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elj_ne's reviews
1025 reviews
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.
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and 4th Estate for approving me for one of my most anticipated reads of 2024.
This is a climate dystopia book in which society is sliding slowly into the abyss - bleak in its realism in the way the world accepts, compartmentalises and copes with Ultimate Bad Weather, with the places they can go gradually shrinking in on them - forcing people into higher and higher buildings and cutting off access points to different parts of the world, then the city itself. While I was reading it I was so aware that the claustrophobia and continous, inevitable decay feels quite reminiscent of the current state of the UK - the creeping mold, the housing crisis, inept government and transport issues are all too familiar and it doesn't feel a world away from our own. Fun!
In the middle of this narrative are three sisters who are dealing with the looming absence of their newly dead, emotionally abusive father and trying to figure out how the relationships between each other and the people they love are shaped by both him and the world they've grown up in. I enjoyed how frankly dislikable these women often were (at lease Isla and Irene) and how the switching POV allowed us to see both how they percieve themselves and how each other. They also each have jobs, romantic lives that carry on going and have to adapt in the wake of the disasters around them.
Armfield's writing is gorgeous and insightful, I enjoyed the narrative tangents within the POVs and also within the 'City' POVs. This is a more ambitious book in terms of world building and character than Our Wives and in some ways feels like a less cohesive story overall but it's a great addition to the Armfield oeuvre and I can't wait to see what she does with water next!
This is a climate dystopia book in which society is sliding slowly into the abyss - bleak in its realism in the way the world accepts, compartmentalises and copes with Ultimate Bad Weather, with the places they can go gradually shrinking in on them - forcing people into higher and higher buildings and cutting off access points to different parts of the world, then the city itself. While I was reading it I was so aware that the claustrophobia and continous, inevitable decay feels quite reminiscent of the current state of the UK - the creeping mold, the housing crisis, inept government and transport issues are all too familiar and it doesn't feel a world away from our own. Fun!
In the middle of this narrative are three sisters who are dealing with the looming absence of their newly dead, emotionally abusive father and trying to figure out how the relationships between each other and the people they love are shaped by both him and the world they've grown up in. I enjoyed how frankly dislikable these women often were (at lease Isla and Irene) and how the switching POV allowed us to see both how they percieve themselves and how each other. They also each have jobs, romantic lives that carry on going and have to adapt in the wake of the disasters around them.
Armfield's writing is gorgeous and insightful, I enjoyed the narrative tangents within the POVs and also within the 'City' POVs. This is a more ambitious book in terms of world building and character than Our Wives and in some ways feels like a less cohesive story overall but it's a great addition to the Armfield oeuvre and I can't wait to see what she does with water next!
Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti
3.0
ARC via NetGalley
An intriguing idea and I found the reading experience similar to reading Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (though I preferred that because it did develop a bit of linear plot at some point). Recommend not trying to read it all in one go and just going with the flow. Some really lovely observations and sentences. Still yet to find a Sheila Heti book I adore as much as Motherhood though.
An intriguing idea and I found the reading experience similar to reading Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (though I preferred that because it did develop a bit of linear plot at some point). Recommend not trying to read it all in one go and just going with the flow. Some really lovely observations and sentences. Still yet to find a Sheila Heti book I adore as much as Motherhood though.
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
4.25
Incredibly readable and a great audiobook. Messy characters who feel like they’re definitely making stupid decisions as young people and I liked the way the protagonist is reflecting back on it years later. Great narration from the author. Read in a couple days and kept me very engaged. Recommend!
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
3.75
Very odd in a way that was readable and very entertaining but I don't think this book will stay with me.
Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity by Devon Price
this book took me bloody ages to read, partially because a lot of it resonated but also as someone who’s been fairly certain I’m autistic for a while and not particularly grappling with that idea I found it not super useful. Also I’m well aware of the history, social model of disability etc etc so not sure there was a huge amount in this for me personally
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
4.0
enjoyed this more than I thought I would! much to relate to, and have to be grateful for not being an arsenal fan back in those days (I was not yet born) - seems like a hard life to lead