joshlynjavier's reviews
96 reviews

Euphoria by Lily King

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 he is wine and bread and deep in my stomach. 

a kaleidoscope of the human condition in all of its raw beauty. 

historical fiction and an anthropologist love triangle set in the 1930s. the atmosphere and prose was so vivid and fluid, and the characters were all authentically complicated and nuanced. the dangerous consequences of fascination, appreciation, appropriation, and obsession are explored both through the romantic relationships and the main characters relationships with the tribes they study. 

nell's experience as a passionate, ambitious, and intelligent woman in an unfortunate relationship with a man - child who is threatened by her success was painful to read, but exploring the ways and reasons in which she stayed was very insightful and relevant even today. 

overall, very interesting commentary on work, passion, love, lust, possession, and the unexpected people we love and lose throughout life. 

not my favorite lily king book but in her defense, the bar is quite high. 

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina

lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.25

 time may pass, but the memory of the people we've loved doesn't grow old. it is only we who age 

 there was no addition or subtraction in life that did not require some time for adjustment 

 love is a miracle. even the second time around, even when it comes to you by mistake 

this book was the equivalent of eating a bowl of soup in your favorite sweater. such a peaceful, relaxing, and healing read. the heavy tones of grief and longing emphasize the significance of celebrating love, and appreciating who and what we have while we're able to. i really loved all the characters, and that's rare tbh. the plot also moves at an appropriate pace and i enjoyed the pace in which the relationships developed, they felt very natural and deserving. the

the strength and resilience it takes to embrace the chance of fulfillment and comfort even in the face of extreme tragedy is what makes us human, and allowing ourselves to trust and experience vulnerability again is a skill that we will develop and utilize for the rest of our lives. <333

Banal Nightmare by Halle Butler

dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

..but let's hang soon. i have a doctors appointment Tuesday, and I have to take my batteries to the recycling place and talk to my cousin on the phone, so maybe in like a week or something.

she was just a thirty seven year old little girl.

okay, what the fuck now? i went to fucking dinner and here i am again in my stupid little room, guess i'll sit on the couch and think about my stupid life. 

she stared blankly at the coeds, who laughed and screamed, blissfully unaware of what boredom and anguish were to come a mere decade in their lives

..she curled into a little ball and screamed into her blanket like a person serving an eternal sentence in solitary confinement, who'd just learned that the afterlife was real, and there would never truly be an end. 

i needed to take a second to really think how i felt after i finished this story, this book initially put me into a slump but definitely gave me a lot to think about after i had finished it. 
 
 halle butler’s sarcasm and dry humor definitely helped this otherwise grating read. the character were insufferable at times but in the best way possible, i enjoyed reading their intrusive thoughts. surprisingly, as dark as this read was, the satire about the absurdity and banality of everyday life was oddly comforting and i found the commentary on fulfillment and the pretentious air surrounding art/academics very entertaining. and refreshing. 
 
 the switching perspectives give an added layer of depth to this story. it’s a well executed trainwreck and i found the contradicting moments of self righteousness and self hatred to be incredibly ironic but unfortunately relatable, especially while going through any form of life crisis or transition. 
 
 would ultimately recommend but not without a few disclaimers regarding expectations. 
 
 thank you netgalley and random house for the digital advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest reviews and opinions! 

Y/N by Esther Yi

dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i actually did not know what was going on the entire time. this book is literally a train wreck fever dream that i weirdly enjoyed. 

themes of obsession, para-social relationships, depression, and different definitions of love. our y/n was literally delusional and i am glad i did not feel as if  we were interchangeable. 

What It's Like in Words: A Novel by Eliza Moss

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i hid the parts of myself that i didn't like and sometimes i wondered how much of me was left visible after that. 

sometimes the good bits of people aren't the rule, they're the exception.

because the way i love you is every definition, every dictionary, every translation.

 this book is like "tolerate it" by taylor swift if it was a full on novel and not a 3 minute song.
i'm beginning to feel like i can't read romance in general, whether it's a happy ending or sad ending. a cheesy/sappy story makes me feel like it's unrealistic, but a frustrating story makes me want to rip all of my hair out, like GIRL GET UP.

the manipulation and emotional whiplash made my head spin at times, and it's written with scary accuracy. i found myself second - guessing my stance every other chapter, the divisive line between right and wrong becoming dangerously blurred. how much of love is enduring, how much  of love is endurance?

the writing was incredibly beautiful and moving, and the intoxicating air of first love was captured so well. i really resonated with the exploration of the "cool girl" narrative and how suffocating it can be. while there was a lot of real character development that i  ultimately found satisfying, the bullshit she put up with and gaslighting felt juvenile at times  -- again, girl get up. 

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

interpretation can be profoundly disorienting, you can be so caught up in the minutiae of the act, in trying to maintain utmost fidelity to the words being spoken first by the subject and then by yourself, that you do not necessarily apprehend the sense of the sentences themselves: you literally do not know what you are saying. language loses its meaning.

overwhelmingly impersonal yet somehow so intimate. what do we turn our backs to? 

i'm not entirely sure how kitamura achieved the effect, but this quiet, ordinary story reveals so much about complex dynamics, power struggles, and the significance of language and interpretation as a medium for connection/understanding. what goes left unsaid can often speak more to a situation, rather than the explicit. i enjoyed the exploration of loneliness, isolation, displacement, and the invisible yet tangible sense of yearning. unlike others, i actually really enjoyed the main character's perspective and behavior. 

fair warning that this is not a plot-driven novel. it's a series of events and reflection examining beauty, authenticity, horrors, deceit, vulnerability, and power that's interwoven within every relationship we have. 

The Husbands by Chandler Baker

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

the gender inequality/second shift commentary was a bit too on the nose for me at times, but also pretty relevant and frustrating to see regardless. i think this is probably a super accurate description of how most wives and mothers feel lmao. the weaponized incompetence from men was honestly the scariest aspect of the book haha. 

i’ve read a good amount of mysteries and thrillers and this one fell a bit flat. the characters were boring and one dimensional, you could see the giant twist coming from a mile away, but i at least liked the very ending and could sympathize with the main character (even though i found her inconsistent and insufferable for like 80% of the book) 

Four Squares by Bobby Finger

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

3.5

then you make a new one. that’s how life works. you keep making choices until you’re dead.

maybe the only way you can have a better year is to make the decision to.

the act of remembering was a new moment, a new experience in itself.

as i’ve gotten older, i’ve realized that’s what so much of life is. just endlessly figuring out what is and isn’t for you.

sometimes life made perfect sense simply by living it. 

this book made the mundanity of life feel magnificent.

set in new york against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic, we see the dichotomy of sickness for those experiencing it, and those pretending to ignore the reality. this was a reminder to love fearlessly, and that it is a privilege to experience life with your people. 

a testament to new beginnings and a love letter to the complicated histories and relationships that make us, us. maybe growing old isn’t so bad, it’s never too late to make the most of what you’re given. even a story told in squares can come around full circle. 

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

 “the time i spend this way is quiet, but also exciting -- waiting for the person i love to arrive. it somehow feels incredibly luxurious to sit in your favorite coffee shop, reading a book, waiting for your boyfriend.”

“there were places i wanted to go and people i wanted to see. and there was a place that was always ready to welcome me back. i can’t think of anything more wonderful than that.”

“rather than trying to force open the door that she had wanted closed behind her, it made more sense to start by getting her to open it from her side.” 

“...i believed these gentle days would continue. and all the people i love would spend them laughing together. as we walked down the street at twilight, this is what i told myself, though i had no grounds to believe it.”

somehow even better than the original that i also really loved. 

life can be messy and overwhelming, and the growth and learning that comes hand in hand is a universal, never - ending human journey -- there’s no finish line or end goal. but in the morisaki bookshop, within the shelves of the quaint and cozy used bookstore, the complexities of life can be unraveled, and all the simplicities can be revealed. 

in each of the characters, there’s an exploration on the hesitations and difficulties with human connection, and how easy it can be to allow our previous traumas and heartbreaks to limit our new experiences and connections.  these stories are an encouragement of breaking down the walls we build around ourselves, and the courage it takes to be vulnerable and let other people in. 

i loved this book! thank you netgalley and harper perennial for providing me with a digital advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions. 

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

5.0

 “how do you feel all these heavy things for the rest of your life?” 

“it is not a question of if you survive this, but what beautiful things await you if you do” 

“so if you come on the worst day of your life, my hope is to catch you, to gently guide you back” 

“...i wrote and imagined my future down to the coffee bean, to the children’s books i will illustrate, the chickens i will have in my yard, the soft cotton linens, the sauce - dipped wooden spoons on the counter. the need for it come true according to plan was not important. the act of imagining it was.” 

the most affecting novel and memoir i’ve read in the last few years. i’m honestly still speechless, because there is nothing i can say that would do the beauty and vulnerability of this book any justice. this book was more than what was contained within the pages, and the force of it comes from experiencing this alongside chanel. i found myself enveloped in her journey even after i had put the book down. 

as a victim, this book gave me the validation to allow my trauma to lay somewhere comfortable and safe, but also gave me the courage to confront some of the scariest and worst parts of my experiences and journey. 

this is not a book about sexual assault or victimhood. it’s about humanity and incredible resilience. miller writes with so honesty and power and is living proof that you and you alone are entitled to what you make of your grief and pain: the most beautiful flowers can grow in even the harshest of conditions. 

as a friend of mine said: this book should be a required reading for everyone. i don’t think i’ll ever stop thinking about her story and my admiration for her and her art. the grace she extends towards herself and the universe even when her circumstances were so unkind is so inspiring, and i truly hope that she never forgets her power and what she’s done for victims everywhere. thank you for telling us your name, chanel miller.