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sonalipawar26's reviews
196 reviews
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Tiffy Moore needs a place to stay, pronto! And Leon Twomey is a palliative nurse who works night shifts who is need of a bit of extra money. Perfect, right? While Leon is a walking green flag but someone who doesn't speak much, Tiffy's personality is all rainbows and candies who rambles and at times overshares. They're both good people, but each is fighting their own battle . . . a battle that requires support, and they find it in each other.
While The Flatshare by @betholeary is cute and mushy (among other things), it also deals with topics such as gaslighting, toxic relationships, and emotional abuse. And tbh reading about such topics in a romance is a breath of fresh air!
I also have leaner jaw muscles because of how long smiles were plastered on my face as I read this book. O'Leary writes with clarity and both their personalities come alive through her words. I giggled, I laughed, got teary-eyed. It's such a book that will make you experience a bunch of emotions one after the other. It's cute but it's also full of 'seggsual' tension; it's realistic to a certain extent as well. A perfect pick-me-up and makes feel good (thanks to all those endorphins coursing through your body)! What more can you ask from modern romance?
If you are like me who waited aeons to read The Flatshare, I suggest you drop everything and pick this one up!
PS men written by women are full of green flags!
While The Flatshare by @betholeary is cute and mushy (among other things), it also deals with topics such as gaslighting, toxic relationships, and emotional abuse. And tbh reading about such topics in a romance is a breath of fresh air!
I also have leaner jaw muscles because of how long smiles were plastered on my face as I read this book. O'Leary writes with clarity and both their personalities come alive through her words. I giggled, I laughed, got teary-eyed. It's such a book that will make you experience a bunch of emotions one after the other. It's cute but it's also full of 'seggsual' tension; it's realistic to a certain extent as well. A perfect pick-me-up and makes feel good (thanks to all those endorphins coursing through your body)! What more can you ask from modern romance?
If you are like me who waited aeons to read The Flatshare, I suggest you drop everything and pick this one up!
PS men written by women are full of green flags!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Princess Bari by Hwang Sok-yong
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Princess Bari is heartrending. It will take you to hell and back along with Bari. Hwang retells the Korean folklore of ‘Princess Bari’ in a modern setting, dealing with timely yet difficult topics like human trafficking, destruction, war, and immigration.
Bari, which roughly translates to 'thrown away', was abandoned by her mother right after she was born as the sixth daughter of the family. But she was later saved by her grandmother, resulting in her name that was derived from the legend of 'Princess Bari', a tale her grandmother would narrate to her as a bedtime story time and again.
From a young age Bari is dealt a bad hand, forcing her to become an adult in adolescence. The world couldn't be crueler to her; from the North Korean famine of the 90s to running away to China, and finally fleeing to England as an undocumented immigrant, Bari had had to survive in the worst conditions possible. But along the way she meets kind souls as she goes on a quest to 'fetch the life-giving water'.
Hwang Sok-yong doesn't mince his words. He shows you the world as it is. Nor does he give you a cliched 'happy ending', making you dream of a better world. Perhaps he tries to give you some hope, but more than that, he tells you if you don't take action and be kind to others, the world will always be a cruel place. This book also acts as a reminder that we don't know others' stories and we see them with only one lens.
Princess Bari is a gripping and heartbreaking tale, as it forces one to remove their rose-tinted glasses and see the world as it really is.
It's a sad read; but it's an important read.
#alazywriterbookreviews23
Thanks for the copy, Scribe publications!
Bari, which roughly translates to 'thrown away', was abandoned by her mother right after she was born as the sixth daughter of the family. But she was later saved by her grandmother, resulting in her name that was derived from the legend of 'Princess Bari', a tale her grandmother would narrate to her as a bedtime story time and again.
From a young age Bari is dealt a bad hand, forcing her to become an adult in adolescence. The world couldn't be crueler to her; from the North Korean famine of the 90s to running away to China, and finally fleeing to England as an undocumented immigrant, Bari had had to survive in the worst conditions possible. But along the way she meets kind souls as she goes on a quest to 'fetch the life-giving water'.
Hwang Sok-yong doesn't mince his words. He shows you the world as it is. Nor does he give you a cliched 'happy ending', making you dream of a better world. Perhaps he tries to give you some hope, but more than that, he tells you if you don't take action and be kind to others, the world will always be a cruel place. This book also acts as a reminder that we don't know others' stories and we see them with only one lens.
Princess Bari is a gripping and heartbreaking tale, as it forces one to remove their rose-tinted glasses and see the world as it really is.
It's a sad read; but it's an important read.
#alazywriterbookreviews23
Thanks for the copy, Scribe publications!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
Minor: Suicide
Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
When you've closed your heart and built high walls, rarely do you let anyone see the real you. And why should you? But despite everything, no matter how hard you try to not let someone see the real you, those high walls are bulldozed by the power of love. A love that's monotonous and ordinary gives you the power to put the other first, even if it's at the cost of your future together . . .
Love in the Big City is sardonic, mellow, bittersweet, and flawed, just like the narrator, Young. He is reckless, rude, and at times you wonder what do the other characters even see in him to be together in a relationship. Sometimes, vice versa. But then you remember what you did in your early twenties wasn't too different--falling for the wrong guys, being at their beck and call, and hoping for them to show any kind of affection. You somehow end up seeing yourself in Young, and in Gyu ho.
Reading the book, seamlessly translated by @antonhur from the Korean, made me even forget that it was translated! It flows so well. It's one of books where I felt that both the author and the translator had the same voice, perhaps even wrote it together!
Love in the Big City portrays the queer scene in Seoul and gives a true insight into the city's 'glittering nighttime world and bleary-eyed morning after'. It is about love. But it is also about more than that. It layered, and it will make you think (and perhaps even smack some sense into Young and get Gyu ho back!).
Love in the Big City is sardonic, mellow, bittersweet, and flawed, just like the narrator, Young. He is reckless, rude, and at times you wonder what do the other characters even see in him to be together in a relationship. Sometimes, vice versa. But then you remember what you did in your early twenties wasn't too different--falling for the wrong guys, being at their beck and call, and hoping for them to show any kind of affection. You somehow end up seeing yourself in Young, and in Gyu ho.
Reading the book, seamlessly translated by @antonhur from the Korean, made me even forget that it was translated! It flows so well. It's one of books where I felt that both the author and the translator had the same voice, perhaps even wrote it together!
Love in the Big City portrays the queer scene in Seoul and gives a true insight into the city's 'glittering nighttime world and bleary-eyed morning after'. It is about love. But it is also about more than that. It layered, and it will make you think (and perhaps even smack some sense into Young and get Gyu ho back!).
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
31-year-old aspiring writer and full-time waitress, Casey, is trying to make ends meet, but barely managing to do so. She is an anxious mess. She's living alone in a potting shed, writing her book, and grieving the unexpected death of her mother.
I might have a stable job, unlike Casey, but just like her, I am grieving, have only two friends, no romantic relationships, and spend my time reading. The only piercing clarity Casey has is about writing. She wants to get published. And I only wish I was passionate about something like her. I could easily see myself in Casey.
But then she meets Oscar, an older man with two young boys, a dead wife, and a stable writing career. But she also meets a school teacher who's her age but neto get his head sorted. So, now, she has to choose b/w 'sparks or coffee in bed'.
Books find you when you need them the most. You feel this hypnotic pull towards them. You two are meant to be. And King's words were no less than a balm to my wounds. They healed me and gave me hope. From what it feels to be a struggling writer to the kind of men one meets in her youth and all the messes we have to deal with, this book throws a light on each of these aspects.
I reckon I came across this marvellous book at the right time; a time when I was in over my head.
In the book Casey says, 'There’s a particular feeling in your body when something goes right after a long time of things going wrong. It feels warm and sweet and loose.'
This book was 'warm and sweet and loose'.
And I finished it with tears pooling at the corner of my eyes and a big, fat smile.
I might have a stable job, unlike Casey, but just like her, I am grieving, have only two friends, no romantic relationships, and spend my time reading. The only piercing clarity Casey has is about writing. She wants to get published. And I only wish I was passionate about something like her. I could easily see myself in Casey.
But then she meets Oscar, an older man with two young boys, a dead wife, and a stable writing career. But she also meets a school teacher who's her age but neto get his head sorted. So, now, she has to choose b/w 'sparks or coffee in bed'.
Books find you when you need them the most. You feel this hypnotic pull towards them. You two are meant to be. And King's words were no less than a balm to my wounds. They healed me and gave me hope. From what it feels to be a struggling writer to the kind of men one meets in her youth and all the messes we have to deal with, this book throws a light on each of these aspects.
I reckon I came across this marvellous book at the right time; a time when I was in over my head.
In the book Casey says, 'There’s a particular feeling in your body when something goes right after a long time of things going wrong. It feels warm and sweet and loose.'
This book was 'warm and sweet and loose'.
And I finished it with tears pooling at the corner of my eyes and a big, fat smile.
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
‘I never saw anyone on network TV who looked like me playing a role like this,’ writes Davis on her role as Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder. And I concur. I had never seen a woman like that as a lead.
Davis and I live on continents miles apart and have had entirely different experiences growing up. But despite that I felt a sense of belongingness in her story. Her writing is raw and heartfelt; her story harrowing at times. To think how her life would have been entirely different had she been born in a financially stable household. But she spent her formative years in abject poverty, with a father who was abusive towards her mother, an absent brother, trauma, and sisters whom she wanted to protect with everything she had.
Viola is a hero in the story. Just to think what she went through to have a life she lives now makes me want to give her a long, bear hug. Her resilience turned out to be the reason behind her success.
Her wiring is elegant, poetic; her narration phenomenal. It makes you ache, it makes you shiver, it makes you want to enter the story and hold her, and eventually it makes you want to root for her. And you do.
From talking about complicated relationship with certain family members, lack of self-love, foraging for food in dumpsters, and how she made it to college and eventually to Julliard, Davis has poured her heart and soul into the book. She has hunger within her that will inspire you to make something of yourself.
There are memoirs that towards the end go southwards, and at some point you feel bored. But with Finding Me never did I ever feel like 'okay, this is less interesting now'. In fact, I wanted more.
Trust me when I say, I have read many a memoir. But Finding Me, hands down, is the best I've read so far.
If memoirs are your thing, this one is unmissable. You just cannot skip this one!
Davis and I live on continents miles apart and have had entirely different experiences growing up. But despite that I felt a sense of belongingness in her story. Her writing is raw and heartfelt; her story harrowing at times. To think how her life would have been entirely different had she been born in a financially stable household. But she spent her formative years in abject poverty, with a father who was abusive towards her mother, an absent brother, trauma, and sisters whom she wanted to protect with everything she had.
Viola is a hero in the story. Just to think what she went through to have a life she lives now makes me want to give her a long, bear hug. Her resilience turned out to be the reason behind her success.
Her wiring is elegant, poetic; her narration phenomenal. It makes you ache, it makes you shiver, it makes you want to enter the story and hold her, and eventually it makes you want to root for her. And you do.
From talking about complicated relationship with certain family members, lack of self-love, foraging for food in dumpsters, and how she made it to college and eventually to Julliard, Davis has poured her heart and soul into the book. She has hunger within her that will inspire you to make something of yourself.
There are memoirs that towards the end go southwards, and at some point you feel bored. But with Finding Me never did I ever feel like 'okay, this is less interesting now'. In fact, I wanted more.
Trust me when I say, I have read many a memoir. But Finding Me, hands down, is the best I've read so far.
If memoirs are your thing, this one is unmissable. You just cannot skip this one!
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Don't we all grieve differently?
I chose to listen to this book purely because it was an hour long and I needed something during my drive home.
What started as an utterly absurd story about a boy being forced to read in a library, turned out to be a story of grief. And when the realisation dawned on me, I gasped.
It's Murakami. It's a genre of its own! Absurdity, that out-of-body feeling, that feeling of hallucination, all was present in this novella.
I have nothing more to say about this book apart from how it's an unusual book on grief and how this boy perceives it.
I chose to listen to this book purely because it was an hour long and I needed something during my drive home.
What started as an utterly absurd story about a boy being forced to read in a library, turned out to be a story of grief. And when the realisation dawned on me, I gasped.
It's Murakami. It's a genre of its own! Absurdity, that out-of-body feeling, that feeling of hallucination, all was present in this novella.
I have nothing more to say about this book apart from how it's an unusual book on grief and how this boy perceives it.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Too slow to keep me interested. Nothing much takes places for long periods.
Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
'That child who sprang from my own flesh and blood is perhaps the creature I'm most distant from,' says the sixty-something narrator.
Isn't it true for the most of us though? Tumultuous mother-daughter relationships are a tale as old as time.
If you are a woman, you'll relate to this relationship being as complex as a maze that has no exit. You are stuck with each other, butting heads at the smallest issue. But then you look for each other at the minutest inconvenience as well. You can't live together, you can't live apart.
Concerning My Daughter navigates the 'treacherous shoals of the mother-daughter relationship' [as Morticia Addams from Wednesday quoted]. The narrator is a sixty-something woman working as a carer at the hospital for senior citizens waiting to take their last breath. She has a thirty-something daughter, who won't do things the 'traditional' way. She can't understand why her daughter chose the hard life.
Her daughter then moves in with her along with another woman. But they are not just friends, and the mother isn't ready to come to terms with their true relationship.
This book brings out the nuances and several layers to mother-daughter relationships brilliantly. Moreover, it is also a commentary on palliative care and are not cared for properly.
This novella is subtle yet impactful. You find yourself empathising with the daughter, but then you start understanding the mother and her internal conflicts, too. Apart from being about mothers and daughters, it is provides a perspective on the LGBTQ+ community through the lens of the older generation. Of course, you might not agree with the.
A lot was left to read between the lines, and my only woe with the book is that it was too short to peel the layers of a mother-daughter relationship.
Isn't it true for the most of us though? Tumultuous mother-daughter relationships are a tale as old as time.
If you are a woman, you'll relate to this relationship being as complex as a maze that has no exit. You are stuck with each other, butting heads at the smallest issue. But then you look for each other at the minutest inconvenience as well. You can't live together, you can't live apart.
Concerning My Daughter navigates the 'treacherous shoals of the mother-daughter relationship' [as Morticia Addams from Wednesday quoted]. The narrator is a sixty-something woman working as a carer at the hospital for senior citizens waiting to take their last breath. She has a thirty-something daughter, who won't do things the 'traditional' way. She can't understand why her daughter chose the hard life.
Her daughter then moves in with her along with another woman. But they are not just friends, and the mother isn't ready to come to terms with their true relationship.
This book brings out the nuances and several layers to mother-daughter relationships brilliantly. Moreover, it is also a commentary on palliative care and are not cared for properly.
This novella is subtle yet impactful. You find yourself empathising with the daughter, but then you start understanding the mother and her internal conflicts, too. Apart from being about mothers and daughters, it is provides a perspective on the LGBTQ+ community through the lens of the older generation. Of course, you might not agree with the.
A lot was left to read between the lines, and my only woe with the book is that it was too short to peel the layers of a mother-daughter relationship.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
There are books you see everywhere. Everyone you know is talking about them. You make a mental note of picking up one of these and vow to read it soon. But then the title slips your mind and you forget all about the promise to read that book for months, often, years.
But then one day you spot it at a bookstore and the flashbacks of vowing to reading this book from years ago pop into your head. So, you buy it. And when you finally read it, you love it. This is the story of how I came across The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.
Set in early 1946, London-based writer, Juliet Ashton, receives a letter from someone who lives across the English Channel, on an island called Guernsey. Thanks to Charles Lamb, through these letters, Juliet slowly gets acquainted with the residents of Guernsey, and so do we. And Just like Juliet, we, too, fall in love with them. We snicker at Isola's letters, fawn over Dawsey, smile at Mrs Maugery's warmth, and feel our stomachs sink for Elizabeth.
The characters made a special place in my heart and I loved how people around Juliet also fell in love with the residents.
This epistolary book was a lot of things--charming, light-hearted, witty, nostalgic, and at times heart-wrenching. It also reminds the reader of the fact that humans may overcome anything with love and kindness from others. That's what the Guernsey residents did during the Occupation and they weren't afraid to pour their hearts to someone far away in London through letters either.
A perfect winter read, this book made me chuckle, made me sad, but also left its warmth within me. Great stories are made when they involve books, and this novel is the best example.
But then one day you spot it at a bookstore and the flashbacks of vowing to reading this book from years ago pop into your head. So, you buy it. And when you finally read it, you love it. This is the story of how I came across The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.
Set in early 1946, London-based writer, Juliet Ashton, receives a letter from someone who lives across the English Channel, on an island called Guernsey. Thanks to Charles Lamb, through these letters, Juliet slowly gets acquainted with the residents of Guernsey, and so do we. And Just like Juliet, we, too, fall in love with them. We snicker at Isola's letters, fawn over Dawsey, smile at Mrs Maugery's warmth, and feel our stomachs sink for Elizabeth.
The characters made a special place in my heart and I loved how people around Juliet also fell in love with the residents.
This epistolary book was a lot of things--charming, light-hearted, witty, nostalgic, and at times heart-wrenching. It also reminds the reader of the fact that humans may overcome anything with love and kindness from others. That's what the Guernsey residents did during the Occupation and they weren't afraid to pour their hearts to someone far away in London through letters either.
A perfect winter read, this book made me chuckle, made me sad, but also left its warmth within me. Great stories are made when they involve books, and this novel is the best example.
Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
3.75
Having loved This Is Going to Hurt, when I noticed that Adam Kay's novella, Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas was available in audio format, I didn't think twice before picking it up.
This one is mostly a collection of anecdotes from the time Kay was a practising doctor. He talks about the time he had to be on call a few Christmases in a row before he left the profession. And as expected from a doctor's job, he wasn't spreading Christmas cheer to all his patients as not everyone's life is full of joy during Christmas.
I reckon this was a perfect December read. In true Adam Kay fashion, it was witty and heartfelt. I only wish it was longer with more details. Although it doesn't compare to This Is Going to Hurt, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
This one is mostly a collection of anecdotes from the time Kay was a practising doctor. He talks about the time he had to be on call a few Christmases in a row before he left the profession. And as expected from a doctor's job, he wasn't spreading Christmas cheer to all his patients as not everyone's life is full of joy during Christmas.
I reckon this was a perfect December read. In true Adam Kay fashion, it was witty and heartfelt. I only wish it was longer with more details. Although it doesn't compare to This Is Going to Hurt, I enjoyed it nonetheless.