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Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
In many ways Sex and Vanity was exactly the pulpy light-hearted read I was in dire need of. Kevin Kwan’s engrossing and entertaining storytelling made me speed through his book and I ended up finishing it in less than a day. As retellings go, this manages to be both (fairly) faithful and rather refreshing. What…
1st pov, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, asian american, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, class, Contemporary, dialogue heavy, drama, E.M. Forster, family, gossip & scandals, holidays, HUMOR, Italy, kevin kwan, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, Long Island, male authors, MARRIAGE, My reviews, NEW YORK, new york state, PRIVILEGE, published in 2020, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, rich people, ROMANCE, romcom, satire, Sex and Vanity, singaporean american author, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, summer reads, travel, wedding drama -
Faithful by Alice Hoffman
“You rescue something and you’re responsible for it. But maybe that’s what love is. Maybe it’s like a hit-and-run accident; it smashes you before you can think. You do it no matter the cost and you keep on running” While not without its flaws, Faithful is a gem of a book. Alice Hoffman has crafted a heartfelt…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, animals, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, cold tone, coming of age, Contemporary, ennui, fairytalesque prose, faithful, favourite authors, female authors, forgiveness, found family, friendships, great storytelling, GUILT, heartbreak/breakups, introspective, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Long Island, MAGICAL REALISM, mental health, My reviews, NEW YORK, PUBLISHED IN 2017, re-reads, read in 2017, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SLICE OF LIFE, toxic relationships, trauma -
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
“He wanted something agreeable, something sweeter around the edges, but I was never very good at sweet.” This is one of those rare cases where I ended up preferring a retelling to the original. I’ve only read The Great Gatsby once and at the risk of incurring the wrath & contempt of Fitzgerald aficionados, I…
1920s, 1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, class, drama, FANTASY, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, it’s about the *aesthetics*, jealousy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Long Island, m/m side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, NEW YORK, obsession, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, rich people, The Great Gatsby, unrequited love -
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — book review
“It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has its entertaining moments. The narrative seems intent on evoking a certain atmosphere. The people populating this novel meet up over drinks or dinner, where they divert themselves…
luce [is reading] 