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I like military sci-fi, and liked the first short section quite a bit, but I disliked the characters and the plot more as the book went on. I won't be reading the rest of this series.
This provocative perspective on America’s history claims that the country’s personality was defined not by the ideals of the elites …
"A fresh and imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale from the bestselling author of Uprooted, called "a very enjoyable fantasy …
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to …
The teenage characters are so awful and cringey, I started to hate this book before the end. The pacing was the most uneven I've ever seen. I will not be reading the rest of the series.
After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes the bus home. There, …
A powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, …
The men in this novel are 100% believable, which was infuriating. Good book, though, the themes of consent and power didn't stop it from being a fast and engrossing read.
A powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, …
Both infuriating and engaging, this was a tough book to pick up but I was immediately hooked.
I liked the premise of a skeptical disgraced scientist being drafted into metaphysical service by the forces of good, but this book really needed to shed about 150 pages. The whole backstory about Dr. Newton Barlowe's fall from grace could have been told through brief flashbacks or references. I stopped reading it several times, and almost didn't pick it back up again.
When the book does finally pick up speed, it's a decently fun time, with the main character's skeptical approach to arcane mysteries, and a few sequences that draw from Indiana Jones and even a James Bond film. It's never more than adequately written, but it's serviceable enough. It just took way too long to get there.
A New York Times Notable BookOne of the Best Books of the YearThe Washington Post - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer - …
Me Talk Pretty One Day, published in 2000, is a bestselling collection of essays by …
I think this would have been funnier to me if I read it 25 years ago, but it holds up okay. I enjoy David Sedaris most when he is observing the world around him; his self-depricating humor is okay, but I tend not to enjoy his essays that mine family stories for amusement.
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en …
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; …
Cozy solar-punk novella? Yes please.
I don't read romance novels often, unless you count Jane Austen. Modern romances, in my opinion, too often have characters I don't particularly like, or I don't find their chemistry believeable. They fall back on old tropes and make me roll my eyes, which is a problem for this genre—when the characters' relationships ARE the plot, the reader needs to buy in and cheer for them to get together. For most romance novels, I can't get behind the couple enough to care.
Enter this book, Romantic Comedy, which tells the story of a comedy writer on a late-night show (an SNL analogue) who hits it off with a host and musical guest during his week on the show. The SNL angle is the gimmick, because most romance novels need a gimmick to stand out in a VERY crowded environment. And as far as gimmicks go, it's fine, it justifies some …
I don't read romance novels often, unless you count Jane Austen. Modern romances, in my opinion, too often have characters I don't particularly like, or I don't find their chemistry believeable. They fall back on old tropes and make me roll my eyes, which is a problem for this genre—when the characters' relationships ARE the plot, the reader needs to buy in and cheer for them to get together. For most romance novels, I can't get behind the couple enough to care.
Enter this book, Romantic Comedy, which tells the story of a comedy writer on a late-night show (an SNL analogue) who hits it off with a host and musical guest during his week on the show. The SNL angle is the gimmick, because most romance novels need a gimmick to stand out in a VERY crowded environment. And as far as gimmicks go, it's fine, it justifies some smart dialogue and some decent jokes, and it's an obvious gender-swapped version of real-life relationships like Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson.
What makes the book actually work, however, are the characters. The first-person female lead isn't an "adorkable clutz" or someone needing another person to complete her. She's a competent professional with some good friends who has been in relationships in the past. She doesn't need to be saved from anything, she's fine on her own—successful, even. So spending time in the narrative with her point of view isn't tedious or cringey, it's pretty low-drama. And that's just fine, because it let the excitement of meeting someone come through. The famous person aspect of the narrative makes it feel like a modern fairytale, which I could take or leave, but the male lead is fleshed out as a human being well enough to make me cheer for them as a couple, and that's the whole point of the romance genre.
Other romance writers take note: write realistic characters that are competent adults, and readers will be able to identify with them and go with the story.
More romance books should be be like this, I'll expand in a review, but I actually liked the story a lot.