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Are You Happy Now by Hanna Jameson
“That this was the trade-off. The price of happiness. In order to feel happy he had to feel everything.” A quietly crushing yet devastatingly tender work scintillating with insight and emotional intelligence. With acuity and empathy Hanna Jameson presents her readers with a captivating narrative chronicling four people’s attempts at happiness despite a looming health…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, Adult, adulthood, age gap, ALIENATION, ambivalent mood, America, anxiety, Are You Happy Now, atmospheric, bad love, beautiful prose, belonging, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, British author, contemporary malaise, dancers, DEATH, DEPRESSION, desire, divorce/separations, ennui, female authors, first love, gay, Hanna Jameson, heartbreak/breakups, i don’t think happiness is for me, identity, illness, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, jealousy, journalism, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, m/m, male friendships, melancholy, mental health, musicians, near future/alternate reality, NEW YORK, pandemic, psychological, published in 2023, queer, read in 2022, restrained prose, right person wrong time, ROMANCE, self-destructive, SEXUALITY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, strong sense of place, suicide, trauma, unrequited love, wedding drama, work culture -
Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu
This memoir is definitely all about the vibes. Hua Hsu captures the aesthetics and culture that characterized his college experiences. Hsu recollects the music, clothes, and cultural influences that shaped this time in his life. The memoir is also about his unlikely friendship with Ken, someone whose tastes didn’t really match Hsu’s. The two nevertheless…
1990s, 1st pov, academia, Adult, adulthood, America, ART/CREATIVITY, asian american, asian diaspora, belonging, biography, BOOKS ON WRITING, California, campus, coming of age, Contemporary, friendships, GRIEF, grunge vibes, Harvard, Hua Hsu, identity, it’s about the *aesthetics*, male authors, male friendships, MEMOIR, MEMORY, no plot just vibes, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, Stay True, Stay True: A Memoir, style over character, taiwan, Taiwanese American Author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu
The first few pages of Here Again Now brought to mind the opening scene from my much beloved A Little Life so, naturally, I cranked up my expectations. As I kept on reading however my initial excitement over the story incrementally decreased to the point that I no longer looked forward to picking it up.…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, actors, addiction, Adult, ANGST, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, england, fatherhood, fathers & sons, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, GRIEF, Here Again Now, introspective, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, lyrical prose, male authors, male friendships, My reviews, Nigeria, nigerian british author, Okechukwu Nzelu, published in 2022, purply prose, queer, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, style over character, tragedy, weak prose, will they won't they -
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
“To be careful with people and with words was a rare and beautiful thing.” The first time I read this novel was back in 2013 and in the years since I have come to regard Benjamin Alire Sáenz as one of my favourite authors. His deceptively simple style captures with clarity the thoughts and feelings…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, America, American, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Aristotle Mendoza, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, coming of age, Dante Quintana, el paso, family, fathers & sons, first love, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, latinx author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, m/m, male authors, male friendships, MEXICAN AMERICAN AUTHOR, published in 2012, queer, re-reads, read in 2013, read in 2021, Summer, summer reads, texas, YOUNG ADULT -
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
“Fear and hatred, fear and hatred: often, it seemed that those were the only two qualities he possessed. Fear of everyone else; hatred of himself.” A Little Life is a heart-wrenching tour de force. Dark, all-consuming, devastating, moving, stunning, brutal, dazzling, beautiful, disturbing, A Little Life is all of these and so much more. This…
5 STARS, A Little Life, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, actors, Adult, ALIENATION, all of the trigger warnings, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, child abuse, chronic pain, cliques, Contemporary, dark, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, distressing reads, female authors, film industry, forgiveness, found family, friendships, gay, graphic content, GRIEF, GUILT, Hanya Yanagihara, identity, Italy, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, m/m, male friendships, masculinity, monasteries, morocco, NEW YORK, Pedophelia, psychological, published in 2015, queer, rape, read in 2021, self-harming, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, suicide, tragedy, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, violence -
We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
We Are All Birds of Uganda is a debut novel that inspired rather conflicting feelings in me. At first, I enjoyed Hafsa Zayyan’s ability to render her protagonist’s environment. I was not surprised to discover that Zayyan is like her protagonist Sameer a lawyer based in London. Zayyan captures the stressful atmosphere of Sameer’s office,…
2 STARS, Adult, British author, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), england, family, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, Hafsa Zayyan, insta love, intergenerational, Islam, LONDON, male friendships, politics, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, Religion, social issues, travel, Uganda, We Are All Birds of Uganda, work culture -
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
“I had always understood, of course, that the task of rooting out evil in its most devious forms, often just when it is about to go unchecked, is a crucial and solemn undertaking.” As much as it pains me to admit this…I didn’t particularly care for this novel. While it is written in Kazuo Ishiguro’s…
1920s, 1930S, 1st pov, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, British author, CHILDHOOD, China, england, existentialism, friendships, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, introspective, Kazuo Ishiguro, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, male authors, male friendships, MEMORY, missing persons, MYSTERY, orphans, psychological, published in 2000, read in 2020, Shanghai, Sino-Japanese War, war, when we were orphans -
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
“Creature was a good word for him, Ronan thought. What the hell am I?” Every time I read this I am ｂｌｏｗｎ ａｗａｙ. This novel, I swear, is something else. The Dream Thieves is pure adrenaline. Ronan Lynch is my favourite asshole, which is probably why The Dream Thieves is my favourite book in The…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, adrenaline fuelled reads, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, boarding/private school, brothers, class, cliques, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, dreamers, Dreams, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay, great storytelling, henrietta, HIGH SCHOOL, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, male friendships, MYSTERY, occult, PARANORMAL, queer, re-reads, read in 2014, read in 2020, read in 2021, rich people, ROMANCE, Ronan Lynch, SMALL TOWN, Summer, tarots, The Dream Thieves, the raven cycle, TRC, virginia, YOUNG ADULT -
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Re-reading The Raven Boys after having had my heart obliterated by Mister Impossible, well, it made me rather emotional. It’s almost ridiculous just how much I love this series and this first instalment. Reading it for the third time makes me all the more aware of just how talented a storyteller Maggie Stiefvater is. She’s a wordsmith…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, boarding/private school, class, cliques, curses, dark academia, dreamers, Dreams, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, FOLKLORE, friendships, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, henrietta, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+ side, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, male friendships, MURDER, MYSTERY, myths, occult, PARANORMAL, re-reads, read in 2014, read in 2020, read in 2021, rich people, ROMANCE, Ronan Lynch, SMALL TOWN, tarots, the raven boys, the raven cycle, TRC, virginia, YOUNG ADULT -
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Schwab’s aesthetics dominate this novel. There is a focus on how words and phrases sound, which does pay off, in fact, Schwab’s prose is one of the most likeable things of this novel. At times certain turn of phrases or repetitions may come across as pretentious or flowery but I think that for the most…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, academia, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, campus, dark, dark academia, DEATH, existentialism, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, great storytelling, it’s about the *aesthetics*, KIDS WITH POWERS, MAGIC, male friendships, MYSTERY, PARANORMAL, published in 2013, read in 2018, science, SPECULATIVE FICTION, superheroes, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, V.E. Schwab, Vicious, YOUNG ADULT
luce [is reading] 