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mxcopmy's reviews
95 reviews
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
emotional
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? No
5.0
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Since English is not my first language, I apologize for any linguistic errors in this review.
I think I have now understood all the hype surrounding Dolly Alderton's books. This book was a fantastically painful experience with lots of recognisable moments through ending a relationship. Long live humour combined with a heartbreak story!
Dolly takes you through the male perspective on a heartbreak where, as a 30-something, you actually want to settle down and struggle with many questions about the complexities of growing up. Andy (protagonist) not only has to endure the acid with the 'why' questions about the break-up with Jen, but also his career as a stand-up comedian that is going a bit harder than expected. In addition, when he also realises that his friends have very little time to listen to a heartbroken teenager living in an adult's body, he also tries to question these friendships and why men always go on a binge instead of chatting candidly about their emotions experienced during such life events.
How you see Andy evolve and get all his questions resolved regarding the break-up towards the end of the story was brought in a fantastic way. Also, the fact that the process of grieving over a relationship was brought up so recognisably made it that much more insightful and enjoyable to read. In addition, there were little messages hidden throughout that were shed in beautiful quotes, such as: "And it feels okay. I say all my goodbyes, ready to no doubt meet her again tomorrow to say goodbye all over again." By the way, I don't think I have ever noted and marked so much in a book as I did here, because I saw so much beauty in this story. Well done, Dolly!
Then I haven't even mentioned the humour, OMG! Finally a book that was genuinely funny with the humour I crave for. It really felt like I was watching a Friends episode with Ross as the protagonist. I really enjoyed every second of this book with the right amount of giggles, with my boyfriend sometimes looking up strangely out of incomprehension.
The last chapter from Jen's perspective was actually a bit too redundant and drawn out for me. I actually found it funny when the book ended with Jen listing her "reasons why it's good i'm not with Andy". That would have been the perfect ending for me otherwise.
Highly recommended for those looking for a good laugh through these dark winter months (and maybe a spark of self-help in here too ;) )
I think I have now understood all the hype surrounding Dolly Alderton's books. This book was a fantastically painful experience with lots of recognisable moments through ending a relationship. Long live humour combined with a heartbreak story!
Dolly takes you through the male perspective on a heartbreak where, as a 30-something, you actually want to settle down and struggle with many questions about the complexities of growing up. Andy (protagonist) not only has to endure the acid with the 'why' questions about the break-up with Jen, but also his career as a stand-up comedian that is going a bit harder than expected. In addition, when he also realises that his friends have very little time to listen to a heartbroken teenager living in an adult's body, he also tries to question these friendships and why men always go on a binge instead of chatting candidly about their emotions experienced during such life events.
How you see Andy evolve and get all his questions resolved regarding the break-up towards the end of the story was brought in a fantastic way. Also, the fact that the process of grieving over a relationship was brought up so recognisably made it that much more insightful and enjoyable to read. In addition, there were little messages hidden throughout that were shed in beautiful quotes, such as: "And it feels okay. I say all my goodbyes, ready to no doubt meet her again tomorrow to say goodbye all over again." By the way, I don't think I have ever noted and marked so much in a book as I did here, because I saw so much beauty in this story. Well done, Dolly!
Then I haven't even mentioned the humour, OMG! Finally a book that was genuinely funny with the humour I crave for. It really felt like I was watching a Friends episode with Ross as the protagonist. I really enjoyed every second of this book with the right amount of giggles, with my boyfriend sometimes looking up strangely out of incomprehension.
The last chapter from Jen's perspective was actually a bit too redundant and drawn out for me. I actually found it funny when the book ended with Jen listing her "reasons why it's good i'm not with Andy". That would have been the perfect ending for me otherwise.
Highly recommended for those looking for a good laugh through these dark winter months (and maybe a spark of self-help in here too ;) )
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
On the recommendation of The Shamless Bookclub, I picked up "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang , an author who was not unfamiliar to me. However, the story turned out to have a different twist than I expected. It certainly had a lot of strong points, but still some things where I raised my eyebrows at times.
I was approaching halfway through the book when I noticed a strong insistence on a certain way of thinking with little room for the reader's reservations. For those who do not know what I am talking about, 'yellowface' is a book that starts from a framing concerning racism towards the Asian population, cancel culture, plagiarism and white supremacy. Rebecca Kuang's views came across very clearly, maybe even a bit too intrusive for me. But that doesn’t make that cancel culture, racism and the pressing questions about plagiarism were not well portrayed, because the author framed that in a very interesting way, accompanied by the desired humour. In my opinion, RF. Kuang has done a sterling job of letting it shine through that really no one is safe from these practices any more and that social media is, after all, edge of reality sometimes. So nevertheless, highly recommended for those who want to delve into these topics from a fictional perspective (even though I take fictional with a grain of salt here...).
Besides the fact that you are presented with a book with arrowy and sensitive subjects, you cannot expect to read a book with deep character developments. In fact, apart from Juniper, I found that the characters were described flatly, making it harder for me to really feel connected to the subjects. At least Kuang did manage to make me 'feel' the inconveniences of being cancelled, despite the fact that I disagreed with certain opinions. It was only towards the end that I began to appreciate the book more and more and could not stop reading. The plot effect and the kind of 'thriller'-like aspect made me 'hooked'. Hence, this relatively high rating!
So it is more of an informative and critical work, for those who would still be in doubt to read it.
dark
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"It's hard, after all, to be friends with someone who outshines you at every turn." "Don't we all want a friend who won't ever challenge our superiority because they already know it's a lost cause? Don't we all need someone we can treat as a punching bag?" These are the first lines that grabbed me and made me realise that I had not picked up an ordinary book to read.
On the recommendation of The Shamless Bookclub, I picked up "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang , an author who was not unfamiliar to me. However, the story turned out to have a different twist than I expected. It certainly had a lot of strong points, but still some things where I raised my eyebrows at times.
I was approaching halfway through the book when I noticed a strong insistence on a certain way of thinking with little room for the reader's reservations. For those who do not know what I am talking about, 'yellowface' is a book that starts from a framing concerning racism towards the Asian population, cancel culture, plagiarism and white supremacy. Rebecca Kuang's views came across very clearly, maybe even a bit too intrusive for me. But that doesn’t make that cancel culture, racism and the pressing questions about plagiarism were not well portrayed, because the author framed that in a very interesting way, accompanied by the desired humour. In my opinion, RF. Kuang has done a sterling job of letting it shine through that really no one is safe from these practices any more and that social media is, after all, edge of reality sometimes. So nevertheless, highly recommended for those who want to delve into these topics from a fictional perspective (even though I take fictional with a grain of salt here...).
Besides the fact that you are presented with a book with arrowy and sensitive subjects, you cannot expect to read a book with deep character developments. In fact, apart from Juniper, I found that the characters were described flatly, making it harder for me to really feel connected to the subjects. At least Kuang did manage to make me 'feel' the inconveniences of being cancelled, despite the fact that I disagreed with certain opinions. It was only towards the end that I began to appreciate the book more and more and could not stop reading. The plot effect and the kind of 'thriller'-like aspect made me 'hooked'. Hence, this relatively high rating!
So it is more of an informative and critical work, for those who would still be in doubt to read it.
De Volksjury: de meest spraakmakende moordzaken op een onverantwoorde manier verteld by Laura Scheerlinck, Silke Vandenbroeck
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
I will also write this review in English, despite this book being written in Dutch.
Much to my regret, I had been tactically avoiding this book for several months. I tried a few times to listen to 'de volksjury' podcast, in which they did not really engage me. Furthermore, I did not really feel that I would enjoy reading about true-crime, since I am more interested in the visual evidence and oral testimonies anyway. So, I thought, let's stick to true-crime series! But nothing could be further from the truth, this was a page-turner that I nevertheless read with great interest and to my great surprise, gifted 4 stars.
Normally, I wouldn't fall for the transparent writing style as in 'de volksjury', but in the end, it struck a chord immensely. The writing style really let you get carried away, as if you were actually listening to a podcast (wink wink) and not reading a book. It was a good balance between light humour, expertise and factual depiction of the crimes. The only downside was perhaps the lack of detail. For instance, I already knew several cases from Netflix or other programmes, such as Amanda Knox, Kendrick, Nicky Verstappen, Sally Vanhecke, Nathalie Holloway, the parachute murder, the staircase... you name it! With some crucial elements missing anyway. In the end, this was quickly forgotten (and perhaps forgiven) by letting some of my favourite experts, including Werner Jacobs and Peter Adriaenssens, have their say.
I can already see myself possibly reading the 2nd book in the coming months!
PS: Also highly recommended to get out of a reading slump.
Much to my regret, I had been tactically avoiding this book for several months. I tried a few times to listen to 'de volksjury' podcast, in which they did not really engage me. Furthermore, I did not really feel that I would enjoy reading about true-crime, since I am more interested in the visual evidence and oral testimonies anyway. So, I thought, let's stick to true-crime series! But nothing could be further from the truth, this was a page-turner that I nevertheless read with great interest and to my great surprise, gifted 4 stars.
Normally, I wouldn't fall for the transparent writing style as in 'de volksjury', but in the end, it struck a chord immensely. The writing style really let you get carried away, as if you were actually listening to a podcast (wink wink) and not reading a book. It was a good balance between light humour, expertise and factual depiction of the crimes. The only downside was perhaps the lack of detail. For instance, I already knew several cases from Netflix or other programmes, such as Amanda Knox, Kendrick, Nicky Verstappen, Sally Vanhecke, Nathalie Holloway, the parachute murder, the staircase... you name it! With some crucial elements missing anyway. In the end, this was quickly forgotten (and perhaps forgiven) by letting some of my favourite experts, including Werner Jacobs and Peter Adriaenssens, have their say.
I can already see myself possibly reading the 2nd book in the coming months!
PS: Also highly recommended to get out of a reading slump.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Bezonken rood by Jeroen Brouwers
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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
2.5
Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Despite the fact that it took me a month to find the time to finish this book, I closed this book again with much pain in my heart. Still, I must say this is currently my least favourite book in the series (but who knows, maybe this will change?).
In the books about Shannon & Johnny, I was not really invested in Joey & Aoife's story. This might have biased me a bit to start the book. Despite taking so long to finish it, I was able to follow it back into the story very easily and had not forgotten anything that had happened! Yet on this positive note, I must also note the less good side of it, namely that this was because there was many repetition in it. This was also the case with the first 2 books, but here I found it even more extreme somehow. In fact, I found very many parts similar to Johnny & Shannon's. There were also very few new things that happened, unfortunately, so I don't feel I can write a decent review on this....
Anyhow, I am still secretly curious to see how things will continue between them 2 and am definitely already warming up to read that one too!
In the books about Shannon & Johnny, I was not really invested in Joey & Aoife's story. This might have biased me a bit to start the book. Despite taking so long to finish it, I was able to follow it back into the story very easily and had not forgotten anything that had happened! Yet on this positive note, I must also note the less good side of it, namely that this was because there was many repetition in it. This was also the case with the first 2 books, but here I found it even more extreme somehow. In fact, I found very many parts similar to Johnny & Shannon's. There were also very few new things that happened, unfortunately, so I don't feel I can write a decent review on this....
Anyhow, I am still secretly curious to see how things will continue between them 2 and am definitely already warming up to read that one too!
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Let me start by saying this: Ocean is a stellar writer. He immerses you in his words that are a magical translation of feelings. They gave me warm feelings and chills every time. How he could make every detail so tangible probably reflects how those ambivalent feelings came to me.
It was just a bit hard to follow at times. He sometimes described 2 different themes in 1 chapter which confused me. I also missed some depth in the story. Every time I caught myself waiting for when I was going to understand his history better, but it didn't come. So while it was an okay experience, I might have expected a bit more emotion from myself as these letters do touch on hugely emotion-laden themes.
Tip: read the book while listening to quiet classical music in the background. This brings the story much more to the fore than otherwise!
It was just a bit hard to follow at times. He sometimes described 2 different themes in 1 chapter which confused me. I also missed some depth in the story. Every time I caught myself waiting for when I was going to understand his history better, but it didn't come. So while it was an okay experience, I might have expected a bit more emotion from myself as these letters do touch on hugely emotion-laden themes.
Tip: read the book while listening to quiet classical music in the background. This brings the story much more to the fore than otherwise!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, War, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
!BIG SPOILER ALERT!
Beyond reach was the perfect painful finale for this series. I spent a long time wrapping my head around how the story really made sense and who had done exactly what, but it wasn't until the very last that this became clear. Again, wonderfully done, like most of Slaughter's books.
I was genuinely surprised what turn beyond reach had taken. When I had finished reading faithless (book 5) & immediately started in beyond reach, I was so sure who was after lena & who was in the burning vehicle. In the end, I was completely wrong & it positively surprised me! You were taken into the most tensed scenes every chapter, even more tensed than in the previous books! This was specifically due to the strong interaction between the main characters, namely Lena, Jeffrey & Sara. It was also fun to read an entire book that was mainly about the main characters for once, as I did miss this at times in some previous books. When you read this series in order and not as stand alones, you also create a huge bond with these characters which makes each chapter interactfull. In beyond reach, this was huge! I was really perplexed how, for instance, Lena's mother was still alive after all these years of believing she was dead & that you were first put on a trail that supposedly Hank was the father. There was then also a tender part where Sara & Jeffrey are just about to finally be able to adopt a baby. All these together made the story a rollercoaster of emotions.
I had read a book in the Will Trent series that lightly mentioned already that Sara is widowed because her husband, Jeffrey, died in an attack. So when I started the series I thought 'oh no, so I'm going to read how the main character dies!!!'. And yes, the last 6 pages in beyond reach this did effectively happen. Unfortunately, I found this piece the most silly ever. I therefore found it very unfortunate that Slaughter just writes 6 pages of quick how Jeffrey dies a gruesome death when you have read 6 books at a stretch about him. Jeffrey's death was not given the necessary focus and grief that I feel it should have. I also really feel that this is not the end and that there must be a follow-up after all? So I don't know if the Will Trent series will pick up on this or not, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. Because of this, I also don't give it 5 stars, but 4. It was just too implausible, sloppy and also just pretty nasty to use your main character like that as a final shock effect....
Beyond reach was the perfect painful finale for this series. I spent a long time wrapping my head around how the story really made sense and who had done exactly what, but it wasn't until the very last that this became clear. Again, wonderfully done, like most of Slaughter's books.
I was genuinely surprised what turn beyond reach had taken. When I had finished reading faithless (book 5) & immediately started in beyond reach, I was so sure who was after lena & who was in the burning vehicle. In the end, I was completely wrong & it positively surprised me! You were taken into the most tensed scenes every chapter, even more tensed than in the previous books! This was specifically due to the strong interaction between the main characters, namely Lena, Jeffrey & Sara. It was also fun to read an entire book that was mainly about the main characters for once, as I did miss this at times in some previous books. When you read this series in order and not as stand alones, you also create a huge bond with these characters which makes each chapter interactfull. In beyond reach, this was huge! I was really perplexed how, for instance, Lena's mother was still alive after all these years of believing she was dead & that you were first put on a trail that supposedly Hank was the father. There was then also a tender part where Sara & Jeffrey are just about to finally be able to adopt a baby. All these together made the story a rollercoaster of emotions.
I had read a book in the Will Trent series that lightly mentioned already that Sara is widowed because her husband, Jeffrey, died in an attack. So when I started the series I thought 'oh no, so I'm going to read how the main character dies!!!'. And yes, the last 6 pages in beyond reach this did effectively happen. Unfortunately, I found this piece the most silly ever. I therefore found it very unfortunate that Slaughter just writes 6 pages of quick how Jeffrey dies a gruesome death when you have read 6 books at a stretch about him. Jeffrey's death was not given the necessary focus and grief that I feel it should have. I also really feel that this is not the end and that there must be a follow-up after all? So I don't know if the Will Trent series will pick up on this or not, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. Because of this, I also don't give it 5 stars, but 4. It was just too implausible, sloppy and also just pretty nasty to use your main character like that as a final shock effect....
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Racism, Murder, and Hate crime
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence