eduardoandgo's reviews
398 reviews

A Lonely Broadcast: Book One by Kel Byron

All around, I was not a huge fan of this book. There are three main characters, whose perspectives we switch between throughout the novel. They felt very similiar, all three of them HAVE the crack a joke any time things get a little serious or emotional. One of those characters is fine but all of them is too much; we never get a serious exchange and I was over it by the halfway mark. There is no character growth for anyone either, they are quite static. I think the concept was interesting and even the execution was good at times but overall it fell flat for me. 

A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper

Really cool concept! I did not like the writing style, there's was just something about it that would not let me latch onto the story. Liked some of the characters. I think I would read another Hailey Piper novel, see if it was just this one that didn't work for me.

Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

This is definitely my favorite of the series. Fantastic story, loved Tenar, loved Therru, I even loved Ged in this one. Feel very strongly about this installment. 

Clay's Ark by Octavia E. Butler

This was the final novel I needed to read in the Patternist series. I had a good time. There isn't anything that is jumping out at me that I didn't like. I liked the formatting alternating between Past and Present and each present chapter alternating between which character it was focusing on, I liked the characters, I liked the writing style. Overall good time and interesting.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

I think this is now my favorite Emily Henry book. I just love the way she allows relationships other than the romantic to take the center stage. Yes, they stand firmly in the romance but it's about love; specifically platonic love in this latest novel. This one hits a bit harder for me, in several aspects, and I think I'm better off having read it. It made me want to be a better friend, be more active in my friendships. There was just so much I could see of myself in most of these characters that it really felt like the exact book I needed to read at this exact moment of my life. Anyways, the writing is good, the characters are well rounded, the plot was great, the problems created within the friend groups were interesting to watch them go through and solve (or in some cases just go with the flow). Oh wait! I was turned off by how much of the protagonists love interest couldn't see anything the protagonist did as bad or that his love was incredibly unconditional. I don't even think that's me being a hater I was just really annoyed by him and how 'perfect' he was in this regard. Also, (same thing in Book Lover) do not like at all when I'm tearing up from an emotional scene and then boom a sex (or in most cases almost sex) scenes immediately after. It just pisses me off and makes me skim that scene. And I am not a prude (I used to binge fanfic smut) I just don't like that combo. 

Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra

Enjoyed this introspective on growing up during the Chilean dictatorship under Pinochet, the constant reflection on how it affected his relationships and community when he was younger and unaware. Not particularly a fan of the way women were written in this, one essentially being a manic pixie girl he was crushing on. 

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

Really liked this! Love when something is meta, this sometimes bordered too meta but I still liked it. There is a lot going on, there are a lot of plot twists back to back to back to back, it's kind of exhausting, By the end I just wanted it to be over with (but I could tell this was happening to me so I took a break and then was enjoying it again).

Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera

Um, I think this was fine. I don't feel strongly about it. There were some lines that I really liked, but not enough to say I enjoyed the prose. The story itself was interesting. Maybe I just didn't get the ending, but I didn't love it. I thought the characters were good, I liked Makina and her brother. I liked the brother's story. I enjoyed the journey Makina went through.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

I think I liked this book. There isn't anything that i disliked about it;  I never felt that I was really liking what I was reading either. There was a desire to continue reading, see what Elena and Lila got into, but not a fervent one. I think I will continue onto the second book in the series. I was intrigued while reading  but never craved jumping back in when I took a break.

A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.

I do not care for the main character's personality even a little bit. I'm sure the story will lead to him being less of a capitalist pig who thinks the only way to succeed in life is by being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company (his words) because he's back in his small town, crushing on a local restaurant owner. I never like this type of story, I didn't know the protagonist was going to be this serious about hating his hometown and desperate to climb the corporate ladder. Also, too many pop culture references for my taste (I am a gay man and reference pop culture A LOT so I get its accuracy, but I don't want to read it and I am not liking the first-person point of view writing style). Unfortunately, I don't think I like anything about what I've read in this book, only what could potentially happen in the plot but I'm not willing to read further to find out. (Do people think this much about high school while in their 30's? I don't so that didn't vibe with me either, but maybe it's because he's back in his hometown so those thoughts are coming from. I won't hold that against him.) And another thing! The narrator's inner voice would monologue between lines of dialogue, which I found very annoying and disruptive to the flow.