ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Mhairi McFarlane has pretty much become an auto-read author3.5 stars
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Mhairi McFarlane has pretty much become an auto-read author for me. Her characters are so realistically flawed, I just love it. So I went into this book 100% blind. Which is always great in my opinion.
The book is about Harriet, a wedding photographer who never wants to get married. So she's more than a little upset when her boyfriend proposes in front of his entire stuck-up family. She quickly ends her relationship with him and searches for her own place to move out. She ends up co-living with someone who she has an unexpected acquaintance with.
Now before you think 'oooh forced proximity romance' let me stop you right there. Anyone who's read Mhairi McFarlane books before knows her books skew more toward women's fiction that romance.
Sure, eventually a romantic relationship develops between the leads, but let me tell you it is not the main story. If you ask me the story is about the personal growth that Harriet goes through, as she learns from her past mistakes, comes to grips with her choices, navigates friendships that hold her up and others that tear her down.
Overall, I liked the book, but I have some issues all the same: - Many of her books seem to start with a bad breakup (Just Last Night, my favorite, being the exception) and that breakup is then the catalyst for growth for the female main character. (Disclaimer: I've only read 4 Mhairi McFarlane books in total, so I might be wrong) - Harriet keeps making assumptions throughout the book. Even after she "learns" not to make those assumptions and how wrong she can be, she still makes assumptions at the very end of the book, making that part of her growth seem fake and frankly it's just annoying. - The problem at the 80% mark was just completely unnecessary and based on a misunderstanding.
To be honest, from most other authors this would have been enough for me to give up on the book, but I really enjoy the writing style, the subtle British humor and the characters. So I'm giving this a 3.5.
Just Last Night is still definitely my favorite book by her and one of my favorite books from last year, so if you haven't read that one yet, I'd highly recommend it....more
I honestly don't have much of an opinion about this story. I think if I had read it physically, it would've frustrated me. InsCWs: toxic relationships
I honestly don't have much of an opinion about this story. I think if I had read it physically, it would've frustrated me. Instead, I got to zone out to the truly fantastic narration, and skipped the irritation these characters no doubt would have inspired in me. This isn't my type of book, and I didn't enjoy it enough to read more by the author.
There really is no plot here, and if there's anything deeper to this story than following a main character and her indecisiveness about the relationships in her life, I definitely missed it. I do recommend looking up reviews from Hongkongers for discussions about the representation....more
The writing style wasn't working for me. One of the things I really dislike in the prose is when it rapidly skips from one character's POV toDNF @ 37%
The writing style wasn't working for me. One of the things I really dislike in the prose is when it rapidly skips from one character's POV to another, especially if it's in the same paragraph. That was happening constantly here, and I didn't care enough about the characters and story to push through....more
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
CWs: anxiety, internalised fatphobia, (view spoiler)[mention of suicARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
CWs: anxiety, internalised fatphobia, (view spoiler)[mention of suicide, sexual assault (off-page) (hide spoiler)]
Maya leaves her entire world behind to accompany her boyfriend to the Arctic. But it's a harsh environment, especially in the winter, and Maya finds herself struggling. After a trip to Bangalore for her father's wedding and a less than warm welcome back to the Arctic, Maya finds refuge in her mother's old recipe book, and decides to prove to everyone that she can thrive, even in this hostile environment.
So this was a bit of a heavier read than I was anticipating, but I think that is actually a good thing. Don't be fooled by the cover: I know it screams "cute wintery romance" but that's really not what this is. I appreciated that there was more to this story than a simple, light-hearted romance. There is a lot of exploration of mental health and the way anxiety and depression can be affected by your environment. Maya also doesn't have any childhood memories, something which has been chalked up to trauma due to immigrating as a child. But returning to Bangalore unexpectedly forces her to confront the gaps in her mind. I liked the journey she went on, and how we as readers discovered her story alongside her.
I found some of Maya's reasoning highly suspect (like following your boyfriend to the coldest place on Earth, or inviting a friend to the Arctic "for the weekend"--it's a 37-40 HOURS FLIGHT), but ignoring that, she's a pretty relatable and likeable character. The thing that bothered me the most is probably all the lists; Maya calls it her way of coping with anxiety, but I was really not interested in lists of all the times this or that happened to her and ended up skipping a couple of the longer ones because I couldn't be bothered.
On the upside, this book has plenty of mouth-watering descriptions of Indian cuisine, although I think I'll stick to chicken as a main protein rather than reindeer....more
Warnings: homophobia, mentions of self-harm, anxiety
This is by no means a bad book, it's simply a case of "not for me".
This is more about the2.5 stars
Warnings: homophobia, mentions of self-harm, anxiety
This is by no means a bad book, it's simply a case of "not for me".
This is more about the journey than the destination. The synopsis spells out exactly what will happen; the characters meet at around 20%, marry at around 50%, and things begin to fall apart at around 70%. We know that all of this is going to happen because the synopsis tells us so, we just don't know the details, and that is what the book is asking us to care about. The story is told to us in several timelines; we follow Chaya and Gimhana before they meet, when Chaya is studying in the UK and Gimhana is trying to become partner at his firm. The second timeline is several years later, when both are feeling the pressure from their parents to find a suitable spouse and get married. After they get married, the past timeline drops away in favor of one further in the future, where Chaya's niece comes to stay with them for a few weeks and the cracks begin to show. I've read one too many books that use this plot device this year, and this is another one where it just didn't work for me. I thought the build-up to them meeting and getting married was way too long, and despite the use of timelines, the story is really very linear. I think it would've been more interesting to start in the present day and see them supposedly happily married, and then begin to break that down.
The writing is another aspect that wasn't quite to my personal taste. It's solid writing; straightforward and to the point, but I tend to like a bit of flow in the sentences, and I was missing that here. I'm not sure if the writing also attributed to my disconnect from the characters, but I always felt like I was kept at a distance from them and what was happening to them, and couldn't quite get a handle on the emotions of the scene. For example, Chaya struggles with her mental health, something Gimhana really helps her with even before they get married. But more often than not, Chaya's mental health episodes are described from Gimhana's perspective. We get to see how he helps her deal with her anxiety, but are kept away from the intensity of what she's feeling.
I think the plot is interesting and relevant, and I haven't seen a lot of Sri Lankan characters in books so that is definitely a point in its favor. If it sounds interesting to you, I definitely encourage you to pick it up, because I do think a lot of people would like it if they gave it a chance....more
I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the third book I've read by Mhairi McFarlane. From the first t4.5 stars!!
I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the third book I've read by Mhairi McFarlane. From the first two I loved one and hated the other, so I was hopeful but apprehensive with this one. But I needn't have worried, this book was an absolute joy to read.
First of all, I think it's important to note that while McFarlane's books are often tagged as romance, they, in my opinion, lean much more towards literary/women's fiction with some romance. I personally really like the storylines and I like how it's not just romance, but I've read a lot of reviews for her books that show that some people are really disappointed by that. So if you want a romance romance book, then you probably won't find what you're looking for in this book. If you like insightful writing and great characters, then this is where it's at!
As you probably know by now, I really like reading books by British authors. It's not just the dry humor, but also the writing styles, the characters and the dialogue. They just resonate much more and I really enjoy the entire reading experience. But it's not just the writing style in McFarlane's case. There is so much insight and depth to every character that she writes. As the characters develop, everything just makes sense and their actions and reactions are logical. This might seem like it should be a given, but honestly it's not for many authors. So often characters are over-the-top for the sake of drama. McFarlane doesn't do that. The characters are real people, with real faults, with real moments of self-realization, with real conflicts, with real a*****e behavior. There is also real friendship, real hurt, real self-sabotage.
I also really liked the romance in this one. To be honest, the romance is probably stronger than the other 2 books I've read by her. I love it when it's a steady friendship building up, every moment, every encounter is purposeful and lays the foundation.
I also love that not every problem is solved for the characters by the end of the book, because that's just so much more realistic! Now you could argue that romance books aren't meant to be realistic (as my sister said when I mentioned this), but I think we all try to relate to characters in any book. Especially in romance books we long for the happy endings that the main characters get. Then doesn't it feel so much better and more attainable when you can properly relate to the characters and the story?
Also single POV! Yes! More please! There's suspense and you wonder about motives instead of having everything spelled out from chapter 2! Can you imagine how much less interesting this book would be if it were dual POV?
Lots of gushing here as you can see! This will probably be one of my favorite reads in 2021. I highly recommend it!
If you're looking for a cozy, small town setting, with characters that love books and specifically Jane Austen, you'll have a good time with this bookIf you're looking for a cozy, small town setting, with characters that love books and specifically Jane Austen, you'll have a good time with this book. It's set just after WW2 and follows the people of Chawton, the final home of Jane Austen. When the last remnants of the legacy she left behind get threatened, a group of diverse people bands together to form a society with a single goal: preservation of all things related to Jane Austen. And while they're busy doing that, we get to see the relationships between the people of Chawton develop, whether it's romances or friendship.
I highly recommend the audiobook if you decide to pick this up. It's narrated by Richard Armitage and I could listen to him recite the dictionary tbh.
(nope this review isn't a month late or anything)...more
I've let the book sink in and after some thought I'm lowering my rating to a three. I know this is a book that is loved by many, and honestly, when I hI've let the book sink in and after some thought I'm lowering my rating to a three. I know this is a book that is loved by many, and honestly, when I heard the premise (a library full of books, each one transporting you to a life where you made a different choice somewhere down the line) I was sure I would love it too. But...
So first things first. Trigger warnings: Attempted suicide, pet death, drug abuse (if I remember correctly...)
The book follows Nora, who at the start of the book is just about hitting rock bottom. She broke off her engagement just after her mother died, her brother is avoiding her and seems to resent the fact that she backed out of a record deal for their band that could have launched their music careers, her father died when she was very young, and just after her cat dies she loses her job. It can't get much worse than this. She decides to end things (this is not really a spoiler) but instead of dying, she finds herself in a seemingly endless library with her old school librarian. The librarian explains that in the library there are an infinite number of books. Each book contains the story of her life if she had made a different choice somewhere down the line. Whenever she opens one and starts reading, she is transported to the same exact date in that life and starts living it. If she likes the life she will naturally settle in it and stay there. But if she feels disappointment she'll be transported back to the library to pick the next book.
Nora wanted to live in a world where no cruelty existed, but the only worlds she had available to her were worlds with humans in them
I'll start with what I did like: I liked the writing style and the prose. This was my first Matt Haig book and I thought the writing was clever and even insightful at times.
What I didn't like is unfortunately a lot more: - It was extremely predictable. The idea of the multi-verse is obviously not new and I don't think that's what the author was going for either. But on every level, this book was predictable. - Nora, to me, was not a realistic character. She excelled in sports, music and science. I'm sure there are such people in the world, but really I think it's a very rare combination. - Each life was covered in such short chapters, just as you're settling in, it already ends and goes to the next one. And this is why it also doesn't work for me as literary fiction. - The story is supposed to give you hope (I think). But to be honest, I just felt a little empty and disheartened by the end of it. For one, I think if you want to give people hope you should write realistic characters. Reading about an athletic musical genius ruining her life over and over again, doesn't really inspire a lot of hope in me. - The ending: the ending doesn't bother me per se, other than the fact that it was completely unoriginal, but somehow it left me feeling depressed.
It was well-written and I did enjoy reading it to a certain extent, so I'm giving it a 3.
--- First reaction:
I'm struggling a bit with the rating for this book. I both can't find a reason to give it 4 stars or not to give it 4 stars.
I will think on it some more and write a proper review soon!...more
Here's what I expected: - Fluffy romance starring a plus size FMC - A Bachelorette type setting, with our femalThis book was not really what I expected.
Here's what I expected: - Fluffy romance starring a plus size FMC - A Bachelorette type setting, with our female lead struggling to send someone home each week, while I'm 100% clear on who she should end up with - Glamorous clothes and glamorous dates
Well that was just half of the story. No, seriously, that was the second half of the book.
The first half is much more serious and even a bit grim. The narrative alternates between Bea's POV in 3rd person and media forms like twitter and articles. We read along as plus-size fashion influencer Bea goes through a painful break up (?). One day, she lashes out against the Main Squeeze, a dating show where one (wo)man dates a group of (wo)men, and sends them home one by one until there is one left. She accuses the show of being fatphobic and claims they would never have someone like her on the show, which of course then results in them inviting her to be the next Main Squeeze (cringe). The first half covers the prep and beginning of the show. We read comments on twitter and articles that are not just on the fatphobic side, but it goes all the way to death and rape threats. I actually appreciate that the author included this. It's a real representation of what some women have to deal with online and it's important to raise awareness of this topic.
The second half was the fluffy dating I expected, with a smattering of angst. Bea gets closer and opens her heart to a few of the men in the house. It was fluffy and sweet, but I also realized that the idea of one man or woman dating several at the same time is not something appealing to me.
In short: + The representation + The female lead and some of the male leads' characters + The fluffy relationships + Bea's family (her brothers are HILARIOUS) - The switch between media and Bea's narrative. Sometimes in the middle of a scene the book cuts to a twitter feed that's live tweeting the event. Meh, that's not for me. - The length: it was a bit too lengthy imho - The many love interests (but hey, I knew what I was getting myself into)
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