The thing about Lessons in Chemistry is that Elizabeth represents a neurodivergence which looks at and acts within the world very differently, including in romance. I don't think the synopsis did it any favors, bc it maybe set the wrong expectation. But I loved the portrayal of this ND woman trying to navigate love, friendships, parenthood and a career in a world that wasn't built for women or neurodivergent minds. If I'd gone into it expecting a tale of romance, I could see being confused and disappointed. I went into this blindly, so romance was nowhere on my radar. And I ended up loving it.
So Happy Place. I absolutely love it! That said, I think the break up was more about Wynn feeling like she was phoning it in for the last couple years. It does give miscommunication vibes, which is actually one of my biggest pet peeves, but the reasoning for it, trying to manage other people's feeling by needing less, resonated with me.
Same. I completely understand not wanting to burden people with how you are feeling, so I completely understood Wynn in this book. I don’t think it was Emily’s best, but I still loved it.
Yes!!! I hate miscommunication when it's used as a plot device to fabricate conflict at the last minute. But in Happy Place it felt more like an exploration of miscommunication. I related so much to Harriet.
I drove through San Francisco during the lockdown and it was surreal. No one walking around, no one on the streets -- so weird. Loved If we were villians!👓
So glad you finally read If We Were Villans!!! I loved it as well. I felt like they transported me I to their world. Loved it so much I listened to the audio book right after!😊
🔍 If we were Villains was so good! I enjoyed it more because I listened to the audiobook along with the physical book. It made the Shakespeare quotes a little easier to understand. Also, totally agree with you on Happy Place. The banter, which I love was there, but I just wasn’t convinced by Harriet and Wyn’s relationship. Lastly, I loved Your’s Truly so much. ❤ while I agree with you on the miscommunication, it was more tolerable than in Happy Place. Lol.
I’m in the same place with you for Happy Place. I still haven’t read Book Lovers yet (planning on doing so later this month) but I just didn’t feel like I loved it as much as her other books
I feel EXACTLY how you do about If We Were Villains where it was a 4/5 for the majority and then the last 100 pages destroyed me and it was skyrocketed to 5/5. I was sobbing at the end hahaha.
I DNF’d Lessons in Chemistry and I rarely DNF books. It was so incredibly heavy handed shoving its message down the reader’s throat. While I can get behind the *message*, the story just had me rolling my eyes to the back of my head. I need believability and at least a hint of subtlety
Yes! This! I love Historical Fiction as well as books about female empowerment, but this one was boring and unbelievable, and frankly the characters got on my nerves.
I'm so glad to hear you loved If We Were Villains! I'm reading it for the first time currently and I had a similar feeling going into it that I really wanted to love it, but was worried that the Shakespeare references would be too much for me/would go over my head. I'm 50% of the way through and I am LOVING it though!
i loved lessons in chemistry but i can totally understand how someone wouldn’t like it. the characters are very 21st century and don’t act like they would from the 50’s.
To add or not to add...books to my TBR? That is the question. I also have escaped reading any Shakespeare so Im now curious about If We Were Villains 🔎👀
i've been wanting to read Imposter Syndrome forever! also omg i'm SHOOK that you didn't like Lessons in Chemistry haha i'm still 80 pages into it but I was loving it!
🔍I had a pretty solid month too of 3.5 to 4.5 star reads! (The Last House on Needless Street, The Book of Magic, Lessons in Chemistry, Romantic Comedy, Yellowface, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, and The Friend Zone). When I select a book, I am hoping for a 4 star read because that means I enjoy it, it made me feel something or learn something. But I am picky about 5 stars...5 stars is a feeling that I can't explain. I had one this month - Alone with You in the Ether. Oh I loved it so much. I am currently finishing up Cleopatra and Frankenstein and I think that is going to be a solid 4 stars for me too. If you like pen pal situations, you would probably really like Romantic Comedy. The whole middle section is emailing back and forth. The first section describes the weekly process of an SNL type show and it was fascinating! The Friend Zone had a lot of miscommunication as well, and that irritates me to no end. It makes me want to scream at the characters, "Will somebody please just open their mouth and talk!!!!" Nevertheless, it made me cry and have lots of feels, so I have the second book in that series taken out from the library for June.
I also read If we were Villains this month, and really liked it ! For a debut novel, I found it very smart and brilliant. ⚠SPOILERS AHEAD⚠ However, I was not entirely convinced by a few elements of the plot : if people really thought that James was dead, why not come forward and innocent Oliver to get him out of jail sooner ? I'm not sure that part of the story is entirely believable. Also, how did he end up with 10 years for killing someone, I also wonder. Can that realistically happen ? And, finally, how did he not guess James was dead when he just stopped visiting for no reason the last four years ? I feel like those elements would have needed to be more believable for me to enjoy it as much as The Secret History, to which it is often compared. Perhaps the end with the 10 years in prison is wrapped up a bit too quickly for me, and all of that would have been more believable with more explaining and more details. But I still find the novel very qualitative and I'm impressed by the talent of this young author! I'm so glad to know that one the only books I read this month was the best out of 10 for you, I feel like I've saved myself a lot of average reads! XD
*SPOILERS FOR HAPPY PLACE* for me the breakup made sense because they got to a point where they had no idea how to help each other anymore and neither of them had the words to express their needs properly. so yes it was miscommunication but it wasn't frustrating for me like in other romance books because they were both grieving and genuinely thought what they were doing was what was best for the other person and that felt really realistic to me. like obviously it wasn't the greatest way for wyn to end their relationship but i also understand what he was going through
I've heard several people say they don't get the break up in Happy Place and how much in hinges on miscommunication to carry the plot so you're definitely on point with that
I quite enjoyed lessons in chemistry but I always go into books blind so maybe I wasn’t expecting a romantic story but I thought Calvin and Elizabeth were sweet. I also saw complaints as reviews on the cover said ‘laugh out loud funny’ and it definitely wasn’t 😂
Man, I thought I was alone in my thoughts about Lessons In Chemistry!! It was SO boring and blathered on about nothing for far too many pages. I literally didn't care about and of the characters except for the dog.
🔍 Happy Place is one of my most disappointing reads of the year and I gave it 3 stars. I’ve been considering dropping it down too. There were so many missed opportunities! The bedroom shower was completely under utilized and I can’t imagine after years the friends wouldn’t notice Wyn using the outside shower. Or that fight 😳. It definitely gave off miscommunication vibes but honestly? It feels like two different books put together. I can’t see myself ever rereading this.
I've been feeling so cynical and confused about Happy Place! Although for me, I actually don't think they had much chemistry at all. I didn't see anything in their relationship that made me want to root for them to get back together! And Wyn had no personality! But yeah, miscommunication/lack of communication all over the place. I'm so disappointed.
I had high hopes for Lessons in Chemistry. But was a little put off by the main character. She was way too rigid. Nobody is so rigid all the time... I agree with your rating of the book.
uuuugh the miscommunication in Happy Place was a bit annoying but it was a whole nother level of annoying in Yours Truly, especially with the third-act conflict, and then that trope that popped up-- ugh, I'm still salty, bc I liked Jacob so much 💀🔍
To say you really liked a book and rated it a 4 and then the book you really really disliked enough to wince while discussing it is a 3 makes me then question your 4s aha.
Usually, even if I dislike a story or certain aspects in a book, I can still find things done really well by that author. Sometimes, I emotionally feel like the book deserves a higher rating, even though the book wasn’t for me. Hence maybe the book was a 2 for my enjoyment, but I’m giving it a 3 because certain things were executed really well!
The thing about Lessons in Chemistry is that Elizabeth represents a neurodivergence which looks at and acts within the world very differently, including in romance. I don't think the synopsis did it any favors, bc it maybe set the wrong expectation. But I loved the portrayal of this ND woman trying to navigate love, friendships, parenthood and a career in a world that wasn't built for women or neurodivergent minds. If I'd gone into it expecting a tale of romance, I could see being confused and disappointed. I went into this blindly, so romance was nowhere on my radar. And I ended up loving it.
This 👆🏽
It was my favorite read of 2022 🫶
So Happy Place. I absolutely love it! That said, I think the break up was more about Wynn feeling like she was phoning it in for the last couple years. It does give miscommunication vibes, which is actually one of my biggest pet peeves, but the reasoning for it, trying to manage other people's feeling by needing less, resonated with me.
Same. I completely understand not wanting to burden people with how you are feeling, so I completely understood Wynn in this book. I don’t think it was Emily’s best, but I still loved it.
Yes!!! I hate miscommunication when it's used as a plot device to fabricate conflict at the last minute. But in Happy Place it felt more like an exploration of miscommunication. I related so much to Harriet.
I drove through San Francisco during the lockdown and it was surreal. No one walking around, no one on the streets -- so weird. Loved If we were villians!👓
🔍 Great reading month, loved the wrap-up! Thank you 🔍
I absolutely knew you would adore If we were villains, I'm so glad u enjoyed it aside from the fact that its surrounded by shakespear.
I read The Verifiers as well and just kept hoping that you were also really enjoying it! I’m really looking forward to the next instalment too
“I was searching high and low for this ‘chemistry’.” 😂😂😂
Ahhhh I read Happy Place in May too but I loved it 😂❤
I felt the exact same about happy place 😅
So glad you finally read If We Were Villans!!! I loved it as well. I felt like they transported me I to their world. Loved it so much I listened to the audio book right after!😊
man it was SO GOOD! the writing really sucked me in, im so glad i finally read it too!!🥹
🔍 If we were Villains was so good! I enjoyed it more because I listened to the audiobook along with the physical book. It made the Shakespeare quotes a little easier to understand. Also, totally agree with you on Happy Place. The banter, which I love was there, but I just wasn’t convinced by Harriet and Wyn’s relationship. Lastly, I loved Your’s Truly so much. ❤ while I agree with you on the miscommunication, it was more tolerable than in Happy Place. Lol.
I’m in the same place with you for Happy Place. I still haven’t read Book Lovers yet (planning on doing so later this month) but I just didn’t feel like I loved it as much as her other books
I feel EXACTLY how you do about If We Were Villains where it was a 4/5 for the majority and then the last 100 pages destroyed me and it was skyrocketed to 5/5. I was sobbing at the end hahaha.
I DNF’d Lessons in Chemistry and I rarely DNF books. It was so incredibly heavy handed shoving its message down the reader’s throat. While I can get behind the *message*, the story just had me rolling my eyes to the back of my head. I need believability and at least a hint of subtlety
Yes! This! I love Historical Fiction as well as books about female empowerment, but this one was boring and unbelievable, and frankly the characters got on my nerves.
🔍 glad your reading month over all was really good! I really need to get Last tale of the Flower Bride
Ink blood sister scribe sounds so interesting!
Great recommendations looks like you’re having a great time talking about books I love reading to
as someone whose favorite book is if we were villains, i am so glad that you loved it!
Your Hair looks like Summer 💖
I'm so glad to hear you loved If We Were Villains! I'm reading it for the first time currently and I had a similar feeling going into it that I really wanted to love it, but was worried that the Shakespeare references would be too much for me/would go over my head. I'm 50% of the way through and I am LOVING it though!
i loved lessons in chemistry but i can totally understand how someone wouldn’t like it. the characters are very 21st century and don’t act like they would from the 50’s.
where did you get the version of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride...so stunning!
It’s a fairyloot edition!
@@SydBookWorrom what is that 😉
Great reviews :D
Very much agree about Severance! I gave it a similar rating
Yeahhhh now that you said it, I don’t really understand the breakup other than miscommunication lol
Your Truly definitely irritated me with the miscommunication and I agree it wasn’t as good as part of your world 😭
I rated Lessons in Chemistry three stars, too. I read it last summer and wasn't the biggest fan of it. 🔎
To add or not to add...books to my TBR? That is the question. I also have escaped reading any Shakespeare so Im now curious about If We Were Villains 🔎👀
i've been wanting to read Imposter Syndrome forever! also omg i'm SHOOK that you didn't like Lessons in Chemistry haha i'm still 80 pages into it but I was loving it!
🔍I had a pretty solid month too of 3.5 to 4.5 star reads! (The Last House on Needless Street, The Book of Magic, Lessons in Chemistry, Romantic Comedy, Yellowface, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, and The Friend Zone). When I select a book, I am hoping for a 4 star read because that means I enjoy it, it made me feel something or learn something. But I am picky about 5 stars...5 stars is a feeling that I can't explain. I had one this month - Alone with You in the Ether. Oh I loved it so much. I am currently finishing up Cleopatra and Frankenstein and I think that is going to be a solid 4 stars for me too.
If you like pen pal situations, you would probably really like Romantic Comedy. The whole middle section is emailing back and forth. The first section describes the weekly process of an SNL type show and it was fascinating!
The Friend Zone had a lot of miscommunication as well, and that irritates me to no end. It makes me want to scream at the characters, "Will somebody please just open their mouth and talk!!!!" Nevertheless, it made me cry and have lots of feels, so I have the second book in that series taken out from the library for June.
I don't know why, but I just could not get into If We Were Villains. I so badly wanted to love it
Oh. My. Word. FINALLY!!! Someone besides me did NOT like Lessons in Chemistry.
I didn’t much care for Lessons in Chemistry either!!! Wasn’t the humanlike dog kinda an odd aspect?
Six thirty was actually the one aspect of the story that I loved😅😂
I also read If we were Villains this month, and really liked it ! For a debut novel, I found it very smart and brilliant.
⚠SPOILERS AHEAD⚠
However, I was not entirely convinced by a few elements of the plot : if people really thought that James was dead, why not come forward and innocent Oliver to get him out of jail sooner ? I'm not sure that part of the story is entirely believable. Also, how did he end up with 10 years for killing someone, I also wonder. Can that realistically happen ? And, finally, how did he not guess James was dead when he just stopped visiting for no reason the last four years ? I feel like those elements would have needed to be more believable for me to enjoy it as much as The Secret History, to which it is often compared. Perhaps the end with the 10 years in prison is wrapped up a bit too quickly for me, and all of that would have been more believable with more explaining and more details. But I still find the novel very qualitative and I'm impressed by the talent of this young author!
I'm so glad to know that one the only books I read this month was the best out of 10 for you, I feel like I've saved myself a lot of average reads! XD
*SPOILERS FOR HAPPY PLACE*
for me the breakup made sense because they got to a point where they had no idea how to help each other anymore and neither of them had the words to express their needs properly. so yes it was miscommunication but it wasn't frustrating for me like in other romance books because they were both grieving and genuinely thought what they were doing was what was best for the other person and that felt really realistic to me. like obviously it wasn't the greatest way for wyn to end their relationship but i also understand what he was going through
I've heard several people say they don't get the break up in Happy Place and how much in hinges on miscommunication to carry the plot so you're definitely on point with that
I quite enjoyed lessons in chemistry but I always go into books blind so maybe I wasn’t expecting a romantic story but I thought Calvin and Elizabeth were sweet.
I also saw complaints as reviews on the cover said ‘laugh out loud funny’ and it definitely wasn’t 😂
EXACTLY!!! I was expecting much more comedic relief because of that quote!!
I felt the same way about Happy Place. The best that I could gather is that she cheated on him I think. Does anyone else have any insight?
Man, I thought I was alone in my thoughts about Lessons In Chemistry!! It was SO boring and blathered on about nothing for far too many pages. I literally didn't care about and of the characters except for the dog.
🔍 Happy Place is one of my most disappointing reads of the year and I gave it 3 stars. I’ve been considering dropping it down too.
There were so many missed opportunities! The bedroom shower was completely under utilized and I can’t imagine after years the friends wouldn’t notice Wyn using the outside shower. Or that fight 😳. It definitely gave off miscommunication vibes but honestly? It feels like two different books put together. I can’t see myself ever rereading this.
I really wanted to like lessons in chemistry. The first half was OK, the second half, not so much
I've been feeling so cynical and confused about Happy Place! Although for me, I actually don't think they had much chemistry at all. I didn't see anything in their relationship that made me want to root for them to get back together! And Wyn had no personality! But yeah, miscommunication/lack of communication all over the place. I'm so disappointed.
I had high hopes for Lessons in Chemistry. But was a little put off by the main character. She was way too rigid. Nobody is so rigid all the time... I agree with your rating of the book.
uuuugh the miscommunication in Happy Place was a bit annoying but it was a whole nother level of annoying in Yours Truly, especially with the third-act conflict, and then that trope that popped up-- ugh, I'm still salty, bc I liked Jacob so much 💀🔍
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To say you really liked a book and rated it a 4 and then the book you really really disliked enough to wince while discussing it is a 3 makes me then question your 4s aha.
Usually, even if I dislike a story or certain aspects in a book, I can still find things done really well by that author. Sometimes, I emotionally feel like the book deserves a higher rating, even though the book wasn’t for me. Hence maybe the book was a 2 for my enjoyment, but I’m giving it a 3 because certain things were executed really well!
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