themermaddie's reviews
467 reviews

neil gaiman is a master storyteller, and an even better orator. the audiobook of neverwhere is an absolute production and a half, gaiman reads it fantastically, and i would 100% recommend listening to it if you have the chance. the voices are spot on and the story is delightful and almost whimsical, if you could call the darkness and danger of london below whimsical. gaiman really knows how to spin a story, as always.

also i have a crush on hunter <3

strange little story about a strange little man. i love him and want more marquis and peregrine hijinks

WHAT A BOOK

this book just makes me excited. everything about it is addictive and gut wrenching and utterly consumable, i read the entire thing in one sitting. it's incredibly quick paced and so easy to just tear through, i had to force myself to slow down to enjoy it but i just wanted to know what happened next!!

i love april's narration. she's smart, manipulative, calculating, lonely, and just earnest enough to pull the whole thing off. the style of being narrated the story from the future means that you can assume there will be some self-editing, but to her credit, april's raw honesty with even the worst parts of herself is refreshing and speaks more to the truth of her account than anything. it never gets too self pitying or melodramatic, and her nervous ticks and behaviours feel very realistic for the way an influencer in their early twenties would behave. she's insecure and makes bad decisions, she recognises when she's being self destructive and does it anyway, she's a bad friend and she knows it, and the honesty of her account is so nice to read. she's still likable, as are the entire cast of characters. i love them all so much.

i didn't expect this book to have so much social commentary on the nature of fame, but i think i probably should have, considering its author. april struggles with self-aggrandising thoughts in the wake of her fame, as well as allowing herself to be swept up by the tidal wave of money and attention to the detriment of her personal relationships. she baldly admits to being an addict, using the validation of external fame to fill the emptiness in her own life in a way that encapsulates the early twenties what-am-i-doing-with-my-life panic. i absolutely loved watching april struggle with her internal and external self, i think it's relatable to people at any tier of april's fame hierarchy and has a great message about the parasocial way we interact with internet creators; our relationships with online influencers not only shape the way we interact with the world but also affect the person they are when they're not busy being a brand™ in a way that 'regular people' will simply never understand without the lived experience.

anyway i'm off the start the second book even though it's 5 am because mr hank green simply WONT LET ME SLEEP

i genuinely think this duology should be required reading for everyone, especially if you are online at all.

it took me several months to muster up the willpower to finish this book because i simply did not want it to end. despite the four month gap between starting and finishing it, i thought about this book every single day. it's one of those books whose worlds just
gets absorbed into the truth of my life, a fact made particularly easy by the internetness of it all. this book takes the idea of "terminally online" extremely literally, i can't imagine a better read for today's day and age.

it's always my favourite books that end up getting the shortest reviews, and for that i am truly sorry. i just genuinely do not think i can put my love for this book into words, so the next best thing i can do is encourage you to read it.

this book was absolutely stunning. from the way woodson writes to the intricate generational lines intersecting in nonlinear chronology, you can absolutely tell the kind of love and care poured into this story. i loved iris's perspective, such a difficult character to paint in a positive light, and yet she was my favourite character, i understood why she was the way she was. a heart-wrenching look at this family through each of their lenses, and subtle but poignant commentary on the racism and generational trauma that becomes a part of a family's legacy.

everyone else go home, the perfect romance book has already been written and it's called The Hating Game.

3.5 stars

ohhhhh i see, this is how all langdon books are. which is to say, mostly unbelievable, a gary stu main character, a traitor at the 70% mark, and exceptionally well researched. i did appreciate the deviation from the status quo with the ending though. but dan brown books are mainly for the cultural learning aspect and the conspiracy.
i think i'm going to read angels & demons and then i will be done.

my third and last robert langdon novel. it's not that i hated it, i just didn't realise how bored i would be after three books that are basically the same. how do you make the illuminati boring? this one was worse tho bc of the romance between robert and vittoria, i could go my whole life without reading the way hetero men describe women ever again. it gave me the ick.

me, banging pots and pans: I! LOVE! THIS! BOOK!

i have an enormous grin on my face and i am so full up with warm lovely feelings that i could absolutely burst. i love this book and these characters and their silly little relationships. monty is a deeply flawed character but he is so likable and redeemable that i just kind of enjoy watching him fuck things up bc i know that it will be that much sweeter when he has to fix things. i love his relationship with percy but mostly i love their friendship and how deeply they care for each other, the yearning is just *chefs kiss* POTENT. i love clever felicity and all the pirates and percy finally standing up for himself and monty learning to shut the fuck up and think about other ppl sometimes and it's all just so AHHHH. this is such a feel good story. i have nothing intelligent to say about this book i just am incoherently in love with these characters. i'm off to read the next book now.

this story called me single and lonely in so many ways and i said thank you. this is a great 0.5 of a book with enough substance and fluff/angst to warrant its existence which is always a relief! they are so cute and laugh out loud funny and monty finally gets to get off and also gets a dad who loves and accepts him and felicity is her usual clever self

it's my christmas holiday and i get to pick the fanfic