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axelle's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
annehalliwell's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Disclaimer: got this book for free from a StoryGraph random draw. It’s pretty well-written. Voicey in a way I enjoy. I’m not sure we’re far enough removed from the early pandemic to the ongoing pandemic to be trying to make stories about isolation that are anything but tired. But there are some very interesting ideas in here that are mostly well-told.
nclcaitlin's review
3.25
I have to preface this to say I will devour anything Olivie Blake writes as it’s beautiful, riveting, and extremely humane and relatable.
Sadly, I borrowed this book from BorrowBox and returned it before realising I didn’t note down the story names. And now I can’t find them anywhere. So you’ll just have to bear with my bad descriptions.
Story one: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Imagine Ben Elton’s Dead Famous, but it’s a cooking show in the pandemic and there seem to be witchy gaslighting going on.
In the end, there's little difference between a cinematic apocalypse and a simple matter of preventative social isolation.
Story two: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was like Netflix’s The Good Place.
Elaine has a business card. It reads Elaine Estrada, Devil's Advocate. People find it exceedingly amusing when she puts it in for free lunch raflles at nearby delis and cafes, though the supplicants who come to her office clutching it in hand feel differently. Mr. Down was correct that they are typically very upset, and there is a fair amount of teeth gnashing. Ultimately, though, the job is very simple.
”Just natural curiosity.
It's what we do, you know, as humans? Occasionally we inconvenience ourselves by thinking about why we exist."
Story three:
This low-key reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I know it seems a bit problematic for me to say things like I'm only dating Will for access to the demon who lives in his body, but is it really all that different from the men who've only been with me for sex?
Story four: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was really sweet. Think of it as a more sweet, relatable, technology-possible Sally Rooney book.
Like, the only reason to exist is other people, right? Anything else is just capitalism or trying not to get eaten by bears. But it's a gamble, because for every person who brings something to your life there's probably someone else who takes something from it. And like, how do you make sure it's not a shitty gamble. That's the whole thing.
Story five: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“There's a slim but unignorable possibility that you may be courted by a spirit representing Death.”
Sadly, I borrowed this book from BorrowBox and returned it before realising I didn’t note down the story names. And now I can’t find them anywhere. So you’ll just have to bear with my bad descriptions.
Story one: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Imagine Ben Elton’s Dead Famous, but it’s a cooking show in the pandemic and there seem to be witchy gaslighting going on.
In the end, there's little difference between a cinematic apocalypse and a simple matter of preventative social isolation.
Story two: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was like Netflix’s The Good Place.
Elaine has a business card. It reads Elaine Estrada, Devil's Advocate. People find it exceedingly amusing when she puts it in for free lunch raflles at nearby delis and cafes, though the supplicants who come to her office clutching it in hand feel differently. Mr. Down was correct that they are typically very upset, and there is a fair amount of teeth gnashing. Ultimately, though, the job is very simple.
”Just natural curiosity.
It's what we do, you know, as humans? Occasionally we inconvenience ourselves by thinking about why we exist."
Story three:
This low-key reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I know it seems a bit problematic for me to say things like I'm only dating Will for access to the demon who lives in his body, but is it really all that different from the men who've only been with me for sex?
Story four: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was really sweet. Think of it as a more sweet, relatable, technology-possible Sally Rooney book.
Like, the only reason to exist is other people, right? Anything else is just capitalism or trying not to get eaten by bears. But it's a gamble, because for every person who brings something to your life there's probably someone else who takes something from it. And like, how do you make sure it's not a shitty gamble. That's the whole thing.
Story five: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“There's a slim but unignorable possibility that you may be courted by a spirit representing Death.”
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