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gillyreads's reviews
1189 reviews
Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
When done well, I think ‘how do we fix our marriage’ books are one of my favourite kinds of romances and I have mostly liked Hannah Bonam-Young’s previous books so I was hopeful that I’d enjoy this. It did take me a bit to get into, I had to push myself a bit to get through the first few chapters and would say I probably didn’t start really enjoying it until about halfway through. I found Sarah to be a frustrating character to relate to initially, and I was concerned this was going to be one of those books where you’re just yelling at them to just have a conversation the whole time. However, I think that the author actually did a really good job of exploring the communication issues, and once the book got started it was obviously something she really thought through rather than a plot device. She did a great job navigating the more complex, trauma-related aspects of it, and also working through what it means to grow into adults together when your relationship dynamic was set up as teenagers. I loved that they were both committed to working things out from the beginning, but were unsure of what exactly they were going to be able to do.
The thing I found almost unbearable was how much money they had. I don’t think this was thought through in an interesting or compelling way. It was sort of acknowledged but I think a lot could have been done with the dynamic that just wasn’t. She kind of tacked on the end that they could downsize and try and run a more ethical business.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Chloe Liese
My favourite of this series, I mostly really enjoyed this. I especially loved Will as a character and really enjoyed both the friendship and romance between him and Juliet. I just am a bit frustrated by how much underlying food shit is in Chloe Liese's books, especially this series. Maybe compounded by the fact I reread the first two right before this one.
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and the writing was lovely. The two differemt timelines, plus the stories of the lost things about how they were lost and then found worked well together. I just found Laura to be a somewhat unsatisfactory character. Overall a quiet, gentle read.
Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett
Sonya Harnett is one of my favourites, but this was a bit of a disappointment. Her writing is incredible, as always, and I think was particiularly strong through the elements of thes tory about school and Plum's teenage friendships. The casual cruelty and self-absorbtion of teenagers is done with Hartnett's usually deftness.
The main issue I had with this book was that all the fatphobia make me feel so yuck, I don't necessarily thing you can't depict the terrrible ways people are treated in books but this didn't work for me at all.
I also felt like this book couldn't quite decide if it was YA or adult, and so didn't work as either.
The main issue I had with this book was that all the fatphobia make me feel so yuck, I don't necessarily thing you can't depict the terrrible ways people are treated in books but this didn't work for me at all.
I also felt like this book couldn't quite decide if it was YA or adult, and so didn't work as either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Child death and Fatphobia
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I think this might have been better not as audio. It was fine, but kind of flat narration.
The Sunbird by Sara Haddad
This tiny book is incredible. Emotional and heart-wrenching. Concise and informative. I honestly think if you only read this one book on Palestine you’d have a decent grasp on the situation.