Book Blog #359: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

 

Title: The Wedding People

Author: Alison Espach

# of Pages: 384 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

Review: I was expecting a fun romance from the protagonist being in an unexpected situation.

What I did not expect is that very very early on, it's revealed that our protagonist Phoebe is actually at the hotel to KILL herself. I even had to reread the synopsis (I briefly skimmed it before reading to get general vibes), and this rather large detail that sets the tone of the book is deceivingly MISSING.

Although more of an existential read than I was expecting, I could almost give it 4 stars since it's covering a topic (being true to yourself) that is less typical of other chick-lit adjacent reads (although being targeted more to an in their late 30s to early 40s audience going through a midlife crisis).

The problem is that the pace is sooo slow. I expected having to learn about various people at the wedding via Phoebe meeting them at the hotel, but many chapters were of unnaturally staged conversations that served as a long expositions on a character's backstory.  

I couldn't help but repeatedly put the book down. I wouldn't recommend it in a hurry. 

Book Blog #357: Funny Story by Emily Henry

 

Title: Funny Story

Author: Emily Henry

# of Pages: 384 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak. Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them? But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... right?

Review: The title is false advertising; it's not a funny story. 

Solidly a 2 star read, if not lower. I went back to reading Emily Henry's works because I wanted a quick and cheesy romance. This is one of the rare moments where I was also actually expecting MORE of the romance aspect and less of everything else. 

Despite Henry's attempts at character growth, there really wasn't enough? The relationship where the protagonist is supposed to exhibit growth seems to be a relationship of infatuation and no reason to be compatible (in her own words, she likes him because he's "so nice and so hot and so fun and funny," and she thinks he smells good). These characters are red flags that create problems amongst themselves because of bad communication.

Also really tired of the whole shy bookworm protagonist trope where somehow despite being socially dead and "dowdy," she still gets some hot guy and everything she does is amazing! The fantasy doesn't work if it's too unrealistic. 

Would not recommend. 

Book Blog #355: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

 

Title: Onyx Storm

Author: Rebecca Yarros

# of Pages: 527 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust. Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him. Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.

Review: Tell me your publisher is forcing you to write a 5 book series without telling me your publisher is forcing you to write a 5 book series.

All jokes aside, historically Yarros works are in the form of stand alone books or a 3 book series, so I can't help but think that someone saw dollar signs with the success of The Fourth Wing and force the monstrosity of Onyx Storm into existence. 

I started this back in February, so it was an over 5 month struggle to get through 527 only for the plot to BARELY progress. Yarros's editor really dropped the ball - if this book had to exist for $$$, at least help CUT OUT the fluff so fans aren't wasting hours of their time reading this nonsense. Save readers time, save some trees (for those of us who read physical copies), and all the while still lining the publisher's and author's pockets! What's not to love?

Violet and Xaden's relationship used to be addicting - the tension, the forbidden love, the whirlwind romance. But now I just want them to get a room; I don't need to have a more sex scenes that plot-important moments (if I wanted to read erotica, I would go read an erotica!). Yarros has seemingly already pulled all the stops to try to spice up their relationship, so we get some repeats - Xaden gets jealous, Violet's ex is in the picture, etc. It gets old, and I was not into it. 

Usually it's really boring for me to reread the recap/character reintroductions that authors intertwine into the latter books of a series, but this book really needed more of them. There's a lot of characters and only more get introduced in this one, so sometimes there would be a big reveal where someone surprising shows up, and I have no idea how I'm supposed to know them. 

The final nail in the coffin? First person POV switching. Not consistently nor as a one off in The Fourth Wing. At least 3 times randomly near the end with not a very good reason to do so, and without these characters having a distinct narrative. It should have been written in thirst person because the switching REALLY slowed me down even with my already slower-than-normal pace.

I would not recommend this book. At the moment, I'm resolved to not continue the series, but maybe I'll forget all the pain this book caused me by the time the next book comes out. 

Book Blog #347: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

 

Title: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Author: Satoshi Yagisawa

# of Pages: 147 (paperback)

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Rating:★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover's paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books. Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier. When Takako's boyfriend reveals he's marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle's offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop. As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

Review: Maybe this is a book best appreciated in the original language (Japanese). 

It's not clear who the intended audience is, but after reading I think it would actually appeal best to a younger audience. Takako, the main character, is young woman who doesn't read but eventually falls in love with reading after moving into the Morisaki bookshop. Because of this, she serves as a great protagonist for new young readers to relate to. 

The vibe from this book is very chill and cozy, but the writing is simple and the plotline is not particularly interesting. Part of the issue might be that the story is so short - there's very little time to develop the characters organically, so I wasn't very attached. There was also very little time for the characters to develop believable relationships with each other and lost focus as the book progressed as the story jumps between Takako's love life and her missing aunt. 

Hardly a romance, not even a mystery as it was describe to me, not much of anything at all. It's a very fast and short read, but I wouldn't say it is worth the time. 

Book Blog #340: Every Day by David Levithan

Title: Every Day

Author: David Levithan

# of Pages: 329 (ebook)

Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Review: I really wanted to like this book, but I slowly got more frustrated with the characters as the plot progressed.

This book is clearly not timeless. First published in 2012, it was fun to see how much the world has changed since then. The heavy use of email and ignorance around gender and sexual identity are some example of this book feeling dated. Most people would know what being transgender refers to unlike one of the characters in the book who claims to not understand what it means to be male but biologically female. 

The fantasy concept used Every Day is actually very cool - the protagonist A switches between 16 year old bodies and has to live their lives for a day. The reader gets to see perspectives from teenagers of different backgrounds which is the aspect of this book I liked the most. There is a lot of handwaving in terms of explaining HOW this body changing works (maybe something explained later in the series?). It would have been better if this first book leaned into explaining the "fantasy" aspect rather than having the reader accept this bizarre situation A finds themselves in. 

The romance aspect is what I disliked about this story. The whole plot is around A falling in love with Rhiannon, who already has a boyfriend. If the reader still thinks The Notebook is one of the greatest romances of all time, then maybe this story is also acceptable. As for me, I find it difficult to "cheer" for A and Rhiannon's relationship while Rhiannon is still in a relationship, regardless on whether Justin is a good boyfriend or not. Even Rhiannon implies that her relationship is complicated (he might be emotionally absent and inconsiderate but this still doesn't justify infidelity on Rhiannon's end). 

A is a frustrating character as well. They arguably have more experiences than most 16 year olds yet somehow falls in love with Rhiannon basically on-sight and doesn't prove to have any reason to be so in love with her (at the expense of the people A is inhabiting) other than thinking that they can be a better boyfriend than Justin. 

Honestly considered giving this book 1 star as well just because of how weak the romance was, but I really did like the concept of living a different life everyday. Overall not worth the read and wouldn't recommend this book. 

Book Blog #337: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

 

Title: Iron Flame

Author: Rebecca Yarros

# of Pages: 895 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Review: Much better balance of fantasy elements and romance than in the first book. HOWEVER, there are some gaps in the story that don't get addressed (and reading through the Goodreads Questions for this book shows that some things go unexplained by the end of the book). 

One critical point from the Fourth Wing is that Violet must live for Xaden to live - this is reiterated repeated. However, at one point in this book, that notion seems to be forgotten. There's also a returning character who's actions and presence at Basgiath don't make sense...but I bet (and hope) that Yarros will make something up to justify what's happening in this book. 

Overall the writing is still sloppy, but there's enough world building and attachment to characters to have a successful series going here. Iron Flame could have actually been broken up into two books since the first half and the second half are so different (but the first half dragged on longer than necessary). 

This series is strangely addictive - despite it's flaws, I'll consider reading the third book in the series when it comes out. If you enjoyed first book, you'll likely enjoy the second book. 

Book Blog #332: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

 

Title: Part of Your World

Author: Abby Jimenez

# of Pages: 373 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick-lit

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable. While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people. Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

Review: This is 3 stars with my standards preset to chick-lit standards before reading; otherwise this would be 2 stars. For a chick-lit, Part of Your World was a step or two above Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise (but getting into the same territory with the baby goat mentions as the latter did with chicken marsala - not all women are THAT obsessed with baby goats!). 

The immediate turn off was the first person POV switching between Alexis and Daniel. And, yes, Jimenez wrote it so their POVs overlapped on events, meaning the reader gets to hear about the same thing twice sometimes! Because there's nothing I love more than reading a mediocre plot twice in one sitting! 

Alexis is the protagonist - a rich girl from family of doctors. To her credit, Alexis only annoyed me in the latter half of the book when starts telling people what's best for them (and of course she ends up being "right"). She also conveniently decides to withhold information purely to make the plot more complicated when communicating in a less suspiciously dodge-y manner would have been more realistic. 

Apparently the key to being the lead male in a chick-lit is to be a poor boy who is REALLY good at wood working (I'm looking at you, Happy Place by Emily Henry). In this book, that's Daniel, a naive, lovestruck "boy" (28, young for this chick-lit) from a town so small it's categorized as a village. And unfortunately, he's also a huge simp. Frustratingly, he seems to have no backbone (way too much of a nice guy) to the point where the reader can't even feel sorry for him. Sure, Alexis, tell him nothing! He'll keep coming back for more regardless, but the reader's will hate both of you for it. 

One of the key conflicts is Alexis and Daniel struggling with being born into different classes of the "caste system" (author's choice of words).While people from different backgrounds may struggle to reconcile the differences in their lifestyle, the way this conflict was addressed in this book didn't resonate with me and came off superficial. The rich vs poor issue might be something that would be more believable in historical fiction, but in modern times, Alexis's inherent prejudice and Daniel's insecurity were frustratingly conservative perspectives on the situation. 

Some good things: Part of Your World is a pretty quick read. Despite being very predictable, I was still interested enough in the book to not put it down, even if I was cringing at some parts. 

I had lower expectations because I heard of this book through a negative recommendation; despite its popularity, it was apparently so boring that it was not finish-able. This made it pretty easy for this book to actually exceeded my expectations! That being said, I wouldn't recommend it in a hurry - if you're generally a chick-lit fan maybe, ......otherwise this one is skippable. 

Book Blog #330: Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

# of Pages: 388 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Chick-lit, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

Review: If chick-lit is rated within its own category, this is definitely one of the better ones. If I rated this as a regular book (if I didn't realize it was a chick-lit, I'd give it three stars).  

 The good: 

- I was cheering for things to work out between Harriet and Wyn, so the characters were at least somewhat likable. 

- The time skipping works. Chapters of Harriet’s past are interlaced with the chapters of “real life” (present day) of Harriet at the cottage. It was pretty easy to figure out which chapters were present day or not, and slowly discovering the past events that led Harriet to be in the situation she finds herself in keeps the reader coming back for more. 

- The book doesn’t just focus on Harriet’s romantic relationship with Wyn. I appreciated that the author Henry threw in some components of friendship and family in there. 

 The bad: 

- Too much monologuing. A lot of chick lit authors fall into the trap of having their characters spell out their history, their feelings, what makes their characters unique, etc despite that being uncharacteristic for a slice of life story. 

- There’s some pretty lame lines (that actually made me laugh out loud? So maybe it’s a good thing). This is mostly from Wyn talking about how he’s hard often when in convo with Harriet. 

- Since chick lit is a usually a depiction of a woman’s fantasy (hard emphasis on fantasy, in terms of it being unrealistic), the messages of following your heart and doing what makes you happy didn’t resonate with me. Characters “learning” these lessons and turning a leaf so quickly and willingly with minimal struggle made me truly believe this is an overly optimistic novel trying too hard to be inspiration. 

Nonetheless, it’s a quick and enjoyable read (the ending soured my impression of it, but I enjoyed the earlier parts of the story). I would recommend it for those interested in chick-lit.

Book Blog #318: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

 

Title: Something Borrowed

Author: Emily Giffin

# of Pages: 322 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Chick-Lit, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

Review: Remember, since this is chick-lit, my expectations for this book were about as low as they could be. That being said, Giffin's writing style is actually pretty enjoyable. I was able to visualize what the characters are doing, and her descriptions seemed realistic enough. 

If only her writing talent was not wasted on such a garbage plot. I'm glad to be able to NOT have friends like the group that is described in Something Borrowed. I WISH this book felt more unrealistic because that would mean terrible people like this wouldn't exist. But alas, I fully believe there are people out there in the world that would have the same moral alignment. 

If you believe cheating is not acceptable regardless of the context, Something Borrowed will NOT resonate with you. This book spends 322 pages justifying cheating, primarily focused on tearing down Darcy's character to make our protagonist Rachel feel better about cheating with her fiance Dexter. In an even cringier twist, Dexter, who is constantly flip flopping between Rachel and Darcy, isn't even properly crucified for stringing along two women. The narrative of it being a push and pull only between the two women is so dated (which makes sense since this book was published in 2004). 

Not something that is worth reading amongst the modern women audience. 

Book Blog #317: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

 

Title: It Ends with Us

Author: Colleen Hoover

# of Pages: 386 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Chick-lit

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

Review: Why am I crying? 

This was supposed to be some silly, brainless romance I could enjoy. Even the synopsis reads like some cliche love triangle. To be fair, it took me forever (aka me reading a chapter or so every couple of weeks) to get through the first 30-40%. It read exactly like I expected - woman meets man and they have immediate sexual chemistry without much depth to their relationship otherwise.

The progression of the main relationship happens in such a short span of time, it was hard for me to take it even half seriously. I was bashing Hoover in my head for creating such an unrealistic relationship that I couldn't root for. The character building in general was especially weak - a handsome neurosurgeon who seems to have it all? A main character who seems to have it made career-wise? What superficial struggles could Hoover possibly have in store for the reader? 

I was all ready to give this book 2 stars. I'm a huge sucker for cheesy romance, so at some high points I was considering giving it 3 if I felt at least neutral about it by the end. Nothing could be worse than that terrible chick lit I read that wouldn't stop talking about the main character loving chicken tikka masala, but Lily using whether or not someone donated to charity as a metric on whether they're a good person (ask any billionaire if they've donated to charity; they'll probably say yes) was getting really close. 

But then Hoover introduces the topic of domestic abuse. I'm surprised there isn't noted somewhere in the synopsis because as it is now, it's not doing the book justice. While the fluffy parts of this book are 2-3 star range, the way Hoover writes about domestic abuse is completely heart wrenching. I couldn't believe I was reading the same book; while all other parts of unrealistic, the depiction of domestic abuse was almost TOO real. 

Even one of the cliche lines Hoover threw in early on, "We're all just people who sometimes do bad things," this line rang more true after reading through her complex depiction of both the victim and the perpetuator of domestic abuse. While some people's abuse might be more cut and dry, some can take the form where those involved have a mix of good and bad within them.  

After learning from the author's note that Hoover was basing the domestic abuse off of her parents' relationship, everything made sense. The more fiction the story was, the more Hoover's writing struggled. But once it was based off of real events, Hoover was really able to pull through and send a message through her chick-lit reminiscent of Jodi Picoult. 

If you don't mind slogging through the cheesy beginning, and you're into chick-lit, I would actually recommend this book to you. As far as chick-lit goes, this is definitely one of the better ones.  

Book Blog #314: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Title: Lessons in Chemistry

Author: Bonnie Garmus

# of Pages: 400 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Review: Despite going back and forth the whole time I was reading this book on whether to give it 3 or 4 stars, I finally settled on 4. At the end of the day, what matters is whether I, the reader, learned or enjoyed something from the book, the latter is certainly true. 

I had mixed feeling when picking up Lessons in Chemistry - on one hand, it won two Goodreads awards (one for Best Historical Fiction and another for Best Debut Author). There has to be something good about it if it won TWO awards. On other hand, it just LOOKS like it could be on (perhaps the classier end) of a chick-lit - the bright cover (with the edges of the book painted blue???) and even the title scream "girly cheesy romance novel." NOTHING wrong with a chick-lit to pass the time, but I wasn't looking for a brain-rot read at the moment. 

However, this book turned out to not be exactly what I was expecting. Yes, the target audience is definitely women - there are blatant feminist themes ENGRAINED in the book. Usually having such strong messaging in a book would come off preachy to me (I'm looking at you Jodi Picoult), and I wouldn't say this book is an exception either. That being said, I actually liked how women's rights was the main focus rather than the romance. It had to be this way; it would be hypocritical if it focused on the protagonist's romance and defining her story by her association with a man. 

It also justifies the historical fiction element of the book - the 1960s portray how much greater women's struggles were in gaining recognition outside of (or even being) a homemaker. Yet their struggles are not entirely unfamiliarly to modern day women, who can still find elements of discrimination relatable in today's society. 

I was initially concerned about this being Garmus's debut work - lack of experience sometimes means the author is more prone to portraying character unrealistically or building a weak story. It was unsurprising to me that Garmus has worked in medicine and is a rower; both of these experience surely influenced her decision to incorporate what she knows into her book. Despite her background, my concerns were at least somewhat actualized.

My main complaint with Garmus's writing is the dog's, Six-Thirty's, POV. For one, the book could have easily be written without his perspective - at most he is used as a plot device that could still be included from a different character's perspective. The only value of having his POV is to show that Six-Thirty has higher intelligence than most other characters are willing to believe. However, Garmus's over-personification of this dog is fluff at best.

As per usual, I didn't like the POV switching, although it being in third person definitely helped. I actually disliked the time skipping more, and combined with the POV switching, it felt like Garmus's writing style was a bit all over the place. I would prefer it if she stayed with one character in one time period for longer rather than skipping back and forth between paragraphs.

That being said, I couldn't put down this book. It finally got me out of my reader's block, and it had me smiling one minute and teary eyed the next. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but as someone in the target audience, I found it to be a very easy and fun read. 

Book Blog #313: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

 

Title: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare

# of Pages: 479 (paperback)

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Review: I don't think there's much else to be said about this book that I didn't already say about Clare's The Mortal Instruments series almost 10 years ago. Both were written only a handful of years apart - I wasn't expecting any major growth in that span of time and unfortunately was not pleasantly surprised.

The flaw that gets them all - third person POV switching. Honestly, since it was in the third person, the POV switching was less offensive that other books I have read. I wouldn't hold it too much against it even if there was slight overlap with some of the POVs. 

What REALLY annoyed me though (similarly to The Mortal Instruments) was the main character, Tessa. Surprise, surprise, she's a huge book nerd. People who are writers have a higher likelihood to ALSO be big readers, so if I were to take a guess, Tessa has adopted the same love of books that Clare does OR Clare is pushing this character trait to try to make her protagonist more relatable. Try as she might, she tried a bit too hard, and it came off disingenuous.  I'm supposed to believe this girl can only relate to others through relationships she's read about in books, yet also has no problem getting along with the wide variety of personalities around here?

Speaking of wide variety of personalities, while each character is very different, many of them have one over-exaggerated quality that defines them. Will is "tsundere" type, Jem is the un-ironic version of the "me, an empath" meme, etc. It makes the roles they play in the story SO predictable. 

On a positive note, I knew this would be a pretty mindless and quick read because of Clare's simplistic writing style. She reiterates important story points, so it's easy to skim quickly through the book and still basically be able to know what is coming next. It was also pretty easy to visualize each scene in my head - there are a lot of "thriller/horror"-eque moments that I'm sure would play out as a jump scares if it every made it on the big screen...

Not the worst thing I've read, but not a very original piece of fiction either. I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you already liked some of Clare's other books. 

Book Blog #310: The Oceanography of the Moon

 

Title: The Oceanography of the Moon

Author: Glendy Vanderah 

# of pages: 319 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Mystery

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Synopsis: After the untimely deaths of her aunt and mother, young Riley Mays moved from Chicago to her cousins’ Wisconsin farm. Here she found solace in caring for her extraordinary adoptive brother, exploring the surrounding wild nature, and gazing at the mystical moon—a private refuge in which she hides from her most painful memories. But ten years later, now twenty-one, Riley feels too confined by the protective walls she’s erected around herself. When a stranger enters her family’s remote world, Riley senses something he’s hiding, a desire to escape that she understands well. Suffering from writer’s block, bestselling novelist Vaughn Orr has taken to the country roads when he happens upon the accommodating, if somewhat unusual, Mays family. He’s soon captivated by their eccentricities—and especially by Riley and her quiet tenacity. In her, he recognizes a shared need to keep heartbreaking secrets buried.

Review: This was just....not good. I wish I didn't waste the time reading it.

I picked this book on a whim - I saw it on the shelf, didn't know anything about it, and saw it was pretty highly rated on Goodreads (with a low but decent amount of reviews). I only let myself walk out of the building with one book that day, and this one was the lucky winner.

I should have left it on the shelf.

Here's what I liked:

- It was a relatively quick read (with spotty reading sessions, I finished it in a week). The writing and plot is simple enough (+ there is some repetitive points) where you can practically skim it and still get the same experience.

- The cover is pretty, in a simple way. Very ambiguous, definitely some better covers out there (and I bet other designers/artists could have come up with a better cover based on the book), but overall I have no problem with it. 

And as for what I didn't like...

The most obvious offender is first person POV switching. I know this is something I am particularly sensitive to a fault about. Sometimes POV switching is justified (although I still believe that every first person POV switching story can be told better from third person and/or without any POV switching). Sometimes the POV switching doesn't even bother me that much because it's not too disruptive to the flow of the story. 

This was not one of those books. The POV switching was COMPLETELY unnecessary - it is a prime example of why I STRONGLY dislike it when a story is told like this. The Oceanography of the Moon is told from two perspectives - Riley's and Vaughn's. Throughout most of the book, these two characters are interacting with each other, which means there's A LOT of duplicate information for the reader to slog through. 

For example, Riley might mention from her perspective that Vaughn seems to be experience a certain emotion, only for Vaughn to tell us in the very next chapter the EXACT SAME THING but from his perspective. The problem? There is NO new information in doing that. Riley's perspective is good enough, and if it's important to know that she is wrong, then we can find out the same time Riley finds out. 

The second offender is the writing itself. I haven't read Vanderah's other books (and based off of this one, I'm not sure I ever will). However, for this book, her writing simply is not believable. Generally, the characters' dialogue does not sound realistic. There's a moment when climate change is mentioned by people who are supposedly passionate about the topic. However, it was mentioned at such a superficial level to the point that I assume Vanderah did not do enough research on climate change to write a character that could convincingly talk about the topic. Additionally, the romantic development is minimal - way too quick for what I would expect based on the characters and the situation they are in. 

Now, I can usually be overly critical and tear apart a trashy romance BUT a lot fo the time I still end up enjoying it because I am a HUGE sucker for trashy romance (or of course non-trashy romance). When I realized this book was not well written, I thought to myself - "at least we will get some good romance action later on." NOT. I can usually ignore poor character building if the author is able to convincingly write about two people's relationship with the assumption they are deeply in love with each other. Unfortunately this didn't work either because all the hot and heavy moments (regardless if there was sex or not) fell flat. I was not emotionally engaged at all. Anytime a romantic moment came up it was either not described in enough detail (physically, emotionally, you name it) or it was cut short to chug along with the plot. 

The final big offender was the plot. I didn't realize there was even an actual story to read until half way through (I went in blind, didn't read the synopsis), which means this book really lacked focus. The beginning part of the story was so full of fluff and boring. I was not interested in any of these characters nor their backstory and didn't realize that Vanderah intended for the reader to be interested in the mystery of Riley and Vaughn's past until half way in or so. I also was curious on if more would come from the "magic" aspect (no, I didn't even know if this was a sci-fi/fantasy or not, and it was not apparent in the beginning of the story either). On the other hand, the second half of the book read like a soap opera (no spoilers) in the way that soap operas make a bunch of "shocking" reveals and random dramatic things happen at "convenient" times. There was no redeeming section of the book. 

I was flip flopping between 1 and 2 stars while I was reading because I wasn't sure if 1 star was too harsh. But by the end, I, not feeling stimulated emotionally nor intellectually by this book, decided that 1 star is appropriate. 

Don't read this book; it's not worth your time.

Book Blog #304: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

 

Title: Beautiful World, Where Are You

Author: Sally Rooney

# of Pages: 356 (hardback)

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?

Review: I was flipping between 3 and 4 stars for this book, but I firmly see it as a four star book now that I finished it. 

I can see why this is "John Green for adults" (where the adult part is that it would be more relatable for adults, and there are more descriptive sex scenes); it scrutinizes the little details in the characters' lives and includes at great length Alice's and Eileen's existential pondering. This leads me to the first aspect that I didn't like about this book; every other chapter or so include a letter (written of course in the first person) between Eileen and Alice. This is where most of the existential pondering occurred, and honestly I was bored of it. They would ramble about religion or something they read recently, and overall it really broke the flow of the story. 

The rest of the book is written in third person, switching between Alice and Eileen for the most part. Rooney takes advantage of the third person POV to also go at great lengths to write flowery descriptions of the characters' situation; this I actually enjoyed sometimes or at the very least didn't mind Rooney including these. I found it helpful to understand the sentiment behind the characters' interactions, and I was better able to visualize the scene. 

Nevertheless, Beautiful World, Where Are You is far from groundbreaking; the TLDR is that four people (Alice, Eileen, Simon, and Felix) all have varying degrees of mundane lives and struggle with happiness in their lives. It's very slice of life, albeit one of the better ones, that depicts the cruel plainness of life and how easy it is (especially in adulthood) to feel lost and lack meaning in one's life. 

Definitely not giving me the warm and fuzzies, but I appreciate that it made me feel a mix of happiness and sadness/sympathy toward the characters; if it makes me feel something then it deserves some brownie points. 

It wouldn't be on the top of my recommended list and definitely won't be for everyone (it took me a while to get myself to sit down and read this book because often times I didn't see where this book was going/what the point was). If you like reading slice of life / people struggling with themselves and their relationships with others while they just live their life, then this is the book for you. 

Book Blog #302: Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden

 

Title: Stealing Thunder

Author: Alina Boyden

# of Pages: 346 (paperback)

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, LGBT

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: In a different life, under a different name, Razia Khan was raised to be the Crown Prince of Nizam, the most powerful kingdom in Daryastan. Born with the soul of a woman, she ran away at a young age to escape her father’s hatred and live life true to herself. Amongst the hijras of Bikampur, Razia finds sisterhood and discovers a new purpose in life. By day she’s one of her dera’s finest dancers, and by night its most profitable thief. But when her latest target leads her to cross paths with Arjun Agnivansha, Prince of Bikampur, it is she who has something stolen. An immediate connection with the prince changes Razia’s life forever, and she finds herself embroiled in a dangerous political war. The stakes are greater than any heist she’s ever performed. When the battle brings her face to face with her father, Razia has the chance to reclaim everything she lost…and save her prince.

Review: I definitely have conflicting feeling about this book.

I picked up this book on a whim; I was looking for a fantasy book that would help me in my reading rut. I saw this had decent ratings on Goodreads compared to the other books available to me. Skimming the back cover synopsis, I didn't realize that this book had anything to do with the LGBTQ+ community let alone attempting to make groundbreaking progress in transwomen fantasy literature. If that weren't enough, Boyden also worked with the trans Indian and Pakistani community and took it as inspiration in writing this book.

From skimming other reviews for Stealing Thunder, I have seen it receive a lot of backlash for being a trans white woman telling a trans Asian woman's story and other controversial topics on whether this lives up as a good representation for the cultural or LGBTQ+ community. I believe this issues are too big of a conversation for this review, so I will be focusing on the story rather than its representation of marginalized groups or the author's background. 

Surprisingly, controversy aside, I was addicted to this book. I just couldn't put it down. I have ALWAYS been a huge fan of cheesy romance, and this book is no exception. This book is MUCH more of a ROMANCE than a fantasy book; there's not much world building as I was hoping for. The romance itself is not even anything original; just two people who clearly love each other very much with only the world against them. But like I said, I am a sucker for cheesy romance.

Now if I put my own feeling aside, I would be giving this book two stars. The protagonist, Razia, seems to be a transwoman pipe dream. She is able to do it all PERFECTLY, and everyone always seems to be blown away by her hidden abilities. It's just not realistic, not relatable for the reader at all. That being said, I guess the whole riches to rags to riches again story is not very relatable in general; it's not that inspiring to hear about an underdog who experiences a rise in status when the so called underdog came from a privileged background. This is further magnified by how the character who had less privilege failed to rise in power like those who did. 

Not only that, but Boyden seems to reiterate the same points OVER AND OVER AGAIN throughout the story (e.g. Razia will make an observation about something, then she will tell everyone else, and then she will internalize the thought again...). 

In general, the story was predictable; there's very little stress while reading about whether things are going to work out in Razia favor because due to her many many talents, of course she's going to solve all the problems and save the day. 

I wouldn't recommend this book, but I cannot deny that I enjoyed reading it due to the romance. 

Book Blog #293: The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

 

Title: The Rosie Effect

Author: Graeme Simsion

# of Pages: 344 (hardback)

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Humor

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are back. The Wife Project is complete, and Don and Rosie are happily married and living in New York. But they’re about to face a new challenge because— surprise!—Rosie is pregnant. Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he’s left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie. As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting Gene and Claudia to reconcile, servicing the industrial refrigeration unit that occupies half his apartment, helping Dave the Baseball Fan save his business, and staying on the right side of Lydia the social worker, he almost misses the biggest problem of all: he might lose Rosie when she needs him the most.

Review: I almost always like sequels significantly less than its predecessor. However, I found this book to be equally, if not more, emotionally engaging than the first book.

Since Don is not your average guy, Rosie and Don experience some unique challenges during the period of their impending parenthood. It is STRESSFUL. I was griped to this story because I was worried about Don and Rosie and wishing that Don could just UNDERSTAND what the issues were but could only read helplessly as he dealt with each problem the only way he knew how.

Definitely not as funny to me as the first book since I was stressed almost the whole time, but since it affected me emotionally, I decided to give it the same rating as the first book.

If you enjoyed the first book, I would also recommend the sequel. In case you didn't get the notion from what I've said previously, it's a bit stressful. 

Book Blog #290: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

 

Title: The Rosie Project

Author: Graeme Simsion

# of Pages: 292 (paperback)

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Humor

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

Review: I would never have expected this book to be recommended by Bill Gates. It's even classified (and sometimes reads like) a chick-lit! 

Don is one of the characters that seems totally unrealistic; he is able to do anything he puts his mind to in a very short amount of time, smart, even good looking (subjective??) but has the one major challenge of following social conventions. One major "flaw" but otherwise a perfect/amazing guy? This is classic chick-lit stuff.

That being said, this book was hilarious. The main difference between this book and most other chick-lit books is that I didn't feel annoyed with this book. Yes, Don is an unrealistic character, but following him and Rosie through their journey was entertaining and funny. If you are not super logical like Don, I will surely be able to connect to him through his complicated journey in navigating his emotions. Both Don and Rosie are incredibly likable, which really helped with my impression of the book as well. 

Overall a great and enjoyable read. I would recommend!

Book Blog #286: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

 

Title: The Duke and I

Author: Julia Quinn

# of Pages: 440 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Historical Fiction

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable… but not too amiable. Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen. Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar. The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...

Review: The first time I heard of this book was because of an article on the Netflix adaptation “Bridgerton.” Or, more specifically, it was on Regé-Jean Page breaking people’s hearts after he’s seen with his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. I obtained an e-copy of this book, and the rest is history. 

 This book was going to get a strong 4 stars. The beginning half is great; it reads like a comedy (if you read it as a serious romance book then it’s just tacky), so I was thoroughly enjoying the read. 

 The most controversial part of this book, based on other reviews I have read, is the rape scene, and it was after this scene that my enjoyment of the book began its descent. The occurrence itself was not the part that bothered me so much as how the characters were made to handle it afterward. There was little to no acknowledgement of it being considered rape. In fact, I would say that the victim plays down the assault, and this grievous offense is therefore glossed over without any serious consequences. 

 When the book focus turns to sex scene after sex scene, I began to feel like I was reading Regency era Fifty Shades of Grey (aka shallow, non-interesting plot). 

 This book goes pretty fast, so if you’re interested in the synopsis, I would say go ahead and read it. If it doesn’t sound interesting, no need to “give it a shot.”

Book Blog #281: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Title: Fifty Shades Darker

Author: E.L. James

# of Pages: 532 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Synopsis: Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades. While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

Review: I never planned to read the second book, but I thought it would be an easy read to knock out for my yearly reading challenge.

Boy, was I wrong. 

All the annoyance that I was expecting to feel when reading Fifty Shades of Grey finally came out while reading this book. James's writing style hasn't improved, and the most interesting part - Christian's mysterious past - is not interesting as I initially thought (nothing that wasn't already said/inferred from the first book was revealed in this book). 

The plot is unrealistic, and their relationship is too fast paced for me to feel happy about the "progress" Christian and Ana made in their relationship. There wasn't much of a plot either; it reads like a really bad slice-of-life. As I read through sex scene after sex scene I wondered; where exactly are they going with this? I'm assuming the main problem is suppose to be Christian dealing with his baggage, but it seems way too drawn out across the 500+ pages that makes up this book. 

Ana is extremely unlikeable. She's insecure and is not strong and independent as she likes to think she is.

Christian has stalker tendencies (this is even stated in the book). It's not attractive; it's toxic. 

Reading nothing would have been better than reading this. I would not recommend. 

Book Blog #279: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Title: Exit West

Author: Mohsin Hamid

# of Pages: 213 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.

Review: "[He] advocated a banding together of migrants along religious principles, cutting across divisions of race or language or nation, for what did those divisions matter now in a world full of doors, the only divisions that mattered now were between those who sought the right of passage and those who would deny them passage" (155).

I had relatively high expectations for this book (as it was recommended to me and was a nominee for a Goodreads Choice Award), which may explain why it just did not hit the mark for me. The concept of the story was interesting for sure; star-crossed lovers find their relationship challenged by living a migrant, in which migration is made easier through randomly appearing doors. 

What I did enjoy about the book was the thought experiment on what the world would be like if the only limitation to migration was whether the home country or the destination country imposed restrictions; in this story, migration itself is made out to be as simple as finding and stepping through a door. It makes you think; although it may not address these issues explicitly, this book closely ties to many relevant issues today related to migrants: refugees, open borders, etc. 

What really killed it for me was the writing style. Hamid would jump between the third person narration of the main characters, Nadia and Saeed, to a brief narration of some other random people in various parts of the world. While this was interesting at times to see how migration via doors is affecting people across this futuristic(?) world, it mostly disrupts the flow of the story.

Secondly, Hamid employs analogies GENEROUSLY. He seems to only be satisfied in describing something if at least one (often long) analogy is used. Some examples:

"Saeed partly resisted the pull of his phone. He found the antenna too powerful, the magic it summoned too mesmerizing, as though he were eating a banquet of limitless food, stuffing himself, until he felt dazed and sick, and so he removed or hidden or restricted all but a few applications" (39).

"...his quiet grunts like those of a man exercising, or having sex" (104).

Finally, Hamid writes so many run on sentences. An artistic choice, I'm sure, but there's a reason why most things don't employ that sort of style; it's hard to follow and stay engaged. All of these things made me struggle to get through the book, despite it being relatively short. I was considering giving it three stars initially, but the writing style wore me down so much that I became annoyed, which is why it's getting a low rating.

I would not recommend this book.