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sharanyaaguha's reviews
57 reviews
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The title of the book is one of the main reasons why I was dying to read it.
It's the story of a group of 4 people, mostly cousins. Cadence, the protagonist is the granddaughter of Haris Sinclair, of the well known, rich Sinclair clan. Haris has 3 daughters, Cadence is the daughter of Penelope, Haris's youngest. They spend their summers together on their private island. Cadence, Johny, Mirren are cousins and is joined by Gat (nephew of Cadence's aunt's boyfriend). The four of them are called Liars.
Summer of when Cadence was fifteen, they all went together to the island to spend their summer. However it is soon followed by an accident where Cadence loses her memory of the incident. Heavy on meds, and still suffering from immense pain caused by the migraines, Cadence goes back to the island, two years later, summer of seventeen. Soon she remember everything that has happened.
The book potrays love and friendship of Cadence, Johny, Mirren and Gat beautifully. Honestly, I did not expect that ending! The last part of the book had me on the edge of my seat. This is one of those books which you read thinking it's just a mystery book but turns out to be something a lot more than that.
What I loved the most is the fragmented style of writing which set the perfect ambience to the story. The character introduction was so beautiful. " He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee. I could have looked at him forever. " - she introduced Gat like this. The book has a poetic essence, rhymes, incomplete lines and if this is something you don't like then you should stay away from this book.
Semi Detailed Plot : Cadence is in love with Gat. In short, summer of 15 they see their moms fighting with their grandfather regarding property heritance and stuff. So they decide to burn their grandfather's most beautiful house and in the process Johny, Mirren and Gat dies. Which explains why they haven't responded to any of her mails in the last 2 years. She is schizophrenic (it seems) as when she goes back to the island two years later in the summer of 17 , Johny, Marren and Gat is still there (or she sees their ghost/ imagines them). Throughout the summer of 17 she searched for the exact reason why cadence lost her memory and why is no one telling her anything.
It's the story of a group of 4 people, mostly cousins. Cadence, the protagonist is the granddaughter of Haris Sinclair, of the well known, rich Sinclair clan. Haris has 3 daughters, Cadence is the daughter of Penelope, Haris's youngest. They spend their summers together on their private island. Cadence, Johny, Mirren are cousins and is joined by Gat (nephew of Cadence's aunt's boyfriend). The four of them are called Liars.
Summer of when Cadence was fifteen, they all went together to the island to spend their summer. However it is soon followed by an accident where Cadence loses her memory of the incident. Heavy on meds, and still suffering from immense pain caused by the migraines, Cadence goes back to the island, two years later, summer of seventeen. Soon she remember everything that has happened.
The book potrays love and friendship of Cadence, Johny, Mirren and Gat beautifully. Honestly, I did not expect that ending! The last part of the book had me on the edge of my seat. This is one of those books which you read thinking it's just a mystery book but turns out to be something a lot more than that.
What I loved the most is the fragmented style of writing which set the perfect ambience to the story. The character introduction was so beautiful. " He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee. I could have looked at him forever. " - she introduced Gat like this. The book has a poetic essence, rhymes, incomplete lines and if this is something you don't like then you should stay away from this book.
"He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee. I could have looked at him forever."
“She is sugar, curiosity, and rain.”
" What if we could stop being different colors, different backgrounds, and just be in love?"
“Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments. I get the same thing spending an hour with you.”
“I love him, but I am not sure I like him.”
“Be a little kinder than you have to.”
Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This isn't a review. How can you really review someone's memoir?
Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford is her own story. It talks about her life, without her father's physical presence and a confusing relationship with her mother.
The book is so well written, even simple sentences were written so well that I had to highlight them because I want to remember the sound of it.
The end of the book made me really emotional. There were times I couldn't really hold my tears. There were so many emotions present in the book. Sometimes the words felt like a warm hug and sometimes I felt like if only I could go and hug that little girl. The book is full of emotions and I really don't have words to describe how beautiful it is.
It's really a beautiful read :')
Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford is her own story. It talks about her life, without her father's physical presence and a confusing relationship with her mother.
The book is so well written, even simple sentences were written so well that I had to highlight them because I want to remember the sound of it.
The end of the book made me really emotional. There were times I couldn't really hold my tears. There were so many emotions present in the book. Sometimes the words felt like a warm hug and sometimes I felt like if only I could go and hug that little girl. The book is full of emotions and I really don't have words to describe how beautiful it is.
It's really a beautiful read :')
"I knew I couldn’t have the sunrise or its colors for my own. Some things were too precious not to be shared."
"We don’t give up on our people. We don’t stop loving them." She looked into my face, her eyes watering at the bottoms. "Not even when we’re burning alive."
"For the rest of my life, I would seek out the library the way some search for the soft light of a chapel in the dark."
“If I give you all of me, and you give me nothing back, then what do I have? Less than nothing. Less of me, and none of you.”
"But in that moment, I felt like someone’s little girl. And I’d been waiting a long time to feel like somebody’s daughter."
"I mostly spoke my truth in the spaces where my family was absent."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Laurel's teenager daughter Ellie goes missing one day. Years of search bear no result and Ellie is nowhere to be found. But 10 years later she meets a man whose daughter looks exactly like Ellie.
This is all I am going to say about this book. Honestly go as blind as you can into this one and let the story unfold. With every new character being introduced I thought of a possibility but there was always a twist. The end was not what I expected at all, and it kept me guessing all the time. The plot get darks at a time, but it's truly worth it. The story is told in multiple POV so you get to learn about everyone's motive too. The ending is dramatic and emotional.
Extremely Detailed Plot : One fine Wednesday morning Ellie heads out to the library but she never comes back. 10 years of exhausting search bear no result for Laurel. 10 years later, they find the last of Ellie's in a forest along with human remains of Ellie. Ellie is dead. Laurel moves on with her life, still having no answer to who killed Ellie and why. He meets Floyd in a cafe and soon meets her daughter Poppy who looks exactly like Ellie.
When she gets a rough idea that Floyd is somehow involved in Ellie's disappearance, Floyd dissapears(and later kills himself) leaving her a note which says -
Noelle Donnelly was Ellie's maths teacher. She was in love with Floyd. Floyd had a compilcated relationship with his daughter(with previous wife) and Noelle wanted to give Floyd a baby and in return she wanted his love. However she suffered a miscarriage. She was madly in love with Floyd and hence she kidnaped Ellie, locked her up in her basement for months. One night when Floyd was drunk enough, she switched herself with unconcious Ellie and Ellie soon gets pregnant with his baby and Noelle fakes her own pregnancy. 9 months later, Noelle can't take Elle to the hospital for obvious reasons so she delivers her baby(Poppy) in the basement. But still, Floyd would not love her. Even when she gave him a beautiful daughter Floyd wouldnt. All her hardwork bear no result and irritated by Ellie's cries (she got a terrible infection from giving birth in the dirty basement) she shuts the door and for months doesnt go there. Ellie dies just like that, in pain, in hunger, and in grief of not being able to see her family again. Months later Noelle dumps Ellie's remains in a forest and plans on returning to her home with Poppy(without telling Flyod). Floyd comes to know about this and just as she was about to leave he confronts her. Noelle tells Floyd the whole truth and in the process Floyd accidentally kills Noelle and buries her in his garden. It is then he decides he will meet Laurel and tell her the truth but all his life he was yearning for a family and with Laurel he found one. This delays the process and leads to Laurel's individual investigation and before she starts formulating reasons and situations about Ellie's death, he goes away forever, leaving behind a note, Poppy and closure.
This is all I am going to say about this book. Honestly go as blind as you can into this one and let the story unfold. With every new character being introduced I thought of a possibility but there was always a twist. The end was not what I expected at all, and it kept me guessing all the time. The plot get darks at a time, but it's truly worth it. The story is told in multiple POV so you get to learn about everyone's motive too. The ending is dramatic and emotional.
Extremely Detailed Plot : One fine Wednesday morning Ellie heads out to the library but she never comes back. 10 years of exhausting search bear no result for Laurel. 10 years later, they find the last of Ellie's in a forest along with human remains of Ellie. Ellie is dead. Laurel moves on with her life, still having no answer to who killed Ellie and why. He meets Floyd in a cafe and soon meets her daughter Poppy who looks exactly like Ellie.
When she gets a rough idea that Floyd is somehow involved in Ellie's disappearance, Floyd dissapears(and later kills himself) leaving her a note which says -
Noelle Donnelly was Ellie's maths teacher. She was in love with Floyd. Floyd had a compilcated relationship with his daughter(with previous wife) and Noelle wanted to give Floyd a baby and in return she wanted his love. However she suffered a miscarriage. She was madly in love with Floyd and hence she kidnaped Ellie, locked her up in her basement for months. One night when Floyd was drunk enough, she switched herself with unconcious Ellie and Ellie soon gets pregnant with his baby and Noelle fakes her own pregnancy. 9 months later, Noelle can't take Elle to the hospital for obvious reasons so she delivers her baby(Poppy) in the basement. But still, Floyd would not love her. Even when she gave him a beautiful daughter Floyd wouldnt. All her hardwork bear no result and irritated by Ellie's cries (she got a terrible infection from giving birth in the dirty basement) she shuts the door and for months doesnt go there. Ellie dies just like that, in pain, in hunger, and in grief of not being able to see her family again. Months later Noelle dumps Ellie's remains in a forest and plans on returning to her home with Poppy(without telling Flyod). Floyd comes to know about this and just as she was about to leave he confronts her. Noelle tells Floyd the whole truth and in the process Floyd accidentally kills Noelle and buries her in his garden. It is then he decides he will meet Laurel and tell her the truth but all his life he was yearning for a family and with Laurel he found one. This delays the process and leads to Laurel's individual investigation and before she starts formulating reasons and situations about Ellie's death, he goes away forever, leaving behind a note, Poppy and closure.
"May was like the Friday night of summer: all the good times lying ahead of you, bright and shiny and waiting to be lived."
"A man who can’t love but desperately needs to be loved is a dangerous thing indeed."
"Stories,” she says, “are the only thing in this world that are real. Everything else is just a dream."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death and Miscarriage
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Theodore Finch, a 17 year old high school student meets Violet Mackey when he's standing on the ledge of the bell tower at school. Told in alternating pov, they soon pair up for a geography project which leads them to a journey to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of Indiana.
Finch, coping with the darkness that sometimes engulfs him and Violet healing from her sisters recent death. Both of them has things they are trying to heal from, and desperately tries to save one another.
The ending was sad, I kind of had a hint what was going to happen but the story is unforgettable.
They fall in love discovering the natural wonders of Indiana. But the darkness that engulfs Finch grows more and more which leads him to take his life in one of the wonders, and in the process showing Violet that she is still worthy and doesnt have to beat her up for what happened to her sister.
This book screams depression and the importance of mental health. Finch is clearly suffering and none of his family members not even his friends knows or wants to know this. He is suicidal and needs help, and everytime he drives away when he's in his dark his friends or family say "he does that sometimes he will return soon enough".
Finch, coping with the darkness that sometimes engulfs him and Violet healing from her sisters recent death. Both of them has things they are trying to heal from, and desperately tries to save one another.
The ending was sad, I kind of had a hint what was going to happen but the story is unforgettable.
They fall in love discovering the natural wonders of Indiana. But the darkness that engulfs Finch grows more and more which leads him to take his life in one of the wonders, and in the process showing Violet that she is still worthy and doesnt have to beat her up for what happened to her sister.
This book screams depression and the importance of mental health. Finch is clearly suffering and none of his family members not even his friends knows or wants to know this. He is suicidal and needs help, and everytime he drives away when he's in his dark his friends or family say "he does that sometimes he will return soon enough".
"I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it."
"I’m used to slowing down so that everyone else can catch up."
"Since I stopped writing, I read more than ever. Other people’s words, not my own—my words are gone."
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Hannah's has recently married Owen, who has a 16 year old daughter Bailey with his previous wife who has passed away. One day Owen suddenly disappears leaving Hannah a note and Bailey lots of Cash. Hannah starts to search for her husband and his world is shaken when he finds out Owen is not who he said he is. The book is fast paced with a lot of chapters ending in cliffhangers. It's the kind of book that makes you go "one more chapter". However the storyline instantly reminded me of Saul Goodman (Reference : Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul). It was as if Owen was Saul's son-in-law. The buildup was great which gave me an expectation that there will be a great back story but the ending didn't meet up with my expectation. There wasn't any twists as such, it's a plain one time read....
<spolier>Semi Detailed Plot : Hannah goes to Austin with Bailey to dig up the reason why Owen disappeared. It was prety clear why, because the tech firm in which Owen was working in promised to deliver something big and failed. The Police investigation led to the arrest of the CEO and t was clear that Owen was next. But Hannah did'nt understand why Owen would leave them alone and run away. In Austin he finds the reason why. Apparently, Owen's previous father in law was some lawyer who worked for some "bad guys" and owen had led their arrest by leaking all the details to the Police(which led to the death of Owen's first wife btw) and Owen had to protect Bailey at all cost (so, his pictures shouldnt be put on TV and hence he ran away because otherwise the bad guys will recognise him) and thus they changed cities, gave themselves new identities , started all over again and lied to Hannah about his past.
What I didnt like? Hmm. Have you watched The Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul? This story felt like Owen was Saul's son in law(if there would be any), it fit so perfectly. The entire story and buildup was excellent. I was hoping to read about a solid reason why Owen gave himself the new identity. But this lawyer working for bad guy thing umm no no a very weak reason.
However, throughout this search, the bond between Bailey and Hannah improved which was a plus point and evident in the last chapter.
<spolier>Semi Detailed Plot : Hannah goes to Austin with Bailey to dig up the reason why Owen disappeared. It was prety clear why, because the tech firm in which Owen was working in promised to deliver something big and failed. The Police investigation led to the arrest of the CEO and t was clear that Owen was next. But Hannah did'nt understand why Owen would leave them alone and run away. In Austin he finds the reason why. Apparently, Owen's previous father in law was some lawyer who worked for some "bad guys" and owen had led their arrest by leaking all the details to the Police(which led to the death of Owen's first wife btw) and Owen had to protect Bailey at all cost (so, his pictures shouldnt be put on TV and hence he ran away because otherwise the bad guys will recognise him) and thus they changed cities, gave themselves new identities , started all over again and lied to Hannah about his past.
What I didnt like? Hmm. Have you watched The Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul? This story felt like Owen was Saul's son in law(if there would be any), it fit so perfectly. The entire story and buildup was excellent. I was hoping to read about a solid reason why Owen gave himself the new identity. But this lawyer working for bad guy thing umm no no a very weak reason.
However, throughout this search, the bond between Bailey and Hannah improved which was a plus point and evident in the last chapter.
"it's a terrible thing to know everything about someone long after you want to."
"This is the terrible thing about tragedy. It isn't with you every minute. You forget it, and then you remember it again."
In Love With Pain: ( English Edition ) by Ventum
4.0
Keeping a note of my favourite quotes :
"come in,
and I’ll show you
what I’ve become—
too broken for many,
yet loved by some."
"Find me
in the depths
of these waters,
where love lies
on the ground,
where I don’t
fear being lost,
but being found."
"hearts become ashes;
souls burn forever."
"I am a dreamer,
neither lost nor found,
waiting for a story
worth dreaming forever."
(about love and pain) - "The only difference is they don’t exist
at the same time. When one is awake, and when the other is asleep."
"some stories are pointless
to read twice, some lovers don’t deserve a second chance, and some friends
don’t deserve it either"
"it seems as though hope
burns to ashes with
every inhale"
"I am the love you will seek, but also the one you will
never find, for you tried to control the feather, but I was always the wind."
"in the end we were just
lovers that crossed
each other’s mind
once in a while."
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