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A review by willowbiblio
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
emotional
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
"You don't recover. Not all the way. But you do move on. You have to."
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This is an unexpectedly complicated reviewing experience for me. I *LOVED* reading this with the Reading is Subjective Book Club, but I felt pretty neutral about the book itself. It started really strong with Marcellus' emotionally complex character, but sort of lumbered to the final pages. Based on the synopsis, I expected a lot more page time for Marcellus, and honestly would have preferred that.
The reveal happened way too soon for it to be momentous to me when Tovahanded Cameron the ring. I also felt like Van Pelt made Marcellus redundant to the plot because Ethan knew the connection already, as did other characters. It felt like the whole octopus friendship thing was a marketing gimmick.
I took a star off for Van Pelt's non-ironic use of the term "perky boobs". I cannot stand that phrase and the underlying nonsense. Cameron's character was deeply unlikeable for 99% of the book, and the 1% of his redemption at the end was rushed with no foundation laid. It felt inauthentic. The dialogue in general also felt really clunky to me.
I liked how Van Pelt wrote about Tova's grief, but I felt like her character was almost unrealistic in her stubbornness. Her shift to openness also felt really sudden/rushed. I think I was just expecting a very different book and so I was thrown off by this. Some of the tone (mostly Cameron) also felt a bit juvenile.
Love the club, felt meh about the book. April is much more promising!!
-----------------------
This is an unexpectedly complicated reviewing experience for me. I *LOVED* reading this with the Reading is Subjective Book Club, but I felt pretty neutral about the book itself. It started really strong with Marcellus' emotionally complex character, but sort of lumbered to the final pages. Based on the synopsis, I expected a lot more page time for Marcellus, and honestly would have preferred that.
The reveal happened way too soon for it to be momentous to me when Tova
I took a star off for Van Pelt's non-ironic use of the term "perky boobs". I cannot stand that phrase and the underlying nonsense. Cameron's character was deeply unlikeable for 99% of the book, and the 1% of his redemption at the end was rushed with no foundation laid. It felt inauthentic. The dialogue in general also felt really clunky to me.
I liked how Van Pelt wrote about Tova's grief, but I felt like her character was almost unrealistic in her stubbornness. Her shift to openness also felt really sudden/rushed. I think I was just expecting a very different book and so I was thrown off by this. Some of the tone (mostly Cameron) also felt a bit juvenile.
Love the club, felt meh about the book. April is much more promising!!