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chloe_liese's reviews
232 reviews
The Tough Love Series Box Set by Chloe Liese
Nairne and Zed's story is now all in one place! It's how I always pictured it, and I love that readers can devour their wild rollercoaster of a romance from one kindle purchase that's a bargain price of $3.99.
Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary
5.0
“I was taught how to ‘act normal.’ I learned to hold the door for people. I learned to tell the truth, but to understand when it was okay to lie for politeness. I learned to use my manners, not to swear, to respect personal space, and to stop talking when it was time for somebody else to have a turn.
And then I got to school. And I discovered that no one else had learned these things.”
I've never read a memoir/nonfiction that so deeply resonated with what it's like to be an autistic young adult. To learn so well how to hide your weirdness and confusion, only to become mired in the rigid, unadaptable framework of "normal" that no autistic can authentically or safely occupy. Your blessing of being able to hide becomes your isolating curse. As a young person, I was the one always trying to help, to smile, to get it right, to be a good friend, to be dependable and honest; but no one truly operates that way, and it ultimately led to deep disillusionment, distrust, and pain. This is the story of many adult autistics (often females seeing as they're not given diagnosis as girls because they're taught so well to present as "good girls" who exhibit "normal" behavior) who only reach diagnosis after experiencing burn-out.
While I was not diagnosed until adulthood, this book gave me the gift of looking back on childhood and young adulthood with humor, healing, and lots of bittersweet recollection. This book also gave me something many/most autistics love: closure, finality, a sense of order made and the curtain closed.
While I found the first two thirds most relatable (the last third being heavily focused on his journey toward his comedian work), I truly appreciated his ongoing challenges of being a very literal-minded, altruistic person in a world that doesn't operate literally and often abuses such rose-colored generosity many autistics have for others. I've been used and hurt much how Michael was as a young person. Like him, I went through my angry phase where I was hellbent on righting the wrongs done to me. And now, like Michael, I have learned that forgiveness and moving on is what truly heals both the abuser and the abused. I have accepted that I will not "prove" autism to anyone, and it is not my responsibility to convince them. I won't let anyone define autism for me, either, and if my voice can even in a small way shift the collective attitude towards positivity and openness toward autism, then what I went through will have been worth it.
The world needs more books like this, that illuminate the true spectrum nature of autism. I think a wonderful and important inclusion in his story is his nonverbal autistic brother, Matty. Matty teaches Michael lessons that all of us--neurotypical and not--continue to need to learn: we grow and deepen our wisdom and empathy when we see each other as equally valuable, worthy, lovable humans; when we turn toward each other and genuinely try to share space and commonality and understanding. When we make that effort, we realize something--understanding and embracing each other even through deep difference is not nearly as complex as we think it's going to be. In fact, it proves to be the greatest of gifts.
And then I got to school. And I discovered that no one else had learned these things.”
I've never read a memoir/nonfiction that so deeply resonated with what it's like to be an autistic young adult. To learn so well how to hide your weirdness and confusion, only to become mired in the rigid, unadaptable framework of "normal" that no autistic can authentically or safely occupy. Your blessing of being able to hide becomes your isolating curse. As a young person, I was the one always trying to help, to smile, to get it right, to be a good friend, to be dependable and honest; but no one truly operates that way, and it ultimately led to deep disillusionment, distrust, and pain. This is the story of many adult autistics (often females seeing as they're not given diagnosis as girls because they're taught so well to present as "good girls" who exhibit "normal" behavior) who only reach diagnosis after experiencing burn-out.
While I was not diagnosed until adulthood, this book gave me the gift of looking back on childhood and young adulthood with humor, healing, and lots of bittersweet recollection. This book also gave me something many/most autistics love: closure, finality, a sense of order made and the curtain closed.
While I found the first two thirds most relatable (the last third being heavily focused on his journey toward his comedian work), I truly appreciated his ongoing challenges of being a very literal-minded, altruistic person in a world that doesn't operate literally and often abuses such rose-colored generosity many autistics have for others. I've been used and hurt much how Michael was as a young person. Like him, I went through my angry phase where I was hellbent on righting the wrongs done to me. And now, like Michael, I have learned that forgiveness and moving on is what truly heals both the abuser and the abused. I have accepted that I will not "prove" autism to anyone, and it is not my responsibility to convince them. I won't let anyone define autism for me, either, and if my voice can even in a small way shift the collective attitude towards positivity and openness toward autism, then what I went through will have been worth it.
The world needs more books like this, that illuminate the true spectrum nature of autism. I think a wonderful and important inclusion in his story is his nonverbal autistic brother, Matty. Matty teaches Michael lessons that all of us--neurotypical and not--continue to need to learn: we grow and deepen our wisdom and empathy when we see each other as equally valuable, worthy, lovable humans; when we turn toward each other and genuinely try to share space and commonality and understanding. When we make that effort, we realize something--understanding and embracing each other even through deep difference is not nearly as complex as we think it's going to be. In fact, it proves to be the greatest of gifts.
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
5.0
“It feels impossible how much space there can be in this intimacy, how much privacy. And I think that maybe that is what love is. Not the absence of space but the acknowledgment of it, the thing that lives between the parts, the thing that makes it possible not to be one, but to be different, to be two.”
Well damn. This book hit me in the feels with its bittersweet themes of love and loss, its tone of melancholy sadness. I was sometimes underwhelmed by the driving conflict and force behind the narrative, hungering for a moment or two of higher energy and higher stakes. I read this expecting a kind of edgy women's fiction love story, and it really wasn't. It was a story about personal growth and friendship.
At times, it felt as if this book was tugged between two directions: to explore a previously done "what-if"/alternate life question of love and destiny, and to dive into the depths of female friendship love. Sometimes this book seemed like it was having an identity crisis of sorts and lost some of its punch in that wavering, but what redeemed it for me and elevated it to a 5-star read came down to two things:
- The prose. Serle got an MFA from a no-slouch school and it shows. Reading her writing is staring at fine art, it's the perfect sunset, sinking into that delicious, just right temperature bath. Her writing is practically perfect to me. She writes economically, poignantly, and with a sharp bare-bones style that I adore. It felt "literary" not in a detached sense, but in an intimate, confessional, frank voice.
- The ending. It wasn't what I expected and that was a relief. The sadness in the penultimate scene was swept away by a quiet twist of hope. I closed the book on a happy sigh, and was reminded of the power in an exceptional ending.
Well damn. This book hit me in the feels with its bittersweet themes of love and loss, its tone of melancholy sadness. I was sometimes underwhelmed by the driving conflict and force behind the narrative, hungering for a moment or two of higher energy and higher stakes. I read this expecting a kind of edgy women's fiction love story, and it really wasn't. It was a story about personal growth and friendship.
At times, it felt as if this book was tugged between two directions: to explore a previously done "what-if"/alternate life question of love and destiny, and to dive into the depths of female friendship love. Sometimes this book seemed like it was having an identity crisis of sorts and lost some of its punch in that wavering, but what redeemed it for me and elevated it to a 5-star read came down to two things:
- The prose. Serle got an MFA from a no-slouch school and it shows. Reading her writing is staring at fine art, it's the perfect sunset, sinking into that delicious, just right temperature bath. Her writing is practically perfect to me. She writes economically, poignantly, and with a sharp bare-bones style that I adore. It felt "literary" not in a detached sense, but in an intimate, confessional, frank voice.
- The ending. It wasn't what I expected and that was a relief. The sadness in the penultimate scene was swept away by a quiet twist of hope. I closed the book on a happy sigh, and was reminded of the power in an exceptional ending.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
5.0
4.5 stars rounded up. I didn’t find the pace too slow like many seem to feel for the first third of the book—and in some ways I enjoyed the raw, brutal depiction of bare survival most in this book’s beginning. This was easy to read, engrossing, and I was deeply invested in Feyre’s journey.
I love world building that isn’t too heavy on description—this felt like just enough. Yet while plenty felt original about this fantasy world, I definitely recognized some old fairytale dynamics that simultaneously felt nostalgic and a little bit like a copout. If you’re giving me a truly original story world, let’s move beyond Brothers Grimm allusions. Definitely my favorite part is all of the wit and trickery that unfolds at the end, and I’m absolutely intrigued to know what happens next!
I love world building that isn’t too heavy on description—this felt like just enough. Yet while plenty felt original about this fantasy world, I definitely recognized some old fairytale dynamics that simultaneously felt nostalgic and a little bit like a copout. If you’re giving me a truly original story world, let’s move beyond Brothers Grimm allusions. Definitely my favorite part is all of the wit and trickery that unfolds at the end, and I’m absolutely intrigued to know what happens next!
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
5.0
"Rage is great at helping us destroy things. That's why people are so afraid of it. But part of what I've been trying to say is that rage can help us build things, too. The clarity that comes from rage should also tell us what kind of world we want to see, not just what kind of things we want to get rid of. I'm not interested in a feminist project that only works to tear down things. Black women know that justice is rarely found in the rubble. If your rage can do anything for you, I hope it can do for you what it has done for me—help us to build the world we want to see."
I cannot recommend this book enough! Many white women, myself included, have inadequate connection with Black women and do not have a clue what they go through. Black women shouldn't have to educate us about what life in America is like for them, but Professor Cooper has put in the work, so this is exactly what white women should be reading! Even after this book we're never going to "get it" or live it. Ever. But this is an education here, white friends, the best we can do in trying to access Black female experience cognitively and emotionally. Embrace it.
Professor Cooper talks about everything from feminism to patriarchy to politics to love to sex-positivity. Nothing is off the table from evangelicalism to misogynoir to Beyonce to generational black family experience. She is bitingly honest and searingly bright. Her writing flows, peppered with frank, relevant language, well-placed cuss words, and so much incredible knowledge and wisdom and insight into a Black woman's experience. Please, white women, if you're trying to be a better ally, to hear some tough (TOUGH) truths that we fragile white ladies need to hear, pick up this book (or better yet, buy the audio and *listen* to Professor Cooper), and open your heart to a transformative experience.
I cannot recommend this book enough! Many white women, myself included, have inadequate connection with Black women and do not have a clue what they go through. Black women shouldn't have to educate us about what life in America is like for them, but Professor Cooper has put in the work, so this is exactly what white women should be reading! Even after this book we're never going to "get it" or live it. Ever. But this is an education here, white friends, the best we can do in trying to access Black female experience cognitively and emotionally. Embrace it.
Professor Cooper talks about everything from feminism to patriarchy to politics to love to sex-positivity. Nothing is off the table from evangelicalism to misogynoir to Beyonce to generational black family experience. She is bitingly honest and searingly bright. Her writing flows, peppered with frank, relevant language, well-placed cuss words, and so much incredible knowledge and wisdom and insight into a Black woman's experience. Please, white women, if you're trying to be a better ally, to hear some tough (TOUGH) truths that we fragile white ladies need to hear, pick up this book (or better yet, buy the audio and *listen* to Professor Cooper), and open your heart to a transformative experience.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
5.0
The last quarter of this book was perfect: fast-paced, action-packed, twisty, and hot. The 500 pages leading up to it flagged a bit for me here and there, but the last 25% redeemed the slower pace and sometimes lull I felt with all the world-building. I really love the countless feminist quotes and concepts, and can’t get enough of the truly egalitarian relationship that Rhys and Feyre develop.
What's Left of Me by Kristen Granata
5.0
This book is a romance that delves into so much more than two people falling in love—it’s a story about two people who have to learn how to better love themselves, heal from their pasts, and open their hearts to new beginnings.
From a writing perspective, what Kristen is able to accomplish in roughly 300 pages is nothing short of incredible. To cover such a grand arc of the end of one relationship blossoming into the beginning of a new and better one, is a daunting challenge but Kristen rose to it. Callie and Cole are fallible and imperfect, but their desire to be healthier, to grow and evolve makes this a love story not born out of fairytales and carefree living, but the real work of survival, the tenacity it takes to leave your life and start over, and the joy of finding true, safe, loving partnership.
Perfect for readers of Colleen Hoover, Kandi Steiner, and Emma Scott, WHAT’S LEFT OF ME will take your heart through the wringer of so many emotions, real-life struggles, deep friendship, and healing love. Grab your tissues, buddy read this with your friend who’s ready to ride the feelings rollercoaster with you, and seriously prepare to fall in love.
From a writing perspective, what Kristen is able to accomplish in roughly 300 pages is nothing short of incredible. To cover such a grand arc of the end of one relationship blossoming into the beginning of a new and better one, is a daunting challenge but Kristen rose to it. Callie and Cole are fallible and imperfect, but their desire to be healthier, to grow and evolve makes this a love story not born out of fairytales and carefree living, but the real work of survival, the tenacity it takes to leave your life and start over, and the joy of finding true, safe, loving partnership.
Perfect for readers of Colleen Hoover, Kandi Steiner, and Emma Scott, WHAT’S LEFT OF ME will take your heart through the wringer of so many emotions, real-life struggles, deep friendship, and healing love. Grab your tissues, buddy read this with your friend who’s ready to ride the feelings rollercoaster with you, and seriously prepare to fall in love.
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
5.0
“But I am not impressed with America’s progress. I am not impressed that slavery was abolished or that Jim Crow ended. I feel no need to pat America on its back for these “achievements.” This is how it always should have been. Many call it progress, but I do not consider it praiseworthy that only within the last generation did America reach the baseline for human decency. As comedian Chris Rock says, I suppose these things were progress for white people, but damn. I hope there is progress I can sincerely applaud on the horizon. Because the extrajudicial killing of Black people is still too familiar. Because the racist rhetoric that Black people are lazier, more criminal, more undeserving than white people is still too familiar. Because the locking up of a disproportionate number of Black bodies is still too familiar. Because the beating of Black people in the streets is still too familiar. History is collapsing on itself once again.”
Mandatory reading, especially for white Christians and well-meaning liberals [raises hand]. There is so much more work to be done, and Ms. Channing has eloquently laid it out for us.
Highly recommend the audio (read by the author). It’s important to normalize ourselves to being told hard truths by Black voices not just on paper but truly *hearing* them.
Mandatory reading, especially for white Christians and well-meaning liberals [raises hand]. There is so much more work to be done, and Ms. Channing has eloquently laid it out for us.
Highly recommend the audio (read by the author). It’s important to normalize ourselves to being told hard truths by Black voices not just on paper but truly *hearing* them.