Book Blog #384: Normal People by Sally Rooney

 

Title: Normal People

Author: Sally Rooney

# of Pages: 274 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Connell Waldron is one of the most popular boys in his small-town high school--he is a star of the football team and an excellent student, and he is never wanting for attention from girls. The one thing he doesn't have is money. Marianne Sheridan, a classmate of Connell's, has the opposite problem. Marianne is plain-looking, odd, and stubborn, and while her family is quite well off, she has no friends to speak of. There is, however, a deep and undeniable connection between the two teenagers, one that develops into a secret relationship. Everything changes when both Connell and Marianne are accepted to Trinity College. Suddenly Marianne is well liked and elegant, holding court with her intellectual friends, while Connell hangs at the sidelines, not quite as fluent in the language of the elite. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle each other, falling in and out of romance but never straying far from where they started. And as Marianne experiments with an increasingly dangerous string of boyfriends, Connell must decide how far he is willing to go to save his oldest friend.

Review: I read this book because I heard it was recommend for fans of Heated Rivalry, but they're not actually similar at all. 

I was expecting a fluffy, happy, romantic story full of yearning and characters that I cared and rooted for. Instead, I felt like an outsider looking into a slice of life story about an on and off again relationship between the two main characters: Connell and Marianne. 

Although there was some underlying messaging about loneliness, living authentically vs conforming to expectations, there wasn't enough character building to get the reader invested in the characters. Their lives and relationships are complicated and messy, but instead of relating to them, I felt alienated and frustrated with the characters, especially when their problems could be chalked up to poor communication.

Overall this was a drag to read, and I wouldn't recommend reading this book if you're looking for a true romance story. 

Book Blog #383: Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu, Vol. 1 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù

 

Title: Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu, Vol. 1

Author: Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù

# of Pages: 401 (ebook)

Genre: YA, Adventure, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedication and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise, can also fall...and fall he does, cast from the Heavens again and again and banished to the mortal realm. Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time. Now only a lowly scrap collector, he is dispatched to wander the earthly realm to take on tasks appointed by the heavens to pay back debts and maintain his divinity. Aided by old friends and foes alike, and graced with the company of a mysterious young man with whom he feels an instant connection, Xie Lian must confront the horrors of his past in order to dispel the curse of his present.

Review: I was pitched that this story was a gay romance, which is why I wanted to give this story a shot since I was craving a good romance. But somehow I ended up reading a fantasy-adventure horror comedy instead?

I wouldn't even call this first volume of this series romance; when they say it's slow burn, they mean across the WHOLE series apparently. But I didn't even have an issue with the romance being slow burn (it actually is moving faster than I expected). The bigger issue is that the plot is ALSO slow.

My dislike for this book could also be chalked up to a bad translation. There's a lot of concepts/terminology that weren't translated in a way that's easy for the reader to understand without having some Chinese cultural/historical knowledge, and the prose was choppily written to the point where I had to reread sections that were phrased weirdly. 

I also did not expect this book to actually be a poorly written YA. Any mysteries are revealed in long monologues by one of the characters, and it's just not engaging nor organic to be told rather than shown the whole plot. 

I'm curious on if the romance progresses in the latter books. The male love interest is actually a character I really liked (very cool yet soft personality), and he was one of the more redeeming parts of the book. However, I'm still undecided on whether I'll continue reading (definitely need a break after slogging through this one). I wouldn't recommend this book.