A Book Lover's Bookish Thoughts

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson My rating: 1 of 5 stars I really need to learn that not every popular book of 2019 will be popular with me. But alas. My little bookworm heart loves giving chances to every type of book to exist. Moving along.. Firstly. The cover. The cover -Patterned enough to look like a second rate blanket with rainbow swatches. Nothing impressive but ridiculously entertaining though. Hence why a star. The summary -Is no different than any other YA book (again) as it talks about various stages of growing up, and recollections of past choices made in their lifetime (in the adults' life). So nothing special. The characters -Gah, the characters. All of them seem to possess no minds and morals either, making them the worst yet to be ever read or thought about if ever an opinion was published. Bad decisions haunt every corner, making me feel as if the characters were told not to think, plain and simple. Gah. Plus surprises keep...

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo My rating: 2 of 5 stars *is busy ramming her head in the wall* Me pokes me: C'mon, you have a review to write. Surely someone would want to hear your thoughts. Me to me: Well, you're right. But why this novel? I was just so excited and prepared for it..god... *Continues ramming head in the wall* Me to me again: C'mon, the show must go on. Me to me: Alright, alright. I'm writing. *Staggers slightly, sits in chair, starts typing* As you can see, this was my reaction in the last hour or two after I DNFed this novel. My heart literally cried at the thought of having to DNF it. But as I once said: The show must go on. So indeed. The show must go on. ............................................... The cover -I've seen everyone get excited over the cover. I mean who wouldn't? It's literally gorgeous and fantastical, but of course, in a dark way. But regardless, still loved anyway. That snake, that tit...

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow My rating: 2 of 5 stars Note: Another popular pick of Goodreads. Yes again another popular book I chose. But forgive me, I wanted to catch up with my amigos over what they had read, so yeah this was one way to do it. Anyway... The cover - It's definitely enchanting and screams magic, fantasy, quirky characters, exaggerated settings, vivid imagination, everything fantastical and not at all conventional. Hehe. Definitely enjoyed the cover, swooned a bit too. So points to that. The summary -Sounded like Narnia, Harry Potter basically. But still I found it interesting. Young girl finds a book which leads to a magical place, way out of the conventional imagination and belief, but no one believes her. She keeps going back and finds answers to the book, to the place and discovering herself in the process as well. Sounds good doesn't it? I thought too. That's why I gave it points. But then as al...

Bonnie and Stan by Anna Stuart My rating: 2 of 5 stars Note: Not a popular book of 2019, more like a library pick. But eh, continue reading. God. Where do I start? This novel had such promise. I was so excited to start it, I'd cleared every other book I had to read, muted all of my friends, put on good music, and was literally not breathing when I first cracked open the book. I'd done everything to ensure I was in a happy, excited mood to read this. No anger, slowness, sir! But then, I already told you about Fate, fiend as he is, screwing up my reading once in a while and making me curse him even more. That's exactly what happened. But let me start accordingly. The cover - Well the cover was cute and I thought a bit sweet too, sweet like my heart melting and never forming solid again. And I really adored it, so points to that. The summary - I haven't been reading a lot of senior citizens' novels, so this one was a good surprise. ...

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood My rating: 4 of 5 stars Note: This is the second novel in the series. The first novel in the series is The Handmaid's Tale, then The Testaments. Read in order, please. *To hear my thoughts on the first novel, check this link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Finally this review will be published, considering many fellow reviewers wrote about it early heh, but yeah finally this review will see the light. Didn't mean to delay it obviously, but time. So.. FINALLY this review will see the light! Continuing on.. The cover -Not much to stare at or swoon at, technically, but still strikes something in me. I'm not sure what it is, but this novel does do something to me. Anyway I give it points for being able to give me a reaction of sorts. The summary - Is much more understandable, gets me even more intrigued as it is the prologue, the start to The Republic of Gilead, which explains the reason why it was ...

The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood My rating: 2 of 5 stars Note: The first in the series is The Handmaid's Tale, next comes The Testaments. Another Note: The review is only late, because I really didn't feel like writing a review for this one, but thought it best for people who are just starting on this series and might lend them some caution before they start. Now.. A true pick of 2019. Not my favorite personally but still it was popular so I had to read it. Yup the popularity bell rings once again. Anyway let's continue. The cover - It's the graphic novel version, so the artwork inside and out is beautiful. Vivid, colorful and absolutely realistic, it makes you feel as if you've actually transferred to the world of the Gilead. So I absolutely had to give points to that. The storyline: Well it seems interesting enough to want to give it a read. Brain: Yeah that's why you rejected it at first glance,...

The Wicked King by Holly Black My rating: 5 of 5 stars Note: This is the second novel in the trilogy, therefore to read in order, start with The Cruel Prince. To hear my thoughts on the first novel, click here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... "It is a condition of monsters that do not perceive themselves as such." (Oh Jude, how true you are.) Finally, after what seemed like forever, I've caught on with the rest of the bookstagram community and my goodreads friends to read this book. And boy am I left wanting more.. Sigh. I was skeptical (as with the first) but this time, I was not sure how it would go. I mean I had heard a lot of things about the sequel and about Jude's finale. So yeah, I was trying to avoid it and fate was making sure I kept avoiding it. But then, one fine day, it landed on my lap and all I can say is that this novel is worth everything I've ever cherished or loved and regret not reading it before. Any...

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary My rating: 2 of 5 stars This novel. Another piece of unedited crap that was still somehow published.. God. But let me tell you the story in general. Let me tell you all the veeeeery interesting details of this book in short. The cover- Pretty cute and quirky, gave me a light hearted feeling and some excitement as well. So definitely it was something I liked. A star given for sure. The summary - Pretty original and different. Two people, who've never seen each other, share an apartment by day and then by night, on different shifts. Definitely had my interest, also because the author had a similar situation with her boyfriend of the time, when they worked different shifts and hardly saw each other. So a star is given as well. But then things do go wrong, as fate never likes me happy for long. The characters - Whiny, nostalgic all the goddamn time, and never focused on acting like adults, rather acting like teenager...

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett My rating: 1 of 5 stars This novel was crap. Case closed. The cover was the only good thing that motivated me to even continue with this. The summary, the characters, the problems, the overcoming of problems were never even relevant or seen shown important. Everything was about the house. THE GODDAMN HOUSE. It was like Jumanji had captured the characters and tossed them aside and had in some twisted way, given the house the voice of the narrator and life. GODDD! One of my biggest mistakes to ever pick this novel up! I'm really not kidding. I may be a part of the minority but god's sake, I wanted everything else, really I did. The characters -so bloody one dimensional. And it's mostly the sister Maeve who the brother centers his world around. Sigh.. The problems are way too childish for me to care about and everyone's just moved on, like it's nothing. So really. I could care less about this novel and...

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn My rating: 4 of 5 stars Note: This book will often read like a memoir of sorts, a tribute to almost all hitchcockian films and not. So fair warning, if you've never read them or only got a glimpse. Another Note: The movie's date has been switched to May 2020. Damn it. But still excited anyway. This novel is definitely more surprising and terrific than my lovely wife. But nothing more could be more disturbing than that novel, hands down.. But let's go. The cover -Love the mysterious, entrenched in the shadows cover. Gives off such a nerve-wracking vibe, makes me shiver everywhere, as if someone's watching.. *looks behind* Hello?.. Anyway.. The cover definitely deserves a star. The storyline itself - The woman in question is a recluse - an agoraphobic who spends her days drinking a lot of wine, watching 1930s-1960s movies, thinking about happier days, and spying on other neighbours. Already you got a...

The Locker Room by Meghan Quinn My rating: 4 of 5 stars Note: I received an ARC Audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. Another Note: This is the first in the series of Brentwood Baseball, next comes The Dugout, third is The Lineup. My reviews are only out of order because it's based on which book I receive from the author first. So read according to the order mentioned, if you want to understand previous storylines and characters, thanks. Final Note: The dates I read are only screwed up because I was busy finishing up some waiting arcs, and library books. So yeah. Let's continue. The audiobook was pretty good. I won't say great because I had one issue with it, otherwise it was really a good listen, in general. The cover - Well, I'm always up for something light hearted, yet steamy as hell, especially if I've read/listened to a heavy thriller, or a depressing book in general. So naturally, seeing the cover, I h...

Cilka's Journey: The sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris My rating: 4 of 5 stars Note: As you know, this is a sequel to The tattooist of auschwitz, so it'd be more wise to read that one first. But since this novel acts more like a standalone than a sequel, it should be fine, I suppose. So let's get on. The cover - Yup the theme has been continuing with the hand holding, and it's so wonderful to see that again, so definitely I got a bit teary-eyed as you can imagine. It's not easy to get me teary-eyed as you know. So yeah.. So definitely one reason why I loved this book loads. Points to that. 2. The summary doesn't have a lot of change from the first one, but this time, Cilka's situation is definitely more problematic than being simply Jewish and a prisoner, and getting out of it alive and well, is a task harder to do than Lale and Gita. Finding love along the way, makes things much more harder, as you ...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ranked as 2019's most memorable war time piece, it's definitely everything realistic that you'd want, without a depressing Titanic like ending.. I mean really. Why do people like Jack and Rose so much, they're almost like Romeo and Juliet, only a century or two late. Sigh... But yes usually I prefer war time pieces that don't end in tragedies because I'm not dying to cry or smash a bullet in a character..Whoops. Anyway let's just review this masterpiece, shall we? ...................................... 1. The cover - I liked the hand holding as the cover objective. It gives off intimacy, and a glimmer of hope that maybe things weren't so bad as the actual war had been. I like it sincerely for those reasons. And it's a lot contrasting to the subject matter itself, so it also sets in the intrigue whether they'll make it alive. So I love it ove...

After by Anna Todd My rating: 2 of 5 stars Sigh, where's 14 year old me? Here, little J. Here little girl. Here. Aha gotcha. *grabs her and shakes her hard* What were you thinking, you bad boy lover of romances, you nincompoop of sensible novels, what happened? *sighs* Sorry y'all, you had to see that. Some 14 year olds never learn. But let's continue. The cover -Stormy, just like teenage feelings. And honestly they're far more complicated then what an adult would think. Think back to highschool years. Your first crush. Your first day of school. The mean girls, the jock boys, the emo and goth guys and gals, the grumpy and overworked staff, and you the preppy, or quiet, studious one. Didn't know where to fit in. Feelings going every which way. This was that moment shown in this cover, this whole book. It's not an easy time, being an 18 year old. And especially if you've never heard of college stories and you're about to...

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars Daaaamn. This is truly a twisted, horrendous and most surprising book of all the mystery novels I've ever read, hands down.. Let me just say what I feel, properly, from the start before I ramble to god knows where.. And that would be boring as hell, no? So let me just start. The cover - A dark aura surrounds it, chilling me with the anticipation of what may happen in it, it's every bit devious as the cover shows, although the pages itself scream more than that they show. And boy do I appreciate that. Heh, it literally kept me up all night and holding a bat in my hand, wondering if it could happen to me, haha..silly me..and you can't convince the mind sometimes to ignore it..so be prepared to be spooked if you read this at night.. The summary -My first time reading a bonny and clyde like serial killer thriller (hehe, get the joke? thriller, killer? song reference?). I was really n...