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housecatstewart's reviews
99 reviews
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
3.0
Rating this 3 stars because I loved everything until the ending. I’m actually sick to my stomach. If I could “Misery” Jojo Moyes and make her change the ending, I would.
Less Is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer
4.0
I would give this 3.5. There were parts of it that really got me, but most of it felt like it just couldn’t quite match up to the charm and humor and sincerity of the first book. It was still a nice story about nice people, which I enjoyed. I probably won’t ever re-read this one but I’d absolutely still read more from Andrew Sean Greer.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
2.0
I’m rating this 2 stars as someone who has read 2 other Emily Henry books and has gone into each one with an open mind. I totally, completely understand that this is commercial fiction and it’s meant to be a little corny and over the top for entertainment value. It’s just meant to be sexy and fun. It’s not winning any prizes and it’s not trying to be literary fiction and there’s nothing wrong with that.
BUT.
I think in the realm of commercial romance novels and Emily Henry novels, this was SUCH a cop out of a story! She really phoned it in on both the plot and the prose. Maybe it’s because she has this large, loyal fan base now and she doesn’t have to worry about whether or not people will read it because her fans always will, so she just didn’t care as much about making something genuinely tender and charming. At this point she has found the formula that will keep people coming back for more without fault, at least for now. And I truly think Emily Henry could write something more sincere than this but she simply doesn’t have to in order to sell books so she just doesn’t. It’s baffling to me that she’s okay being part of the “we all know this kind of sucks but that’s just how commercial romance writing is” narrative when she could elevate the genre instead. With her reach and popularity, I would love to see her really push things to a deeper level with her next book. If the next one is like this again, it’ll be the last for me, for sure.
As a side note - does Emily Henry actually think moaning while eating is sexy, or does she just think we will believe it’s sexy because she’s telling us it is? Gagged every time lol.
BUT.
I think in the realm of commercial romance novels and Emily Henry novels, this was SUCH a cop out of a story! She really phoned it in on both the plot and the prose. Maybe it’s because she has this large, loyal fan base now and she doesn’t have to worry about whether or not people will read it because her fans always will, so she just didn’t care as much about making something genuinely tender and charming. At this point she has found the formula that will keep people coming back for more without fault, at least for now. And I truly think Emily Henry could write something more sincere than this but she simply doesn’t have to in order to sell books so she just doesn’t. It’s baffling to me that she’s okay being part of the “we all know this kind of sucks but that’s just how commercial romance writing is” narrative when she could elevate the genre instead. With her reach and popularity, I would love to see her really push things to a deeper level with her next book. If the next one is like this again, it’ll be the last for me, for sure.
As a side note - does Emily Henry actually think moaning while eating is sexy, or does she just think we will believe it’s sexy because she’s telling us it is? Gagged every time lol.
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
5.0
Never thought I’d be crying over Johnny Appleseed but here we are.
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
4.0
It’s crazy to me that so many people are saying the last 20% was their favorite part?! I HATED the switch to Jen’s perspective. Andy as a character was such a compelling narrator, flaws and all, and I was absolutely rooting for him to find some growth and perspective at the end of his journey. Instead I got Jen’s hamfisted beat-by-beat explanation of the end of their relationship and her realization that she didn’t want kids. It felt like a completely different book. We don’t get to be with Andy for his resolution. We see him finally do a better gig and be surrounded by adoring fans like he always dreamed, like Jen resented him for, but somehow now we’re supposed to feel happy for him after being forced to read Jen describing all his fuck ups for the last 40 pages? And don’t get me wrong - Jen made some truly amazing and poignant points about women and motherhood and relationships - but was that the right ending for this book? I don’t think so. If you want to write a book about a woman leaving a manchild and HER journey, write that story. Don’t rob us of Andy’s conclusion just to make the point that he was terrible all along.