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hopeloveslit's reviews
261 reviews
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2.75
“I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”
Bella and Edward have such a toxic relationship! The movies showed some of this, but the book heightens it. It’s undeniably unhealthy and intense (like most teenage first loves.) Am I bashing Meyers? Yeah, no. I devoured this book! 🤭 To be fair, my younger self resonates with Bella and her feelings for Edward. So that influenced my reading experience. Also, having been a lifetime fan of the films, I find it hard to hate the source material. 🥰 Although I have attachments to this franchise, the prose is not the best!! I can see why many readers say this book is their “guilty pleasure.” Anyways, onto New Moon! 🤭
Bella and Edward have such a toxic relationship! The movies showed some of this, but the book heightens it. It’s undeniably unhealthy and intense (like most teenage first loves.) Am I bashing Meyers? Yeah, no. I devoured this book! 🤭 To be fair, my younger self resonates with Bella and her feelings for Edward. So that influenced my reading experience. Also, having been a lifetime fan of the films, I find it hard to hate the source material. 🥰 Although I have attachments to this franchise, the prose is not the best!! I can see why many readers say this book is their “guilty pleasure.” Anyways, onto New Moon! 🤭
Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
3.0
Boys in the Valley frightened me. I can’t lie to you. I was jumping, looking over my shoulder, and squinting my eyes like I was watching an old Stephen King film. The plot was good, although there wasn’t anything groundbreaking. I wonder if I would’ve appreciated this book more if I read the inspiration. I haven’t read The Exorcist or Lord of the Flies (I'm ashamed.) However, I'm very intrigued, thanks to Boys in the Valley. Therefore, I’ll take that as a win.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches by Matsuo Bashō
3.5
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches is the second book I’ve read by Bashō. I love traveling back to 17th-century Japan with him. He viewed his surroundings and the world in such a beautiful and inspiring way. His work compels you to slow down and appreciate everything about this extraordinary planet.
“Every turn of the road brought me new thoughts and every sunrise gave me fresh emotions.”
This collection is an insightful look into Bashō’s extensive travels through mountains, villages, and wherever his wandering spirit transported him. There is a masterful mix of classic Bashō poetry and prose. The sketches were adorable and enhanced the reading experience.
“In this mortal frame of mine which is made of a hundred bones and nine orifices, there is something, and this something is called a wind-swept spirit for lack of a better name, for it is much like a thin drapery that is torn and swept away at the slightest stir of the wind.”
Bashō speaks about the ancients on his travels. I loved how rich in history his words were. Although I enjoyed this collection, the meanings of Bashō’s poetry didn’t translate well to English. In Japanese, I’m certain this book would have received four stars! Nonetheless, I’d recommend it, especially if you enjoy reading about travel.
“A thicket of summer grass
Is all that remains
Of the dreams and ambitions
Of ancient warriors.”
“Every turn of the road brought me new thoughts and every sunrise gave me fresh emotions.”
This collection is an insightful look into Bashō’s extensive travels through mountains, villages, and wherever his wandering spirit transported him. There is a masterful mix of classic Bashō poetry and prose. The sketches were adorable and enhanced the reading experience.
“In this mortal frame of mine which is made of a hundred bones and nine orifices, there is something, and this something is called a wind-swept spirit for lack of a better name, for it is much like a thin drapery that is torn and swept away at the slightest stir of the wind.”
Bashō speaks about the ancients on his travels. I loved how rich in history his words were. Although I enjoyed this collection, the meanings of Bashō’s poetry didn’t translate well to English. In Japanese, I’m certain this book would have received four stars! Nonetheless, I’d recommend it, especially if you enjoy reading about travel.
“A thicket of summer grass
Is all that remains
Of the dreams and ambitions
Of ancient warriors.”
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
2.5
Performance: 3 stars
Story: 2 stars
At this point, I expect nothing from Sager except an easy read. I think he's not for me. However, I need to see what the hype is. I have a few more novels by him to read and I'm hoping at least one works.
Story: 2 stars
At this point, I expect nothing from Sager except an easy read. I think he's not for me. However, I need to see what the hype is. I have a few more novels by him to read and I'm hoping at least one works.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
4.0
The Outsiders is about two rival gangs, The Greasers and The Socs. Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma during the 1960s, the gangs are divided by socioeconomic status. The Greasers are the working class, and The Socs are the upper class. Although they seem different in every sense of the word, “Things are rough all over.”
“It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset.”
I read The Outsiders for the first time in middle school. I remember loving the novel for two reasons. One, it was so unique compared to our usual assigned reading. Two, the rumble was everything to the younger me! I loved the action and gritty vibes.
“Don’t you know a rumble ain’t a rumble unless I’m in it?”
Reading this novel as an adult is a distinctive experience. I enjoyed it even more. I was able to pick up on things that I didn’t formerly. Hinton's themes flew over my head during school; they didn’t this time. I can’t wait to note how I feel about this novel in another ten years. Overall, I’d recommend this story to every reader! However, readers who love found family have to read this.
“Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the things you want to see.”
“It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset.”
I read The Outsiders for the first time in middle school. I remember loving the novel for two reasons. One, it was so unique compared to our usual assigned reading. Two, the rumble was everything to the younger me! I loved the action and gritty vibes.
“Don’t you know a rumble ain’t a rumble unless I’m in it?”
Reading this novel as an adult is a distinctive experience. I enjoyed it even more. I was able to pick up on things that I didn’t formerly. Hinton's themes flew over my head during school; they didn’t this time. I can’t wait to note how I feel about this novel in another ten years. Overall, I’d recommend this story to every reader! However, readers who love found family have to read this.
“Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the things you want to see.”
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
4.0
Ethan Frome is a melancholic cautionary tale of forbidden love and the anguish it produces. It’s a tragic and unforgettable novel.
I enjoyed innumerable aspects of Ethan Frome but the writing is my favorite part. I wish to bottle up Edith Wharton’s prose and add drops to my morning coffee. I’m obsessed with her evocative imagery, dramatic structures, and simple but elegant diction.
“But at sunset the clouds gathered again, bringing an earlier night, and the snow began to fall straight and steadily from a sky without wind, in a soft universal diffusion more confusing than the gusts and eddies of the morning. It seemed to be a part of the thickening darkness, to be the winter night itself descending on us layer by layer.”
Wharton creates a gloomy ambiance throughout this novel. Set in a small and bleak Massachusetts town, the reader can feel the isolation, yearning, and poverty like humid air. The harsh winters set the novel’s despairful tone and the implied effects on the characters who live through them.
“Guess he’s been in Starkfield too many winters.”
Overall, I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s the perfect story to read on a snowy day. In the future, I’ll be rereading this book during the winter. Wharton’s passages about winter are some of my favorites from Ethan Frome. If you love tragedies and winter, you'll definitely enjoy this book.
"And there were other sensations, less definable but more exquisite, which drew them together with a shock of silent joy: the cold red of sunset behind winter hills, the flight of cloud-flocks over slopes of golden stubble, or the intensely blue shadows of hemlocks on sunlit snow."
I enjoyed innumerable aspects of Ethan Frome but the writing is my favorite part. I wish to bottle up Edith Wharton’s prose and add drops to my morning coffee. I’m obsessed with her evocative imagery, dramatic structures, and simple but elegant diction.
“But at sunset the clouds gathered again, bringing an earlier night, and the snow began to fall straight and steadily from a sky without wind, in a soft universal diffusion more confusing than the gusts and eddies of the morning. It seemed to be a part of the thickening darkness, to be the winter night itself descending on us layer by layer.”
Wharton creates a gloomy ambiance throughout this novel. Set in a small and bleak Massachusetts town, the reader can feel the isolation, yearning, and poverty like humid air. The harsh winters set the novel’s despairful tone and the implied effects on the characters who live through them.
“Guess he’s been in Starkfield too many winters.”
Overall, I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s the perfect story to read on a snowy day. In the future, I’ll be rereading this book during the winter. Wharton’s passages about winter are some of my favorites from Ethan Frome. If you love tragedies and winter, you'll definitely enjoy this book.
"And there were other sensations, less definable but more exquisite, which drew them together with a shock of silent joy: the cold red of sunset behind winter hills, the flight of cloud-flocks over slopes of golden stubble, or the intensely blue shadows of hemlocks on sunlit snow."
Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast by Oscar Wilde
4.5
Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast is a short and pleasurable read. It showcases Oscar Wilde’s adored wit and genius through a collection of witticisms. I loved how congenial Wilde’s points and statements were. I’ll be reading this book over and over. I cannot recommend it enough.
I annotated the entire book *sign of a slay* but here are some of my favorite quotes!
“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.”
“Are there not books that make us live more in one single hour than life can make us live in a score of shameful years?”
“The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for.”
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”
“It would be unfair to expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself.”
I annotated the entire book *sign of a slay* but here are some of my favorite quotes!
“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.”
“Are there not books that make us live more in one single hour than life can make us live in a score of shameful years?”
“The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for.”
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”
“It would be unfair to expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself.”
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
4.0
“This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure, and what a Man's resolution can achieve.”
The Woman in White is a sensational mystery. It’s one of the best Victorian novels I’ve read. It's densely plotted with the perfect use of gothic aesthetics. If you're not familiar with novels from this era, you may not like Collins's long-winded prose. I believe he does it well though.
"There, in the middle of the broad bright high-road—there, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven—stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments, her face bent in grave inquiry on mine, her hand pointing to the dark cloud over London, as I faced her."
Collins takes readers into deception, madness, love, and suspense. I loved the complexity of Collins's writing style. He effortlessly strung together one of the most intense plots. The narrative flows so well, that you will probably forget you’re reading!
“It was cold and barren. It was no longer the view that I remembered. The sunshine of her presence was far from me. The charm of her voice no longer murmured in my ear.”
The novel follows a teacher, Walter, and his encounter with a ‘woman in white’ who has escaped an asylum. To keep this review spoiler-free, that’s all I’ll say about the plot. However, I couldn’t have guessed where this story was going! Overall, I highly recommend this novel if you like intricate mysteries.
The Woman in White is a sensational mystery. It’s one of the best Victorian novels I’ve read. It's densely plotted with the perfect use of gothic aesthetics. If you're not familiar with novels from this era, you may not like Collins's long-winded prose. I believe he does it well though.
"There, in the middle of the broad bright high-road—there, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven—stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments, her face bent in grave inquiry on mine, her hand pointing to the dark cloud over London, as I faced her."
Collins takes readers into deception, madness, love, and suspense. I loved the complexity of Collins's writing style. He effortlessly strung together one of the most intense plots. The narrative flows so well, that you will probably forget you’re reading!
“It was cold and barren. It was no longer the view that I remembered. The sunshine of her presence was far from me. The charm of her voice no longer murmured in my ear.”
The novel follows a teacher, Walter, and his encounter with a ‘woman in white’ who has escaped an asylum. To keep this review spoiler-free, that’s all I’ll say about the plot. However, I couldn’t have guessed where this story was going! Overall, I highly recommend this novel if you like intricate mysteries.