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chloe_liese's reviews
232 reviews
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
5.0
Creepy, human, and wonderfully written. Great character development. Totally had me drawn in, and had a great ending.
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
5.0
This was incredibly well constructed, with great characters and plenty of unexpected twists and turns. Loved it,andI'm not a huge dystopian novel fan.
The Silent Waters by Brittainy C. Cherry
5.0
Maggie and Brooks are that couple that seems too good to be true at first, but Brittainy intertwined their connection, friendship, and desire for each other into a beautifully mature relationship. I loved Brooks' genuine patience and protectiveness, and Maggie's real struggle to figure out how she can live her life fully, even as she negotiates such a logistical challenge to independence. I'm a Brittainy Cherry fan to begin with, but this one really hit me in the feels. I cried, I smiled, I felt lottts. Well done, Ms. Cherry.
Chemistry by Weike Wang
5.0
"A hallmark of science is setting out to discover one thing and then discovering something else."
Wang herself started out on her educative journey as a chemistry major and discovered herself a storyteller and apologist for the profound intersection of science and human experience along the way. Her stream of consciousness prose, though devoid of common conventions like quotes to indicate dialogue, and names for any character besides her principle complicated love interest, was spare and accessible. I loved feeling like I was in her mind's inner sanctum, where thoughts and connections between Shroedinger's cat, Heisenberg's principle, and light refraction interplayed with fundamental human realities--the parent-child dynamic, the echoes of childhood in early adult life, the crises of new parenthood and infidelity, the crossroads of loving someone and letting them walk away, knowing it's because you need to get your house in order before you can pack it up and relocate. A fresh, poignant, and welcome read.
Wang herself started out on her educative journey as a chemistry major and discovered herself a storyteller and apologist for the profound intersection of science and human experience along the way. Her stream of consciousness prose, though devoid of common conventions like quotes to indicate dialogue, and names for any character besides her principle complicated love interest, was spare and accessible. I loved feeling like I was in her mind's inner sanctum, where thoughts and connections between Shroedinger's cat, Heisenberg's principle, and light refraction interplayed with fundamental human realities--the parent-child dynamic, the echoes of childhood in early adult life, the crises of new parenthood and infidelity, the crossroads of loving someone and letting them walk away, knowing it's because you need to get your house in order before you can pack it up and relocate. A fresh, poignant, and welcome read.
Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber
5.0
"[O]ur sexual and gender expressions are as integral to who we are as our religious upbringings are. To separate these aspects of ourselves—to separate life as a sexual being from a life with God—is to bifurcate our psyche, like a musical progression that never comes to resolution. [...] Everything that happens to us happens to our bodies. Every act of love, every insult, every moment of pleasure, every interaction with other humans. Every hateful thing we have said or which has been said to us has happened to our bodies. Every kindness, every sorrow. Every ounce of laughter. We carry all of it with us within our skin. We are walking embodiments of our entire story."
That's it right there folks. Nadia Bolz-Weber, with her classic acerbic wit and intelligence, brings her exegetical A-game, a profound open-hearted look at sexuality that reintegrates body and soul, born out of decades ministering to and connecting with human beings who identify outside the normative fold. It's a beautiful and insightful exploration of how the church has vilified sex and sexuality, how biblical interpretation gets broadcasted as biblical truth, and she also makes a beautiful distinction between holiness (wholeness, unity) and purity (separative self-righteousness). Plenty of people will find her too progressive, but that's to be expected. Guess who else was a pretty polarizing, incendiary interpreter and speaker of the Word? The guy who inspires her livelihood and ministry of love--Jesus.
That's it right there folks. Nadia Bolz-Weber, with her classic acerbic wit and intelligence, brings her exegetical A-game, a profound open-hearted look at sexuality that reintegrates body and soul, born out of decades ministering to and connecting with human beings who identify outside the normative fold. It's a beautiful and insightful exploration of how the church has vilified sex and sexuality, how biblical interpretation gets broadcasted as biblical truth, and she also makes a beautiful distinction between holiness (wholeness, unity) and purity (separative self-righteousness). Plenty of people will find her too progressive, but that's to be expected. Guess who else was a pretty polarizing, incendiary interpreter and speaker of the Word? The guy who inspires her livelihood and ministry of love--Jesus.
The Hero and the Hacktivist by Pippa Grant
5.0
I love a book that makes me laugh out loud and scissor my legs at the same time (and it’s not so I don’t pee myself if ya know what I mean...). Hot, hilarious, and fast-paced. The main love interests were as endearing as they were odd. The world of erotic romance needs more genuinely weird, funny, sexy characters like these.