sophiesometimesreads's reviews
221 reviews

Wow… just wow. What a read. And that ending - I am awed and shattered and need some time to process my thoughts before writing a proper review, but all I have to say right now is… how am I going to make it til November before reading the next one?

Okay, it's a few days later and I’ve sat on this book a bit and think I’m in the right headspace to write a review. Slight spoilers ahead, read with caution.

Well, if you hadn’t already realised, I LOVED this book. For a YA book, it definitely didn’t feel obviously YA. Of course, the characters were mostly 16 to 18 year olds, but the writing style and content felt ageless and made it even more enjoyable to read. I think having it set at a college instead of a high school definitely helped with the “older” vibes.

The magic system was detailed but well thought out and I loved how it explored how different cultures used the same magic in different ways and for different purposes.

I loved Bree, she was so badass and I liked her journey of growth through the book. I also loved the dynamic between her and the other characters, and her journey to found family.

I also didn’t see the twist at the end coming, to be honest. I had an inkling regarding certain character's involvement but the big twist at the end took me by surprise. I did have a moment where I thought we were gonna have a Mortal Instruments 2.0 moment but was SO RELIEVED when it was not that (iykyk).

The incorporation of division of race, the subtle ways race plays into societal dynamics, particularly historical institutions in the south of the United States, and Bree’s experience being a minority in a predominantly white society were very well woven into the story. It also shed some important light on these issues to me, being a white person who has been to the south but doesn’t live there (or in America).

I will definitely be picking up the sequel to this book as soon as it drops in November and will be counting the days until then!

I absolutely loved this book. The pacing was great, the characters were dynamic and interesting and it raised some thought-provoking questions about societal expectations of people, in particular ageing women. Keiko was absolutely hilarious and I was rooting for her the whole time. I loved that she was so unapologetically different, and I wanted to defend her against all those who didn’t agree with her.

I loved the fact that the translation kept a few of the little Japanese language quirks in there, a few “hai” and “eh?” scattered through. I would have really loved to have known Japanese well enough to read it in Japanese but I think the English translation did a good job of portraying the story without completely removing the very characteristic Japanese language elements associated with the language in general, as well as retail language (from my basic high school Japanese knowledge and tourist experience). 

I do, personally, think the literal translation of the Japanese title being “Convenience Store Human” (if I’m not mistaken) would’ve been better, with all the themes around people coming together to form the body that is the convenience store. But it didn’t change the reading experience anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. 

Would highly recommend for anyone looking for a funny, light-hearted yet inspiring read that’s not too long either.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag of feelings for me. It wasn’t bad, but there were a few things that didn’t sit right with me and a few things that I think could’ve been improved.

First of all, most of the prose and environmental description were really good. The scene was set really well and I felt like I could vividly picture what was going on. The tidbits scattered through about the ecology of the marsh and biology in general were interesting, too, though they may have been too much and too complex for some without a knowledge or interest in science and/or ecology. There were some descriptive statements that were not good, however, like when Chase is explained as having “ice-pack blue eyes”. The nature descriptions were definitely far better than the descriptions of everything else.

In terms of the story, some parts were a let down for me. I think part of this comes down to the marketing of the book and the hype it has been given. I expected a lot more mystery, but realistically the murder plot is only a sub plot relative to learning about Kya’s life. I was disappointed that there wasn’t more foreshadowing and more chapters about the mystery aspect woven through the story, and the fact we only learned what really happened to Chase in the last couple pages as a side note was kind of disappointing. I did expect more of this, given that the blurb does mention this murder, but there’s far more emphasis on the trial than the actual murder and who did it.

I get this book was set in the past, when racism was rife through society and segregation in America still existed, but it was written in 2018 and I don’t think it was necessary for a white author to have explicitly written the n-slur in the book. The racism could’ve been highlighted just as well without having to include the slur.

Additionally, I just really couldn’t root for Kya and Tate together seeing as he was 18 and she was barely 14 when they started their relationship, and she was also described as being mentally younger because of her isolated upbringing without her family and her lack of education. This just felt icky to me and I couldn’t get past it.

The dialogue written with an accent sometimes made it hard to decipher, not having heard many people with thick southern accents before and some accents were different than others.

Overall, the read wasn’t too bad, but the hype of this book on the internet and advertisement as a “mystery” novel set my expectations high and they weren’t really reached. In saying this, if you’re looking for a historical literature read with a dash of mystery, then you may enjoy this. 

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I learned a lot about Nigerian culture, food and language, particularly that of the Igbo people, which this book revolves primarily around.

I liked the exploration of coming-of-age from a different perspective to my own and what I usually read, and how the societal and cultural expectations of men and women came into play with this, and how they impacted Vivek and his friends.

I really wanted this to be a five star read, and it probably would have been if not for one aspect of the story that didn’t appeal to me. I admit that this may be just a large difference in cultural values and outlooks on life, but it still impacted the way I viewed this part of the story.

I didn’t see the necessity in making Ostia and Vivek cousins and lovers, whose parents are brothers and who share a grandmother. I felt like there could’ve been another character for this purpose, or they could’ve been cousins in a social way, like the way the other Nigerwives’ children referred to everyone’s parents as “Aunty”. 

Upon further research, it seems that these inter-blood relationships are more common in some African cultures than in Western cultures, though I am happy to be educated more on this aspect. I’ve only dropped the rating to 4.5 as I can see that my upbringing has influenced my outlook on this plot point and that may differ from the author’s, but even then it just felt a bit weird to read about at the time.

Even though there was one aspect I didn’t resonate with at the time, I am really intrigued and interested by the way this book challenged my own views and pushed me to see the world from views outside my own and I look forward to reading more books like this and from this author.

I think my rating of this book is 3.75 stars. I said I wouldn’t go into quarters for my ratings but this felt better than some of the 3.5 stars I’ve given recently but not quite as good as the 4 stars, so I’ve compromised on 3.75 stars.

The plot itself wasn’t too bad, a bit slow at points but overall interesting and relatively intriguing. I did like the constant references back to the untied ends in the last book, particularly

the mug left in the Salinger house

, as I was worried these details would be glossed over for the sake of a new storyline in LA. The last 100 or so pages were probably the best, where it picked up and things got really interesting. The ending was a mild cliffhanger and does make me want to read the next book, and

I did like finally seeing someone see through Joe and figure out his antics because through both books I was thinking that surely someone would at least figure out this guy was using multiple pseudonyms eventually, if not tie him to at least one of the murders

. 

The book was missing that second person prose that just really topped off the first book and set it apart from other thrillers, I was hoping at the start that the narration regarding Amy was done in first person only as she wasn’t his next obsession, just a fling, and it would come in once he got a new obsession… but I was unfortunately disappointed and the book was first person the whole way through. The prose didn’t make the book bad, but it was a large selling point in the first book that I think could’ve heightened the reading experience in this one, too. I also found the second person narration made Joe seem less outright creepy and calculated. 

I felt like there was a bit of a shift in Joe’s character from the first book. Obviously, characters can change over time and between books but I felt it was a bit abrupt in this case, seeing as we picked up almost where we left off in the last book, and it felt more like Kepnes lost Joe’s essence a little between the first book and its sequel. He was colder and more calculating and he seemed to have less passion and more anger, rather than being fuelled by his insecurity in himself and his obsession. I think Kepnes found that original drive that Joe had in the first book by the end, but the first half to two thirds felt different. This wasn’t bad, if it were a new character then I would have been fine with it, but it just departed from what I felt made Joe his creepy, obsessive, lovestruck self in the first book. 

Overall, not as strong as the first but still a decent read and I’ll continue with this series.

I have wanted to read this book since I first watched and was mesmerised by the Netflix adaption. Unfortunately, I think that also impacted my rating as I ultimately knew what was coming and that’s where it was a 4.5 and not a 5 star read for me. 

Despite this, the book was a really intriguing read and really toyed with your head. The first/second person dual prose made the book different and interesting, and really highlighted the inner workings of Joe’s head. I even found myself feeling somewhat sympathetic for the guy when he was getting ghosted but had to remind myself that he literally

killed multiple people, including his ex-girlfriend

and he deserved to get ghosted. Plus, the only reason he felt the way he felt was because

he was stalking Beck and reading all of her emails

. If it weren’t for this, he wouldn’t have known she was still interested.

I think the prose also played into what made this book so creepy, particularly as a woman. It made me feel kind of icky that you could truly think someone is an amazing person but they could be someone completely different without you even knowing, because there are definitely people who look at the world and women in particular the way Joe does.

Overall, a really interesting read, one that you feel like you should look away from but can’t. Top that off with very unlikeable characters that you just can’t stop reading about. Very interested to see where the story goes in the next one.

I could not put the book down and wanting to know what happened next kept me wanting to read more, even when I wasn't able to.

I have to admit that I somewhat predicted the outcome of the novel, but that didn't take away from the intensity and storyline of the novel. In some ways, my prediction was correct but in others I was completely off. There were also points in which I questioned myself, which does make for a good story.

Some parts were a little slow, the last chapter was somewhat unnecessary other than to wrap up some loose ends, but it was only 10 pages long out of more than 300.

I would recommend anyone who is into crime, suspense, thriller novels to read this book.