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nickartrip102's reviews
756 reviews
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
3.0
Look, I get that death and trauma are tough for young people, but Anthony's lifelong obsession with dying early seems silly and distracted from what was an otherwise entertaining story.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
5.0
Quite possibly the most depressing novel I have ever read, but it is beautiful, thought provoking, and challenging in ways I never imagined. An impressive piece of literature that left me stunned and overwhelmed.
He Called Me Broken by Annabeth Chatwin
5.0
This is an absolutely beautiful continuation of Chatwin's previous story "He Called Me Beautiful." Once again she did not disappoint, with prose that is both hopeful and heartbreaking. It is wonderful to see writers who allow their male protagonists to be vulnerable and fully realized and is so totally necessary in a world where toxic masculinity dominates. Stories like these, that bring attention to mental health issues, particularly as they pertain to the queer community, need and deserve to be told! Very satisfied with this read and continue to look forward to more from this capable and talented author.
After by Anna Todd
2.0
Judgmental, prudish virgin cheats on boyfriend with manipulative, emotionally abusive "bad" boy, all while never having the self awareness to realize that she is in fact an asshole who is falling for someone who is also an asshole. Yikes. I should rate this higher, because I couldn't stop reading it and cannot wait to see what melodrama follows in the sequel, but this is so poorly written and the dialogue is so incredibly unbelievable that it doesn't merit a higher rating. I understand this started out as fanfiction, no judgment there, but this should have been edited and restructured before being published for a wider audience. Yes, this story is problematic as hell, yes I hate the protagonist and her love interest, but damn it - this story still somehow manages to be addictive despite the endless repetition of fights and drama. I hate myself for it, but I will finish reading this series, even if I cringe every single time Hardin muses about how "wet" Tessa is (her naivety about sex is also unbelievable, unless she was secretly Amish before the events of this novel.)
After We Collided by Anna Todd
2.0
Dear god, Jane Austen and Emily Bronte would be apoplectic if they knew that their novels were being used as comparisons to this loathsome couple. Hardin Scott is a violent, disgusting predator. Tessa is a naive, dull hypocrite. Boring, repetitive and unbelievable characters. This book glamorizes emotional abuse and toxic behavior and lacked the melodramatic thrill of the first installment. It ended on a cliffhanger intended to stir up excitement for the next book, but I need a break from this series.
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
5.0
This novel was beautiful and haunting, filled with unforgettable characters.
Mermaid Moon by Susann Cokal
4.0
Aesthetically this is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read and I certainly feel that, that attention to detail is wonderful! The story was engaging and well written. I especially appreciated the matriarchal society and the normalcy of queer relationships in the narrative. I don't know that I had any qualms with the story itself, though I do wish there were more textual clues to enable the reader to more easily pronounce some of the more difficult names in the story (Google helped me immensely.) This was a quick read that only took me a few hours and my only regret is that there wasn't more!
Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee - by Their Son Dodd Darin by Dodd Darin
4.0
My real rating is 3.5. This is well written and acts as an excellent book about Darin and Dee. As a huge Sandra Dee fan this was a tough read, revelation after revelation about how grossly tragic her real life was. There were times when the writing felt a bit too guarded and given the closeness of the author and the subjects this is understandable. But all in all a good, but depressing read.
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
3.0
I really enjoyed this book and it made me laugh and cry in equal parts. It would have been better with fuller characterization and more tension. It seemed that all of the tension came together in full force during the last seventy or so pages of the novel, but more conflict throughout out would have made for a richer narrative.