Novel Notions with Amy – Netgalley Edition

Credit: Anete Lūsiņa

Well, hello there! You all haven’t heard from me in a while. Nearly four months, to be exact. Yikes. Over Christmas and New Year’s, I really started thinking about why I started blogging and whether I wanted to continue. It had become this negative, guilty, erm, hairball? in the back of my throat. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of you, but sometimes I don’t get that much attention on a post, and sometimes I do. At the end of the day, I have to be blogging for myself and my own enjoyment. After four months (during which, by the way, my blogoversary passed! My baby is 3 now!! Can you believe it?), I’ve finally been inspired, and I figured I might as well come back with some short reviews. In the future, I’m not entirely positive where this blog will go. I suppose I’ll let you all know when I’ve figured it out for myself! 😉 Anyhow, let’s get into the reviews, shall we?

Disclaimer: All books in this post were sent to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

The Last Girl on Earth by Alexandra Blogier- ★★ OH MY WORD PLEASE MAKE IT STAWP. I requested this book before looking it up on Goodreads, and just… YIKES. I later looked it up and realized that this was being widely hated upon all over the internet. Oops? The Last Girl on Earth had a good premise, and I think it could have been great. However, the writing was extremely unpolished and the characters were entirely undeveloped. The plot was pretty much nonexistent and I was actually confused because none of this book made sense. Its one saving grace was that it was short… And therefore over quickly. Definitely skip this one if you can help it.

The Last to Let Go by Amber Smith- ★★★★ I have… A lot of mixed feelings about this book. It gave me SO many emotions. It was gripping and fascinating. I mean, I read this on my laptop in the car (AKA terrible conditions) on my birthday, and I was basically sobbing. And yet, some parts and aspects of the story made me intensely uncomfortable (that were not meant to). I really waffled between a 3 and a 4 for my rating when I initially finished it, but I rounded up because what the heck. Birthdays, right? This book is probably super triggering but I’m very intrigued by Amber Smith’s writing, and I’ll definitely check out her previous book.

How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell- ★★★ I honestly have no idea why I requested this book in the first place. It’s a celebrity memoir about addiction. And I thought this was something I would like because…? No one? Ah, well, I did listen to the audiobook of this, and if nothing else, it was extremely intriguing, and (ironically) addicting. It’s narrated by the author, which makes it that much stranger. Alas, I’d like to forget this book ever happened to me. The DS game I found from when I was 10 (and played while I listened to the book) was way more entertaining than this. Oof haha!

 

The Last to Die by Kelly Garrett- ★★ Can you see me smacking my forehead right now? Really? That’s creepy. Let’s just say you can’t. In any case, it’s happening. This book is a pile of idiocy driven by unlikeable characters in a pointless plot. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate some good unlikeable characters, but these weren’t even well written. Similarly to The Last Girl on Earth, The Last to Die’s only saving grace was its length. I raced through its excruciating boringness. Oh joy.

 

The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares- ★★★★ Well, this book was addicting. In an actually GOOD way. It definitely took me a while to get into, especially because of the large cast of characters (I actually drew myself a family tree because #memoryishard), but after a while, I got the hang of things. Around the same time, I also got… really invested. I expected it to be much more about the romance, but it was more closely centered around family themes, which I really appreciated. The premise of this book is just so interesting and weird, and I definitely recommend the audiobook if you’re looking to pick this one up. I couldn’t put it down!

Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman- ★★★★ Okay, it’s been about 5 years since I’ve read this (more like months but shhhhh same thing), so forgive me for any lack of detail. Still, I really enjoyed Girl Out of Water! I loved the writing style and the characters. It was relatable and fun. I was totally rooting for the romance to happen (like ASAP please and thank you) and again, I totally adored the family aspect. I can’t relate to the whole “surfing is my life” thing (hi, I’m super landlocked), but of course, that’s what books are for! I loved Anise’s perspective, and Lincoln was probably my favorite character in the entire book. I’m definitely picking up her next novel.

The Inconceivable Life of Quinn by Marianna Baer- ★★★★ HAHAHA okay sooooo this book is definitely not for everyone. I have no qualms about proclaiming that to the internets. Not because of any triggering subject matter, but just because it’s… weird. Inconceivably weird. (I’m so funny and clever) This is one of those books where it’s super odd and there probably isn’t a ‘point’ to it? All I can tell you is that I personally loved it. The writing style was fabulously entertaining, and anything with even a hint of magical realism is my actual love. It’s weird. SORRY I DON’T DETAILS.

 

Alice and the Fly by James Rice- ★★ This book was particularly disappointing because it started so fabulously. I was immensely enjoying it for the first 50-100 pages. Then it took a sharp U-turn and made a straight nose dive into the actual sewer. No thanks. It originally reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower (in a good way), and I was appreciating the odd voice, but it just got creepier and creepier and… more boring. It resolved in an odd, annoying way. I would go so far as to say this might even be my most disappointing book of 2017. It’s like the author just gave up halfway through. Wow, that’s depressing.

Someone Else’s Summer by Rachel Bateman- ★★★ This book was mostly cute! Similarly to some of the other books on this list, I really regretted picking it up for the first 50 pages and didn’t know why I had requested it in the first place. Of course, as soon as I thought that, they pulled up a list. I love anything and everything to do with lists or games or challenges in books, so I’m quite sure that’s what drew me to this book. In any case, it wasn’t what I was expecting, and a lot of the situations made me intensely uncomfortable. Still, the road trip vibes were cute, and I enjoyed it for what it was.

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That wasn’t long at all, she says sarcastically! Thanks to you, my dear reader, for making it through this far. If you’re here, I would implore you to share in the comments any of your thoughts on these books (or whether I persuaded you to or not to read any of them), or some ARCs on your list. If neither of those appeals to you, let me know what’s happened in your life in the last four months! Good books, movies, songs, exciting life milestones, anything. I’ve missed a lot; I’d love it if you’d help catch me up!

May your days always burst with books,

~ Amy Lou

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