venusinlove's reviews
337 reviews

Rebel: My Escape from Saudi Arabia to Freedom by Rahaf Mohammed

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

i will completely ignore Rahaf Mohammed's source of income right now as I see people mentioning it and I wouldn't like that to affect my review of the book as well since she has not done any harm there as far as I'm concerned.

now for the book - it was pretty repetitive at some parts but I feel like those things needed to be repeated so they'd have to get through some people's thick skulls. it's so scary to know that there are still people living like that and I can roam freely and hug my father and brother without being scared. this book was also eye-opening in some other aspects that I will not elaborate on, but I get it now, it makes so much sense. 

i learned a lot and it was heartbreaking. usually, with stories like this one I would at least tear up but the writing was so blunt that it did not leave any space to feel so deeply. i am looking at the part where
she gets r*ped in the back of a car and touched by her brother and then his friend
. those were so bluntly put into the book but everything was dynamic and you had to swallow and go to the next thing.

i do think it is a good book to take in from the perspective of a person who knows close to nothing about the arab culture. it is devastating though. i hope that gets to change for the better soon.
Глина by Виктория Бешлийска

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adventurous sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Ще започна с това, че виждам тази книга навсякъде, което малко или много ме блъскаше към това да я прочета все някой ден. Книгата е написана с удивително много красота и си личи желанието да се "издокара" усещането за съществуването през 17 век. Не съм на сто процента сигурна колко успях да надникна в това време, понеже бях разсеяна от това колко бавно се нижеше историята. 

За книга толкова умело написана очаквах и историята да е все толкова увлекателна, но тук успя да ме разочарова. Разочароваха ме и героите - колко "плоски" бяха те и колко еднотипни. Нямаше един от един различен (откъм действия) и се сливаха. Много ми харесзва идеята за разходка из 17-ти век в стара България, но не можеш да разчиташ единствено на старите думи. Тук бих вметнала и коментар, че постоянното разлистване между страниците, за да намеря коя дума какво значи също беше леко разсейващо и можеше да се приложат към останалите препратки под линията.

Друг "проблем", който имах с тази книга е непрекъснатото прескачане между времевите периоди. Трябваха ми някоолко страници, докато осъзная за коя част от живота на Велико чета. Освен това героите бяха толкова много. Това сигурно е направено с цел да се вкара читателят в селото, но те бяха тооолкова много, че лично на мен ми се сляха просто, защото не можех да продължавам мисловно да следя всеки от тях.

Малко ме озадачи накрая как Боя замръзна вместо да защити Жара. За това как писателката го беше описала - да изразява своето мнение в нажежени моменти и т.н., очаквах поне да беше спрял дори един от мъжете за своята любима. Тук може би единствено сцената накрая, където намират тялото на Жара ме докосна, защото не го очаквах.


Абсолютно бих казала, че славата на тази книга не е толкова заслужено, възпеки старовременния език. Книгите на Мария Лалева оценявам много повече - в тях поне героите за многозначни.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

this was one of the better fantasy books that I've read. usually I hate them all and I actually prefer not to give them a try but that one was one of the favourites of a girlie that I like so I'm v glad I gave it a try.

now was it so fucking confusing? yes, very much so. especially after the first book! i think that's part of Erin Morgenstern's way of writing (I've tried to read The Night Circus and literally dropped it because of that fact), it's just unnecessarily hard to follow through. 

i loved the themes, especially in the first part of the book where
Zachary read about himself in the book!!
- now that was very nice, did not expect it and it was such a small thing but I liked it a lot. it made me think that the book will for sure be twisty and will not disappoint. sadly, there were too many metaphors and so much detail that it was hard for me to understand what was happening. i mean, I got the vibes, I tried my best to follow the story but it was a lot of jumping around. and if you ask me now about most of it I will not be able to tell you much. 

i would love to re-read it sometime soon and see how I feel about it then. maybe I would do it solely for the world-building part - that was v pleasant. :)
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

firstly, i will start this review with the fact that the only person called Gabe who lives in my head is the guy from The Office aND I DID NOT WANT TO PICTURE HIM THROUGHOUT THE BOOK. NO THANK U. i could not get him out of my mind.

i honestly don't even want to waste my time in writing a long review about this one. i just did not like it. these books all have the same story - the lost girl meets/goes back to the sunshine boy and they end up in some spice and happy, happy, happy. in this one tho, you have to wait a long while for something to happen and to flashback to end (which happens after you've read 4/5 of the book) and then they get together. the dialog was cringe-y and just not that great. like how do you make probably the main interesting part, where they connect the most, boring?

i really don't want to shit on anyone's parade but there are far better romance novels than this one. read some Emily Henry - at least there is spice, idk.

p.s. i literally hate the fact that in 90% of every romance book people are getting drunk and acting like idiots. calm down.
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i kinda blame myself for not loving this one as I had my expectations pretty up high. was it because I compared it with Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata? very much so yes. the sad part is that I cannot compare the two since this one's writing was pretty bad, it felt a bit rushed and lacked character. i really do love a good gore in a book and this did have it so that was good for me but the story itself was... not it? it could have been better put into words imo. especially some of the characters like the mother, Geoffrey and especially George - he never felt to me like a concrete character throughout the book! this would have been suuuuch a good short story. 

i mainly want to point out the ending because I expected so much more - it was building up to something huge and then boom!
brain tumor.
that was pretty boring and flat. it would have been better to leave her be an insane person. but at the end of the day, this is not my book and my opinion on what would have been a batter ending stay only to myself. i guess. still, I love some insane women with a pinch (more like a two-handed scoop) of gore.
Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory: Stories by Raphael Bob-Waksberg

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i cannot wait to re-read and annotate the living shit out of this boo. it had so many good little stories and the audiobook itself was amazing!

I am adding my favs on here since I want to see if my future self thinks the same:
♡ We men of science
♡ These are facts - this one reminded me of my brother and how much I love him and miss him everyday that he is not around to simply hang out.
♡ Lunch with the person who dumped you - I will not elaborate. (I will once anyone asks me.)
♡ rufus. - FUCKING AMAZING!?!??!?!!<!"
♡ Rules for taboo
♡ The poem - such good rhymes!!!


The Tea Dragon Society by K. O'Neill

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

These series will always hold a special place in my heart. 🫶🏼
Good Grief by Brianna Pastor

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dark emotional fast-paced

3.5

Good, sad with a lot of wisdom inside. I might want to read it as a physical cope because everytime i try poetry in audio form it goes over my head no matter how hard i try to get into it.
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
It very much reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut's The Cat's Cradle because of the weird comedy in them both. The thing is I was too stubborn to drop the latter and did not gain a thing from it but merely a number in my read list. There is too much misogyny in this one and i cannot finish it. Thanks.
Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World by Neil Gaiman

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

4.75

the audiobook has additional notes from Neil Geiman that the book doesn't and I loved that about it. it gave it even more character and he does say many wise things in it. 

i will just go and make some good fucking art and be happy about it. also read some more good fucking books.