megansmith's reviews
183 reviews

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This review is going to sound kind of passion-less but, I liked it! I'm not like very fervently in love with it, I truly feel kind of neutral.

I think if you like the idea of cozy books, but hate the quality of the writing of the genre typically so you avoid it, this is a good choice for you. The writing held up fairly well from start to finish and I never found myself TOO annoyed with how things were written. I think each funeral is unique and I find that to be kind of impressive considering society has pigeonholed at least American funerals into a very specific image that few deviate from. It's lighthearted but still feels meaningful in a not-cheesy way, which I appreciate. 

My complaints honestly only apply to small instances, but in some cases, cleared themselves up. A few were also personal preference.

I didn't love at the beginning how Naomi's interactions were almost solely her yelling at one of the men in the book, it felt really flat and just poor writing to me overall. But I think she felt more actualized towards the end. It might have come with writing her chapter but I'm glad it got resolved.

I personally just did not like the Jordy / Jordan couple for a few reasons. I get the name thing was to be quirky and also, based on a couple in real life, but man I did not freaking like it! Mainly because it felt like the two did not have a distinct personality other than being gay for each other and for one of them being from Columbia, and that they traveled to Italy once, until towards the very very end. And if I made the whole beginning of the book hinder on one of them dying and wanting a funeral for the other Jordan before his real funeral, I would have wanted them more fleshed out as individuals versus a slightly amorphous couple blob. The name thing didn't help but that wasn't the only reason these two blended together. The whole book kind of suffered from a personality problem at times and in some ways thats how friend groups work, but by the end it felt unrewarding that some characters got more depth while others did not, like the Jordans. 

At times this book also suffered from what I'm now dubbing the "cozy book plot hole", which is when a cozy / fluffy book says one thing and does a completely other thing. It's usually minor but this always happens in lighter / fluffy books and it bothers the shit out of me for some reason. This could've been caught with some more eagle-eyed editing but, like I said it's usually minor in the case of good books like this one. The one example immediately coming to mind was towards the end, they made a note to say they weren't going to make it to the pier to watch Jordy race but then they immediately flip to Jordy's POV and he sees them on the pier. Stuff like that just bothers me with the genre and while I think it'd benefit me to read more light books like this, it bugs me enough that I end up back at dark/moody books with less plot holes lol. 

My complaint section was kind of long but honestly, it didn't bother me enough to hate this book that much. Like I said I'm kind of neutral on it, didn't absolutely hate it but didn't like, love it to pieces either. It's interesting for the genre and has it's merits and I'd reccommend if the premise interests you! 

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book moved its way on and off my TBR list a few times and honestly, I wish I had kept it off. 

I will start by saying, i hate books about affairs and cheating. I took this book off my tbr for that reason a few of those times. But the premise intrigued me and I kept seeing it reccommended by other bookstagramers so i figured i’d give it a go. 

This book was painfully slow, and it took up until the last 40-50 pages for anything truly interesting to happen. I get how thats war sometimes - its a lot of tension and buildup to the moment of implosion, but it just didnt work for me. I can appreciate the author weaving all these storylines together and it did feel satisfying towards the end but, i needed better pacing to get me to that point. 

Another gripe I have is towards the end, there is one sex scene that is most definitely rape, which I was really annoyed by! It summed up this strange possessive relationship between the two characters, swearing to each other its love but its just horny jealous sex. The relationship was terrible and nothing i could find myself rooting for. Cushla, give it another year to develop a frontal lobe and i promise youll get over this old man.

I probably have more to say but this just fell flat, I was wishing for more but it underdelivered. 

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This honestly captured my interest more than I thought it would? Its been on my TBR for years, idk how I found it but it worried me that I’ve never heard of anyone reading this but I read it anyways, and I’m glad I did! 

Thompson Walker’s estimates of what the modern day might look like in a pandemic, before the pandemic even happened, are almost eerily accurate to real life. The plot is so fascinating and I loved the split perspective - normally I dont always love a split perspective but these were easy to follow and I think brought around so many perspectives and problems that arise during a crisis. I read this really quickly, very intrigued by the mystery.

I do wish there was

more crumbs of solving the mystery or explanation why it may have happened? The story has great setup, but you feel dragged along at times without any rewards or anything to explain the why behind it while you read through these sad stories of people going under. The ending also felt so loose to me, I was just waiting for more to happen and it felt so unresolved. I dont know if I can blame the author, the covid pandemic is quite similar in a way, but it did bring down my interest in the book by the end.

I wouldn’t recommend if you aren’t open to a pandemic story but, if the premise interests you, I recommend giving it a try! 

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is so well written, and I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t earned more awards. It surprised me by the end but had me thinking deeply the whole way through, and I love the mix of perspectives throughout. I will say,

maybe im too tired to understand but the very end of one of the chapters was lost on me, which is mainly where this book lost it for me at the end, but i still enjoyed the ending.

overall: great read, i definitely recommend ! 

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Woooowow I really loved this. This was a surprise for me! I was looking for a different book at the local bookstore, couldn’t find it and landed on this, and I’m really glad I did. I could resonate with a lot of the narrator’s feelings - the accurate personification of my grief of recently lost family members, the constant underlying anxiety, and a feeling of just trying to get through life and get where I want to be. And I love that’s what Lily King was going for all along, to make an experience where you can find yourself rather than trying to say something profound and deep. It doesn’t matter why the curtains are blue, its how the blue makes you feel. This was such a cozy read and I devoured it and cried and felt so seen. Even though I haven't lived many of these experiences. I could see where someone might find critiques of this book but it was just what I needed when I got it so, I give it five stars! 

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Overall I really liked this! I was doubting it a bit in the middle but it was a solid mix of modern day Lord of the Flies + intertwined mystery with solidly planned and placed twists and turns. The ending was really solid to me and I think this moved up in my Lucy Foley rankings. Hunting Party is still on top but, this is close! Better than Paris Apartment for sure. 

All Fours by Miranda July

dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i…don’t know what to think of this. i like Miranda July’s writing, i read her work back in high school, and her writing style shines in novel form. however, the whole story was SO strange to me (i know i come from multiple non-sex-positive cultures) and it was truly a weird book about a weird woman! i still rate it highly bc the writing is good but at times it was painfully cringe to read. it was defs NoT what i expecting to read. The cover was v misleading. Overall not my fav, still strong af writing, but more power to ya if this is your jam! 

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I'm kind of shocked but I liked this way more than I thought I would? The beginning lost me a bit, it took me a little while to get deep into it, but after like 30 pages or so, I was more hooked. For a book with a central theme about not connecting in the world around you and feeling disconnected from others, there's a lot of incredibly relatable moments you see through Adina's eyes. I really loved this idea of feeling alien being taken to a new level in this book, especially through a woman's perspective and how growing up can be such an alienating experience. The writing is really poignant and the end had me in tears a few times. Really glad this (mostly) lived up to the hype! 

The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was just okay. Not bad, great writing style but kind of flat! I had a hard time keeping interest. It felt like it dragged on so long for all that did happen and the few truly action packed moments were so tightly contained, I feel like I barely understood what was happening before it was over. It’s an interesting concept but not my favorite in the genre. 

Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan DiLallo, Susan Patterson, James Patterson

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I have so many gripes with this book, so this may be long. but I want to start with setting a scene - about a year ago, my mom invited me to a book speaking session at a nearby university, featuring Susan and James Patterson. I was excited to go, not that I read either of their work currently, but I used to read the Maximum Ride books as a kid and thought it'd be a cool talk to go to. And it was. But I could NOT get over how much James talked over Susan Patterson, his own wife. It was a book talk about THIS book and their lives in general, and despite him getting credit in the front cover for mostly just bringing tea and sandwiches to the two Susans who wrote this book together, he talked by far the most out of the two of them. I thought, hey, isn't this your wife's book? About HER mother/daughter experience? Shouldn't you let HER talk?

That is the feeling I had reading this book. Something about it reeked of the writing style of James Patterson and it has soured on me over the years. Chapters are painfully short, with almost each one ending in a manufactured cliffhanger. And in between chapter starts and ends, truly not much of anything happens. The writing style is bland, predictive, and I quite literally saw phrases and sentences repeat over each other in different chapters when they already weren't groundbreaking the first time I read them. I knew I was cooked when at one point the book says "I felt hungry. "I'm hungry," I said." and then they go to a restaurant. Most of the book just felt so bland and forced fed, I didn't feel like I had a magical journey, I had an odd afternoon out in the suburbs of my midwest hometown. It felt documentarian but with zero point because nothing of note was being documented. 

Also, these characters - I did NOT like either of them. Call me a graphic designer that's also a hater, but the main character Laurie got on my NERVES and nothing about that surprised me considering she's a creative director. And I could tell she was a bad one considering she has zero foresight, planning skills, and rational thinking. My distaste of her was pretty quick in the beginning but then add in her line about being a creative director and "fielding and ignoring all the feedback for why the designers chose this direction" or something along those lines sent me into a blind fucking rage. She's incredibly whiny and selfish throughout the whole book, when a majority of her problems are her own fault. If you didn't know she had a previous marriage, one would assume she's a teenager by the way she talks, complains, and acts. Also, the mom! Whaaat the hell man, you two sound like you need to cut contact. I mean....

I know technically they do in the end but, still

. The amount of eating disorder content I was inhaling in this book felt like it might crawl out of the page and give me Weight Watchers Oprah ads from the 2000's and yell at me about drinking 2% milk as a teenager. If you have any sort of triggers with an eating disorder, you should skip this. But the mom was also equally as heartless and the whole point of the book being like "yeah...that's just how she was. and that's okay. That's all she could do." ?? Seriously? They were both so horrible to each other throughout this book that it drive me up a wall. Laurie, stop canceling on dinner every night with your mom after she just started the book having a HEART ATTACK. and Dr Liz, you need to go to therapy for all your eating disorder bullshit you've internalized, especially as a gynecologist. That's really concerning honestly that you pride yourself on being a gynecologist and you have such harmful body image views. And these two have a whole host of other issues they need to work out that frankly could be better served just..not interacting, ever. But the whole book was them in the longest fucking argument with the tiniest sliver of kind words and it made me want to tear my eyeballs out. If you like dysfunctional family literature that explores family dynamics in a deep way, this is frankly not it. It was flat and terrible and I learned nothing from this. 

Also, okay Bougee Cosmetics? Yall couldn't come up with a SINGLE other name for a fake cosmetics company? That was in the first of the many short chapters and I was quickly over it when I saw this name come up. 

Lastly, the ending.

Really, it was fake the whole time? That's all you could come up with? It felt so cheap and pulled out of a really bad mystery novel, not what's supposed to be a heartwarming tale between mother and daughter. What I got out of this is, hey don't worry, your toxic mom means well and you just have to accept her for who she is and learn from that and it'll be okay when you're like 40 and have a son.

. 

Overall, this was...rough. I read this because my mom gave it to me, having attended this talk together and she liked the book and gave it to me so I could read it. And I am glad I have finally fulfilled that commitment. I think if you like the premise of this, One Italian Summer by Rebecca Searle does it far better, even if it's not my favorite it covers this whole theme of what the book WANTED you to learn "tell your mom you love her before she dies" far better than this one. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder