Wrap-Up: Spring

Fiction: 8

Non-fiction: 0

Short stories: 0

Graphic novels: 0

Total: 8

Page count: 2 764

Average rating: 3.88

3 Favourite Covers:

• We Are Lost and Found
• Daisy Jones & The Six
• Only Mostly Devastated

3 Favourite Books:

• Daisy Jones & The Six
• We Are Lost and Found
• Beach Read

3 Favourite Characters :

• Daisy Jones (Daisy Jones & The Six)
• Michael (We Are Lost and Found)
• James (We Are Lost and Found)

3 Favourite Relationships (Romantic):

• January Andrews & Augustus Everett (Beach Read)
• Naomi Westfield & Nicholas Rose (You Deserve Each Other)
• Ollie & Will (Only Mostly Devastated)

3 Favourite Relationships (Platonic):

• Daisy Jones & The Six (Daisy Jones & The Six)
• Michael & James (We Are Lost and Found)
• Mary & her friends (By the Book)

To Be Brief…

River Secrets (The Books of Bayern #3): Like the previous books in the series, River Secrets reads like a classic fairy tale, which you know I adore. However, The Goose Girl remains my favourite, and so far none of the sequels have managed to live up to it in my opinion. There’s one last book left about the Bayern crew, though, and I’m curious to see what I’ll think of it. 3.75/5 stars

“I’m not a child, I’m just short.”

Daisy Jones & The Six: Daisy Jones & The Six tells the story of the rise and fall of a fictional band from the 70s through a string of interview transcripts. When done well, I’m a sucker for stuff like that, and oh boy did Taylor Jenkins Reid do it well. I’m astounded by her ability to create complex and deeply (DEEPLY) flawed characters that you can’t help but to root for, as well as write stories that feel both outrageous and real at the same time. Much like with Evelyn Hugo, it felt like I was reading about an actual band with actual issues, and I loved it. The story was entertaining (though frustrating), it was near impossible to put down, and it made me feel things. I will say this, though: I’m not sure this book would have worked as well without the audiobook, which is full cast and absolutely superb. I’m not too sure about the ending, either, but that wasn’t a deal breaker for me and it’s quite likely I’ll pick up more of Reid’s work in the future. TW addiction. 4.5/5 stars

“It hurts to care about someone more than they care about themselves. I can tell that story from both sides.”

If I Never Met You: An adult contemporary romance about a woman who enters into a fake relationship in order to get back at her partner of 18 years after he suddenly leaves her. There were several things I liked about this book, first and foremost the dynamic between the two main characters. I liked the fact that they were equally as successful at the same job, that they actually seemed to get along right off the bat, and that she was a couple of years older than him. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good enemy to lovers romance, but it was so nice to see them just joke around and enjoy each others company as friends first. Also, I’ve read so many books about quirky, basically unemployed heroines who meet rich, successful, slightly older men, and this was sort of refreshing in comparison. This book also touches a lot on sexism in the work place which, of course, is a very relevant issue. Unfortunately though, there were some things that brought down the story in my opinion. For starters, I thought the break-up part at the beginning of the book took up way too much time, and I lost some of my interest before we even got to the good stuff. There were also quite a few plotlines featuring som pretty heavy topics that felt sort of crammed in, and since there wasn’t enough time to explore or resolve it all, some of it ended up feeling rushed, sudden, and honestly unnecessary. Lastly, I found some of the dialogue kind of awkward and weird, and I’m not a huge fan of the ending. Overall, I’d say If I Never Met You is a pretty entertaining but flawed book, and I definitely enjoyed Don’t You Forget About Me by the same author more. TW sexual assault. 3/5 stars

“I think women spend a lot of time beating themselves up about how they caused or deserved male behaviour, and it doesn’t happen anything like the same way in reverse.”

Only Mostly Devastated: If you grew up watching Grease thinking: “damn, this is great, but it could be more modern and gay,” then oh boy do I have good news for you. Only Mostly Devastated is a cute and fun little retelling with just the right amount of Grease, and it was great for getting me out of my reading slump (temporarily, but still). It wasn’t perfect by any means (I found the background characters somewhat underdeveloped for example), but I still had a good time reading it. 3.75/5 stars

“Here walks Ollie Di Fiore. Master of his feelings, expert detacher, only mostly devastated.”

We Are Lost and Found: We Are Lost and Found takes place in New York City during the AIDS crisis, and follows Michael as he navigates life, love, and friendship while growing up and trying to find himself. The story has an overhanging feeling of melancholia, fear, longing, and heartache, but also hope and beauty, and I sort of loved it. The book is written in vignettes and completely lacks quotation marks, which I know isn’t for everyone, but I didn’t mind too much even though it took some getting used to (I mostly listened to the audiobook, though). I don’t know, I was just in the right mood for this book when I decided to pick it up, and I think it’s going to stay with me for a while. 4.25/5 stars

“How do I live my life without becoming a statistic?”

By the Book: This is a YA contemporary about a girl obsessed with classic romance novels. While I love rom-com style contemporaries, I’ve generally started to stray away from books with main characters in their younger teens since I’ve lost the ability to deal with 15-year-olds whining to their parents that they’re no longer kids, but this one was actually alright. Sure, it was silly and overly dramatic at times, but in a fun and cute way. I liked that the “popular girls” were just plain nice from the start, which pretty much never happens in YA in my experience. While I do think I would have enjoyed this book more a few years ago, it was still entertaining. 3.75/5 stars

“What. Would. Jane. Austen. Do.”

Beach Read: This one follows a romance writer and a literary writer as they switch genres with each other over the summer in order to get rid of their writing block. It’s quite different from Emily Henry’s previous novels, but I think she did a good job with it. It sure put a smile on my face while also having some more serious moments, which is easily my favourite kind of contemporary. The main characters played off of each other really well and had great chemistry, which is super important in my opinion. My main complaint about the book is that it contains some clichés I’m not a huge fan of, but it was definitely manageable. I also feel like the title and cover are somewhat misleading since they make the book seem a lot more carefree than it actually is, but that wasn’t really an issue for me personally. Just don’t expect a happy-go-lucky, well, beach read. 4/5 stars

“Happy endings don’t matter if the getting there sucks.”

You Deserve Each Other: Last, but not least, You Deserve Each Other is about two people who are beginning to realise they might not be right for each other. Unfortunately (for them), their big wedding day is coming up, and neither wants to be the one to call it off. Insanity ensues in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days-fashion. Both of the main characters are petty trashpeople idiots who don’t know how to communicate like adults, but I’m not gonna lie, I thought it was pretty darn fun, and for some reason reading about twats was just what I needed. I love the rediscovering each other trope, and this book did not disappoint in that department. Yes, it was unnecessarily cheesy at times, but oh well, I can live with that. 4/5 stars

“You really need to stop telling your coworkers I’m out to murder you.”

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