rachelmerrie's reviews
354 reviews

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m going to start by saying I’m going through something in my personal life that may be affecting the way I am able to digest some aspects of this book and its characters. I think TJR is a phenomenal writer and I love this book because she brought the situation to life. With that said, I hated nearly everything that happened in this book and would not re-read it because I felt I was re-experiencing my recent extremely hurtful experience. 

Semi-spoilers to follow: 

I know this book is about loss and grief and the things said and done after loss are said and done out of sadness, but the things these characters do BEFORE the loss is what irks me. I often find that people in relationships silo themselves and have the mindset that only they matter in their relationship. And while I do agree that the bottom line of every decision should be made from within the relationship, I do not agree that intentionally and hurt fully leaving people out of major life decisions (not as a decision maker, but as someone to experience the outcome of the decisions) simply because you’re afraid of how the person will react is okay. When you prevent people outside of the relationship that you want to maintain separate relationships with from being aware of situations and getting the chance to respond, you take away their part in the relationship you have with them. It results in secrets and lies and prevents the relationship from growing to its full potential. 

Communicating with your partner about not being ready mentally or financially to have children, but not taking the precautions to prevent pregnancy is one of my biggest frustrations. Getting married to someone you met only a couple of months prior, then expecting people in your partner’s life that have never even heard of you to see your marriage as legitimate is another. 

Why are people in the biggest rush to commit to marriage when they haven’t experienced anything in life for themselves? 




Direct quotes/spoilers:

“How little she knew her own son” 🤢 I cannot stand when people begin seeing someone and instantly believe they know them better than their family (especially if that person is extremely close with their family). I completely agree that two romantic partners know each other DIFFERENTLY than family members know each other, but thinking you can take away how much a family member knows your partner because you believe you’re entitled to first place after 2 months of knowing each other makes me SICK. Narcissists vibes fr. 


One main character yelling at the other and coercing them into rushing into a marriage they aren’t ready for:

“What I want is to be with the kind of man that wants to marry me so bad, nothing will stop him. I want to be loved by someone who loves me so much he can’t think straight. I want you to love me in a way that makes you stupid and impractical. I want to rush into this. Rushing into it is romantic, it makes me feel alive.”

“I deserve you jumping off a cliff for me because I am prepared to do it for you.” 

🤢🤢🤢🤢 I just can’t with this childish ass behavior. 


Conversation that took place between the person who intentionally put a loving family member of their partner on the sideline and that family member: 


“I think I was afraid that you would tell him how ridiculous we were being and he would listen to you. I was afraid I would lose him.” -narcissistic child believing rushing into things is best regardless of who they hurt along the way

“But why would you break up because of that? You wouldn’t. At the very most, he would just decide to wait longer to get married.” - reasonable adult response from someone intentionally being put on the sidelines but wants them to think about their decisions BEFORE they make them 

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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

1.0

So many things to say, but it was overall a poor experience. 

Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater

adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

2.0

Quite boring in comparison to the first. 

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m going to need to watch BookTube to figure out why so many people thought this book was significantly worse than the first. Though it felt like the book was never ending, there was never a dull moment. I have many many questions, but have to remember this is only part 2 of 5, things will circle back. I do believe a few scenes were extremely challenging to follow, whether that was because too many names were thrown around or there were intense fight scenes with creatures I couldn’t quite envision in locations I couldn’t comprehend, but that could absolutely be a me problem, as visualizing specifics has always been a challenge for me. 

Weyward by Emilia Hart

3.5

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

adventurous challenging funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed this and will probably end up purchasing it in the future. 

The “he can do x number of impossible things before breakfast” threw me off at first, I wasn’t sure if I was about to read an Alice in Wonderland spin-off. 

Lady Mourningwood.. really?

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I’m not entirely sure what I just read or how to rate it. I’ve never read anything like it; it was beautiful and sad, but I don’t think I fully grasped the purpose. 

Update: 

I’ve never read anything like this and it is something that continues to come to mind even weeks after finishing it. I believe it was beautifully written and I loved the way he viewed the House as a place to be loved and cherished and nurtured. I loved his admiration for everything the House had to offer and the way he felt blessed by everything the House gave to him, even the dead. 

Through my Book Club meeting on this book, a conversation was sparked asking if we believed the House was real, or if Piranesi was going through a psychotic break. It was in that moment I realized the House very easily could be the result of his experiencing extreme trauma, but of it being his only true comfort and of him finding the beauty in what he is given from the House. I believe if the House were to represent his mind and the way he copes with trauma, that the police officer was the only one able to “find” him because she was the only one willing and able to ask questions in a respectful way that allowed him the ability to share the beauty that came from the trauma. An example of this being the Other frequented the House, yet he never respected it or saw the beauty of it, therefore, Piranesi has no way of sharing his truest deepest gratitude toward it with the Other. 

Now that I’m writing this review, I almost wonder if his encounter with the Prophet wasn’t Piranesi’s way of remembering his abuser in the vaguest sense and refusing to villainize him for his own sanity? Maybe he forgot about the traumas he was put through because of the Prophet and when it was brought to his attention, he chose a different mindset over reliving the mental agony of remembering his abuser and what was done to him? 

I love the way he associates his two names with the two different times in his life. Before the House and during the House. After we go through traumatic events, we lose pieces of ourselves (or sometimes our entire selves) and the person who is going through the thick of the trauma is not the person who has yet to endure it. And those who come out on the other side are neither of the two and evolve into an entirely new person, which he did. I love that he holds his past selves in his heart for safe keeping to always love and protect. 

Disliked (?):

-Piranesi felt very young to me and it was strange picturing him as a 30 year old educated man. But now writing this review and thinking of the book as a psychotic break, I can see how the character wouldn’t have the same mindset he had before everything happened. He is navigating this new world and re-wiring his brain to cope with his losses and it’s as if he has to start this new path from infancy and crawl before he can walk. 

-I wish there was more backstory on Arne-Sayles, why he went to prison, what his crimes were, and how Piranesi got to the House. However, those are mainly questions I’d have if I chose to believe the House was real and not part of Piranesi’s mental health journey (unsure what to believe at this point). With the mindset of believing the House is in his head, maybe it doesn’t matter how or why Piranesi became involved with Arne-Sayles or what he’s done to deserve his imprisonment. Maybe the author left this piece vague so everyone who has been through a trauma event could see the world through Piranesi’s eyes without the specifics of what he went through segregating the reader? 

Unsure, but overall I believe this book will forever be flowing and crashing through my mind. 

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

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? Yes

3.0

Everything I loved in the first book is missing in this one, but hey, there’s a 6’4” giant man with a giant … so I guess that makes up for the lack of communication. Also, I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I didn’t listen to the audio. Cindy Kay’s voice is unbearable. LOVED the ending though. 

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

Just what I needed, right when I needed it. 

I really loved all of the characters and the open lines of communication between each of them. None of that “I’m mad/sad/frustrated, but not going to tell you why, and won’t talk to you for a few days with absolutely no explanation.” No awkward tension for months on end because they wouldn’t let situations get to a place of resentment. 

The ending GUTTED me. 

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

5.0