noumiboobi's reviews
100 reviews

I don’t know how this book could be given any less than five stars and all the possible book-ish awards in the world. This book is brilliant. 

Chanel Miller is so well articulated, she keeps you hooked, she impacts you with well thought out metaphors to put you in her shoes and be like «here, that’s what it felt like». This read left me speechless, it knocked the air out of me. It contains facts, stats, insights that take you step by step through what victims go through every day throughout the world. 

As I’m studying to work with victims of SA and domestic abuse/violence in any forms, I couldn’t stop highlighting and annotating quotes to later use as tools to help victims or anyone else understand what the legal process is like and how society is an issue we have only begun scraping the surface of. 

This memoir shares deep, personal experiences that you can relate to, or learn from in the best way possible. While it is difficult to read at times because Chanel has a very raw and honest way of retelling her story (that I admired greatly and I have so much respect for her for it), it is necessary to learn from and I have nothing but praise for it. 

here’s my journey with this book: august of 2021, the first 20 pages don’t get me hooked and i put this back in my tbr. november/december of 2021, i read one last stop by the same author and absolutely love it. july 2022, i don’t know what to read and wish i could experience one last stop for the first time again. so i pick up red, white and royal blue and give it a second chance.
sometimes, you’ll read a book twice at this different points of your life and they won’t feel the same. this is what happened to me with this book. when i gave it a second go, those 20 pages that didn’t hook me the first time around, hooked me.

not only was the romance so very cute, but the characters were so fun and all felt so real i fell in love with them. main & side characters all brought something to the table. the cast was diverse and felt like a real friend group. they all acted their ages and had their special something that made them useful to the plot at some point, too. this is the second book in a row i read that has a female president and i love it. more women in politics please.

yes, the romance was hella cute, but what i adored was that we got to see a lot of what made alex and henry fall in love. texts, facetimes, emails, date, getting to know each other, getting to know their friends and family, it just felt so real and refreshing.

what made me take off a star is the rhythm of the book. i felt like there were some chapters that felt a bit too slow and uneventful, some had a LOT going on and the end felt like a very fast succession of events that didn’t feel rushed in the writing, but made me feel like i was sprinting to the end.

all in all, very fun read!

this novel has been on my shelf for eleven. freaking. months. had i known how i’d feel reading this, it wouldn’t have been in my tbr for more than three seconds. hank green, i knew you wouldn’t disappoint, i don’t know why i was so scared to read this but HOLY HELL THIS IS GOOD. this had me on my TOES. i bit off my nails, something i hadn’t done in years.

first off, a GREAT, interesting, complex, (a bit too) relatable, genuine, bi woman main character written by a man? did NOT think i’d see this. but following april through those 338 pages, she’s felt so real i fell in love with her. she was funny, witty, self-aware. her journey with the carls, her optimism, her navigation of fame and good and evil, her sheer belief of the sense of community and her devotion to her cause, with all the introspection and the constant questions it brought up, made her so human i could’ve believed it was a true story. her narration was addictive, if it hadn’t been for work, i could’ve read this book in one sitting. i would’ve loved to, because aart constantly keeps you on your toes, there’s so much thrown at you yet it’s never too overwhelming. everything felt balanced. between the plot and the character development, it just felt like a balanced read. but it still felt like a roller coaster. really this book was so damn refreshing i ordered the sequel the second i flipped the last page and believe me it’s not even gonna go on any shelf before i read it this time.

i loved the place the secondary characters occupied as well; more or less when needed but always present and a constant around april’s moving world. they were all interesting and we knew just enough about every one of them. they were diverse and all brought something to the table.

the plot. the fricking plot. brilliant. i was hooked from the first chapter and always wondered what could be next, what twist was gonna be thrown at me, what could POSSIBLY be better or worse. the carls, i believed in them like april did, and i’d love to think i would if this would be real, too. what an interesting story. the ending wraps just enough to feel like an ending and the open door it leaves for the sequel is open just enough to make you order the second without wanting to flip a table out of frustration. once again, balanced.

ok i’m gonna stop now because i could go on but i think i’d end up repeating myself. hank green, i love you.

ok this one took me a little while to read because you have to know me and my boyfriend are reading it together and i read other novels in between reading chunks of berserk so yeah it gets complicated. but god damn these are so well written and the atmosphere is so…. THERE that it takes one page to get back into it like you never put it aside. those deluxe volumes really make you feel like you’re reading in 4K HD. it draws you in the drawings. which are absolutely gorgeous.

*i will be mentioning specifically what happens in this volume so, potentially, spoilers ahead*

this volume kicks off with a griffith/zodd and guts encounter. what a BANG. the TENSION, the frustration, the action, the staging of the scenes. really sends you into the volume with a high.

one of my favorite parts of this particular volume was the serpico/farnese backstory. really makes you understand their dynamic more and understand them as individuals. gave us a little break from the main storyline but it was well placed, and a welcome and relevant tale for what was to come (joining our dear guts).

speaking of guts. this heartbreaking scene with casca broke something in me when i read it. it’s bringing the story somewhere but man i wish this wasn’t real. it is interesting seeing how guts is battling his inner demons (beast…) but damn it casca deserves a freaking break (and i can definitely understand why some readers are criticizing this particular chapter). it does lead him to accept serpico, farnese and isidro joining him and puck though.
it’s refreshing seeing guts interact with them and seeing a group dynamic settling between them all.

i also appreciated, later on, the encounter with schierke and it leading to meeting her mistress and getting a LOT of infos on some fantastic elements they’re stumbling upon (the astral world, mostly, and then the elementals). it felt a little overwhelming at times, all this info being dumped on you, but it definitely feels important and makes sense to be said and condensed at this moment.

once again, even in calmer moments, there’s always something going on, may it be introspection from a character, action, new information, anything, there’s always something engaging, something keeping you into the story. berserk is a masterclass in drawing you in and making you feel like you’re a companion, following along with guts. and even when it gets hard to read, you just can’t abandon the characters.

(and damn it all, i’ll always, always, ALWAYS, wish bad things upon that bitch ass hoe griffith when i see him)
(ok, griffith is interesting, don’t hate on me, but you’ll never catch me not wanting him to suffer. xxx)

après royal et haute démolition, sports et divertissements m'a légèrement ''let down''. très légèrement.
comme toujours, la narration est astucieuse, le rythme est soutenu et entraînant, les personnages bien ancrés et on se retrouve accroché avant même d'en être conscient. je l'ai dévoré en deux heures.
encore une fois, un personnage principal qui suscite beaucoup de réactions et qu'on adore détester, j'a-do-re. je trouve toujours cet aspect rafraîchissant.

ce qui m'a déçu c'est que pour moi, le roman est scindé en deux. la première moitié est légèrement creuse, j'avais constamment l'impression qu'il manquait quelque chose. arrivé à deuxième moitié, là ou la débauche est tout aussi vivante mais que l'introspection est plus présente et profonde, je me suis rendue compte que c'est ça qui manquait dans la première bonne centaine de page. ce que j'ai trouvé dommage car c'est au final ce que j'ai le plus apprécié dans le roman.

bref, que de positif pour la plume de Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, seulement un petit bug subjectif de mon côté.

so much love for this book. not enough words to describe it. Emily Henry has outdone herself. i never thought I’d love a book as much as beach read, let alone love one even more.
i’ve seen excellent and baaad reviews about this one, and upon reading it i just don’t understand how you could get nothing good for you from this read.

emily henry’s writing style was as usual, fresh, funny, addictive. i liked the rythm of this book. not a fast paced story but didn’t feel like a slow burn either to me. things started happening quickly without being rushed, but didn’t unfold too quickly either, it never felt rushed. this romance felt real, it wasn’t a straight line from point a to point b. like most relationships are. we got bits of romance, uncertainty, we saw the characters go through different stuff on the sidelines of the romance. nora and charlie got to know each other slowly, opening up according to what was going on for them.

speaking of romance, let’s get into it. there was tension but an appropriate amount. nora and charlie’s banter was probably my favorite part of it all. their back and forths through texts or in person made me giggle like a schoolgirl at times. they both grew a lot throughout the book and discovering each other, they felt human. i really invested myself in their relation and rooted for both of them as individuals as much as in their dynamic as a duo. i also loved that they both decided to prioritize their careers/accomplishments/dreams/etc before their potential relationship. they navigated their life in and outside of their relation in such a mature way. it was refreshing to see such down to earth people in a romance to be honest.

charlie. what. a. man. loved him. was so well spoken and self aware. i loved his honesty. there was something raw about him that really drew me to like him. this character really charmed me.
nora, nothing but good things to say about her. some of her self doubts or torments were repetitive at times but they always brought something more to the story, a new memory or fact that helped us understand her or what was going on better. nora was so relatable to me it almost got scary. her organization and her anxieties really reminded me of myself and made her that much more real. i loved her introspection. i really have a sweet spot for well spoken, self-aware women in romances. she was strong and i loved how she looked out for libby. she made me think of me as a big sister.

speaking of, nora’s relationship with libby really added to the story. i loved having another duo dynamic besides the romance and i loved how relatable they were. as an older sibling who took care of her youngest sister, i really found myself in nora and i admired how she grew out of the parental role she found herself into when she was way too young.

i can only end this review by commenting the end of the book. when i tell you i SOBBED. i finished this almost at 1am, tears running down my face. i don’t remember the last time i was so overwhelmed with emotions at the end of a romance novel. i was SO desperate for nora and charlie to have their happy ending, the last few pages were gut wrenching. it’s been a solid week since i finished this book and i’m still thinking about it almost daily so i think it’s safe to say it qualifies as a contender for my favorite romance ever.

le commis du renaud-bray ne m'a pas menti, c'est un excellent page turner!
j'ai adorer le rythme; on va dès le début droit au but et un coup parti, tout découle très bien et assez rapidement. plusieurs retournements de situations que je n'avais pas vu venir, une fin qui m'a satisfaite, bref tout ce que je recherche dans un bon roman d'horreur! le gore m'a aussi agréablement surprise; très détaillé et original, j'ai adoré!
le style d'écriture est simple mais efficace et agréable.
j'ai retirer une étoile car j'ai trouvé certaines références un peu trop niché à mon goût, autant j'ai adoré la référence aux denis, autant ce genre de références me sort souvent de l'ambiance et me rapporte trop au «ah oui by the way on est au québec». j'aime mes lectures un peu plus neutre culturellement, plus universelle. mais bon c'était pas over the top non plus et bien dosé, c'est plus une question de goût personnelle.
j'ai aussi trouvé les personnages assez simples. cela servait bien l'histoire et ne m'a pas nécessairement déplu mais j'ai trouvé dommage, surtout pour sarah, de ne pas avoir plus de détails, d'accès à elle, de profondeur de son caractère. cela aurait pu mieux expliqué certaines de ses actions qui me paraissaient parfois décousues.

ok i can't wait any longer to write this: I LOVED THIS ROMANCE!!! WITH ALL MY HEART!!!
overall, this was seet, funny, refreshing and well balanced. everything i was looking for as my first vacation read.

the writing is simple, yet it's never plain, never boring. it's effective, witty, funny, engaging. it's not impressive but i have nothing negative to say about it. it made reading this novel very easy, cozy even if i can say. i liked that yes romance was the main theme (obviously), but that there were a lot of other themes present, mostly family issues, but also navigating broken hearts and relationships with exes, abandonment issues, finding a purpose, self-affirmation, etc. it gave a nice depth to the storylines of each characters.

the characters were unique, all had interesting personalities. they felt so real to me. and talk about diversity!! there was a lot of inclusivity and representation, lgbtqia+ related subjects were approached realistically and i really loved the use of certain terms that really made me believe the insight was coming from someone in the community. i loved the evolution we got to see in many characters throughout the entire book. i sometimes feel like evolution gets botched or forced or rushed at the end of books, but i didn't have this problem here because we can feel our characters evolve with each chapters.

delilah, i could write this character a hundred love letters. she's everything i love in a mc and fuck, she was so damn relatable. claire, what a sweet and mature woman. i loved her introspection and her internal conflicts. they were a perfect duo, i love everything they have and went through. their romance was sweet, balanced, not a slow burn but not rushed either. everything felt balanced, i really believed in their romance.

all in all, this is a 5 stars for me, no hesitation. will definitely re-read in the future. 

I LOVED Beach Read. After being disappointed by People We Meet on Vacation, I wasn’t expecting much but damn did this surpass all my expectations.

First, I loved January, she was sweet, well-spoken, self-aware, funny as hell, she charmed me. I loved her background and how she dealt with her grief and her mixed feelings about her father’s secrets.
Second, what can I say about Gus that would accurately describe how interesting and charming he was?? He’ll forever have a special place in my heart.
Their relationship was so sweet and I loved how they navigated their feelings and their own lives/pasts through it.

The writing was simple but effective. You could really transpose yourself into the story and feel the characters emotions, the tension.

All in all, a very refreshing read, the perfect romance to kick off the summer.