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elj_ne's reviews
1025 reviews
We Could Be Heroes by PJ Ellis
3.5
eARC received in exchange for review via NetGalley.
This was a nice little romance, with slightly more gravitas leant to it by the inclusion of the historical plotline. Not my favourite queer famous-people romance I’ve read and tbh I think it overall lacked a lot of depth I’ve found more in books like Sophie Gonzales’s If This Gets Out. Regardless, a fun little read.
This was a nice little romance, with slightly more gravitas leant to it by the inclusion of the historical plotline. Not my favourite queer famous-people romance I’ve read and tbh I think it overall lacked a lot of depth I’ve found more in books like Sophie Gonzales’s If This Gets Out. Regardless, a fun little read.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Omnibus Vol. 1 by Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen, Simon Spurrier
4.0
Enjoyed this a lot! Some of the plot twists were a bit convoluted and Triple Zero was deeply irritating for much of it but overall a fun and different take on Star Wars, able to stand alone but also have some great cameos from known characters in there.
Villette by Charlotte Brontë
slow-paced
3.5
Finally read this many years after I last tried to. More mature than JE, slower and with more complex characters and certainly an admirable novel. I continue to love Charlotte Bronte's protagonists, but overall the story was too slow for me and I prefer JE - with more drama! - than Villette. Unlikely to reread.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
4.5
A reread from 2016 - this was my favourite classic when I read it back then and I remember finding the Mr Rochester bits quite romantic and the St John plotline at the end quite boring. This time around I thought the opposite: I loved Jane's confrontation/refusal of St John at the end and found that part of the story to be the most compelling. Rochester I thought was alright - I appreciate the themes of mutual respect - but overall he wasn't much of a draw. I really like Jane as a character and the narration of her character within the book is what makes this an excellent classic to me. But probably not my favourite any more.
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
3.5
Preferred Kiss Her Once For Me, feels like this is trying to be more substantial and it does work in that sense but I just wanted some good (hot tropey sapphic) romance and this didn’t hit the spot for me. Great neurodivergent rep, liked Rosemary’s lukewarm outlook on sex/romance represented too - felt like she was kind of ace/aro in some way and it was great to see that.
The Dry Heart by Natalia Ginzburg
3.0
Short, read this as an intro to Ginsburg’s fiction writing before reading All Our Yesterdays at some point (and hopefully all her work!). Could take or leave it, but a quick read.
Four Stars by Joel Golby
3.5
Received eARC from publisher.
I found this book consistently funny and often quite poignant, if less compelling than the authors previous and I occasionally found the format a bit of a slog (though it did mean it was easy to pick up and put down). Enjoyed the more heartfelt stuff over some of the immature bits - but that is probably just me being old. Really enjoyed the chapter on Football Manager ngl. Similar vein to Golby’s previous work + column though I think he’s written better and I’d like to see him maybe tackle something a bit more ambitious than the piecemeal work this format of book delivers - though I identify with his difficulty with trying to do anything other than drink pints in the sun in life and can’t disrespect that at all!
NetGalley/publisher note: had to read this as a pdf on the app as it wouldn’t send to Kindle and I nearly gave up because of the formatting. Also makes the book super inaccessible which is a shame for disabled reviewers.
I found this book consistently funny and often quite poignant, if less compelling than the authors previous and I occasionally found the format a bit of a slog (though it did mean it was easy to pick up and put down). Enjoyed the more heartfelt stuff over some of the immature bits - but that is probably just me being old. Really enjoyed the chapter on Football Manager ngl. Similar vein to Golby’s previous work + column though I think he’s written better and I’d like to see him maybe tackle something a bit more ambitious than the piecemeal work this format of book delivers - though I identify with his difficulty with trying to do anything other than drink pints in the sun in life and can’t disrespect that at all!
NetGalley/publisher note: had to read this as a pdf on the app as it wouldn’t send to Kindle and I nearly gave up because of the formatting. Also makes the book super inaccessible which is a shame for disabled reviewers.
Piglet by Lottie Hazell
4.0
Sped through this - enjoyed it. Most interesting when looking at the class divide between the two families and also the oppressiveness of expectations placed on women.