lanidon's reviews
1735 reviews

I was out when they made the Ariana grande donut thing into a Social Justice Trend 

What an absolutely beautiful book. It really embraces not only Jewish culture and mysticism, but the Jewish artform of contemplation. It's an incredibly nuanced and delicate exploration of love, loss, and longing and how morality or virtue does not drive emotion. 

This will not be a book for everyone, you have be open to thinking about some hard moral questions and recognizing the humanity in someone irredeemably evil. It's dark and doesn't shy away from some pretty rough themes. I think it'll either grab you and rattle your brain or you'll absolutely not vibe and drop it. 

I saw a lot of reviews complaining about Alexey getting a POV and taking up space in the story and I have to say I don't think you understand the book if you don't get why it's written this way. He's not a good man, he wasn't the best husband, but you need to see the misguided love and passion and drive through his own eyes to really feel the impact and how it resonates through every other life in the book. It's not meant to be a comfortable or easy book and without hearing his perspective it would be far too simple to write Alexey off as a cartoon villain rather than a flawed and broken man who has been lured past the point of salvation

I will think about this book for a while and I love a good ponder

This is very fluffy and very juvenile. The characters have very little depth of chemistry. There's so much chatter chatter chatter that could have developed the story but truly was just vain prattle. Every character is exclusively described by their physical attractiveness and how well they would pair to make good babies, which very quickly starts to feel like eugenics

I restarted three different times because I thought I just wasn't in the mood and that's why it wasn't catching me. The writing style feels like the worst part of a Stephen King book, you know when it's very rambley and giving far too many minute and irrelevant details. It lacks any charm or action or atmosphere to actually pull you in

I simply really disliked the writing style. The book starts with an info dump telling you the character's whole life story up until this point, instead of showing you who they are or telling each other about their lives. 

A story like this requires compelling and complex characters to work, and this book is entirely lacking them. I found everyone horrendously annoying and Zara is simply so stupid and gullible and entirely desiring someone to guide her every action for her. A lot of the moments that could add depth were glossed over in this speed memoir interview recap 

I wanted Jane dead from the beginning. She is exactly the type of "shiny happy people" fake celebrity that I wouldn't be able to stand a minute of their show. It never feels like she has earned this adoration that we are consistently told she receives. If I had someone pull that cutesy act in front of me I don't think I'd last through a single meal let alone long enough to be pulled into this plot. Shut up and pick a damn cucumber

Yet another shallow lust based "romance" that had potential but didn't bother to develop the relationship

There are books that make you feel cozy and books that contrive coziness through overly cutesy and bubbly surroundings; makes me feel like a baby watching cocomelon

This is like a two star book and a four star book at the same time so I'm giving it a three, but it is a Schrodinger's 3 okay, it depends on the moment you're observing

I'm going to start with the good: Cade. I love their character, I love the nuance to it, I love how stoic they are yet how much heart and passion is underneath, I love their consideration, I love how they fumble, I love how they keep trying. Cade is an all around great character. The ski trip could have been a full book and I would've been happy. This book shines when Cade is in it.

The bad: Mel. She is self centered, self destructive, broken yet unwilling to improve herself, she lashes out at those around her instead of communicating her feelings and never once thinks about how she has hurt others with her careless disregard. This would be fine if the book were a big character arc for her, but no, it is always the other party who comes back to set things straight and capitulate to Mel's desires. Every single thing is on Mel's terms, in Mel's time, with no work or compromise from Mel's side. She's not a fun head to be in and she's not a person I want to root for.

The,,,, nuanced: Bebe is at times a fun and bubbly and amusing character, but she can also be very immature which does not combine well with Mel's explosive nature. She also is so sex driven that I never get to feel the emotional center of either relationship, since the second they get close to an open discussion they just shut up and bang. I'm not sure why her character dissolves into marshmallows and butterflies after the big fight and never feels real again for the rest of the book.

If it weren't for Cade, I wouldn't have finished this book, but even outside of Cade there is something compelling that kept me going. There are really great moments from everyone in this. The book never gets too cheesy or too melodramatic. The discussions of alcohol don't annoy me the way themed romcoms often do. The relationships feel fairly balanced. It's a good book that could have been absolutely fantastic, it's also a fantastic book that kinda sucks

Back into Schrodinger's box it goes