_astronoMay reviewed Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Review of 'Bodyguard' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Fun, light hearted, and an easy read. Exactly the type of early 2000s romcom story line we're missing in this world.
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Astrophysicist by day. I read almost all genres.
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In this exhilarating novel, two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners …
Review of 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This book made me feel things I wasn't prepared to feel. I thought it was an absolutely beautiful story, even if it was filled with heartbreak.
_astronoMay reviewed Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Review of 'Untamed' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
So I really enjoyed some parts of this memoir. Then some of it got strangely religious and implied only "god" can fix your problems? I enjoyed the insights about how society shapes Women, but I could have gotten that elsewhere.
_astronoMay rated Daughter of Doctor Moreau: 3 stars
"As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even …
Review of 'All the ugly and wonderful things' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
This book is one of the most irresponsible books I've ever read and should never have been published.
"a shocking love story between two unlikely people"?
No. This is a 20-something man meeting an eight year old and grooming and sexually abusing her.
"Oh but he made sure she went to school and helped out at her house and made sure she wasn't neglected. She loved him because of that"
No. She was a minor. An older man shows more interest in her than anyone else in her life and takes advantage of her resulting attachment to him to have sexual encounters with her when she's 12/13. That is not a good man helping her out. That is sexually abusing a child. She could not consent. She was made to believe this was what love was, so of course she came back to him in the end.
Her aunt was …
This book is one of the most irresponsible books I've ever read and should never have been published.
"a shocking love story between two unlikely people"?
No. This is a 20-something man meeting an eight year old and grooming and sexually abusing her.
"Oh but he made sure she went to school and helped out at her house and made sure she wasn't neglected. She loved him because of that"
No. She was a minor. An older man shows more interest in her than anyone else in her life and takes advantage of her resulting attachment to him to have sexual encounters with her when she's 12/13. That is not a good man helping her out. That is sexually abusing a child. She could not consent. She was made to believe this was what love was, so of course she came back to him in the end.
Her aunt was the only adult that saw this for what it was and was painted as controlling and overreacting because she tried to protect her niece.
Absolutely absurd. I don't think I've ever been this physically angry over a book. Usually I'm okay with books I didn't enjoy staying on my shelves, but I actually might throw this away. I can't even donate it because I don't want someone else to end up reading it.
_astronoMay rated Our Wives Under the Sea: 5 stars
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Leah is changed. Months earlier, she left for a routine expedition, only this time her submarine sank to the sea …
_astronoMay reviewed A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (Monk & Robot, #2)
After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) …
Review of 'A Prayer for the Crown-Shy' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Sometimes someone writes a book that's just what you need when you need it. Everything about this book made my heart so happy. I loved watching Mosscap experience new things with the joy of a child and loved how Dex and Mosscap relied on each other and came to realize that while they didn't entirely feel they belonged, they knew they belonged together. The whole book was perfection, every little nuance. This will forever be a story I recommend to everyone.
_astronoMay reviewed A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
A companion tale to the Court of Thorns and Roses series that picks up several …
Review of 'Court of Frost and Starlight' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Wish I'd skipped this one. I can't begin to understand how these centuries old "people" are so childish. And don't get me started on Rhysand getting off to the image of his unborn (and not yet conceived) child - excuse me, WHAT.
_astronoMay rated Wrecked Special Edition: 4 stars
_astronoMay rated Cult Classic: 2 stars
Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
One night in New York City’s Chinatown, a woman is at a work reunion dinner with former colleagues when she …
_astronoMay rated Severance: 4 stars
_astronoMay reviewed Birds of California by Katie Cotugno
Review of 'Birds of California' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
CW: SA Technically spoilers, but I'm not marking it as such because people may want to know this before going in.
I was really enjoying this, like 4 star worthy, but I'm SO SICK of books sneaking in sexual assault as a plot point that ends up being critical to why the character acts how they do.
SA victims are not always so messed up that they end up in rehab, so why do so many books with "surprise" SA themes end up using it to make the character that experienced it super messed up and broken?
SA is not some trivial thing to invoke to get the narrative you want in your novel, especially not when it's barely actually mentioned or discussed in any meaningful way and just sort of of tossed in at the end.
Was flip-flopping between a 2 or 3 star rating for this, but sitting …
CW: SA Technically spoilers, but I'm not marking it as such because people may want to know this before going in.
I was really enjoying this, like 4 star worthy, but I'm SO SICK of books sneaking in sexual assault as a plot point that ends up being critical to why the character acts how they do.
SA victims are not always so messed up that they end up in rehab, so why do so many books with "surprise" SA themes end up using it to make the character that experienced it super messed up and broken?
SA is not some trivial thing to invoke to get the narrative you want in your novel, especially not when it's barely actually mentioned or discussed in any meaningful way and just sort of of tossed in at the end.
Was flip-flopping between a 2 or 3 star rating for this, but sitting here writing this review and reflecting on how inappropriate the use of the SA theme was I can't justify anything more than 2 stars. Is this rating perhaps biased by the fact that this is the second book I read this month with "surprise" important SA themes? Yes. But that just shows how much of a growing problem this trend is becoming.
_astronoMay reviewed A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin (The Book of Tea, #1)
Judy I. Lin's sweeping debut A Magic Steeped in Poison, first in a duology, is …
Review of 'A Magic Steeped in Poison' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Did I buy this book purely because of the gorgeous cover art? Yes. But did it live up to those expectations? Also yes.
Review of 'SUMMARY of Book Lovers by Emily Henry' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
So, unpopular opinion time, but I really think Emily Henry just isn't for me. I didn't enjoy the last book I read from her, but the plot of this one interested me more so I figured it had to be better. But 200 pages into this I was just so bored that I had to put it down and read a different book in order to summon the courage to finish this. The characters and relationship were so flat to me. It felt like I read 350 pages of nothing actually happening? 3 stars because Frigid is probably a book I actually would want to read and because at least the main character wasn't as insufferable as the last one.
_astronoMay reviewed Girly Drinks by Mallory O'Meara
Review of 'Girly Drinks' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
While I don't disagree with some reviews that this book has some organizational issues (primarily in the first half) and a few typos, all that can be looked past because this book is FUN. Every page was interesting and I learned so much! Sure it's casually presented and written, but that contributes to its charm and I think makes this a more accessible non-fiction/history book than most others I've read.