Alright, last one’s the one that sticks. There have been some really fun discoveries, some confirmations that books are not for me (and warnings should be heeded), but ultimately, the experiment is coming to a close with some of the most interesting options… let’s go!
I read this in one sitting. It was so easy to get through and so much fun to watch the plot unfold. The holiday feel, along with the arguing fake dating/married, as well as emotional turmoil thrown in was a great combination. I was hooked and enjoyed the ride. I don’t usually Like miscommunication but felt it made sense in this story. I thought some of Ethan’s progress was slow and clunky at times, but since we didn’t really see his POV I was okay with shrugging that off and excusing some things as seeing through only Olives eyes. The obligatory “third act break up” moment felt earned due to the stakes and it didn’t annoy me as much as the ones that don’t seem to flow with the story or character growth. It felt like a natural progression of what was happening in the story, rather than a plot device. Hooray🥳 Flirty and fun, along with emotional drama… what else can you ask for?
This was a long one. Almost 700 pages long. I honestly thought there was no way a story needed to be that long, but when you consider that there were around 3 different stories crammed into one world, time and setting, it made sense. It was well written, the magic system and world building was very good, and I enjoyed the varying characters. I do think if the books were split into more, rather than cram this much into so few, it would have been easier to consume. Having said that, lots of books out there exist that are longer than this, and it is the first extremely long book I’ve read. With a bit of scouting on the follow up book, I’m not sure what to think of where this story is going, but I am intrigued.
Just to clarify why this book is on the list. It’s not because there were content warnings that would have stopped me from reading it, but more that it came from a Booktoker (who I liked) and I didn’t know what that would mean for the writing.
Aside from a few words or sentences that felt unusual or out of place, I thought this book was well written and pretty good. There wasnt anything that felt particularly original, but it was still an enjoyable read overall. The characters were pretty Meh, but I understood their motives and decisions for the most part. I liked the ending as well.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Grumpy sunshine with a Disney park type background was really fun. I thought the character development was pretty well done. The plot thread in the other brothers in a way that I am excited for their stories.
Spicier than I would normally go for, but I zoomed past those bits and what I was left with was an incredibly uptight and annoying guy who is enchanted by a sunshine bubbly woman. I liked the push-pull of it.
Stopped about 1/4 through. I was not enjoying this at all. Every book written in this time period especially ones that focus on women as main characters, Is super pessimistic and negative. People were actually still happy in the 50s and 60s. Everything was marred by sexism, feminism, Racism etc. Elizabeth and Calvin did nothing but lie to each other and keep secrets from each other. I don’t even know why they were together in the first place. Rowing seemed random and didn’t have a place in the story except for the author just to talk about rowing. There were point of view breaks but for some reason we didn’t often change point. Breaks usually signify time period changing or a point of view changing, but mostly it just felt random and Didn’t really Have a purpose that I could see. We don’t know why we got the point of view of a dog, but we did. There was a very pessimistic opinion of Christians in this book, even though not all Christians are bad. Christians did a lot for the world that was good, This book was intent on deciding that God and Christians were not a good thing. Finally, I came looking for a book about a scientist who did a cooking show and made that work for her, I was still waiting for that story.
Every time I’ve done one of these challenges, I have been surprised. Am I sad that there are books with content warnings that I’m never going to read? Yes. Am I also happy to stick to my boundaries with reading again? Also yes. I will say though, I might start letting a book slide here and there if the story sounds irresistible 🙂
With the seemingly endless interest in the letters 6/7, I thought that even though I don’t understand why that is still funny (I understand the background with songs, famous people, and all the rest that came after it), I can maybe provide some lovely Biblical 6/7 into the conversation! I’m listing out all the Chapter 6 Verse 7 Scripture verses here for you! Old Testament is first, and it’s a doozy.
As I went through this exercise, I realised that each 6:7 verse had a flow into the other, and the ultimate story of scripture. In light of that, I have posted the entire 6:7 journey as an uninterrupted section of reading, then the individual verses below with a little bit of context of what was happening in each section.
So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created – and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that movealong the ground – for I regret that I have made them. “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the LORD, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication, they are consecrated to the LORD.Impress them (Scripture) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk alongthe road, when you lie down and when you get up.
And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”When the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yolked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God. In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quality were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.With Meraioth the father of Amariah, Amariah the father of Ahitub. “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.”
Estimated Reading Time of this Section: 8min
The Beginning: Judgement, Rescue, and Covenant
Genesis 6:7
So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created – and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that movealong the ground – for I regret that I have made them.”
This verse seems pretty harsh, until you take into account the context around it. This is around the time of Noah and the flood, and the people had been corrupted to such a point that evil was the normal, and good was almost non-existent. A world where people did whatever they wanted, killed, assaulted, did horrible evil towards each other and the world around them. God looked down at what He had made and realised things had gone too far, far enough that nothing could fix it, but to wipe it out and start almost from the beginning. Only Noah and his family were left, along with the animals that made it onto the ark.
Exodus 6:7
I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
What a different experience from Genesis 6:7 – this time, we see God setting apart His people and saving them from the slavery oppression they were under as HIS.
Leviticus 6:7
In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the LORD, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.
Now that God’s people are back with Him, He has made a way that they can stay clean enough to have relationship with Him. A priest makes atonement for them, to make sure they can still remain in relationship with him – a foreshadowing of what Jesus will do later as the ultimate High Priest who will make atonement once and for all (but not for a little while yet).
Numbers 6:7
Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication , they are consecrated to the LORD.
We see instructions on how some of the Israelites are supposed to be. This starts explaining how they should be reacting from a dead body and ultimately this passage explores how they need to remain clean and away from things that are dead (the old has passed away, and the new is here!)
Deuteronomy 6:7
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk alongthe road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Not only having the Word of God on your own heart, but sharing it with your children is very important. Sharing with them the stories of how God came through for His people time and time again, the ways that he outlines are a good way to live and will lead to a life that honours Him and His ways – this is what we’re talking about in Deuteronomy.
Entering the Land and Learning to Trust
Joshua 6:7
And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”
To break down the walls of Jericho (a stronghold.. equally applicable in your life), the army of Israel was ordered to march around the city WITH the ark of God, which was where His presence was housed. They had to march into battle armed with His presence and the law of God (or, the Word/Scriptures as it were). We are called to do this today as well.
Judges 6:7
When the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Now, admittedly I did add verse 8 into this one because verse 7 was very short and ended halfway through a sentence, however the sentiment still stands. God reminds His people of what He has done for them in the past, how He has rescued them, and how He will rescue them again in times of trouble (even when that trouble doesn’t look exactly the same as last time).
1 Samuel 6:7
“Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yolked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
What an unusual verse to see out of the blue. This section of 1 Samuel is talking about the Ark of God returning to Israel. They are making preparations on how they need to return the Ark (the place the presence of God and reminders of what He has done for His people) is to come back into their hands. Qualifications were required – that is how Holy God really is! And why what Jesus did to stop the separation between us and God was so important.
2 Samuel 6:7
The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
Woah – again, we see just how important it was to do things the way that God commanded. As they bring the Ark back to God’s people, someone who was not able to reach out to where God’s presence was located was killed because of it. In the presence of someone that Holy, we just cannot compete. Praise God that we have Jesus to bridge the gap today.
The Temple and the Kings
1 Kings 6:7
In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quality were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.
God called for only the best to be used to showcase His glory and power through the building of his temporary resting place – the building of the temple. It showed the other people around the Israelites who God was, and how He was to be treated. Like royalty and worthy of high praise and adoration.
2 Kings 6:7
“Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
Okay, another one that sounds a little strange without the context around it. This story is happening with Elisha, a big and important prophet in Scripture. A man who is assisting Elisha looses an ax in the Jordan river, and is very worried because it was a borrowed tool. This would have led to retribution, and possibly not a nice time of it. When Elisha threw a stick into the water, it made the iron float and the man was able to reach out and get the borrowed axe, no need for any confrontation or bad outcome. God protects those who work for His kingdom, and this is a lovely reminder of that fact.
1 Chronicles 6:7
Meraioth the father of Amariah, Amariah the father of Ahitub
Okay, here’s another weird one. We have a genealogy that is listed in 1 Chronicles right smack dab in the middle of the 6:7 verse. So, why are genealogies important? Lineage proved rights. It showed that you had the right to get the inheritance of those that came before you. In Jesus’ case, it also proved his legitimacy as the messiah. In this instance, we see the lineages of the tribes of Levi – the priesthood tribe, which Jesus later took over the responsibilities of as the ultimate High Priest.
2 Chronicles 6:7
“My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.”
Here, we see Solomon wanting to build what David never could, a more permanent house for the presence of God. David had the architectural plans, but because of all the people he had killed in the commission of wars, God decided he could not build the place of his presence. Instead, his son Solomon, who asked God for wisdom beyond any man (and who still failed in his life… the joys of being human), was the one to finally reach the goal.
This is only the first part of the Old Testament! How incredible, because there is still half to go, and then we see the New Testament. I will share the books that are not included in this list at the end of Part Two because not all of them had a 6:7 to share.
I am so excited to see what the next part has in store!
I have challenged myself to do something that I’m not actually fully convinced is going to happen… to read 7 books, in 7 days. That means I’ll need to read one book every day for a week to complete this challenge. Let’s see if we made it.
As part of my reading books without paying attention to my normal content warnings, I gave this one a go… I’m glad I did.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Grumpy sunshine with a Disney park type background was really fun. The look into running something like that was very interesting, and while there are documentary style pieces about what it’s like working at a park like Disney, this was a deeper look into a potential world that could exist (minus the grumpy and temporary man in charge all of a sudden looking to head a project with a deadline). I thought the character development was pretty well done. The plot thread in the other brothers in a way that I am excited for their stories.
Honestly, this book was forgettable for me, and the only reason I kept reading it was because of this challenge.
I don’t know why exactly you should root for people who clearly dislike each other so strongly to push aside that feeling and admit their attraction to each other, but here we are. If the “hate” was dialled down a little more, I would have bought into it a little more. Still, I see what we were going for and it was fine.
Okay, so I’ll admit to a semi-cheat for this one, as I’d already read through around 1/4 before I came back to it, but due to so little of it being read beforehand (and how much I wanted to finish the book) I’m going to count it! Took me by surprise, Reminded me of The Suite life on Deck if they were doing extreme sports. Outside of the Instant attraction these 2 people seemed to have 21 another, It didn’t really see why they would want to spend time together outside of when they had to. I don’t know how Realistic it felt for people to build a foundation based only on attraction. I did like the trying to find the person sabotaging angle, I enjoyed the extreme sports and the way it tied into the cruise ship around the world and the university experience, And I thought the characters Made sense and their motivations and decisions also seem to lineup with who they were written as In general.
I don’t know quite what I was expecting with this book, but after enjoying the Illuminae files series so much, I decided to give it a go and I quite liked it.
I liked this “if Die Hard were on mars” type story as the two main characters were thrown together in a live or die countdown. It felt a little rushed at the end, and I could have had a bit more of that fleshed out, but I quite enjoyed it. The book was short enough and exciting enough that I could see myself reading it again in the future.
I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this book, but I’ve tried reading a RF Kuang book before and I didn’t get very far… this was a different story!
I was invested from page one for this book and the increased unhinged mind of the main character grew until the very end of the story in a believable way without being too trite. The commentary on race wasn’t too in your face, and seemed quite natural in this story and setting.
Alright, so I did technically do it again. I had already read through 1/3 or so of this book previously, but it was so long ago, and I had been having so much trouble to actually finish this book, that if I hadn’t included it in this challenge, I don’t know if I would have ever finished it so… no regrets.
While I really enjoyed the first book, this one was hard to get through. I think the gambit in book 1was just a bit more interesting, and better laid out than the challenges in this book. I spent some of this book not absorbing much, and not caring much. The stakes didn’t feel as compelling, but it was still interesting to see the different heists unfold.
Okay, this might seem like a cheat, but I maintain that Manga is still reading! So… yep, we did it!
Loved the design, the plot itself was okay but the first volume didn’t do anything particularly engaging just yet. I would be mildly interested to see where the plot goes, but had a lot of fun with the animation.
Well, that was a very interesting challenge to create for myself. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it, but it helped that I was immersive reading (audio and physical book at the same time) for about half of these. Guess it goes to show that you can read a book quickly if you don’t have much else going on 🙂
Have you read any of these books? Share your thoughts on them in the comments.
I’m not going to lie, but I was SUPER excited when I saw the ads for this movie being released because Project Hail Mary was a favourite of mine from Andy Weir… Here we go! Careful reading below because SPOILERS!
I originally read this book back when it came out, but I decided to forge ahead with the movie with only a few years old memory of the actual book. Once I watched it, however, I had to go back and read it properly to compare. This time, though, I was able to listen to the audiobook.
Audiobook Advantage
The whole reason the book had been recommended to me was apparently because of how good the audio was, and for Rocky’s sake, I have to agree!
How Faithful Was The Adaptation?
The movie did a great job at sticking pretty closely with the book, particularly the first 2/3 of the story. The last third condensed the science and for the sake of the screen time, thank you all. It didn’t take away from the story very much doing it that way, and because they had done such a great job with the rest of the adaptation, it was forgivable and didn’t feel too smooshed as it can with some movies that do this.
The Rocky Reveal Problem
I was disappointed when I saw the trailer that Rocky was such a focus, because when you read the book, EVERYONE kept that a secret. You found out about Rocky as Grace did after a portion of the book as a big surprise. I understand why the trailer focussed on it, and Rocky is such a fun character that after the initial shock that the audience wasn’t going to get a fun surprise like Grace did, I was okay with it.
My Biggest Change From the Book
I felt like Ryan did a really good job at playing Grace on screen, but I don’t really know why we got a more humanised version of Stratt. She’s supposed to be unlikable. That’s the point. I don’t know why Hollywood is obsessed with trying to make people more likeable at the detriment of the ‘bad guy’ feel they are supposed to have. I know people like to think that deep down the troubled villains are just tortured, but sometimes people are just bad. They just let the evil win, and there’s not much we can do to excuse or to explain it away (speak to a psychopathic serial killer one day and then say people are just complicated). Having said that, Stratt wasn’t some sociopathic killer, but she didn’t need that much humanisation in my opinion. She could have just remained the character she was on page (who, by the by, did explain why she made the decisions she did and they did make sense… we just didn’t need the warm and fuzzies to round it out).
The Visual Experience
Seeing the visual of things that were explained in the book was amazing. I loved being able to see not just an interpretation of Rocky, but the ships and the story unfolding. I think they did a great job at making the movie look good visually. This story was made to be visual, and I enjoyed it a lot.
So… Did the Book or Movie Win?
So, the final question remains, did the book or the movie win out as the best? Well, the book explored a lot more science, a lot more inner dialogue and emotion, as books often do. However, the movie was able to show some of the incredible visuals of this story and explore another side that the book couldn’t. I actually think I’m calling a tie, because I was so impressed with how the movie handled the story. If I HAD to pick, the book would probably squeak by, simply because of the additional details it was able to bring (and there’s more Rocky in there than the movie!).
The first in this series did great, the second was a flame out, but what about the third? I’m reading books from Booktok and Booktube while throwing out my normal reading rules. I don’t usually like explicit scenes or darker themes, certain trigger/content warnings put a book out of the running, but we’re ignore those rules and trying out these books to see if they’re worth it.
Wasnt expecting a war between “gods” and that is not something I was interested to read. The conflict of fighting journalists was resolved before the end of the book…. it was the whole reason I came and I wasn’t interested to see the new direction of the story afterwards. Didn’t finish this one.
Ridiculous, horrendous, hilarious. The idea is so preposterously amazing that I absolutely loved it. Even amongst the dark, very intense moments and ideas, the humour made it enjoyable. Something that would otherwise be horrible, somehow is now incredible. I now officially want a cat to win and rule the world… yup.
A bit slow to start for me but once it got going, I had a lot of fun. Hearing someone else’s thoughts until you write the song that plagues you both was such a fun idea. Part Music and Lyrics, this was laced also with dementia and family history.
While some of this book was genuinely hilarious, I thought Christopher was the most insufferable, selfish, entitled, un redeemable asshole that didn’t deserve jack! I don’t understand why she liked or chose him. He had literally zero redeemable moments. In fact, the idea that he was semi nice to a kid on the streets of Spain was NOT enough. He was a dick regardless. The story really was a love story between him and this kid because he didn’t do squat for the woman he supposedly loved, but then when this kid needs him, he’s willing to change it all. Nope. Why did she even bother with him? He didn’t have any character development or emotional intelligence upgrades. He started as an ass, and he ended as an ass. I wasn’t rooting for him whatsoever and she deserved better.
I loved the style that this book was in, loved the way The story unfolded, Just everything. I dont normally read something like this, But I’m so glad I made an exception. Because of the format, it was different and way more engaging for me. I was yelling at the book and my jaw dropped to the floor so many times as things happened. I was absolutely enthralled the entire time.
I think this was the first challenge where I found a five star book! And one that came remarkably close. Honestly, this round was a mixed bag, but some hit the mark and others fell flat. I think this back and forth has convinced me to hang up the hat.. or…..
Let’s do it one more time!
Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you thought.
It’s time! Book vs Movie, and I finally got around to Ready Player One. I have been sitting on this one for a while, but after watching half the movie, I was forced to halt it out of annoyance. So, let’s talk about it. Before we do though, spoilers! You’ve been warned.
The Ready Player One movie was drastically different than the book. Some of the decisions I understood for logistics purposes, and others… I don’t quite know what the point was. Let’s go over some of the major differences, and then decide which won the battle – the book, or the movie.
The Biggest Difference: The Team Dynamic
The way the “team” found each other was interesting. The book was clear (on many occasions) that the hunt for the keys and the egg was a solo venture. There weren’t many teams or clans that got together for the honour, it was everyone for themselves. In the movie, they were a team from almost the beginning. They somehow already knew Daito and Shoto, and they worked together in the online world (The Oasis) and the real world. This was a large difference from the book. Wade spends almost the entire book by himself in the real world, and sometimes engaging with the other players in the Oasis. There was no kidnapping in the book, and the team did not meet IRL like that, especially not so early on. I will say, this made sense if you wanted to give the real life actors more chance to actually have screen time as themselves, but it was still quite a difference.
The Challenges Were Completely Changed
Timelines are always screwed up in the movies, sometimes because of condensing for a 1.5-2 hour movie, and sometimes because they wanted to focus on something specific from the book that they could delve into for the film medium. This one had things placed in very unusual spots. For example, talking about artefacts very early on, when it wasn’t really relevant yet and the book didn’t bring it up for a long time afterwards.
The challenges themselves were ALL different. Nothing from the original book challenges survived. No car races in the book, no Shining anythings, and the game challenge at the very end, while closer than the others, was still wrong. There was nothing about the challenges in the movie that was bad, they were just pointlessly different. The whole idea of the book is to geek out about video games, but the movie shied away from this for some reason. There were some really cool things in the book that would have been great in a movie, like the characters having to act out specific movies to get to a certain place… they just didn’t decide to include them.
What the Movie Added (and Changed)
Some things were very movie specific, like Wade’s fame, Clark Kent glasses disguise, Artemis’ dad’s backstory, and the fact that Daito and Shoto were actually present IRL. In the book, they’re in another country so this doesn’t really translate (but again, for the sake of human actors being in film as themselves, it makes sense). Super spoiler, but not all the characters actually survive IRL in the book – the movie decided on the Hollywood ending where everyone lives. I also didn’t feel like the movie spent enough time with Wade and Samatha (Artemus) for the ‘love’ storyline to feel real. The book happened over a lot longer period, with the characters spending a lot more time together (granted, most of it was in the OASIS and they didn’t actually meet for real until almost the end of the whole book).
The movie also saw a lot more from Sorrento’s POV. We got a lot of his side of things, actually, in the film. Not a bad thing, and it certainly added drama, though the ending was a little… unnecessary in my opinion. (We’ll come back to the ending in a bit)
The IOI & Indenture Storyline
The IOS indenture situation was insanely different. The point of this in the book was that Wade specifically got a ton of debt so he could get pulled into that ‘prison system’ and hack them from the inside to be able to shut them down and win. For some reason, the movie decided that Artemus should be the one to be pulled into that, and certainly not on purpose to hack anything. Then, when she was inside but free, she decided to stay and work from the inside to help them in the big battle at the end. This was nowhere in the book. Another example of the movie taking elements from the book and twisting it into something pretty different. It was almost like watching shadows of the real story, but pulled into something new.
The old business partner of Halliday (Og) was interesting. In the book, he grabs the people IRL and helps them by giving them a safe place to try and get the final key (and thus, the egg) because he believed in the idea behind the game. The stakes for the kids winning was a lot higher in the book, and thus, his help was a lot more meaningful. In contrast, he’s barely in the movie and really only pops up towards the end (or at least, you see him pop up). Not sure why they made this change.
Let’s Talk About the Ending
Now, let’s talk about the two main elements of the ending: The van chase, and the way that Wade won the whole thing.
The Van: I don’t know why there was a van chase in the movie, instead of them being able to get away from the Sixers who were trying to kill them and just focus on playing the final part of the challenge. I suppose, drama. It felt oddly unnecessary though.
Wade’s Extra Life: Now, in the book there is an artefact that is used which basically wipes out everyone in the vicinity and they’re dead. Like, dead, dead. You have to start again from nothing in the Oasis after that. This was the Sixers final death blow if they thought they couldn’t win, and someone else was going to. Like a nuke. Earlier in the book, Wade finds a pac-man machine. He’s hoping it was relevant to the game, but turns out the only thing he did after winning a perfect game, was get a coin that didn’t make sense. It didn’t seem to do anything and wasn’t related to the game at all. That coin, was an extra life. It saved him from the ‘nuke’ and he was able to get the last key when everyone else had died. I am impressed that the film still kept a version of this, however, the way he was given the coin waaaaaay back in the film, was so random that it wasn’t even something that entered your mind as relevant. At least in the book, you could store away that he had a coin that he didn’t understand from the Pac-man machine. This was just such a throw away moment in the movie that when this was revealed, it actually made me mad, rather than say ‘ooooh I see what you did there’.
The ending with the bad guys IRL, the way the team all lived, how things ended up afterwards, even the interaction with Halliday in the Oasis… it was all different but with no real reason that I could see as to why. Why change it? Who knows. Because you could, I suppose.
Final Verdict: Book vs Movie
So, those were some of the major things different and contrasting from the book to the movie. It was almost like watching something unrelated to each other. I don’t know why some of the changes and choices were made… but they were.
The book actually hooked me in, I was engaged and loved the little geek references that were scattered throughout. I actually felt the danger and the stakes were high and understood. The relationships were earned, and felt better rounded. Honestly, the book was WAY better than the movie. If I wasn’t going to do this post, I wouldn’t have finished the film. For the sake of science, however, I have done it just for you.
I normally have rules on what I read to make sure that I’m not giving myself the ick, or going to places in my imagination that I don’t want to be in.. but I’m throwing out the rules and reading whatever I’ve heard about on Booktok that I can find at the second hand stores!
Last time, this experiment was extremely successful, and I walked away with some bangers! Let’s see if this was just as good…
I did not finish this one, but made it about 30% of the way through.
It started to get creepy, and while I was somewhat engaged in the mystery, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat enough to overlook some of that. There were also some pretty intense trigger warnings like un-aliving and self harm, so it was an easy DNF for me.
Wow. Intense explicit scenes including not full consent. Also, working your way through sleeping with a bunch of brothers is an interesting plot… but why? This one was not for me, and I ended up making it a lot further than I thought I would at around 30%, but it was a no from me.
I made it through the prologue and one page of chapter 1 before putting this one down. Yeah, I might have been open to something a little darker than normal, but this one was giving so much creepy ick that I just had to say no. Shame.
Written in a way that keeps the story flowing enough that you want to see how the characters handle things and how it will all play out. Writing is nice. Content is questionable. Explicit scenes but between two people who treat each other terribly. They are mean, manipulative, punitive, and toxic. Why would you want two characters like that to have a romantic attachment just because of a physical attraction?
Welp, that one was less successful than last time… Lots more DNF options and things that stepped over the line of even the ‘throw out the rules’ idea. Perhaps this should be the last one of these I do….
Haha – nah! I still want to try again, so let’s see if next time we can get more amazing reads, or if the DNF train will continue 🙂
Have you read any of these (maybe all the way through)? Let me know what you thought of them.
Normally, I avoid certain books (especially from Booktok or Booktube) because of content or trigger warnings. There are some books too explicit, too dark, too much with an ick of mine… but this time, I threw out all the rules.
I decided to read books that people swear are amazing, and ignore all my normal rules for reading – triggers and all! Let’s see if it was worth it 🙂
Having this many POV can sometimes be a bit messy, but I think this was really well done. It added such incredible drama to the story, I love to jump in and out of people’s perspectives, plus when everybody in a heist is in a different spot as part of the team layout like this is necessary. I liked everyone. All the characters in their own ways were fantastic, they interacted with each other really well, and the plot moved forward with these character dynamics in mind. The actual heist/prison break itself was really well done. I enjoyed the setup, the planning, the execution, and everything in between. The magic system was quite good, it was a bit of a spin on the normal type of abilities you can see in people. I like the way that this particular system spun things, and I would love to see more.
Wow. I wasn’t gonna read a book by Colleen but I’m really glad I chose this one. Even though there are some pretty intense themes in the story, I really enjoyed most of this. There is a little bit of trauma bonding, but a lot of really funny and cute moments as well. I was a lot more invested than I thought I would be. I liked the characters and the plot – it was really engaging.
I really wish this was not as spicy as it was, because I really liked this book. I don’t usually like spice however I was reading this as part of a challenge. The dynamics with the characters in this book was so fun to watch unfold. They were hilarious, I enjoyed the plot but it’s definitely a romance book that focuses on characters which was fine. I loved the characters. I had so much fun and I was giggling so often that if anyone else was home, they would’ve thought I was crazy.
This book was not what I expected. There was some parts of that I really liked, like looking into the Hollywood in the golden age. I also appreciated how candid the character of Evelyn Hugo was, and the way the relationship with Monique was explored. I understand what the book was doing, but if I knew that going in, I probably wouldn’t have read it. Pretty well written, pretty interesting the way the plot was expressed, and pretty engaging characters.
I think this experiment was a success! For the most part, I got great books, some of which taking me by utter surprise! While I am happy that I opened up my expectations for this, I’m not sure if I will keep going…
Just kidding – let’s do it again!
Have you read any of these? Let me know what you thought of them.
You must be logged in to post a comment.