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lara_ayrolla's Reviews (86)
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Before anything, I would like to thank Brenna Thummler, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I don't usually have much to say when I just simply love a book, since I tend to focus on flaws to justify my star ratings. This was a lovely comic book to read. It was a fast read with a cute, heartwarming, and fun story with beautiful illustrations. I'm excited to start reading the next ones in the series right now!
I don't usually have much to say when I just simply love a book, since I tend to focus on flaws to justify my star ratings. This was a lovely comic book to read. It was a fast read with a cute, heartwarming, and fun story with beautiful illustrations. I'm excited to start reading the next ones in the series right now!
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Comecei a ler pelo meme, por conta do nome engraçado, e porque queria ler algo mais leve e fácil depois de algumas leituras cansativas. Achei o livro melhor, mas não muito diferente, do que eu esperava.
Pontos negativos: A escrita não é das melhores, com muitos erros gramaticais, de digitação e ortográficos. Me incomodou o uso de parênteses ao invés de travessão para marcar trechos explicativos em frases. As piadas ao invés de engraçadas são muito forçadas e me fizeram sentir vergonha. A protagonista, Raissa, é extremamente machista e cria apelidos pejorativos para mulheres que não fizeram nada de errado, enquanto o interesse romântico, Calvin, é controlador e muito irritante. Eu, pessoalmente, não gostei das inúmeras cenas de sexo detalhadas, mas entendo que é parte do gênero e agrada outras pessoas. O mesmo plot se repete inúmeras vezes, o que fez com que o livro tivesse 500 páginas e pouca substância. Os acontecimentos com a Lilian, prima da Raissa, foram desnecessários e só me fizeram focar ainda mais no machismo da história e no fato de que o casal não tinha um relacionamento saudável ou promissor. Por fim, o final da história foi apressado e detestável, com uma cena vergonhosa após uma reviravolta completamente desnecessária.
Pontos positivos: A descrição das casas é muito vívida, o que me fez visualizar e me sentir nos ambientes durante a leitura. As citações da Clarisse Lispector me agradaram muito e, por mais que tenha achado forçado em algumas situações, acabei com muitas marcações das frases que me fizeram refletir. Gostei dos detalhes da personalidade e da vida dos personagens sendo mantidos e relembrados durante toda a história. As rotinas criadas para eles me fez enxergá-los como pessoas reais e também me causou uma sensação de segurança durante a leitura, como se eu conhecesse o formato da história e, consequentemente, das vidas dos personagens. A idade do casal me surpreendeu de forma positiva, visto que muitos livros do gênero tendem a romantizar relacionamentos com diferenças de idade inapropriadas. Mesmo sabendo que estava lendo algo tóxico e de baixa qualidade, fiquei constantemente querendo voltar a ler para saber o que aconteceria em seguida, pois a autora soube aguçar a curiosidade.
Em geral, foi uma leitura mediana, que me entreteu e me manteve lendo enquanto descansava antes de iniciar outro livro mais denso.
Pontos negativos: A escrita não é das melhores, com muitos erros gramaticais, de digitação e ortográficos. Me incomodou o uso de parênteses ao invés de travessão para marcar trechos explicativos em frases. As piadas ao invés de engraçadas são muito forçadas e me fizeram sentir vergonha. A protagonista, Raissa, é extremamente machista e cria apelidos pejorativos para mulheres que não fizeram nada de errado, enquanto o interesse romântico, Calvin, é controlador e muito irritante. Eu, pessoalmente, não gostei das inúmeras cenas de sexo detalhadas, mas entendo que é parte do gênero e agrada outras pessoas. O mesmo plot se repete inúmeras vezes, o que fez com que o livro tivesse 500 páginas e pouca substância. Os acontecimentos com a Lilian, prima da Raissa, foram desnecessários e só me fizeram focar ainda mais no machismo da história e no fato de que o casal não tinha um relacionamento saudável ou promissor. Por fim, o final da história foi apressado e detestável, com uma cena vergonhosa após uma reviravolta completamente desnecessária.
Pontos positivos: A descrição das casas é muito vívida, o que me fez visualizar e me sentir nos ambientes durante a leitura. As citações da Clarisse Lispector me agradaram muito e, por mais que tenha achado forçado em algumas situações, acabei com muitas marcações das frases que me fizeram refletir. Gostei dos detalhes da personalidade e da vida dos personagens sendo mantidos e relembrados durante toda a história. As rotinas criadas para eles me fez enxergá-los como pessoas reais e também me causou uma sensação de segurança durante a leitura, como se eu conhecesse o formato da história e, consequentemente, das vidas dos personagens. A idade do casal me surpreendeu de forma positiva, visto que muitos livros do gênero tendem a romantizar relacionamentos com diferenças de idade inapropriadas. Mesmo sabendo que estava lendo algo tóxico e de baixa qualidade, fiquei constantemente querendo voltar a ler para saber o que aconteceria em seguida, pois a autora soube aguçar a curiosidade.
Em geral, foi uma leitura mediana, que me entreteu e me manteve lendo enquanto descansava antes de iniciar outro livro mais denso.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The world-building of this book is done amazingly well. The ministries, the Party, the habits, are all clear and very well defined. Orwell goes as far as creating a new language and a set of rules, that are included in the appendix of the book.
The writing is very descriptive, which helps with the understanding of the scenes and the world rules. It brings down the pace a little bit but in a way that I think makes the reading experience even better, guiding the reader to take in the information in a slower manner.
The characters help shaping the story, with their actions and personalities being used to demonstrate what the system does to people and what could happen to them afterwards. The main character Winston is more interesting than I expected, and I think his thoughts are intricate and fun to accompany.
I was surprised by the style of the writing. I thought this would be a dystopian novel relying only on the fiction to convey the message but turns out there is a lot of textbook-like politics texts included. Therefore, I find it crucial to keep in mind that George Orwell was not formally educated on the subject despite him knowing a lot.
I found a few gaps in the political view that made it difficult for me to understand whether Capitalism was being supported or not. Also, it's quite difficult to trust an author known to have had connections with the CIA. However, I still think the book makes a lot of great points and the critics to totalitarianism are valid and important.
The plot was also surprising to me, not expecting to see a romance included. I'm not sure that was the intention but I couldn't feel the love of Winston for Julia, it felt like he was lusty and liked the concept of her. But I guess in a society like that, this could be considered love.
For most of the book, I was disappointed that a lot of Winston's actions were succeeding in fooling the Thought Police. It felt like things weren't as difficult and rigid as he described but seeing at the end that he was being watched this whole time made me feel a lot better about it.
After he's caught, I like that we see some of the supporting characters being arrested but at the same time it felt a little forced. There should've been only one + O'Brien. The torture scenes are pure gold and watching Winston's thoughts change gradually is both fascinating and terrifying.
Even so, I wish there was more depth to Winston's thoughts, more reluctance to change and more clear change at the end. I also wish the ending wasn't as ambiguous. The way it was written it's quite easy to interpret as Winston being in the wrong the whole time for doubting the Party, which I know isn't true and most people won't think it is, but it still left room for that interpretation.
The writing is very descriptive, which helps with the understanding of the scenes and the world rules. It brings down the pace a little bit but in a way that I think makes the reading experience even better, guiding the reader to take in the information in a slower manner.
The characters help shaping the story, with their actions and personalities being used to demonstrate what the system does to people and what could happen to them afterwards. The main character Winston is more interesting than I expected, and I think his thoughts are intricate and fun to accompany.
I was surprised by the style of the writing. I thought this would be a dystopian novel relying only on the fiction to convey the message but turns out there is a lot of textbook-like politics texts included. Therefore, I find it crucial to keep in mind that George Orwell was not formally educated on the subject despite him knowing a lot.
I found a few gaps in the political view that made it difficult for me to understand whether Capitalism was being supported or not. Also, it's quite difficult to trust an author known to have had connections with the CIA. However, I still think the book makes a lot of great points and the critics to totalitarianism are valid and important.
The plot was also surprising to me, not expecting to see a romance included. I'm not sure that was the intention but I couldn't feel the love of Winston for Julia, it felt like he was lusty and liked the concept of her. But I guess in a society like that, this could be considered love.
For most of the book, I was disappointed that a lot of Winston's actions were succeeding in fooling the Thought Police. It felt like things weren't as difficult and rigid as he described but seeing at the end that he was being watched this whole time made me feel a lot better about it.
After he's caught, I like that we see some of the supporting characters being arrested but at the same time it felt a little forced. There should've been only one + O'Brien. The torture scenes are pure gold and watching Winston's thoughts change gradually is both fascinating and terrifying.
Even so, I wish there was more depth to Winston's thoughts, more reluctance to change and more clear change at the end. I also wish the ending wasn't as ambiguous. The way it was written it's quite easy to interpret as Winston being in the wrong the whole time for doubting the Party, which I know isn't true and most people won't think it is, but it still left room for that interpretation.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Before anything, I would like to thank Abbie Emmons and NetGalley for the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy). I am extremely grateful and feel honored to have read this book before the release. I was really hoping to give it 5 stars, I'm sorry I couldn't.
For the first 30% of the book I felt like this was going to be a 5 stars review. After that, my excitement was fading gradually the more I progressed in my reading. For the last 30% I was only reading because of a sense of obligation.
The theme is well executed. The way the imagery is created, the beach related words being used to describe feelings and actions, the template of the back-and-forth between present and past... It was beautiful to read. However, the world-building only seemed to go as far as the island. The scenes in the Otherworld felt like they were a movie montage and only being thought as they were written.
The characters are interesting enough, having defining qualities and a very characteristic way of speaking and thinking. They feel alive, but not enough for me to care about them. The only character I could actually care about was Jack, and by the end of the book I didn't like even him anymore.
The romance feels rushed and forced, with a lot of telling instead of showing. Orca loves Adam for no reason way too quickly, and throughout the whole book I keep trying to understand why. I lost it when I read a passage from a few days after she met Adam in which she says she had never loved anyone as much as her father until she met Adam. That's not how love works at all.
I was constantly angry at the black-and-whiteness of the thinking, with Jack reproving Lawrence's actions and Adam embracing them when it obviously should be a middle ground. You can understand someone's reasoning without agreeing with them. Orca could still love her father and follow her own wishes. It was wrong of him to hide the truth about her mother, it was wrong of him to keep her in the lighthouse when she wanted to meet other places. Orca shouldn't feel any guilt at all for chasing after what she wanted and she had the right to be angry at her dad. She could be angry and do things putting herself first but also still love him and want to keep living in the island with him. It's not all or nothing and I hate how the ending of the book makes it seem like Orca was in the wrong for not complying with her dad's wishes when she obviously wasn't.
Jack was a great character at the beginning, making me laugh out loud and want to keep reading only to see more of him. He was ruined for me when he started being controlling and when he literally thought the sentence "She's not like other girls". I can't take a character — or a book — seriously when this phrase is used unironically.
Adam was bland and felt like every guy I went to high school with who thought he was deep for reading philosophy books and playing the guitar. Every time I saw his name under a chapter, I groaned a little bit. His thoughts were boring and his actions even more. He brought nothing to the table and I still don't understand why he was the chosen brother when Jack had so much more going on for him. He shouldn't have been a love interest at all, unless the intent was to convey a message at the end, which it clearly was not.
Is 2023, we should know better than to romanticize age gap romances like this. Orca had barely turned 18 while Adam was 28. The human brain is developing until 25 years old. Before then we're way more prone to make impulsive decisions and that's why is predatory in a way for an older adult to pursue a teenager, even when they're technically legal. Not only that, but Jack, who's the same age as Orca, says he sees Adam as a father figure multiple times, explains how he is a mentor to him in almost every aspect and go as far as to say he felt like Adam was a grown up his entire life, which makes sense considering Adam was already 10 when Jack was born.
The way both Jack and Adam keep describing Orca as pure, naive, and innocent should say it all. Adam even says he "loves her even more" after she does something that he thinks shows her innocence. I felt constantly grossed out by this almost 30 year old man talking about the pureness of the barely 18 year old girl he was pursuing. Adam himself keeps saying he's too old for her but still dates her regardless of that. His self-awareness doesn't make it any better, if anything it only makes it worse. He's aware that what he's doing is wrong but he still goes and does it anyway.
As a girl who was 18 and a month when I started dating a soon to be 24 year old, I know by experience the kind of power dynamic these age gaps hold. And ours wasn't even as big as theirs. And I haven't lived in a secluded island my entire life to aggravate it even more. It's just not okay.
I am very disappointed because one of the things I loved about 100 Days of Sunlight, Abbie Emmons' debut novel, was the fact that it was age appropriate. I even said on my review of that book that it was the bare minimum but it was still great to see, since it is uncommon to see in romance novels.
For the first 30% of the book I felt like this was going to be a 5 stars review. After that, my excitement was fading gradually the more I progressed in my reading. For the last 30% I was only reading because of a sense of obligation.
The theme is well executed. The way the imagery is created, the beach related words being used to describe feelings and actions, the template of the back-and-forth between present and past... It was beautiful to read. However, the world-building only seemed to go as far as the island. The scenes in the Otherworld felt like they were a movie montage and only being thought as they were written.
The characters are interesting enough, having defining qualities and a very characteristic way of speaking and thinking. They feel alive, but not enough for me to care about them. The only character I could actually care about was Jack, and by the end of the book I didn't like even him anymore.
The romance feels rushed and forced, with a lot of telling instead of showing. Orca loves Adam for no reason way too quickly, and throughout the whole book I keep trying to understand why. I lost it when I read a passage from a few days after she met Adam in which she says she had never loved anyone as much as her father until she met Adam. That's not how love works at all.
I was constantly angry at the black-and-whiteness of the thinking, with Jack reproving Lawrence's actions and Adam embracing them when it obviously should be a middle ground. You can understand someone's reasoning without agreeing with them. Orca could still love her father and follow her own wishes. It was wrong of him to hide the truth about her mother, it was wrong of him to keep her in the lighthouse when she wanted to meet other places. Orca shouldn't feel any guilt at all for chasing after what she wanted and she had the right to be angry at her dad. She could be angry and do things putting herself first but also still love him and want to keep living in the island with him. It's not all or nothing and I hate how the ending of the book makes it seem like Orca was in the wrong for not complying with her dad's wishes when she obviously wasn't.
Jack was a great character at the beginning, making me laugh out loud and want to keep reading only to see more of him. He was ruined for me when he started being controlling and when he literally thought the sentence "She's not like other girls". I can't take a character — or a book — seriously when this phrase is used unironically.
Adam was bland and felt like every guy I went to high school with who thought he was deep for reading philosophy books and playing the guitar. Every time I saw his name under a chapter, I groaned a little bit. His thoughts were boring and his actions even more. He brought nothing to the table and I still don't understand why he was the chosen brother when Jack had so much more going on for him. He shouldn't have been a love interest at all, unless the intent was to convey a message at the end, which it clearly was not.
Is 2023, we should know better than to romanticize age gap romances like this. Orca had barely turned 18 while Adam was 28. The human brain is developing until 25 years old. Before then we're way more prone to make impulsive decisions and that's why is predatory in a way for an older adult to pursue a teenager, even when they're technically legal. Not only that, but Jack, who's the same age as Orca, says he sees Adam as a father figure multiple times, explains how he is a mentor to him in almost every aspect and go as far as to say he felt like Adam was a grown up his entire life, which makes sense considering Adam was already 10 when Jack was born.
The way both Jack and Adam keep describing Orca as pure, naive, and innocent should say it all. Adam even says he "loves her even more" after she does something that he thinks shows her innocence. I felt constantly grossed out by this almost 30 year old man talking about the pureness of the barely 18 year old girl he was pursuing. Adam himself keeps saying he's too old for her but still dates her regardless of that. His self-awareness doesn't make it any better, if anything it only makes it worse. He's aware that what he's doing is wrong but he still goes and does it anyway.
As a girl who was 18 and a month when I started dating a soon to be 24 year old, I know by experience the kind of power dynamic these age gaps hold. And ours wasn't even as big as theirs. And I haven't lived in a secluded island my entire life to aggravate it even more. It's just not okay.
I am very disappointed because one of the things I loved about 100 Days of Sunlight, Abbie Emmons' debut novel, was the fact that it was age appropriate. I even said on my review of that book that it was the bare minimum but it was still great to see, since it is uncommon to see in romance novels.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like that Ryle hasn't magically changed his personality and stayed as difficult as he was in the previous book. I LOVE Atlas relationship with his brother and Theo, I would've read a whole book about it and it would probably be a 5 starter for me.
I wish there were more stakes. There's no sense of challenge to anything, Lily and Atlas know they will end up together from the beginning, their relationship doesn't even have that much trouble navigating through dealing with Ryle and the co-parentig. Lily can magically just send Emerson to someone's house and sometimes it feels like she doesn't even care that much, I wasn't able to feel their connection. I hate how on the nose some of the interactions between Lily and Atlas are, like her sleeping during their first date. I get that this scene was there to show how much Atlas appreciates her and isn't put off by something like that, but it was still too much for me. I guess I can't expect too much subtlety of a book with florist Lily Blossom Bloom as the protagonist.
Overall, the book was addictive and entertaining, way less problematic than probably every other Colleen Hoover book ever, the couple has a healthy relationship, and there's family themes which I'm just a sucker for. However, the lack of challenge made it feel flat, underwhelming, boring and felt like forced positivity. I was a little sick of Lily and Atlas way too quickly. It did a solid job though, and it wasn't bad at all.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is way too close to being perfect but there are still some things that bother me. The forced positivity expected of amputees is toxic, one of the strongest things in the world is admitting that sometimes you can't do everything, that takes a huge amount of courage. I think Weston is strong and brave for the things he's been through and the things he's able to do but not everyone will be like him and that doesn't mean these people are weak or choosing to be unhappy. Everyone has different experiences and feelings and disability is more nuanced than just pushing yourself and magically being able to do all the things in the world. It can be like that, it isn't most of the time. Also, I didn't like the insistence on Tessa's part at the end of the book to see him. Threatening him was very manipulative and distasteful. I get where this comes from, since he started insisting with her from the beginning of the book, but she didn't know what he was hiding or even if he wanted to be around her. I liked that they ended up together, I didn't like what it took for them to reunite after she gained her vision back. But it's okay.
Besides these things, it was an amazing book, a page turner with a great story that made me constantly smile or cry. I love how it's age appropriate as well, it's the bare minimum but it's weirdly rare to find it in romances. Weston's moments of fragility made me emotional in a way that I didn't expect. The senses separation of the book is great, the concept behind it is interesting and very well executed. The romance doesn't feel forced and everything that happens on the book feels coherent and well paced. I like that there's depth besides just the two main characters, Weston's brothers are great and Tessa's connections with both her grandparents are lovely. Family content is my favorite thing and the book did a good job with this part. I really wish I could give it 5 starts because it is beautifully written but the negative points made it a little hard to do so.
The book is very detailed and that makes you understand exactly what's going on in every scene. There's a lot of mystery around the story but at the same time the ideas are expressed in a pretty clear way. The feelings are deep and the subliminal messages are disturbing in a manner that makes you think and start analizying the world around you and your actions towards other people.
![Alice in Wonderland [Adaptation] by Jane Carruth, Lewis Carroll](https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/szq26hy3ekf92kfodctaaw5z8hnn)
Alice means a lot to me, at least for now. This book is incredible (even though you may not think so for the first time you read it). The discussions around it are the best and the many interpretations possible make it even more impressive.