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oolawuyi_'s reviews
328 reviews
On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
4.0
Gregory is a top-tier fictional boyfriend. I loved Lucy too, a loyal queen.
They need to stop with them babies though
You've Got Male by Lila Monroe
3.0
I did have to roll my eyes at the third act breakup but Zoey and Cam are so cute. From their meet-cute to the palpable joy when they would talk about food together, so sweet.
How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days by Lila Monroe
3.5
Lila Monroe completely managed to infuse the energy and heart of romcoms into this book. Simple and sweet (with characters that have believable chemistry thank God) and I had such a good time with it!
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
3.5
A rocky start in my opinion (I’m not really sure why the book needed the prologue) but things really take off once Nolan and Mallory meet obviously.
Mallory is an interesting character because reading her POV is like if my life was narrated by all the anxiety I experience: has a few truths but is mostly unreliable. She’s in so much denial and is so repressed that it felt hard for me as a reader to fully know her, but I guess that’s the reality of being 18 (lots of self discovery).
On the other hand, I loved Nolan. He’s just a baby boy. I would almost argue he’s too flawless a character. He’s so confident (especially of his feelings for Mal) and emotionally mature, I wish we got to see him go on his own tiny journey.
I also wish we got his POV because while I love the idea that Nolan learns about Mal through chess, where her moves are a way of communicating that only he can/cares to understand, but I wish we got a look at what he saw during those games. It would have been great to see the version of her he saw not just the one she twisted herself into (as Oz said - I didn’t always like that version of her).
Mallory is an interesting character because reading her POV is like if my life was narrated by all the anxiety I experience: has a few truths but is mostly unreliable. She’s in so much denial and is so repressed that it felt hard for me as a reader to fully know her, but I guess that’s the reality of being 18 (lots of self discovery).
On the other hand, I loved Nolan. He’s just a baby boy. I would almost argue he’s too flawless a character. He’s so confident (especially of his feelings for Mal) and emotionally mature, I wish we got to see him go on his own tiny journey.
I also wish we got his POV because while I love the idea that Nolan learns about Mal through chess, where her moves are a way of communicating that only he can/cares to understand, but I wish we got a look at what he saw during those games. It would have been great to see the version of her he saw not just the one she twisted herself into (as Oz said - I didn’t always like that version of her).
Calling on the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund
3.5
We love a man that will go all in on the woman he loves! Looking forward to the next book in the series!
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
4.0
I really liked Lessons in Chemistry! I think it is very witty and its playful style pairs really well with a lot of what the author was trying to do. For example, from the anthropomorphic dog, to the genius four year-old and the main character that is an expert in five or more fields of science, and even the antagonists that are described vaguely like characters in Roald Dahl books, none of the characters feel particularly real. They pull from real experiences many of us can relate to in some way but it helps create an interesting, almost satirical, quality to the book as the author exposes and pokes fun at what it’s like to just exist as a woman in a patriarchal society. You can be a genius but no one will still begin to believe you’re smart enough to do your job, you can be extremely logical or practical, but somehow you’re still a problem because you’re not emotional enough. Basically (like Harriet’s character states), no amount of change will ever make women worthy in patriarchy and the book points out the insanity of it really well.
However, the books has two significant problems for me. The first, which is one I think many other reviewers have pointed out, is that the book deals with very important themes such as gender based discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, homophobia etc. but often does so in a graphic way that it is frankly unnecessary for what is essentially a comedy. While at the beginning, the scenes seem like necessary character background, but as the book goes on there are so many more instances of or references to sexual harassment that are gratuitously thrown in there.
Additionally, another central idea in this book is Elizabeth’s depression, but it is weirdly abandoned at the end. Are we meant to infer that her quitting her job helped her depression or continuing her work in a biogenesis helped or is she just still depressed? Either way I would have liked a little more on it. Even the storyline we did get a resolution to felt rushed and could have been fleshed out better.