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doesemilyread's reviews
163 reviews
Only About Love by Debbi Voisey
4.0
In snapshots through time, Only About Love takes a sweeping loop around Frank’s life as he navigates courtship, marriage, fatherhood, and illness. Told through the perspective of Frank and his family, this story is one of intense honesty and emotion.
I adored this novel. At only 140 (small) pages it was the perfect thing to get me out of my reading slump. My favourite books are often character based, and this book was absolutely that. Following Frank from his young years to his final moments was such a heart-breaking journey.
I appreciated the fact that we were told one story through multiple perspectives. Frank’s wife and children had voices and I loved their insights into life and feelings. Finding a book that handles such intense topics so well, and in such a short span of pages is difficult, but this book did that and even more. I read about 60% in a coffee shop, and I may have welled up a few times (I totally would have cried if I was at home).
Overall, such a lovely little novel that is jam packed with emotion and feeling. It was especially poignant on and around Father’s Day. Please mark your calendars for the 5th of August and buy this special book!
Thankyou Fairlight for my gifted copy of this book.
I adored this novel. At only 140 (small) pages it was the perfect thing to get me out of my reading slump. My favourite books are often character based, and this book was absolutely that. Following Frank from his young years to his final moments was such a heart-breaking journey.
I appreciated the fact that we were told one story through multiple perspectives. Frank’s wife and children had voices and I loved their insights into life and feelings. Finding a book that handles such intense topics so well, and in such a short span of pages is difficult, but this book did that and even more. I read about 60% in a coffee shop, and I may have welled up a few times (I totally would have cried if I was at home).
Overall, such a lovely little novel that is jam packed with emotion and feeling. It was especially poignant on and around Father’s Day. Please mark your calendars for the 5th of August and buy this special book!
Thankyou Fairlight for my gifted copy of this book.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
1.0
A waste of thirty minutes. what a pointless book. at least I read it using kindle unlimited so I didn't spend actual money on it.
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
3.0
I really enjoyed this book until about the last 150 pages. I really wanted to continue to love it, but it became hard for me to keep reading at times.
It goes from being a novel that is focused on a group of musicians, their lives and relationships and how they navigate coming together as a band in the late 60’s, to a story that feels like plot twist after plot twist that are only there to shock the reader. Don’t get me wrong, there are some important topics and themes that are explored in this book, but I think there was too many, and they weren’t able to be given the space and time they deserved to really dive into them properly and do them justice. I disliked the ending, it felt extremely rushed and only used for a reaction/big emotive ending.
A great positive is that although the plot was lacking for me, I thought Mitchell’s writing style was easy to read and full of description and remarkably detailed characters.
My favourite characters were Dean, Jasper and Elf. They felt like more of the ‘main’ characters, even though we do follow the lives of the entire band. I found the look into growing fame really fascinating and the setting of the late 60’s isn’t a period that I read a lot from, but I do want to change that.
Overall an okay book, with a final third that just didn’t do it for me unfortunately. I still want to read David Mitchell’s previous books. From what I’ve heard they’re a lot better. Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks are on my TBR.
It goes from being a novel that is focused on a group of musicians, their lives and relationships and how they navigate coming together as a band in the late 60’s, to a story that feels like plot twist after plot twist that are only there to shock the reader. Don’t get me wrong, there are some important topics and themes that are explored in this book, but I think there was too many, and they weren’t able to be given the space and time they deserved to really dive into them properly and do them justice. I disliked the ending, it felt extremely rushed and only used for a reaction/big emotive ending.
A great positive is that although the plot was lacking for me, I thought Mitchell’s writing style was easy to read and full of description and remarkably detailed characters.
My favourite characters were Dean, Jasper and Elf. They felt like more of the ‘main’ characters, even though we do follow the lives of the entire band. I found the look into growing fame really fascinating and the setting of the late 60’s isn’t a period that I read a lot from, but I do want to change that.
Overall an okay book, with a final third that just didn’t do it for me unfortunately. I still want to read David Mitchell’s previous books. From what I’ve heard they’re a lot better. Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks are on my TBR.
Hollywood by Charles Bukowski
4.0
pleasantly surprised by this one. really enjoyed Bukowski's writing style and found some parts super funny. can't wait to explore more of his works.
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
2.0
I just didn’t like this. It was split into two parts, and they both felt like entirely different books.
In part one, we meet our main characters where they’re living in Scotland in the 80’s. I didn’t enjoy this part, and didn’t engage with it or connect to any of the characters. There wasn’t enough detail and fleshing out to make me feel anything for these young men. I rather disliked them all and didn’t understand their thoughts and ideas. By the end of part one I was sick of their repetitive conversations about Margaret Thatcher (we get it, you hate her).
Part two was more pleasant to read, but I still didn’t like it. We meet the same characters again, 30 years later, but it was all so hurried. There’s not enough development of plot or characters to pull off such a serious topic. The question of morality explored in this book were interesting but I wasn’t emotionally invested at all. I was eager for the end and even then it wasn’t what I would call a satisfying conclusion.
Overall, this book completely missed the mark for me. I am very glad (but also disappointed) that I used my £10 Waterstones credit for it and therefore didn’t pay full price.
In part one, we meet our main characters where they’re living in Scotland in the 80’s. I didn’t enjoy this part, and didn’t engage with it or connect to any of the characters. There wasn’t enough detail and fleshing out to make me feel anything for these young men. I rather disliked them all and didn’t understand their thoughts and ideas. By the end of part one I was sick of their repetitive conversations about Margaret Thatcher (we get it, you hate her).
Part two was more pleasant to read, but I still didn’t like it. We meet the same characters again, 30 years later, but it was all so hurried. There’s not enough development of plot or characters to pull off such a serious topic. The question of morality explored in this book were interesting but I wasn’t emotionally invested at all. I was eager for the end and even then it wasn’t what I would call a satisfying conclusion.
Overall, this book completely missed the mark for me. I am very glad (but also disappointed) that I used my £10 Waterstones credit for it and therefore didn’t pay full price.