Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Author: Gail Honeyman

Publisher: Viking – Pamela Doorman Books

Publication Date: May 09, 2017

Genre: Adult Fiction, Mental Illness

Rating: 5 Stars

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is Gail Honeyman’s debut novel, and a fine one at that. The title speaks for the novel: Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. She has her very basic needs met she has food,, water, a job, a roof over her head; many people out in that cold world have it a lot worse. For her, this is all just dandy and it’s how most people lead their lives. However, from an outsider looking in, Eleanor Oliphant is completely not fine. I personally felt an overwhelming sense of empathy for the poor soul. 

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Review: Sharp Objects

Title: Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Broadway Books

Publication Date: July 31, 2007

Genre: Adult Fiction, Murder Mystery, Psychological Thriller

Rating: 4.5 Stars

A dark, disturbing, internal-demon-producing novel by the infamous Gillian Flynn. Sharp Objects is the Gone Girl author’s debut monster of a title and is, in every possibly imaginable way, a creepy, cold, and cloying work in and of itself. It took me about two weeks of self-reflection to really muster up the courage to sit down and write an actual review of the thriller.

Review: All the Lives We Never Lived

Title: All the Lives We Never Lived

Author: Anuradha Roy

Publisher: MacLehose Press

Publication Date: June 14, 2018

Genre: Adult Fiction

Rating: 4.5 Stars

All the Lives We Never Lived is a stunning achievement of Anuradha Roy, being his fourth novel. It is a beautiful overlapping history that explores love, secrecy and the definition of family. This book, about halfway through began to remind me of Donna Tartt’s, The Goldfinch in the way that the story of a mother who is really only briefly actually present in either of the books is told by their sons, sick with longing ofr their presence and their maternal love. 

ARC Review: The Museum of Us

Title: The Museum of Us

Author: Tara Wilson Redd

Publisher: Random House/Wendy Lamb Books

Expected Publication Date: June 26, 2018

Genre: YA, Mental Illness

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I received an ARC copy of The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson Redd in exchange for an honest review. Thanks goes to NetGalley, as well as Random House/Wendy Lamb Books for this advanced copy which is expected to be released on June 26, 2018.

Dear fellow Babblers,

Sometimes, well, often I find myself sitting at my kitchen table, walking down the street, lying in bed, or riding in an airplane without really being “there.” I slip away from reality for moments on end. I dream about far off places, worlds, and possibilities. I get a sort of idea in my head and just like that I become obsessed with dreaming it to life. A lot of my time is spent in these fantasies that it is very easy for me to lose my grasp of reality. That being said, The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson Redd is a book that instantly speaks to dreamers like me. It is a spell binding story of the dangers of becoming so absorbed in the world of fiction that life outside of it appears almost meaningless by comparison. 

Review: Me Before You | And Everything In Between

Title: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Publishing/Viking

Publication Date: December 31, 2012

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Series (Me Before You #1)

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Dear fellow Babblers,

Just bury me with Will please. I am feeling everything I never thought I could feel: heartbroken, in love, confused, hopeful, hopeless – everything is so beautiful and everything hurts. I havee cried tremendous bouts of tears reading this love story, both happy and sad. This book is one you will never forget, taking readers on a journey through a closed off world where pain is so real that death is something to look forward to. Love, not even love sometimes is just not enough. Me Before You, set aside the promise that it will break your heart, will also change your perspective on the little things – walking, eating, the sunshine, taking chances, taking risks, having choices. It calls into question our everyday life and where we choose to go and who we choose to become from this moment. 

Review: P.S. I Still Love You | P.S. I Still Love You Lara Jean!

Title: P.S. I Still Love You

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: May 26, 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Series

Rating: 4.5 Stars

 

Dear fellow Babblers,

I love this series. Okay. There. I’ve said it, happy? Any reader out there who has a heart, soul, and ability to cry agrees with me, it has to be a given. I’ve never been a fan of reading series because I always feel compelled to continue through them even if I don’t like the way it’s going. But this? To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a magnificent series and I wasn’t expecting the second to be so charming. It wasn’t as humorous and downright adorable as the first, but it was nonetheless a delight to read and therefore, despite it being released over two years ago, I will still review it. I just really have to commend all the characters, humorous happenings, and fun dialogue that goes on in this book. Everyone needs to know that it is worth the hype and the corny compliments. 

ARC Review: The Goblins of Bellwater | A Nuanced Portrayal of Reality and Fantasy

Title: The Goblins of Bellwater

Author: Molly Ringle

Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing

Expected Publication Date: October 1, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 4.5 Stars

 

I received an ARC copy of The Goblins of Bellwater in exchange for an honest review. Thanks goes to NetGalley as well as Central Avenue Publishing for this advanced copy which is expected to be released October 1, 2017.

Dear fellow Babblers,

I’m giving The Goblins of Bellwater by author, Molly Ringle 4.5 stars. But wanna know a fun fact? About 35% through the book I was contemplating putting it down and walking away! But then I said to myself, “well I haven’t written a negative review in quite a while, so I’ll just read on and pick and choose why I don’t like this book and discuss it. But here I am telling y’all that I am rating it 4.5 stars. I am so glad I followed through a finished because this has been one of the greatest realistic fantasy (contradiction? Absolutely not!) titles I have read yet this year! This book is a fusion of realism and fantasy with a twist of romance and mental illness. This book is raw, real and somehow brings to the surface all the spirits and monsters that could be living in our very own world, but we will never be sure of it. Confused? Read on. 

Review: To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before | *Heart Still Swooning*

Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (#1)

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Penerbit Spring

Publication Date: March 20, 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Rating: 5 Stars

“I wonder what it’s like to have that much power over a boy. I don’t think I’d want it; it’s a lot of responsibility to hold a person’s heart in your hands.”

Dear fellow Babblers,

More than half way through the year and I have finally started a series. Or, well, trilogy. Talk about a late bloomer, huh? I’m usually intimidated and anxious about going into series because what happens if I read the first and then not like it? I can’t just stop there. Even if I don’t like a series, I feel obliged to stick it out through each and every book. Spoiler alert: that did not happen with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I’m writing a review on the first, though let me warn you that I read all three this week alone! I simply could not put this book down. It was not thrilling in any stretch of the imagination but had me smiling, laughing, reminiscing on my own high school relationships the whole way through. I’m officially a Jenny Han fangirl and after reading my review I hope my readers will be too.