Scan barcode
elissapoletti's reviews
189 reviews
Wild Place by Christian White
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
‘You have these lines you won't cross. But then you cross them. And suddenly you possess the very dangerous information that you can break the rule and the world won't instantly come
to an end.
You've taken a big, black, bold line and you've made it a little bit gray. And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, “There was a line here once, I think.”’
- Billy Dunne, Daisy Jones and The Six.
Daisy Jones & the Six reads like a doco/biopic about the fictional 70's rock band of the same name. It follows their rise, and the reasons behind their split.
Another great one from TJR. I actually struggled to read this, mainly because of the content of the novel, it's a great book, but also felt a bit close, took me over
a month to get through. It also touched on Lupus which is the disease that prematurely killed my Gran, so I was pretty moved by that too, no one talks about Lupus.
‘I drove to the beach. I don’t know why. I just had to drive somewhere, so I drove until the road ended. I drove until I hit the sand.
I parked my car and I was feeling so ashamed and so embarrassed and so stupid and so alone and lamely and pathetic and dirty and awful. And then, I got really mad.
I got mad at everything about him. That he’d pulled away, that he’d mad me embarrassed, that he didn’t feel the way I wanted him to feel. Or, maybe it was that I suspected he did feel that way and he wasn’t admitting it. But any way you wanted to spin it, I was angry. It wasn’t rational. I mean, what ever really is? But as irrational as it was, I was livid. I was furious. There was rage in my chest.
We are talking about probably the first man in my life who really saw me, who ever really understood me, who has so much in common with me… and he still didn’t love me.
When you find that rare person who really knows who you are and they still don’t love you…
I was burning.’
- Daisy Jones, Daisy Jones and The Six.
‘I think you have to have faith in people before they earn it. Otherwise it's not faith, right?’
- Camilla Dunne, Daisy Jones and The Six.
to an end.
You've taken a big, black, bold line and you've made it a little bit gray. And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, “There was a line here once, I think.”’
- Billy Dunne, Daisy Jones and The Six.
Daisy Jones & the Six reads like a doco/biopic about the fictional 70's rock band of the same name. It follows their rise, and the reasons behind their split.
Another great one from TJR. I actually struggled to read this, mainly because of the content of the novel, it's a great book, but also felt a bit close, took me over
a month to get through. It also touched on Lupus which is the disease that prematurely killed my Gran, so I was pretty moved by that too, no one talks about Lupus.
‘I drove to the beach. I don’t know why. I just had to drive somewhere, so I drove until the road ended. I drove until I hit the sand.
I parked my car and I was feeling so ashamed and so embarrassed and so stupid and so alone and lamely and pathetic and dirty and awful. And then, I got really mad.
I got mad at everything about him. That he’d pulled away, that he’d mad me embarrassed, that he didn’t feel the way I wanted him to feel. Or, maybe it was that I suspected he did feel that way and he wasn’t admitting it. But any way you wanted to spin it, I was angry. It wasn’t rational. I mean, what ever really is? But as irrational as it was, I was livid. I was furious. There was rage in my chest.
We are talking about probably the first man in my life who really saw me, who ever really understood me, who has so much in common with me… and he still didn’t love me.
When you find that rare person who really knows who you are and they still don’t love you…
I was burning.’
- Daisy Jones, Daisy Jones and The Six.
‘I think you have to have faith in people before they earn it. Otherwise it's not faith, right?’
- Camilla Dunne, Daisy Jones and The Six.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Abortion
The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Below are just two of my favourite quotes (there are so
many more but you should read the book for yourself!)
"This is the most important thing I have ever learned: the greatest thing you will ever do is be loved by another person.
I cannot emphasise this enough, especially to young people. Without friendship, a human being is lost. A
friend is someone who reminds you to feel alive."
"I am still in awe of the human body and what it is capable of. I am a precision engineer, and I have spent
years making the most complicated, intricate machinery, but I could not make a machine like the human body. It is the best machine ever made. It turns
fuel into life, can repair itself, can do anything you need it to. That is why today it breaks my heart to see the
way some people treat their bodies, ruining this wonderful machine we are all gifted by smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, poisoning themselves with
drugs. They are demolishing the best machine ever put onto this Earth, and it is such a terrible waste.
Every day in Auschwitz, my body was pushed to its absolute limit, and then further. It was starved, beaten,
frozen, wounded. But it kept me going. It kept me alive. And now, it has kept me alive for more than one hundred years. What a marvellous piece of machinery!"
Eddie Jaku documents his enslavement in the
concentration camps of Nazi Germany, and the things
that gave him the hope to survive.
This is a truely incredible and moving story, a book that anyone can and should read. I love how simply and mater of factly Eddie tells his story, he is straight to the point and teaches so many important lessons.
What an amazing man.
many more but you should read the book for yourself!)
"This is the most important thing I have ever learned: the greatest thing you will ever do is be loved by another person.
I cannot emphasise this enough, especially to young people. Without friendship, a human being is lost. A
friend is someone who reminds you to feel alive."
"I am still in awe of the human body and what it is capable of. I am a precision engineer, and I have spent
years making the most complicated, intricate machinery, but I could not make a machine like the human body. It is the best machine ever made. It turns
fuel into life, can repair itself, can do anything you need it to. That is why today it breaks my heart to see the
way some people treat their bodies, ruining this wonderful machine we are all gifted by smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, poisoning themselves with
drugs. They are demolishing the best machine ever put onto this Earth, and it is such a terrible waste.
Every day in Auschwitz, my body was pushed to its absolute limit, and then further. It was starved, beaten,
frozen, wounded. But it kept me going. It kept me alive. And now, it has kept me alive for more than one hundred years. What a marvellous piece of machinery!"
Eddie Jaku documents his enslavement in the
concentration camps of Nazi Germany, and the things
that gave him the hope to survive.
This is a truely incredible and moving story, a book that anyone can and should read. I love how simply and mater of factly Eddie tells his story, he is straight to the point and teaches so many important lessons.
What an amazing man.
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Wife and the Widow by Christian White
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I must admit I wasn’t 100% sure where An Offer From A Gentleman was going when I first started it. I was a bit worried it might just be a reimagining of Cinderella, and after the first two being such nice original stories, that seemed like a bit of a let down. But to my relief, An Offer From A Gentleman does become its own story. I do love a forbidden romance trope, or maybe more accurately for this novel, a frowned upon one, but the love prevails in spite of those obstacles. I love when a man decides that the love and connection he feels for a woman is more important than that of social expectations.
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0