29# Book Review- ★★★★☆ (3.5 Stars)

Jane Eyre

By-

Charlotte Bronte

 

A Victorian Gothic Novel, quite lengthy in my opinion. It was dragging and tiresome in certain portions with excessive atmospheric description (quite well written though, in my opinion.) When fifteen year old me had picked up this book, she’d expected a rosy romance novel and was left severely disappointed. At twenty, I now see this book as a tale of a woman’s growth into a head-strong individual, capable of rational and independent thought, grappling with issues of principles and religion. The book depicts Jane—the protagonist’s—evolution into an independent woman. She not only battles with the social order and her place in it, but also her own self. This book then, is a series of battles.

Her first battle is with her own impassioned soul, so susceptible to offense, loneliness and volatile feelings. As a child she is easily provoked. Not so much as a battle on the social side, it does showcase the life of young girls—poor or orphaned, living off charity.

Her second battle is more rooted in the social and class order. Now subdued, she sets out to discover more of the world, and herself. Falling in love with her master, and her own status as a mere governess repeatedly shows how strongly confined the lives of governesses can be, and how strongly the lives of everyone is bound by their class. Jane has to subdue her love for she knows there is no point in pining after a man who is so much richer than she’ll ever be and part of circles she can only dream of being in. However, the class structures are looser, that is visible. Not dependent on name alone, anyone with a fortune can be part of the first circle. A governess can marry a man so much richer than her, if he chooses to have her.

The third and last battle I believe, is a very personal battle—a struggle between desire and principles; individuality and moral duty, which is reconciled in the end.

The book also depicts the idea of beauty and how people in the Victorian era set a store by it. Jane, a “plain” protagonist rises above her circumstances, always maintaining a strong hold on her individual beliefs, thoughts and desires that are not swayed by any man or woman. With the society putting a strong emphasis on moral and religious duty, Jane Eyre sheds light on one’s duty towards their self, towards their own potential. It puts emphasis on the gift of God—not a heavenly abode, but the life God has given, and one must perform the duty of living it fully. Jane comes across as a pure, good-natured Christian despite following her own desires. She even appears dutiful, for she dedicates her life to sustaining someone else’s.

I did not find the protagonist very likable, again, a personal opinion. Being an atheist with a very rebellious, non-conforming nature I could not like Jane’s religious fervor nor her occasional subdued and docile characteristics.

Ultimately, this is a good book and an important piece of Victorian Literature. It is much more informational and enlightening, and quite less entertaining, in my opinion.

Salem’s Lot By- Stephen King

28# Book Review- ★★★★☆ (3.5 Stars)

Salem’s Lot

By-

Stephen King

This happens to be my first Stephen King book (the first that I’ve completed anyway.) I’d picked this book on several occasions but always ended up abandoning it because it started off so agonisingly slow. The thing I’ve realised with King is, that he really develops his characters and setting. I don’t know if he’d always written this way. But becoming an established author, he knows his readers believe in him; believe in his ability to churn out horrifying tales. Which is why he seems to take their attention for granted and dedicates dozens of pages outlining side characters.

I won’t lie, it gets a little boring. But it’s definitely worth it.

So this time when I picked Salem’s Lot, I refused to put it down. I breezed through the long descriptions of the characters and the places, eating up the details but not stopping at them.

And then the good stuff began.

The book’s got all the right things to make it an entertaining read. A creepy old town? Check. A haunted house? Check. A darkness that threatens to choke you? Check. Something inhuman crawling through the night? Yup. It’s all there.

This time when I started reading it, I read the introduction/foreword first. King says he was inspired by Dracula, and that this was, in a way, it’s modern-retelling. I was extremely intrigued since Dracula happens to be one of my favourite novels.

Salem’s Lot was obviously not as good as Dracula. I mean, cmon! Dracula is the real big daddy of Vampire Fiction. Can anyone ever compete to that? However, King wasn’t necessarily trying to compete. He just brought the idea of a weird old man living in a weird old mansion, having a weird assistant to an American setting. And boy does he do it well!

What you’ve got to hand to him is how well he breathes life into the most mundane characters ever. He easily handles over a dozen characters, giving each of them a specific history and a well thought out personality. They don’t feel like characters in a book. They seem like the kind of people you pass by on the street. And that, my friends, is real talent. It’s a skill that most writers have yet to master.

I also liked the narrative techniques employed by Stephen King. It’s mostly written in the 3^rd person narrative, but the way the chapters are arranged is great. It’s such a well-plotted book! The book has 3 big parts and an awfully long epilogue. Each part contains a couple of chapters. Each chapter contains several mini-chapters/scenes. There are chapters that specifically revolve around a character. There are chapters dedicated to the whole town, describing what’s going on at different places at different times. Then there are parts where he describes the life force or the darkness that slithers through this town. Sometimes he describes how autumn creeps in, or how the darkness settles. And those are a real work of art—beautifully written prose, almost poetic in nature. This book keeps treading the boundary between horror and aesthetic prose.

Coming to the crux of it—the horror story aspect. Some of the scenes are downright chilling. Not in an obvious kind of way. It’s all very subdued, and that’s where its beauty lies. You’ve really got to settle into its atmosphere and let the book guide you. That’s what I let it do. And it was so good. I usually read the book late at night, sometimes right before I went to sleep. It is obvious then, that the horrors between its pages visited me in my dreams. It wasn’t bone-chilling, but it definitely made your heart beat a little faster. It’s the kind of book you should read during the winter, cooped up in your blanket.

Why 3.5 stars and not higher? Well, I suppose I was expecting more. The climax didn’t really feel like the climax. There were places where I wanted the book to draw out the plot, to move a little slower, to let the horror of it all seep into my bones. But the book rushed on in some of those places. This is highly subjective though. There are no real flaws in here. For someone else, this book would be a solid five stars.

So, should you read it? Yes. I’d definitely recommend it. Though readers need to be a little patient and let this book work its charm.

Happy reading!

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Wow, it’s been a year since I last posted. Summer’s here, and I plan to start activiely posting on this blog again. I’m going to be reading a lot this summer. 

Tell Me Three Things By- Julie Buxbaum

27# Book Review– ★★★★★ (4.5 stars)

Tell Me Three Things

By-

Julie Buxbaum

Okay oh my god, give me a moment.

*Screams*

*Flails arms like a drunk penguin*

*Screams some more*

*Tries to control the excessive amount of feels*

*Fails*

Okay, this book was amazing. Like I want this book to end but I don’t want it to end amazing. Like, I feel the characters are my best friend amazing. Like I just about died from all those feels and this should be made into a movie amazing.

So here’s a short summary first:

Jessie’s mother died after she got sick, leaving Jessie alone with her father who was, like Jessie, deeply impacted by this sudden loss. Fast forward a couple of months, her father meets this rich woman Rachel, falls in love with her, marries her, and off Jessie is whisked from her simple life in Chicago to Wood Valley, Los Angeles where she is supposed to adjust into her new life—with her step mother Rachel, who she can’t help but hate (and secretly refers to as the ‘stepmonster’), her gay stepbrother Theo who basically pretends she doesn’t exist, and into her new high school that basically comprises of these really snobby rich kids who think she’s pathetic.

Life couldn’t get worse.

Then in swoops ‘Somebody Nobody’ this anonymous person who goes to her school. He emails her and offers to guide her through the treacherous waters of this new territory. Jessie can’t help but accept.

Her life slowly becomes bearable as she tries to tackle with the loss of her mother, makes new friends, deals with the absence of her best friend Scarlett, and tries to gain control of the crush she’s slowly developing on Ethan, the local hottie slash guitar player of the local band ‘Orgasmville’ who has this mysterious loner guy thing going on for him.

All through this, Somebody Nobody aka SN is her constant companion.

This book was really, really cute. It was super entertaining, and I haven’t read a YA Romance like this in a long, long time. It had everything. There was humor, there was emotion, there was drama, and so much anticipation and mystery. I practically devoured this book.

One of the main reasons why I loved this book so much is because I was able to connect with the female protagonist of this novel—Jessie. I’m nineteen years old now, but I was transported back in time, to when I was fifteen. I remember being insecure, and super self-conscious; being that girl who had this intense fire burning inside her, and all this sass and humor, but who never was able to express it properly. I remembered how awesome I sounded over texts, and I realized how cool I was virtually, and how not cool in real life.

I remember having this intense desire to be seen, to be noticed. I was tired of being the invisible girl who lurked in the shadows. I wanted someone to notice me, to want me, to want to know me. (I still do)

I remember moving away, leaving everything behind and getting distanced from my best friend and the kind of uncomfortable strain it put on both of us, as we both tried to adjust to a new life that was devoid of the other. I remember being bullied at my new school and that feeling of not being accepted.

So yes, you could say that I’m a little biased and the reason I probably loved this book was because I could relate so well to it, and put myself in the main character’s shoes.

So why should you read it? I’ll tell you.

You are not just a reader when you read this book. You become a part of it. And that’s a big deal. It’s one thing to observe everything as an audience, and another to be right in the middle of it. This book pulls you in and plops you right in the middle of this book, and you experience everything first hand. The credit can be given to the writing style of the author, which is part ramblings of a confused, coming-of-age teenager, and someone who is very, very human. The characters were believable, playing slightly on the cliché side but not becoming predictable or just surface-level characters. They felt real. Especially Jessie. You can understand her pain, and her insecurity. She makes you feel like you’re her friend, and she’s letting you in on a secret.

Initially, the story didn’t seem to have a very visible plot. It just felt like a bunch of things were happening. But eventually we could see where it was going. This book was obviously a character-centric book, and quite a good one. The character development definitely took place, at a realistic pace and not in an overly outright fake manner. In fact, almost all the characters underwent some development so that was pretty good.

The book was funny, though not hilarious, it had drama (not a lot, but it did.) But most of all, it piqued my curiosity. It was super fun to read and I couldn’t put it down. I just had to know what happens in the end. It was super cute. And did I mention the feels? Oh my god, them feels! It’ll remind you how it feels to be a teenager, and how a crush actually feels like and it’ll just really play with your emotions in good way. Also, one really redeeming thing about the main character was that she was written smartly in a manner, that made her oblivious to a lot of obvious things without making her seem dense or dim-witted or naïve. Her obliviousness seemed perfectly plausible, if you see it from a teenager’s perspective. And I know because I used to be that way (still kind of am.)

All in all, it was a really entertaining read, and not fully predictable or anything. A very good one-time read!

In Real Life By- Jessica Love

26# Book Review– ★★★☆☆ (2.5 Stars)

In Real Life

By-

Jessica Love

Hannah is the good girl who always does what is expected of her. She obeys her parents, follows all the rules, and maintains her good grades. She also lets life pass her by, playing it safe and running away from anything that is even slightly risky.

“My best friend and I have never met. We talk every day, on the phone or online, and he knows more about me than anyone. Like, deep into my soul. But we’ve never actually seen each other in real life.”

Nick is her best friend; sweet, hilarious, socially awkward Nick, who is member of this awesome punk rock band called ‘Automatic Friday’. She met him online. He calls her “ghost” because her presence haunts him long after he logs off all the social media apps and websites.

“I’m stuck somewhere between hating him so much, I never want to see him again and never, ever wanting to him to let me go.”

But now, four years since their friendship began, Hannah is slowly coming to terms with reality, and realizing she might just be harboring non-platonic feelings for this best friend of hers. This best friend who she has never met in real life.

“Following the rules for the past seventeen years has gotten me absolutely nowhere. I really need to do something about that.”

So, one day during spring break, Hannah decides to screws all the rules, to quit playing it safe and drive all the way to Las Vegas to surprise Nick at his gig.

However, her plan to surprise him goes awry, and she’s the one who ends up surprised after she finds out that Nick has been lying to her.

This book was a 2.5 stars.

The writing style was pretty basic, and average. So was the plot. It was the kind of stuff you find on ebook sharing websites like Wattpad, written by amateur authors. Most of the YA books out there are written like that, if not better.  No use of beautifying literary devices, just a teenage girl ranting and cursing herself for being an idiot. The description of things was also simplistic, and didn’t create a very vivid image.

There was character diversity, there were Mexicans and whites and Asians. And I’m all for that. I like that, it’s great. But it was also a little unrealistic. Like not all of them being racially different no. But in the start of the book, the main character Hannah mention 3-4 people, and all of them are Asians, (brown people) and like I get it, but it felt kinda unrealistic. Because why does Hannah know people of all these different ethnicities (Mexicans and Indians) but doesn’t know/or mentions white people which are supposed to be like the majority? The only one she knows is an internet friend and her sister’s ex-boyfriend. So the diversity felt a little forced, and not completely natural.

Personality wise, the characters were normal and believable, but not overly deep. We didn’t get a glimpse into the depths of their soul, just the surface. I didn’t get attached to any of the characters and I wasn’t rooting for them and their quest or anything, just reading about them like a passive spectator.

Yes, there was character development, only in the female protagonist, and it was made very obvious and basically the whole plot was centered around it.

The book was kind of predictable, and there were a lot of elements in the plot that were put there for convenience’s sake, and as soon as you identified those elements, you could predict the rest of the story.

So now, you might think, why should I read this book, and why should I avoid it.

Why you should avoid: It’s a cliché theme, internet best friends, unrequited love, pining after a guy who has a girlfriend…yeah. It has some very basic elements that are present in all such stories—the girlfriend, (who is always either overly bitchy, or overly nice, in this case she is nice) to create angst, a best friend who is boy crazy, a female protagonist who has a major flaw, usually a flaw found in shy people, or people who are kinda passive. A cute male protagonist, who has a cliché personality (the socially awkward introvert guy who is overly sweet) So yeah, it was pretty cliché in that way. It wasn’t an extra ordinary once-in-a-lifetime kind of event, just something very normal. So if you’re not into stuff like that, please avoid it.

Why you should read: So what if it’s cliché? Cliché themes exist for a reason. Besides, it was pretty entertaining for a one time read. I did kind of wanted to know how the two main characters would end up together, which is why I read this book in one sitting. If you can get over the lack of character depth, and cliché setting, and if you dig drama, you’ll find this book entertaining.

So why have I given it 2.5 stars? Because:

a) the writing style was very normal. Like the way I write, if not slightly simpler. I always like to read stuff that is better written than what I write.

b) The characters were slightly annoying? Don’t get me started on the best friend, and the elder sister. How annoying! If my friends behaved that way I’d be super mad at them. The main character was kinda annoying too. Very dense. Her internal ramblings were annoying me a lot.

c) I didn’t fall in love with the male protagonist. He didn’t steal my heart. I didn’t find him attractive either, so yeah. He lacked personality.

d) Everything was just so…basic.

So, read it at your own risk 🙂 x

Me Before You By- Jojo Moyes

25# Book Review– ★★★★☆

Me Before You

By-

Jojo Moyes

*Slowly wipes tears from my eyes. Proceeds to write the book review*

So y’all probably know about the basic plot of the book, since the movie is coming out in a couple of days. But for those of you who live under a rock, here’s the basic story-line:

“I told him a story of two people. Two people who shouldn’t have met, and who didn’t like each other much when they did, but who found they were the only two people in the world who could possibly have understood each other.”

Twenty six year old Louisa Clark has lead a simple, stable life. She has a job at the local café, a gorgeous boyfriend who she has been with for seven years, and a messy hyperactive family who love her to bits. She lives in a small, basic town wherein nothing ever happens. She can’t see beyond this little bubble she has built around herself, can’t see past the horizon And she doesn’t care, she loves it.

“You know, you can only actually help someone who wants to be helped.” 

Thirty Five year old Will Traynor lost everything the day he had that accident with the motorcycle, damaging his spine and leaving him paralyzed from the chest below, with only little sensation in his hands.  He hates the life he lives now. In fact, he barely lives. A man who used to love everything that involved the usage of his limbs, can’t use them anymore. He hates being trapped in a wheel chair. He’s lost the desire to live.

Then Lou aka Louisa loses her job, that too in the middle of recession, and the stable life she’d been wrapped up in, shatters in front of her eyes. Suddenly the future she’d been so easily predicting, vanishes before her eyes and she doesn’t know what to do anymore.

So she takes up a job—an unusual one. She has to be Will’s care taker. The pay is great, and the hours are decent, even though Will is a pain in the arse, and definitely not the most pleasant person to be around. He thinks she is dumb, and an unwanted intruder. He just wants to be left alone.

“I needed to tell him, silently, that things might change, grow, or fail, but that life did go on. That we were all part of some great cycle, some pattern that it was only God’s purpose to understand.” 

“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.” 

But when they give each other a chance, everything changes.

“I know this isn’t a conventional love story. I know there are all sorts of reasons I shouldn’t even be saying what I am. But I love you. I do.

If only their time together didn’t have an expiration date…

“I had a hundred and seventeen days in which to convince Will Traynor that he had a reason to live.” 

*sigh* another novel that reminded me of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’. I enjoyed the characters. Despite being a sad romance novel that’s supposed to make you cry, the characters were quite likeable. They weren’t depressed and grouchy all the time, so that was great. The story was mildly amusing, and the characters weren’t two dimensional. I could relate to Louisa Clark every now and then. It was of course, hard to relate to Will, if you’re not going through something as extreme as him. But that doesn’t mean it was difficult to understand his feelings, his motives and actions and his situation. That’s one of the remarkable things about this novel. I don’t want to give a spoiler or anything, but the way the author wrote this book…she made it easier for us as readers to accept and understand Will’s choices. Which is a big feat in itself.

The supporting characters were realistic and weren’t just there for the sake of being there. They all had some role to play.

Despite being a romance, I found the book to be slightly plot centric, and not as emotion-centric, for some reasons. I believe the romance could have been enhanced in some parts, but it wasn’t. Emotions were expressed more through actions, instead of dialogues and feelings. And the story didn’t focus as much on the development of the relationship between two people, as it did on the other major events. The character-relation dynamics were quite stagnant in some parts which makes me feel that way.

As for the writing style, it wasn’t anything exceptional. It was simple enough, and likeable, slightly entertaining, and overall fine.

If anyone of y’all is emotional af (because god knows I’m not) and wants to get a decent cry, you should go read this book. It’s sweet and sad, and it plays in your head like a movie. (Tip: watch the trailer before you read the book, it helps) All you fans of John Green and Nicholas Sparks will enjoy this book.

Happy Reading! x

Eleanor & Park By–Rainbow Rowell

24# Book Review–★★★☆☆ 

Eleanor & Park

By-

Rainbow Rowell

“If you can’t save your own life, is it even worth saving?” 

Wild, curly, unkempt red hair, a body that feels too big, a life that is falling apart bit by bit, just like her clothes—we have Eleanor.

“There’s only one of him.” 

Feeling of not belonging, an abundance of love for comic books and mix tapes, struggling with his racial and gender identity, and coerced by the narrow social system of high school—we have Park.

These two misfits meet in the most ordinary of ways (in the school bus) and end up experiencing an extra ordinary love.

“What are the chances you’d ever meet someone like that, he wondered. Someone you could love forever, someone who would forever love you back?”

 When they both are perfect for each other—but the timing isn’t.

“I don’t like you, Park. Sometimes I think I live for you”

When they both are falling together, but life is falling apart.

“Nothing before you counts,” he said. “And I can’t even imagine an after.” 

Eleanor & Park are the next door star crossed lovers who’re experiencing something too good to be true; something too good to last.

“I just can’t believe that life would give us to each other,’ he said, ‘and then take it back.’

‘I can,’ she said. ‘Life’s a bastard.” 

This book reminded me, on more than one occasions, of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green. And if you know me, you know that I didn’t particularly like that book. So yeah, even with ‘Eleanor & Park’ my ratings are average.

Some of the parts were really likeable, full of quotes and feels-inducing, written effortlessly and beautifully. Like, I can really swoon over the quote-like dialogues, you know? But there were other parts, these really dull and plain parts that didn’t feel me anything, that made me want to skim over.

I’ll be honest, the story was realistic and believable and cute. But, I think it lacked intensity. Yes, there were a few parts, but I think even those could have been intense. As a teenager, I know how intense and high you feel when you have feelings for someone. This book was raw in terms of character and plot, and I liked that. I wish it had been a little more raw with feelings too. Saying ‘I love you’ a dozen times I great, but I wish there were scenes and actions that showed it more.

So I suppose that’s why it reminded me of The Fault in our Stars. Both of them are dotted with quotes, with realistic teen characters who are kinda bleak and see life for what it is. Both involve items/hobbies the couple bond over (books, and comics and music in the latter) I just didn’t feel it that intensely though. I craved a bit of…more. More angst, more pain, more intensity, more feelings.

The characters were nice enough. I liked the fact that Rainbow Rowell created a female protagonist who wasn’t perfect. Like we all read about the plain female protagonists who nobody notices but they in actuality are quite pretty and amazing. This though, this was the real thing. Eleanor was real. She didn’t have the body of a goddess hidden beneath layers of clothes, she didn’t look like an actress when you gave her a makeover and tamed her wild red hair. She just looked like a less messy version of herself, and that was really appreciable. Because hey, we all can’t be pretty and look like we’ve walked straight out of a movie scene. I liked that she wasn’t likeable. Heck, even I didn’t like her through most of the novel and couldn’t appreciate her personality, until later when I gained better isnight into her situation. So basically, it’s like judging a real person—you don’t like them until you realize they have their reasons.

Well we can sum her up through Park’s words basically,

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” 

Park was cute, I didn’t understand why he was so awkward and like why were they both just so hesitant to touch each other all the time, even after they got together, but it was cute.

The plot was kinda slow but it didn’t seem as if it lacked structure. I didn’t see major character development though. But by realistic standards, it makes sense.

I liked the racial diversity in the plot. Race was discussed lightly without tackling all the hard-core problems, to make the novel a light read.

All in all it was a decent one time read. I wasn’t completely blown away by it or anything and it did get kinda boring at times, but the writing is beautiful. Read it for the quotes haha

Missing Pieces By- Meredith Tate

23# Book Review–★★★☆☆ 

Missing Pieces

By-

Meredith Tate

The book is set in a dystopian world where the government decides who you will marry, and bear children with. At the age of six, you are assigned a partner (based on how compatible your genetic codes suggest you are) and your whole life basically revolves around the institution of marriage. You have to say ‘I love you’ to this assigned partner of yours every time you meet. At age seventeen, you have a first kiss ceremony. After high school you have to live in together & only after marriage at age 24 are you allowed to have sex and then, bare children. Those who go against this norm, commit adultery, love someone else, are homosexuals, are shunned from the society. Their faces are scarred and they are sent to Lornstown, a remote town on the outskirts of the state where you have to live with the rest of the outcastes, isolated from the society.

Tracey & Piren are two best friends, part of this system, assigned to someone else, someone they are not compatible with. Partners are supposed to be like two puzzle pieces, who fit together perfectly, but not in their case. While the world around them shows couples who are made for each other, they feel like a bunch of misfits. As they grow up, their platonic relationship morphs into something more. They feel this connection that gets too difficult to ignore. Add in strict parents and teachers who are constantly trying to keep you apart because it is forbidden to be close to a member of the opposite gender unless they are your partner or family.

This book traces their journey, of how they slowly become best friends, then fall in love, and then go against everything they’ve ever known to pursue what means the most to them.

Okay, so let’s get one thing straight. This book is a shitty Dystopian novel. As for romance, well, it’s pretty average. I’ve read a few best friend romances, written one myself actually, and this one didn’t even live up to that. You might argue that the premise here is different, which is why it isn’t fair to compare it to a normal romance novel. But that’s the thing, the premise does nothing for this book. It isn’t as strong and believable as a premise in Dystopian novel ought to be.  It fails to establish the history and context behind its existence. Like, I get it, health and diseases inspiring the government to genetically determine one’s mate. But something rather severe and life threatening should have happened to morph the government into a totalitarian one.

Here’s the reason I would have given if I’d written this book:

A deadly virus spread through Earth killing off major parts of the population, almost bringing humanity to extinction. Worried, scientists tried to create a cure, but failed. So as an alternative, they tried to create off springs with strong immune systems, very healthy off-springs. For this, they matched the genetic codes of the DNA of the people. Then a select group of people were put in quarantine and they had to mate and create very healthy babies. Eventually society was reborn, through them, and a gazillion years later—this is the system.

Seems legit.

So yeah, like I was saying, the book wasn’t successfully able to create a believable historical context. This is one of the biggest reasons this book doesn’t work as a Dystopian novel. Even after, we do not see the concept of ‘partnership’ being promoted by the govt. and law as much as you see the parents and teachers doing it. Like sure, I get it, it’s usually people in your nearest vicinity who promote such things, but I wish the role of the govt. was more, to get a feel. I wish it felt more…dangerous, to love someone you’re not supposed to. You get sent to Lornstown? Cool. Sure it might be bad, but they don’t even harm you that much, and let you go with the one you love. So how can that be bad? It wasn’t exactly the scary, forbidden love I would have preferred. It felt essentially normal. Kinda like a strict bunch of parents and teachers from orthodox communities constantly telling you to stay away from the opposite gender. So Dystopian? Not much.

Now, moving onto the romance part. I’ve read a bunch of best friend romances. They were much better than this one, in all honesty. The book was too long. 371 Pages I think, was a little too much for a story that focuses solely on the relationship & drama of two people. The drama wasn’t that dramatic. It was pretty basic and mundane, and kind of a drag. Like I get that the author was trying to establish the character’s bond and everything, but some of the chapters were just not needed and served no real purpose. There were too many filler chapters.

The characters were pretty basic, and normal. I didn’t get attached to them, or connected deeply.

I see all these people giving away five star reviews, they’ve obviously not read good romance novels or dystopian novels. It was a decent blend of both, leaning more towards the romance part. This wasn’t a page turner, I’m sorry. It didn’t make my heart race, and didn’t melt me in a puddle of goo. It was okay. The ending was a little rushed. The author did not exploit the dystopian premise of the book effectively. True dystopian lovers will obviously not be happy with this book. As for romance lovers, well if you’re as picky as me you might feel a little disappointed but it’s a decent one time read.

But I Love Him By- Amanda Grace

22# Book Review– ★★☆☆☆ (1.5 Stars)

But I Love Him

By-

Amanda Grace

This book is seriously not meant for entertainment purposes. It’s more of an informative, insightful read that was…boring. So boring I kept checking how many pages were left. It was awful to get through. I contemplated giving up on several occasions, but completed it anyway. I kept waiting for the book to redeem itself but it never did. Even 1.5 stars is pushing it.

 “I wanted to be his life preserver, the thing that would keep him afloat. Instead, he became my anchor. And I’m tired of drowning.”

Eighteen year old Ann is in love with Connor. She gave up everything—her ambitions, her family, her friends, her hobby—just to be with him. And Connor is in love with her. But sometimes his rage overpowers that. And then he hurts her.

“I should have known when he said ‘You’re so lucky I don’t hit girls,’ that one day he would.”

Mentally.

Psychologically.

Physically.

Emotionally.

“Where’ve you been all my life”

“Waiting for you.”

It’s the kind of love that’s difficult to walk away from. It swallows you whole, spouting out some other version of you, someone you can’t recognize.

“People don’t understand us. They don’t understand me. They think it’s so black and white, that he makes me miserable and that I should be with someone else and that I deserve something else.

But it’s not black and white at all. It’s gray. It’s a never-ending world of gray.

They don’t understand that there is so much to him that they’ll never see. That he only shows to me. They don’t understand that late at night, he tells me how beautiful I am. He tells me all the things he will give me one day, when our problems are over. They don’t understand he would die for me.”

‘But I Love Him’ is a collection of memories that show how Ann encountered the most beautiful feeling in the world, and then simultaneously lost everything that she held dear. Including herself.

“This isn’t love. It’s something broken and ugly. I wanted it so badly I didn’t care what it looked like.”

This book had the potential to be a really emotional read and like, it could really work, you know? But it didn’t.

A distinguishing characteristic about this book is that it’s written in a reverse-chronological order, so like it ends with when Ann meets Conner for the first time. Now, the author clarifies that she did it so that the readers don’t judge her character. She says that there’s usually a distinguishing point in abusive relationships, like when the person is abused for the first time, and if she’d written it in chronological order, the readers would probably be like ‘I would have walked away now’ (and she’s kind of right, you know) so she didn’t want that to happen.

However the reverse chronological order, plus the lack of dialogues and descriptions made it impossible for me as a reader to connect with the characters. And for such emotion-based stories, it’s really important to do just that. So as a result, it ended up being a really boring read. Also, I still judged the character, despite the reverse chronological order. Imagine a book, now remember all the good parts and leave it with filler chapters. That’s how reading this book felt like—like I was reading a bunch of filler chapters.

The writing style was good. This book would be a decent read for someone who wants to know what being in an abusive relationship feels like. I’d give it a 3.5 stars if that’s all I’d wanted. But I’d wanted chills, and tears, and entertainment which I didn’t get. So, sadly it’s a 1.5. I did kinda get teary eyes towards the end when she (oops can’t reveal it that’ll be a spoiler) So, that’s a 1.5 for you!

Read it if you wanna know how it feels to be in an abusive relationship. Otherwise please avoid it, you’ll be disappointed.

November 9 By- Colleen Hoover

21# Book Review– ★★★★☆ (4.5 Stars)

November 9

By-

Colleen Hoover

So my best friend suggested me to read this book, and honestly, I had been a little sceptical. You can’t be too wary of all those NA Romance Novels out there that spout out the same crap book after book. So yes, I’d been a little hesitant. But thankfully, this book didn’t turn out to be a waste of time. Quite the opposite actually, it was a really entertaining read. It reminded me why writers are such dangerous species and how they can stomp on your heart and play with your feelings using just a bunch of words. What even…

I’d shed a couple of tears by the time I finished reading this book. Surprisingly, the tears were tears of happiness. So surprising, right? Like I’m sure we’ve all come across books that make us bawl our eyes out and clog our noses and just make us realize how sad life can really be. But this, oh this was entirely different. This made me laugh out loud, and wipe my tears as I tried to regain the control of my emotions. If you want to feel content and happy and realize how beautiful love can really be, you definitely need to read this book. It reminds you that sometimes very ordinary people can experience extra-ordinary love. It made me want to fall in love with someone right now and experience all those intense beautiful things. But it also inspired me enough to wait for that kind of love to come along, to settle for nothing less than extra-ordinary.

“I’ve never loved someone I hate so much, and I’ve never hated someone I love so much.”

Ever since the terrible fire that burnt away 30% of her body when she was sixteen, and on her way to becoming a successful actress, Fallon has been insecure. A girl who once loved her appearance and was confident, now hides behind her curtain of hair and clothes that hide her scars. Then on the fateful day of November 9^th, she stumbles across Benton Kessler.

“She’s not the kind of girl you choose your battles for. She’s the kind of girl you fight to the death for.”

When Benton Kessler, the so-called writer in the making,  hears Fallon’s asshole-ish father making his insecure daughter feel even more insecure and unworthy, he can’t control himself. So before he can stop himself, he barges in on their conversation, pretending to be Fallon’s “boyfriend”.

“If she’s not careful, I might just fall in love with her. Tonight.”

What starts as a thirty minute fake relationship, extends throughout the day with both of them spending the whole of November 9 together. There’s this undeniable instant connection that is impossible to ignore, and before the day has ended Ben gets to observe the deeply destroyed parts of her soul, her low self esteem and all the insecurities attached with it. But he’s different. Fallon has never come across a guy like him before. Instead of flinching at the sight of her scars and shying away from them, he embraces her for who she is. For the first time in two years she feels beautiful, and wanted.

“He presses his mouth to mine and kisses me with so much emotion, I forget all the things. Everything. I forget where I am. Who I am.”

Before long the day ends, and they have to accept the fact that as much fun it had been, Fallon is moving away to New York. But this connection they had…it’s too good to be true. Too precious to let go of so easily. So they make a pact. That they’ll meet each other every year for the next five years on the same day—November 9, at the same place. Fallon also suggests him to write a book about it—to write a book about those five coming years in which they’ll meet once a year. Between that annual meeting, they’ll have no connection what-so-ever. So they block each other on every social media, and don’t exchange phone numbers. And then they wait, for a whole year.

“But the only thing that makes me sad—the biggest thing—is that I think about you every second of every day and I don’t know how to get over you.”

“Don’t,” I beg her. “Please don’t get over me.”

The idea seems harmless. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Because it’s easy to fall in love, Ben. The hard part comes when you want out.”

Actually, everything.

Okay, first thing, do you have any idea how many beautiful, heart-touching quotes this book has? A lot. Like a lot lot. (You can read them in the Quotes Section of my blog) The book has been written so beautifully. The dialogue work is splendid. It’s absolutely magical. So yes, the writing style is good, like romance novel-worthy good.

Now, about the characters. The female protagonist, Fallon; she just has this…thing about her, you know? That makes it so easy for you to step into her shoes. I don’t know about you, but as a girl, I’ve been insecure about my appearance and my body quite a lot. So, her insecurity and vulnerability is very…believable. You see a part of yourself in her. You can step into her shoes. Despite that, she’s not a cry baby or anything. She’s actually quite spunky and funny and like a really good person. So you don’t get sick of her.

Ah, and what do I say about Benton James Kessler? Reading about Ben was like inhaling a fresh breath of air and I feel so…clean, I don’t even have words to express myself. He was just so refreshing. He was not like those typical book worthy male protagonists that make you swoon but he still was book-worthy. I think that’s because he was…perfect, but in a real, more believable way. Like give me gorgeous billionaires with emotional conflicts and mad bedroom skills any day, but there’s something so…amazing about a normal guy who’s dorky but has this amazing sense of humor and this inner passion, and this humongous capacity to love someone and just be there for them. Someone who is so fucking motivational and says just the right things at the right time. But like he also has his scars and his flaws and his insecurities. And you know, someone who thinks it’s a privilege to be able to love you. You will come to love his character, I promise you.

About the plot: It might seem a little…ordinary and normal during the first eighty page sor so. You know, it might seem kinda predictable and you’ll be like ‘I don’t see anythign special about this novel. It’s…good, but not amazing.’ Give it another couple of pages and you’ll not be able to put this book down. Trust me. It had a lot of romance at the start with hints of humor. But we eventually get the drama we crave oh-so-much! This would be a perfect plot for a RomCom, you know? This really needs to be made into a movie.

Please read this book if you want to get chest pains and feel that your feelings have been manipulated by the author. But most of all, read it to make yourself feel alive and happy (and like a gooey puddle of happiness and tears)

She “loved me” in quotations

She kissed me in bold

I TRIED TO KEEP HER in all caps

She left with an ellipsis . . .

—BENTON JAMES KESSLER

Every Last Word By- Tamara Ireland Stone

20# Book Review– ★★★★☆ (4.5 Stars)

Every Last Word

By-

Tamara Ireland Stone

Sam is popular, beautiful and part of the ‘Crazy Eights’, the school’s most popular girl gang. But being popular is not all that it’s cut out to be. For example, it’s hard to keep secrets. Sam rages a daily battle with Purely-Obsessional OCD. Her thoughts tend to spiral out of control. She can’t stop thinking, her mind never shuts up. So much so, that she needs sleep medications and antianxiety medications to function properly. She meets up with her psychiatrist Sue every week for therapy.

All Sam really craves is to be normal. She wishes she could speak her mind and be the person she really is. But who is she? She doesn’t know.

Until she stumbles upon ‘The Poet’s Corner’, a hidden room underneath the theatre of the school where a group of people meet twice a week to share their poetries, and consequently, an intimate part of their soul.

Initially reluctant to make her a part of their group, she eventually succeeds in becoming a member of this secret poetry club consisting of kids much like her; kids who are battling with personal and external issues, who just really need an outlet.

And then, her life’s never the same.

“If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t be smiling.” 

“Everyone’s got something. Some people are just better actors than others.”

‘The poems here are silly, heartbreaking, hilarious, sad, and many are absolutely incredible. They are about people who don’t care enough and people who care too much, people you trust and people who turn on you, hating school, loving your friends, seeing the beauty in the world. Sprinkled among them are heavier ones about depression and addiction, self mutilation and various forms of self medication. But most of them are about love. Wanting it. Missing it. Actually being in it.’

‘This is a mistake. He doesn’t like me; he likes the person Caroline turned me into. He thinks I’m a normal girl who swims and writes poetry, but I’m not. I’m obsessed with my thoughts and I can’t sleep and I count in threes. He writes music and wears his heart on his sleeve, and I don’t deserve him.”

‘I like him. I like everything about him. The way he plays. The songs he writes. The things he says. The way he makes me want to speak out, not hold my words inside. That dimple. Those lips. I have to know what they feel like.’

“I didn’t go there looking for you. I went looking for me.” My voice is soft, low, and shaky. “But now, here you are, and somehow, in finding you, I think I’ve found myself.” 

I really liked this book because it was just…beautiful. That’s the only word good enough to describe it. It was really intense, and the characters were very human. It was a beautiful story about self actualization and discovering yourself, with a romantic subplot. It makes you realize that every person has a story. It was really sweet, kinda sad, and hundred percent real. You should definitely give it a read!