Reviews

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

vinylbookgirl's review against another edition

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2.0

What did I just read here?!?

I am very, very disappointed by this book to say the least..
This was advertised as a modern adaption of Bridget Jones and it couldn't have been further from it. If anything it reminded me of Grown Ups (which I also didn't like, so maybe this is on me).

If this book made me realize one thing than it's how much older I actually am despite not feeling like it (even though I am the same age as Carty-Williams).
Yes, there were a lot of things that reminded me of my own twenties that I've spent living in Europe, but that's about the only nice thing I can come up with when describing this book.

Reading Queenie was not enjoyable at all. It read and felt like a collection of long-winding, depressing diary entries paired with therapy sessions (that I was inappropriately eavesdropping on).

It was unsparing, uncomfortable ( which came to mind many times while reading) and way too raw. In my opinion the vulgar details with which the promiscuous sex scenes were described were absolutely not necessary in order to tell Queenie's story.

What's even more sad is that it could have otherwise been an important voice regarding #blacklivesmatter. But it just felt rushly squeezed into the rest of the story and got lost in between all the profanity as well as the (once again) unnecessary and uncomfortable sex scenes.

definitelynotnatalie's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sargar114's review against another edition

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4.0

This is not one that I would have picked up and even at the beginning thought it was one I was going to like. I’m glad I persevered (much like our heroine), as this ended up being a beautiful journey...while rocky for a good chunk of it, I’m glad to have seen the whole picture.

nattyjanereads's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

pattonesque's review against another edition

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4.0

Firstly, the plot deals with the everyday, which for a sci-fi lover such as myself was an (expected) shock to the system. I did love reading about another experience in the city I live in, though. I felt the ending is somewhat arbitrary but the length was about right. The moral seeming to be: go to therapy! I enjoyed the characters and I felt very much as though I was a part of Queenie's world during the story, the text messages helped bring it to life. I enjoyed lots of laugh out loud moments, especially from Kyazike.

mayaperkins's review against another edition

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4.0

The audiobook made the story come to life and I wholeheartedly enjoyed even the most cringe of bits. I appreciated the serious bits about mental health and overcoming past trauma as much as the light-hearted bad date stories and other silly banters between the Corgis.
Also without the audiobook I would've never guessed how to pronounce Kyazike (Chess-keh) and I'm so glad I went in knowing cause girl is the best character/supporter/story teller out of the whole lot. Cannot get her unique Ugandan/British accent out of my head fam! xx

menschenliebe's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

lisam0183_bookworm's review against another edition

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2.0

This is has been so widely advertised all over Instagram, so I thought I would see what it was about.

Unfortunately it just wasn't for me. It kind of felt like it was all just thrown together and some parts I found quite awkward.

tesslinnebank's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

claumyr's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5