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soupanna's reviews
75 reviews
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
1.0
After rereading it again now that I am older let me just say that this book it pretty awful and made me extremely uncomfortable reading through it. Not gonna go through much details of the book but the main thing that made me give this book a 1 star rating is how Park and asian people overall are portrayed. It's clear from reading this book that Rainbow Rowell has never done any research or bothered to represent asian people and asian families well.
The Elite by Kiera Cass
2.0
Disclaimer: This was a reread (however I forgot the entire plot so I am basically starting from scratch) and I've already finished the series by the time I wrote this.
god this book made me mad.
First of all... America make up your fucking mind! Honestly the back and forward between Aspen and Maxon sucked and you can't even call it a love triangle because Maxon doesn't know about Aspen and America at all.
Second thing: I know world building is hard... I really get it but man was the world building in this book pretty bad. It was supposed to show a different side of the world they live in, and how America matures I guess, and also show her understanding of the people but wow it was so badly done.
The rebels seem pretty pointless in this book. It seemed like an interesting plot point to add in and to show how America is gonna "save the world" but in this book other than a few scares and a way to send people home? They did nothing.
The only thing that really stuck with me from this book is Marlee and Carter... that canning scene really horrified me as a kid and still did to this day.
Overall, yea I guess you kinda have to read this book to understand what will happen. But honestly skim read it and you'll miss very little.
Also Maxon and Aspen are a bit more of an ass in this one for whatever reason. America... I would choose neither of them (especially after Maxon with Celeste)
god this book made me mad.
First of all... America make up your fucking mind! Honestly the back and forward between Aspen and Maxon sucked and you can't even call it a love triangle because Maxon doesn't know about Aspen and America at all.
Second thing: I know world building is hard... I really get it but man was the world building in this book pretty bad. It was supposed to show a different side of the world they live in, and how America matures I guess, and also show her understanding of the people but wow it was so badly done.
The rebels seem pretty pointless in this book. It seemed like an interesting plot point to add in and to show how America is gonna "save the world" but in this book other than a few scares and a way to send people home? They did nothing.
The only thing that really stuck with me from this book is Marlee and Carter... that canning scene really horrified me as a kid and still did to this day.
Overall, yea I guess you kinda have to read this book to understand what will happen. But honestly skim read it and you'll miss very little.
Also Maxon and Aspen are a bit more of an ass in this one for whatever reason. America... I would choose neither of them (especially after Maxon with Celeste)
The One by Kiera Cass
3.0
disclaimer: this review is based off of a reread of this
book! however I basically forgot the plot so
Its 2am and I just finished rereading this book so this review will be pretty bad but I enjoyed this book even though that might be because I am a huge sucker for romance. Like seriously do I hate Maxon, do I love him?
The ending was okay. I wish Celeste was still alive and that the wedding was described a bit grander. It seemed like a rushed conclusion and a forced hey here's a happy ending lets not tell you about all the destruction that happened (I guess thats what sequels are for)
Honestly I thought the plot would come to something bigger, especially regarding America's dad being a Northern Rebel. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and still despise how long America and Aspen's relationship was dragged on, not the mention how Maxon reacted when he found out.
The relationship between Maxon and America was also a bit confusing and uncertain because I felt like there was so little trust right until the very end. Too much arguing between tender moments and so much distrust. I'll be honest here, I love Maxon, I really do but honestly how the fuck this America put up with how he was with the other girls. It made me mad i'll admit but I guess she was doing the same thing with Aspen.
But the book was an enjoyable read. I like romance and a bit of action. It's sweet, its cute and if you read the first book you definitely have to read all the way to the end. This book series just makes you keep wanting to read and read and read.
book! however I basically forgot the plot so
Its 2am and I just finished rereading this book so this review will be pretty bad but I enjoyed this book even though that might be because I am a huge sucker for romance. Like seriously do I hate Maxon, do I love him?
The ending was okay. I wish Celeste was still alive and that the wedding was described a bit grander. It seemed like a rushed conclusion and a forced hey here's a happy ending lets not tell you about all the destruction that happened (I guess thats what sequels are for)
Honestly I thought the plot would come to something bigger, especially regarding America's dad being a Northern Rebel. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and still despise how long America and Aspen's relationship was dragged on, not the mention how Maxon reacted when he found out.
The relationship between Maxon and America was also a bit confusing and uncertain because I felt like there was so little trust right until the very end. Too much arguing between tender moments and so much distrust. I'll be honest here, I love Maxon, I really do but honestly how the fuck this America put up with how he was with the other girls. It made me mad i'll admit but I guess she was doing the same thing with Aspen.
But the book was an enjoyable read. I like romance and a bit of action. It's sweet, its cute and if you read the first book you definitely have to read all the way to the end. This book series just makes you keep wanting to read and read and read.
This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
1.0
im having a hard time forming words and deciding what I really felt about this book. I bought it two ish years ago and only got to reading it now.
To write a book about such a serious and complex concept of motive, anger, pain and tragedy and make it this simplified and single faced is almost an insult? Not to mention the "diversity" that the authors puts into the story which makes it so fucking clear that these characters are just here to be the token poc and diversity check.
The story is written in a way that makes it so hard to understand each character but also makes it hard to understand the situation.
I was not a fan of the use of social media in this book, I felt as if so much potential writing was taken away by that aspect.
I don't know what else to say other than I wouldn't tell anyone to read this book.
To write a book about such a serious and complex concept of motive, anger, pain and tragedy and make it this simplified and single faced is almost an insult? Not to mention the "diversity" that the authors puts into the story which makes it so fucking clear that these characters are just here to be the token poc and diversity check.
The story is written in a way that makes it so hard to understand each character but also makes it hard to understand the situation.
I was not a fan of the use of social media in this book, I felt as if so much potential writing was taken away by that aspect.
I don't know what else to say other than I wouldn't tell anyone to read this book.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
4.0
This book was incredibly hyped up, specifically on booktok and I was super worried going into it that I would be disappointed but I definitely wasn't! This book is so well written and has the most exciting plot that draws you in. I couldn't put this book down!
There's a lot of parts of the story that I like so i'll break it down into sections.
The Plot
This book is fast paced and instantly introducing the main plot. The plot is so easy to understand and grabs your attention right away. The writing, especially the multiple perspectives (which I love in books) leaves you at the edge of your seat and makes you keep reading. Honestly there isn't really any huge flaw in the plot that I could find. For the author's first book, I am insanely impressed at how good this is.
The Characters
One thing that I think makes books so much easier to read are likeable characters. The book centers around 4 characters who are all super different yet the author is great at drawing connections and writing a building relationship with them. I also loved how each character was able to grow as person within the story and we really see how this situation has changed them for the better. I loved the twists in each character's personal story and how the authors uses them to develop the situation so effortlessly.
I love Nate. End of sentence. Maybe its just the bad boy falls in love with good girl trope lover in me but I love how the authors writes him and his relationship with the others and how she didn't make him an ass.
Overall this book is super easy and fun to read and exceeded my expectations. I will be reading the sequel and looking for more books from the author. 10/10 would recommend this to someone.
There's a lot of parts of the story that I like so i'll break it down into sections.
The Plot
This book is fast paced and instantly introducing the main plot. The plot is so easy to understand and grabs your attention right away. The writing, especially the multiple perspectives (which I love in books) leaves you at the edge of your seat and makes you keep reading. Honestly there isn't really any huge flaw in the plot that I could find. For the author's first book, I am insanely impressed at how good this is.
The Characters
One thing that I think makes books so much easier to read are likeable characters. The book centers around 4 characters who are all super different yet the author is great at drawing connections and writing a building relationship with them. I also loved how each character was able to grow as person within the story and we really see how this situation has changed them for the better. I loved the twists in each character's personal story and how the authors uses them to develop the situation so effortlessly.
I love Nate. End of sentence. Maybe its just the bad boy falls in love with good girl trope lover in me but I love how the authors writes him and his relationship with the others and how she didn't make him an ass.
Overall this book is super easy and fun to read and exceeded my expectations. I will be reading the sequel and looking for more books from the author. 10/10 would recommend this to someone.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
1.0
I'll be honest here and say what I would never say about a book. The movie was better.
Shocking right? But I think the Crazy Rich Asians movie does a wonderful job of telling the main part of the story without all the unnecessary details that the book goes into.
As someone of Chinese SEA descent, it was lovely to see so much of my culture and references in a story and yes this story is true to the craziness of the top 1 percent here in Asia. However with the way Kwan writes it very clear to me why I think the movie does it better. He does a lot of telling but not a lot of showing which makes the book a bit drab to read. It sounds like someone is telling you all about their family drama and you're having to follow along with no actual reference of what the family is really like.
Another thing that made me dislike this book was the ending. The mahjong ending in the movie is absolutely brilliant. This ending however was boring and needed more from me. I know there is a sequel where Rachel and Nick probably get engaged but i'm not gonna read it because I really did not have fun with this book.
Shocking right? But I think the Crazy Rich Asians movie does a wonderful job of telling the main part of the story without all the unnecessary details that the book goes into.
As someone of Chinese SEA descent, it was lovely to see so much of my culture and references in a story and yes this story is true to the craziness of the top 1 percent here in Asia. However with the way Kwan writes it very clear to me why I think the movie does it better. He does a lot of telling but not a lot of showing which makes the book a bit drab to read. It sounds like someone is telling you all about their family drama and you're having to follow along with no actual reference of what the family is really like.
Another thing that made me dislike this book was the ending. The mahjong ending in the movie is absolutely brilliant. This ending however was boring and needed more from me. I know there is a sequel where Rachel and Nick probably get engaged but i'm not gonna read it because I really did not have fun with this book.