it's nice.

was it also possible to inherit something as intangible and immeasurable as sorrow ? masterlist ⟣ book blog ⟢

[jemsdrug]

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she/her, 90's baby

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[jemsdrug]

finished The God of the Woods by Liz Moore and rated it 2.5⭐/5...

"that's it?" - the first words that came to my mind when I finished this book... and yeah, that's never a good sign 😭

❤️ This book reads like a movie. We get numerous point of views from different characters while regularly making time jumps in the story, and it can be a bit confusing at first. It will likely take you some time to remember all characters and all time lines, but once you get it, I have to say it's pretty satisfying and very easy to picture everything in your head. ❤️ The social commentary (mainly feminism and classism) we get through the complex family and relationships dynamics in this story is quite interesting. ❤️ You can tell the plot is well though-out and carefully constructed. Everything, every little detail (and there are a lot) will (very) slowly start to make sense the further you get.

💔 Now my main issue with this book is how frustrating and lackluster it felt. Most part of the investigation felt like we were going in circles. Some chapters had some little cliffhangers where you thought you were maybe getting somewhere, but then the story changed POVs, and by the time you get again the original POV you've lost interest, and it turns out the cliffhanger was a false alert or something so minor that it barely feels like progress. 💔 Paired to that with the fact that there are so many characters, so many point of views, so many time jumps, soooo many pages... I was naturally expecting a complex and thrilling mystery, something out of the ordinary and completely unexpected. But it feels like this "mystery" can be summarized in a paragraph instead. There is no major plot twist. It feels like so many things were thrown in into this story that weren't necessary at all. 💔 There is a significant lack of diversity, which is difficult to ignore with such a large cast of characters. And I previously mentioned that I found some interesting social commentary in this book, but I have to say that it stays quite surface-level with it (probably because it spent so much time throwing red herrings and dead ends left and right and unnecessary character background via info dump, instead of giving us actual depth!!)

[dailyclassicart]

Vincent van Gogh - "Tree Trunks in the Grass" (1890)

[jemsdrug]

read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and rated it 5⭐/5

Horrifying, depraved, perverse, nauseating, but still the best written book I've read this year, by far. This is not a romance, this is a horror story.

❤️ The prose is stunning. Nabokov has this exceptional talent for describing trivial and/or ugly (or even horrible) things in the most beautiful and poetic way. There are so many layers, references and details in his writing that despite my limited knowledge in literature, I could still feel there was content in each chapter to study in depth for hours. ❤️ This is the original unreliable narrator story, and it truly deserves to be *the* reference for it. H.H, the protagonist, is not just a sick, twisted criminal, he's conceited and honestly insufferable. You don't have to have particularly good media literacy to realize quite early on that he's the villain in this story. Still, he feels very human. He's manipulating the narrative and often trying to find excuses to his behavior, but it's clear he also knows deep down that what he's doing is wrong. And he's aware he's falling into a downward spiral, but he can't stop himself. ❤️ We only get H.H's point of view in this book, but we do get glimpses of Dolores' (the real Lolita) true emotions through little holes in the façade created by H.H. And these glimpses are utterly devastating. ❤️ Loved the ending!! During the second half of the second part, without spoiling any of it, we get so many interesting aspects of H.H's personality and his perverse obsession with Lolita. The last chapters in particular were beautifully written. ❤️ I find the impact that this book had on our society and our culture - and how relevant it unfortunately still is today - fascinating. It's such a shame that it is still highly misunderstood today.

💔 The pace is very slow in the middle/first half of the second part, and I often did find myself a bit lost in the complex writing and the numerous literary references I didn't get - but I can't really consider this as a flaw. It would be interesting to reread this in the future to see if I understand new things, but yeah, this book still remains a difficult read for many obvious reasons, I'll see if I have the courage...

[jemsdrug]

finished The Institute by Stephen King and rated it 4.5⭐/5!

my first Stephen King!! and it was the definition of a "reads-like-a-movie" book for me.

❤️ The strong and emotional friendship between the young characters, which is deeply rooted in shared trauma, was for me very reminiscent of It and Stranger Things, and it's exactly what I love most about these kind of stories. It's hard not to get attached to these kids ❤️ Not only the relationships, but I found the characters in themselves well-written and developed. I could easily picture them in my head despite the fact that it was quite a big cast of characters, and I think that says a lot! ❤️ The pacing was excellent, I think it took me only like 20-30 pages to really get into it, and after that I had a hard time putting it down. The tension especially halfway/2 thirds through the book had me on the edge of my seat ❤️ Very smartly written, I could feel the research required was done and looooved some of the messages conveyed in this story

💔 If you really think about it, the plot isn't anything truly unique, but it was so well-written and well-executed for me that it wasn't really an issue 💔 Some details bothered me a bit in the beginning, mainly: pop culture references that didn't always feel necessary, the mention of boobs at every female character's description (not as sexualized and cringe as it can be with other male authors, but still - unnecessary to me!!)

[uservik]

Magnus I love you... more than anyone in the world.

Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane in Shadowhunters (2016-2019)

[jemsdrug]

finished The Cruel Prince by Holly Black last week and rated it 4⭐/5

Not a perfectly written book, but good enough to keep me invested, and I was for sure *very* entertained. I may be easy to please when it comes to messy family drama, politics, schemes and betrayals 👀

❤️ I found the plot very well-structured, I didn't see all the twists and turns coming and one or two moments there left my jaw hanging - which is quite rare for me!

❤️ I liked how flawed and opportunistic almost all characters were. I'd heard that the MMC was a bully to the FMC in the beginning of this book, and I was anticipating this to be a big no-no for me, but I found myself more lenient with the context: that everyone in Faerie is cruel and violence seems to be just par for the course 😅 I could feel how Jude, the FMC, had to fight to survive in this world, and this also made me accept her recklessness and her ambition.

❤️ Ultimately, I did end up liking the main ship. Maybe I did giggle and kick my feet here and there. Just a little.

❤️ There are a LOT of characters in this, but it does a good job at giving enough explanation and background for each character and their relationships, without info-dumping, for the reader to follow. I loved the drama!!!

💔 Unfortunately this book suffers a lot from the telling-and-not-showing syndrome. I tend to excuse this more when it's YA, but still some parts in this book made me roll my eyes a bit. 

💔 I hated the first chapter. It's both clichéd and confusing, it jumps into a big ellipsis with significant change in the characters' relationships that is never explored. Honestly it annoyed me so much that I almost DNFed it here and there, but now I'm glad I didn't 😭

[bark-barkley]

I WANT TO LOOK AT THINGS MADE BY HUMAN BEINGS

[titsay]

guardian of the forest

[jemsdrug]

finished The Lost Estate by Alain Fournier and rated it 4/5⭐

wasn't in the best of moods when I started reading this so it took me a while to finish it, but I actually did enjoy it a lot! 🍂

❤️ I adored the setting, this lovely French countryside through the seasons, and the whole dream-like atmosphere of this book. It fits perfectly its main theme of adolescence/coming-of-age. The descriptions were detailed and developed without being too long in my opinion (especially for a classic). ❤️ This story evokes a strong sense of yearning and nostalgia that quickly becomes its main driving force. These emotions speak to a lot of us I think, especially if you're an adult who often think back on these simpler (and better?) times, it's difficult to remain indifferent. ❤️ The fact that the narrator is the "sidekick" character, who looks up to this adventurous "hero" - who becomes a bit of an anti-hero - was, I think, a clever twist. It really allows us to step back and consider the situation. As a reader it almost made me feel like I've grown simultaneously with the narrator, realizing that things that we've idealized at the beginning of this book were just that - idealized.

💔 The plot relies a lot on coincidences. I did wonder a few times how did a certain character end up there or how did this particular thing conveniently happen at the right time. It's clear though that this book is more focused on the characters and their relationships than the plot, so it's kinda excusable!

[jemsdrug]

finished Yellowface by R.F. Kuang yesterday✒️

rated it 4.5⭐/5 !

the only book I've read in less than 24h so far this year and the closest thing I've read that felt like watching a train wreck - so malicious and cynical, yet soooo entertaining

❤️ One thing to know about me is that I hate to read references to current pop culture/trends/social media in fiction. This book is full of it, and somehow managed to do the impossible with me - not only did it not bother me for one moment, but I also found myself genuinely enjoying it. The difference with this book is that it all felt so *real*. It was clear the author knew what she was talking about (contrary to others who try to do it but it always end up a bit cingrey to me) and she made sure every scene was written cleverly and pertinently. ❤️ I saw so many people complain about how insufferable the narrator is, and I agree that sometimes (often) she was, but she was also so interesting to me. I found that she actually did make several valid points throughout this story (and I'm Asian haha). Every character in this book is very nuanced. When you start to think that a character has no flaws, or that another character is pure evil, this book will just slap you in the face in the next chapter and show you how wrong you were. And I LOVED it. ❤️ Because the characters are all so nuanced, you get a good variety of point of views on current debate topics such as the responsibility of writing about real suffering, cancel culture, the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism, etc. No matter how self-assured you are, this book will challenge you and really make you think. ❤️ June and Athena's relationship was fascinating to me. I loved the toxicity, the admiration, the jealousy, the guilt all mixed together in this big messy thing. I love complex characters, but I think I might love complex relationships even more. ❤️ The first chapter was AMAZING. I don't remember reading such a unique and engaging start for a book recently.

💔 While I was completely hooked for the first two acts of this book, I was a bit let down for the final act. I was confused and couldn't understand where it was going, and the "big reveal" felt a bit incongruous to me. I liked the idea of the ending but the execution kinda made it anticlimactic.

[fantasy-daily]

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001 | dir. Peter Jackson

[jemsdrug]

okay who's ready for another controversial book review..... ? 🤠

finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid today, and rated it 3⭐/5

I'll admit, this book did its job. It was entertaining, cleverly constructed, and I enjoyed reading it - for the most part. But I just couldn't shake off this overwhelming feeling of how performative this whole story felt. It tackles a lot of complex social issues, but disappointingly stays very much surface-level with it.

❤️ By providing a view backstage into the golden age of Hollywood, this book has everything to entertain: the drama, the scandals, the romance, the heartbreaks, even the plot twist. ❤️ The plot and its structure are intriguing and definitely kept me engaged as a reader ❤️ I appreciated how honest it was with its characters' flaws - I definitely wouldn't have bought this story if the people at this level of fame and success in this industry were all benevolent and innocent! ❤️ I didn't see the plot twist coming and I enjoyed how it tied the story together - but what I didn't like about it was the execution...

💔 It is heavy-handedly stated I think in the very first pages of this book that the two main characters are a Cuban-American woman and a biracial woman. So you think it will explore themes of racism, immigration, racial identity with depth and subtlety... But no. It's all very shallow and poorly developed. And I hate to say it but it's very obvious that this book was written by a white woman. There's a scene (occurring in the US and in 2017!) where the biracial woman, Monique, meets her white mother at the airport, and Monique notices that people are staring and immediately comes to the conclusion that it's because they're not used to see a mother and a daughter that look like them. Please 😭 It's highly unlikely that strangers, especially at an airport where people are either exhausted or in a hurry, care a tiniest bit about what you look like. Most likely they're staring because you're crying loudly and blocking their way!! 💔 The writing wasn't really my style, way too much exposition for my liking. I don't mind it in the characters' physical descriptions, I like to picture what they look like in my head, but I honestly really don't care what ingredients are in the salad they're eating or what color are the socks they're wearing today 💔 With the exception of maybe Harry, I didn't care much about the characters nor their relationships. It certainly doesn't help that they're all ridiculously rich and money/fame-hungry. And while I liked the idea of the main romance, it felt a bit instalove to me.

[malotte00]

We may be different but ur still my twin

[jemsdrug]

finished reading The Missing of Clairdelune (The Mirror Visitor #2), and rated it 4 /5⭐🥰

I think I liked it better than the first book, but I still didn't love it quite enough to rate it more than 4 stars... a very enjoyable read nonetheless! 🪞

❤️ Again, I adored the writing style and the worldbuilding. Christelle Dabos is a talented and very creative writer.

❤️ This book's biggest strength to me was the character development, especially Ophélie's, and the evolution between Ophélie and Thorn's relationship. I found I've grown attached to them, it's hard not to! It has also its fair share of loveable side characters.

❤️ It was satisfying to see a lot of questions from the previous book answered in this one. It's a story with a quite complex lore and interesting political stakes, and the more I kept reading the more I could feel how everything slowly started to make sense.

❤️ The pace was better than the previous book. The second half especially was well-structured and I loved the ending!

💔 There are a lot of characters and everyone had different intentions, it's a good thing and it definitely adds more depth to the story, but sometimes it was very hard to follow where each of these characters was at. This book also had this very clichéd scene with a villain explaining his plans and motives to the MC with a monologue 😅

💔 Some details in the storyline felt like they were just there to serve the plot, not everything felt smooth and natural. Overall it was nicely done though, but these details were enough to throw me off just a bit!

Next read: Le Désir dans la Cage by Alissa Wenz

[junkfoodcinemas]

Female Psychopaths on Film

[lacnunga]

Guy who forgor 🌊