emmacb's reviews
176 reviews

I would say this book's strongest element is its characters - all of them feel well developed, especially those who have parts to play in the central storyline. My main complaint would be how very neatly the end of this book is tied up. To some extent it feels unrealistic and almost takes you out of the story - except, the characters have been so well written that you can see in their personalities and interactions how that tidy little ending seems far more believable.
I do love a book where there are few truly 'bad' characters (if any), and the conflict arises from people's demons or personality clashes that aren't as simple as being a bad person, and this is one of those books!
I enjoyed reading it, and will definitely seek out 'The Familiars' at some point, but also won't be rushing to recommend this to my friends!

An emotional read. Particularly when reading it whilst sat next to my sister who is revising for medical exams! Don't particularly warm to the writer, but that's not really the point. The point is all the problems he raises with how junior doctors are treated and taken advantage of - which the author does well, and with a witty humour that had me laughing out loud at times!

As usual with Austen, I struggled a bit to start this book. I need a good chunk of reading time all at once to get used to the style of writing before I can really get into the story. Fortunately by now I know it's worth it!

I loved this book. Anne is a sympathetic character, and I love her personal arc of discovering what she values in her companions. In fact, as well as being a good read just for its story, I feel like Persuasion is noticeably well-crafted. Secondary characters have their own little side-arcs which are not only satisfying in themselves, but also have some influence or other on Anne and Captain Wentworth's story - it just all weaves together so nicely.

Fortunately, I didn't have high expectations of this book, having looked at a few reviews, and also heard from my mum who lent it to me that it was 'just OK.'
That meant I was able to enjoy it for what it is - a quick, pleasant little read. Started it in the evening on Friday and was finished by 11 on a lazy Saturday morning! I'll remember bits of it when I peek at other people's books in public, but it's not a 'stay with me forever' kind of book!

This was a really interesting exploration of different people's lives and the issues that affect and connect them. I liked how it dove into different people's lives and experiences with different strands of discrimination - feminism, racism, homophobia, transphobia and more, as well as all the ways they intersect. I also liked that there was no 'perfect' character in this book. Every character had their points to make, but also their own moments of hypocrisy, or of learning.

A fun read, but unsurprisingly a little predictable.
Still a fun bit of simple, uncomplicated 'friends-to-lovers' trope!

I would say that this is a good primer to introduce someone to some of the ideas involved in feminism. HOWEVER, unfortunately it is not particularly inclusive of LGBTQ+ issues. I had noticed while reading that the description of marriage in this essay only mentioned the 'man and a woman' variant, and that she described men and women only by their ability to give birth, and from looking at a few other comments it sounds like she is trans-exclusive in her ideas of feminism, at least to some degree.
So, if you were easing into feminism and wanted a place to start, this is a nice, simple, quick read but definitely needs some important addendums and further reading!

Re-reading this series over Christmas, for the first time since I was about 10!
Loving rediscovering the characters, and seeing them through more adult eyes.