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elj_ne's reviews
1023 reviews
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.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
4.25
ARC via NetGalley.
Really loved this, felt romantic in a similar way to Portrait of a Lady on Fire but with the added political and moral concerns of post-WW2 Netherlands - a historical viewpoint I felt was really valuable, made this more than just a historical romance and gave added important depth to the narrative. My only issue with this book and why I'm hesitant to give it a full five stars is that I felt the character development from the protagonist was too fast and without much internal conflict - she starts out being a very unlikable, repressed character but once she's fallen in love she drops most of the unpleasant aspects of her character, I didn't feel that transition was particularly believable. I would also have loved to spend more time with Eva's point of view - she seems really compelling as a character but the majority of the book we spend with Isabel. At a tight 256 pages this is quite a short book and I think letting it breathe a little and spend more time with those aspects would have bumped it up to a five stars from me. But a great book (a debut novel!! astonishing), and I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does next.
Really loved this, felt romantic in a similar way to Portrait of a Lady on Fire but with the added political and moral concerns of post-WW2 Netherlands - a historical viewpoint I felt was really valuable, made this more than just a historical romance and gave added important depth to the narrative. My only issue with this book and why I'm hesitant to give it a full five stars is that I felt the character development from the protagonist was too fast and without much internal conflict - she starts out being a very unlikable, repressed character but once she's fallen in love she drops most of the unpleasant aspects of her character, I didn't feel that transition was particularly believable. I would also have loved to spend more time with Eva's point of view - she seems really compelling as a character but the majority of the book we spend with Isabel. At a tight 256 pages this is quite a short book and I think letting it breathe a little and spend more time with those aspects would have bumped it up to a five stars from me. But a great book (a debut novel!! astonishing), and I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does next.
Experienced by Kate Young
funny
lighthearted
4.0
Received an e-ARC via NetGalley.
This is a genuinely lovely romance that favours realism over tropes, with characters who feel very realistically flawed and are easy to root for. I always like when it feels like the author is introducing conflict that purposefully isn't based on miscommunication (or if it is, it's very understandable and because of other issues!) - this felt like that. I came out of this book really rooting for the protagonists, believing that their romance would be healthy and appreciating the good character development that had happened along the way. Aside for that, this book is an easy read and the sex scenes are really well written. The way sex is portrayed in this book is so good - it's very sex positive but appreciates the spectrum of sexual experiences and the inherent conflict in figuring out what works for you. A fun, grown-up romance.
This is a genuinely lovely romance that favours realism over tropes, with characters who feel very realistically flawed and are easy to root for. I always like when it feels like the author is introducing conflict that purposefully isn't based on miscommunication (or if it is, it's very understandable and because of other issues!) - this felt like that. I came out of this book really rooting for the protagonists, believing that their romance would be healthy and appreciating the good character development that had happened along the way. Aside for that, this book is an easy read and the sex scenes are really well written. The way sex is portrayed in this book is so good - it's very sex positive but appreciates the spectrum of sexual experiences and the inherent conflict in figuring out what works for you. A fun, grown-up romance.