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izasballad's reviews
330 reviews
Heartless by Elsie Silver
3.0
I enjoyed this right off the bat. The characters felt more fleshed out than in previous installments, and their interactions were both witty and heartwarming. I love the chemistry between them and the dynamics with all the characters in the story. The epilogue was so sweet, especially with the Willa and Luke scene!! Unfortunately, the latter part of the book included a twist that felt too forced for me. I'm not against that trope when executed well, but in this case, it just didn't. I understand the reason for including it, but I would have liked this more if that didn't happen. Overall, I still enjoyed this and it makes me want to read more from this series. I need more from this family!!
The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig
5.0
With such beautiful prose and subtlety, Stefan Zweig perfectly captures the complexity of human experiences and emotions. Since this is a posthumous work, the ending may be abrupt, but I think it was just right. The unknown invites introspection. It invites people to grapple with the themes of unfulfillment, social class, and happiness. It shows the lengths people would go to achieve their desires. It was such an amazing exploration of human conditions and experiences.
Christine, a post office clerk, has lived in poverty with her mother all her life. She portrays a life of unfulfilled dreams and hopelessness. A sudden invitation from her wealthy aunt offered her a glimpse into a world of opulence she had only imagined. A week of freedom in her newfound world had left her disillusioned, her previously held beliefs crumbling beneath her— her reality feels more heavy than she had ever experienced.
The novel highlights the fragility of happiness and the corrosive power of wealth. The transformation of Christine is exhilarating but tragic. Christine started hopeless with her condition, accepted it as is, and was even scared to go on a vacation; scared of entering the other side of the unknown world. However, when she gets a taste of freedom, she starts to yearn for it more than ever. The abrupt transition from poverty to wealth exposes Christine to the harsh realities of social inequality. She went from not remembering what it felt like to be happy to living with such happiness she had never experienced before. Confronted with the privilege others have that she yearns to attain, the haunting question of "Why not me?" lingers.
Zweig has cemented himself as one of my favorite authors. His ability to delve into the complexities of the human psyche is just amazing.
Christine, a post office clerk, has lived in poverty with her mother all her life. She portrays a life of unfulfilled dreams and hopelessness. A sudden invitation from her wealthy aunt offered her a glimpse into a world of opulence she had only imagined. A week of freedom in her newfound world had left her disillusioned, her previously held beliefs crumbling beneath her— her reality feels more heavy than she had ever experienced.
The novel highlights the fragility of happiness and the corrosive power of wealth. The transformation of Christine is exhilarating but tragic. Christine started hopeless with her condition, accepted it as is, and was even scared to go on a vacation; scared of entering the other side of the unknown world. However, when she gets a taste of freedom, she starts to yearn for it more than ever. The abrupt transition from poverty to wealth exposes Christine to the harsh realities of social inequality. She went from not remembering what it felt like to be happy to living with such happiness she had never experienced before. Confronted with the privilege others have that she yearns to attain, the haunting question of "Why not me?" lingers.
Zweig has cemented himself as one of my favorite authors. His ability to delve into the complexities of the human psyche is just amazing.
Flawless by Elsie Silver
2.0
Unfortunately, I found this bland. I had high hopes for this, but the execution fell short. While there were moments of interest, certain plot points and backstories felt underdeveloped. I would have enjoyed it more if the characters had been explored in greater depth. The narrative felt flat due to an absence of vivid imagery. The author primarily told the story rather than showing it. Will I still read the next books? Yes, because I've experienced reading a series in the past where I disliked the first book but absolutely loved the next ones! (Hoping for the same case for this series)
Stoner by John Williams
4.0
This was such a remarkable poignant read. It is definitely a quiet and subtle novel. We follow Stoner as he lives his life, from his academic career, relationship with his wife and daughter, affair, and to his very last breathing moments. Stoner was such a flawed character which made him so much real. We were able to see the profound impacts of his actions and beliefs. This book is full of introspection as it explores love, loss, the meaning of life, and such. I found myself having an existential battle in my head. There were things in the book that I wished were delved into more, but since we are seeing things from Stoner's perspective, I'll let it pass. For such mundane and ordinary experiences, Williams was able to explore and reflect on the depth of human emotions. The prose was able to give life to these moments. It is a very simple read but with beautiful existential meanings.
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
3.0
SUCH A CUTE ROMCOM BOOK. I didn't raise my expectations for this since I knew right away it would be the typical cliche book. But I needed to read a light book after all the heavy books, and it did its job. I would like to see this as a movie (a proper one).
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
3.0
This book was good! It's such a nice light feel-good comedy book, but I got so lost along the way with everything that was happening. I think I would have enjoyed it more as a film or series (It would be like Crazy Rich Asians but with a twist). It was absurd, but I think this book doesn't really rely on realistic events anyway.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
2.0
This book is slow-burn, kinda boring and pretty cliché. I don’t like slow-burn, so I wasn’t expecting much, but it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would. I wasn’t really interested in their story until the latter chapters. It was fun reading about their writer’s block and writing processes though. I’m not really a fan of the book though.
Spoiler
However, the letter of the father made me tear up a bit. Perhaps, it’s because anything father-related makes me cry.
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon
3.0
This is such a cute book!!!! A very light quick read. I didn’t actually feel the rivalry of the characters; it wasn’t the academic enemies to lovers book I was hoping for. Nevertheless, it was still a very good book. The storyline of Rowan falling in love gets me giddy, and the overall story gave me butterflies.
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
2.0
I was not a big fan of the book. It was a book I had trouble reading because of how uninterested I am (I even thought of not finishing it). I guess it was an okay book, at best. There was no tension at all, and they went from 0-100. It felt so slow at first, then suddenly it went so fast. It felt really flat. Maybe, I just wasn't really interested with the characters nor the plot.
The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
4.0
This book was so heart wrenching and painful to read. Right off the bat, I already felt like crying. It is so heavy, and it pains me to read everything that happened in the book. Seeing Eden struggle for years was so sad. This book really captured the emotions, and it brought awareness to the trauma people like Eden have gone through. At first, the ending felt kind of rushed, but I guess, it makes much more sense to end it that way. To hope.