girl, I care about you... 😭
Anyway, I have already said enough controversial shit for the day. I would continue to read. This is amazing time, except this part. Building the chemistry between the two main characters, let them bang against the door, rest will follow. I am not a fan.
Update 2 : Hi! I'm more than halfway through the book now. It's the next day. And I'm more pissed. Because the last time I updated, I was just frustrated with Anastasia and Nathan having zero chemistry before them getting smutty. But then, they continued doing that for forever, like party after party, we have had 5 or 6 of these smutty scenes till now, could be more or less because the scenes come so often they literally blend into each other. They would 'finish' and then get more steamier.. but I am just bored.
Like, okay, we are discussing the smut now first (I was going to talk about what pissed me more before), they meet at this party and she makes him jealous when she sits on his friend's lap for ‘17 seconds’, it's mentioned. And he asks her out to dance, where they grind against each other in front of everyone and now she's wet. Soon they are leaving, and ofcourse there's no room for everyone so she sits on his lap and another scene initiates where he fingers her in Uber. After that, she comes and he puts fingers in her mouth in the Uber. Their friends and the driver are Just There. I'm laughing, okay. What the fuck. Wait people, they aren't done. They go to his room and he puts her somewhere, she gives him a job. It's so HUGE, dude. And basically, it's pointed out over and over at this point that he has a big dick. Any way, blow job done. He refuses to have sex with her but... NEXT DAY, he puts her in bed and they fuck. And then they rest, talk, and then she gets on top of him, and she rides. They NEVER stop!
And I remember this particular time, when she rides him, she 'splits' her legs and I. Felt. Traumatized. That's when I put up a status update on my GR saying, 'What in the name of porn industry am I reading'. And they do not stop! Soon after they have shower together! I don't know what they do next, because I stopped counting. This is SO not my type of romance.
I am not complaining about the steam,. I'm complaining about it ONLY BEING STEAM. Give me something MORE! And that's okay, some people like that kind of romance. Wattpad and Ao3 basically run on it. But why the fuck it isn't mentioned in blurb or on the bloody cover?! I feel like I'm wasting my time and loosing my brain cells with every single line. There are books - Punk 57, L.J. Shen's books, Made series - I just know that I won't like them because of the smut being a major part in them. And I don't need to do research to find that out, because it's obvious when you pick them up. I would have LOVED to know that Icebreaker was that kind of book before starting the read it.
And now, hear this conversation:
“Why do you look so sweaty?”“Nathan’s drunk and heavy.”“Have you realized you’re falling in love with him yet?
I'm like : °_°
Am I the only one who hates this!? Come on! She has friendzoned him! She treats him like her brother and HE, himself, takes care of her like her father pays him for that. And she treats evryone the same! How is she in love with him!? Because her friend HINTED?! And later on, she would be like, okay.. what if my friend was right? And her friend would be like I told you so! And I would be like fuck you two!
That's the romance guys, the best friend JUST told you. It's present. It's in the room. Ask her friend.
He has zero personality! Dude and his friends are talking about her and her friend only, and that's all they ever do. And he plays hockey so, he's huge and he's good at 'doing things to her body parts' (that's what she literally says). And he hates his dad for some reason. And the author is just not telling us what reason is, for some reason?! He yelled at his dad, and he's like ‘ I would rather swim in shark-infested waters wearing a seal suit than spend two weeks with Dad ’. Honestly, he sounds like Hardin from After. ‘Fohckihn TREVOR!’ I need some explanation here!? Tell me why he's so irritated with his father first, then continue to sound like Hardin.
And by my quotes, if you haven't already guessed my thoughts on Hannah Grace's writing.. it sucks. It reads like a Wattpad story, not just that, a BTS fanfiction. I have read my fair share of those, and feisty Y/n (Anastasia), her ride or die bff (Brin) and all the 'found family' boys on Hockey team (Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Jeon Jungkook – you fan-chant that!) are definitely fanfiction characters!
More quotes :
‘In a world where I feel like I could be swept away by the waves at any moment, he anchors me. I value that, value him.’ – that is definitely not original and cheesy. I refuse to believe that in this fairytale world where she's partying so much and she has so many besties and she's DOING THINGS that she wants to do, she's also feeling so insecure. The line is just there so people can go 'aww', and sorry I see what you're doing.
And this, ‘She takes our joined hands and rests them right above the swell of her ass, navigating us through the crowd to the dance floor.
I don’t even know how to fucking dance. I just know I want the feel of her body on mine, and if I had to watch her touching JJ for a minute longer, I was going to rip his head from his body.’ – I'm pretty sure I'm a better writer than that. And they're pretty immature.
Anyway, I came here to talk about representation. Because a while ago, I read JJ, Jaiden Johal, Nate's friend, said something like his ancestors would be disappointed if Anastasia hasn't ever made Indian curry, because.. is he Indian? And then I searched the last name Johal, and voila! He is Punjabi, definitely Indian and a Sikh! And over that, Jat! If you're not Indian, maybe you will skim over the details especially because he's just a side character of this huge friend group. But since I'm Indian, I call this a lot of information and Hannah Grace is like, yeah, he's Indian and he's totally whitewashed and that's so common, so what?
It's not bloody common! Okay, so being an Indian alone makes you very different than your white friends culturally. Even if only your mother is Indian, or father, and you have never stepped foot in India, whatever excuse there may be, it still impacts you!
He's Punjabi! That automatically means huge family, and family that force their way into your lifestyle. Jats are especially into the whole 'respect our land' thing; most of the families own lands and they are involved in farming. Not everyone does it, but if you link it back to the bigger family, even second level.. your grandparents. Almost everyone does. Jats, most of them, are non vegetarians, they consume a lot of ghee and they're very religious.
JJ is none of those things. Except when he said that 'my ancestors would be offended' because a white girl doesn't know how to cook 'curry', which I SWEAR! NO NORTH INDIAN SAYS 'CURRY' LIKE THAT'S A THING! AND NO INDIAN EXPECTS A WHITE GIRL TO KNOW HOW TO COOK INDIAN FOOD! If it disappoints JJ, what else does this mean except that maybe he's close to his family and THAT'S the single dialogue that shows it. 'Curry', is the name south Indians or non-Indians use when they don't know what to call the dish, and I can't believe JJ being Punjabi said 'curry'. What the hell? He has done not a single 'indian' thing. Or a Punjabi thing. He doesn't wear turban most definitely or it would've been mentioned. Some people don't, that's okay, but he has shown no representation whatsoever so why is his character Indian at all? So Hannah Grace can just say her books have diversity?
I don't expect her to know so much about India or our culture, ofcourse. Some things are obvious, some are not. Like 'curry' is such a common mistake, it's hardly the first time that it's been made. But it's a traditionally published book, some people have to take care of atleast some of this. You HAVE to research, and talk to actual Indians. We're so diverse, that has to be common knowledge. And if you know that much, you should take the responsibility of learning about what you're representing! No one told you to write an Indian character, you did and you failed.
Not just that, Sabrina! Who's the only other diverse character (I'm not sure if it's only these two but all the characters are just whitewashed so what do I know?) She's Algerian. ‘Born and raised in Brooklyn and her parents are from Algeria’. For the longest time, I was confused if she was Muslim or not. And it's still not confirmed in the book. But after giving attention to detail, I am thinking she is. 98% of Algeria's population is made up by Muslims and she out of nowhere, says things like 'Ya Allah', which she can only know if her parents talk like that in front of her, and she's born in Brooklyn so they would only say that to her enough times for her to pick it up, if they are Muslim. Also, I'm thinking her parents knew English and Arabic both. So they taught her Arabic when she was in Brooklyn (because Sabrina speaks in Arabic a few times in the book), and why would they do that? She has no need to communicate with anyone in Arabic. I am thinking she had to read Qur'an, that's why. So she is Muslim.
So why hasn't she represented ANYTHING Muslim! And we talk about her significantly more than JJ, because she's Anastasia's best friend and they're really close. She hasn't been mentioned to read Namaz (Salat), which a Muslim is supposed to do 5 times a day, sometimes even more than that (Tarawih in Ramadan, Nafl and Duha). She doesn't cover hair and doesn't do purdah. Infact, she guilt-lessly does what Islam says is haram (forbidden) in our culture; drinking, having sexual relations without marriage, and she pretty much is just as whitewashed as any American.
Again, it's possible she's not religious or not-participating. I'm an Indian muslim surrounded by my family who constantly inculcate those values in me. She isn't surrounded by that family or such culture, so she could be not as close to her relegion culturally. Except, before her college started, she spent 16-17 years with her Muslim parents. And since they're Algerian, and that's a Muslim country, they are more religious than me or possibly, my family. In India, there's a lot of diversity, there isn't as much in Algeria and that goes to make faith stronger only. And they, her parents, must have tried to inculcate those values in her.
Islam in not like any other relegion, take for example, Christianity. Christianity is a belief system with certain rules, like no sex before marriage, some people follow, some don't. Islam is belief AND if not more, certain practices that most of us follow. So if you're going to make someone in your book a Muslim and not represent any one of those things that make a person Muslim through her actions in your book. And you're going to continue making her some sort of rebel or, I don't know, not religious person, (It's not even mentioned! What her thoughts are about her relegion, how that affects her because Sabrina, as a Muslim living with a bunch of people who do things Islam detests, would bloody be affected!), then what's the whole point of making her Algerian and Muslim!
Just make her a white bloody character!
(She is a white character in the second version.)
For God's sake. This is extremely lazy and irresponsible. You could figure out some of this stuff within a five minute of Google search and as a writer, I expect you to do whole researches about your characters! Talk to people from these communities before saying things that you don't know about. And it's okay, I understand if you create one of these characters more heavily influenced by their surroundings, and they're more culturally white than what their ethnicity is. But if all your diverse characters are like that.. I don't think that's the 'not like all Muslims' or 'not like other Indians' representation anymore. It's just the author now who doesn't give a fuck.
And can you believe it's going to be a series? Then what!? Aren't you supposed to find out more about these people you'll write books about in future before casually saying oh, she's Muslim, and he's Indian. There are people who would seriously take offense to such irresponsible behaviour. I can't believe that everyone who read this before publishing, let it publish.
I am just mad. Not at the romance as much, I've already cleared that it's not my cup of tea, but at the marketing team. I'm mad at the author. This is problematic.
Update 3 : Hi! I finished. Dnf'd actually.
Anyone remember that phrase that was viral a while ago on social media – 'Touch some grass'. If anyone (or anything) needs to 'touch some grass', it's this book, it's characters and Hannah Grace. None of it is relatable, and if not that, it's not even fun.
Plot-wise, Anastasia and Nathan are figure skater and ice-hockey player respectively. She doesn't like him for 2 pages (enemies part) because ice hockey team is responsible for wrecking a rink and now they've to share the rink reserved for skaters.
Anastasia doesn't want to be in a relationship because she's career oriented and she values her time on better things. 2 pages later, she's riding a person. Clearly, Anastasia thinks romance and sex are not related. Fair.
So why is there 300 pages of smut in this book and that's the most Anastasia and Nathan do together and their chemistry is based on how good they do it?
“She smells so good. How the hell does she smell so fucking good all the time? Sweet and delicious and maddening.”
“Ask me nicely,” he whispers into my ear. “I’ll fuck you so good.”
“You’re going to look so good with my cock in your mouth.”
You can't get (away) enough of Nathan's dirty sex talk. And then, that's the same thing he says when later in the book, she drowns and is about to die.
She lifts her arms slowly, allowing me to rid her of underlayers. “You’re doing so good, Stas, so good. I’m so fucking proud of you, it’s going to be okay.”
I was actually taken aback that they're doing it already. She JUST almost died.
Back to plot. Yeah, so they fuck a lot and fall in love.
[Spoiler alert for this paragraph]
Hannah Grace took one, exactly one 'is my character good enough' quiz and she stopped at the question 'is your character flawed?'. She clapped her hands and said 'Yes!'. Anastasia is friends and partners in skating with this guy who hates every man around her, every person she talks to, who controls what she eats and generally makes her feel miserable all the time. Nathan has a single dad who cheated on his dying mom and his dad wants to redeem that but at the same time, his dad mistreats his sister the same way Anastasia's obsessed friend mistreats her.
(There are a lot of plotlines but nothing actually adds up because 300 pages is just sex and parties. )
Nathan hates his dad, that's why he has left him to live in a different state, with his friends. By the way, his dad pays for his house and food. Nathan also wants to leave the country next year, he's already selected in a program of sorts (I can't be bothered to check the details).
He loves his sister, by the way. She is sixteen and she's still living with their control freak dad but he doesn't give a damn. He's adorable, truly.
When he finds out Anastasia's flaw because she doesn't want to eat too much, he checks her eating plan and *gasps*. He exposes her friend. He wants Anastasia to move in with him and his male friends (because she lives with that dude), and he and his male friends get really upset when she wants to talk to his friend about the truth and whole shenanigans he's been doing. The friend makes things easier for our 'good guys' by arriving at their party and saying nasty shit and slut shaming Anastasia, totally randomly. So the guys beat him and she avoids talking to her toxic friend some more and stays with the good guys who saved the girl.
The only redeeming thing about the book was that. Promoting healthy eating habits and addressing it. I wished we could talk more about it. But...
Onto the ship. For all the vacation time Grace gave these two, parties and meeting his sister and spending holidays together. The energy their chemistry gave was this :
(context: It's her Christmas present)
My eyes widen immediately as I stare down at the iPad box. He’s nervously nibbling on the corner of his thumb, his knee bobbing, staring at me expectantly. I don’t know what to say, so I stare at it.“Are you mad?”Shaking my head quickly, my voice breaks as I speak. “No.”“Do you like it? It’s so you always have it for therapy and there’s this cool app I’m going to download for you. It’s a digital planner and you can do school notes an—”“Nate, I love it. I’m just shocked at how generous you are. I don’t know what to say, thank you so much.”
He got her an ipod.
How original.
I remind you again his rich-ass daddy pays his bills. This reminds me of Hardin buying Tessa a kindle. That would have brought tears to Anastasia's eyes.
But everything aside, Hannah Grace's writing was the show stealer, it was so bad. I took a 2 year break from writing when I was 14. As a 16 year old, when I came back to my then drafts, Hannah Grace's writing is giving me that same cringe.
“Anastasia, it isn’t safe. Carefully move away from there.”But I don’t think she hears me, because the phone goes dead and, in the distance, I hear a bloodcurdling scream.
Bloodcurdling? Bloodcurdling scream, Grace?
Swapping to the heel of his palm, his other hand tightens in my hair. “One day, I’m going to fuck your pretty little mouth, and you’re not going to be able to be such a bossy, impatient little brat.”
Uhhh.. yeah. That reminds me I'm also mad at the marketing of this book. Why is the cover so innocent? Why is the blurb? I don't force myself to read books that I know I wouldn't like and respecting that, I wouldn't have read Icebreaker because smuts don't turn me on. They're not my type of romance. And the marketing team just chose to oversee it. This book would've gotten to it's right audience, someone who would appreciate the fingering of clit and sucking of nipples a lot more than me. Why the fuck did I had to read it? Did Atria Books publish it? Because they Market Colleen Hoover's books and everyone knows she writes cute romance books for young adults.
I have already talked about the shitty, 'bloodcurdling' representation of Muslims and Indians and would advice my senty Indian or Muslim fellas to avoid this atrocity. And advice Grace to take some writing classes. She could use some years writing on Wattpad or Twitter to improve. She should use Google more without incognito. Sometimes intresting facts come up from there, you know.
I gave it No stars. No Heart.
Future me interrupting. I have read what my final thoughts were above, and hadn't realised until now, that I was this mad back then. The review was burning and unrelenting. Honestly, if I received this critique, I would have cried and would have become a mess, and loose my confidence for a long time. I realise how cut-throat I was.
I researched after finishing the book and dug out all that happened after the release of this book. I read others' rant, and I felt happy to realise that there were more people like me who didn't like the book and were just as mad. The hottest topic of controversy was the Muslim representation. The community blew up (as I had expected, and I don't blame them for being hurt or expressing their rage, because I have read the book and Hannah Grace comes off as really ignorant upon the read). But Hannah Grace made an apology and not only that, she went out of her away, as I know not many authors would, to correct her mistake and re-published the book with a different character Lola to replace the Muslim character, Sabrina. The other edition came out in November, just 2 months, but I had already gotten the previous version and that's what I read.
She did that, and left a heart-warming message, deleting her social media, expressing about what the blow up did to her mental health and her doubts of ever continuing the series or publishing anything further at all.
I feel sorry for her. What can I say? The reaction from audience was as brutal as the mistake was. But at the end of the day she apologized, and she seems genuinely sorry and shocked. I hope she recovers well from this.
The only reason my review is still here, is because despite the respect Hannah Grace gained from me by doing what she did after recieving the rash reviews, I still read it without knowing any drama beforehand and I did hate it. Hannah WILL receive more of such reviews later, some would like her books, some wouldn't and I can't ignore the rage I felt reading the first edition of the book (I don't know how better the second edition is, because not many people are still addressing the marketing team), and the ignorant crap I thought it was, even without the disastrous representation. I felt what I felt, and I will talk about it here. But I think I won't mention the book at all ever in future, because I respect the author's honesty and I care about her mental health. It was just a debut book. It's okay if it wasn't perfect, or not for me. She has years ahead of her.
Does it deserve the hype?
No.
So that was it, people! I hadn't thought this post would actually turn out to be 'tea', as it did at the end, but it still was an amazing experience. I read a lot of variety through this - memoir, Japanese short story collection, YA mystery romance series, Contemporary fiction and a typical light romance. I caught up to a lot recent favourites of my friends and you guys! And I got a new all time favourite of mine (Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow)!
Since you guys followed my mental journey throughout this blog, I would do a quick update and tell you that I am definitely feeling a lot better now.. in December. But it's not consistent, so I can drop back whenever.. I'm just ready for it. I'm talking to people again, and I have started studying for college. That's fun. And I downloaded the messenger app back, so seems like progress to me.
Thank you for reading today's post! I'm glad if you continued till here. Let me know what you would like to see in future, in the comments. I'm blogging something else for you at this particular time. I read a random Pinterest motivation thing yesterday which said ‘Most successful people aren't smarter, they're more consistent and disciplined than you’. It stuck with me, and I think that can really help me in life.
I will see you soon in the next one! xoxo
Edit : By the way! You can follow my blog by going to the 'web version' which you will find at the bottom of the page. You'll see the option, consider clicking. I hadn't put it up until a few months ago.
((Note : The photos don't belong to me. Credits go to respective Bookstagram accounts. I follow all of these incredible people and me using their pics doesn't mean that we are of the same opinion.))
No comments:
Post a Comment