Hi friends, hope you are doing well! This week has been a bit slow-paced because of getting my wisdom teeth removed, but I am excited to ramble about the reads from last week. I had my first five star review of the year, and I can’t wait to get into it!!📚🤗
Regretting you by Colleen Hoover:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was the first Colleen Hoover book I had ever read, and it did not disappoint. I was a bit worried that her books would be a bit overhyped, but I was glad that this was not the case (at least in regards to this book) I think that this book had a little bit in it for almost every kind of reader, there were romantic elements, scandal, death, and just real life events/relationships. I will however say that the synopsis located on the back of the book does give a few key elements, so if you are a reader that likes to be surprised I would recommend skipping the back. I really liked the complexity of the characters, and the fact that they all seemed human and flawed in their own way. The relationships throughout the book also seemed real and believable, if you have ever struggled with losing someone, familial relationships, or even romantic relationships, I think that you will find a bit of yourself in the characters, or at least a little bit of relatability in the story. I think the story and the characters were really well thought out as well, Hoover was able to create very multifaceted characters while also continuously adding value to the story. I also felt satisfied by the end of the novel, which is quite rare for me as a reader. I truly felt as though Hoover wrapped up almost every loose end by the end of the novel, and she did so in a way that felt well thought out and complete. The fact that there was a dual perspective I also think added to the story instead of taking away.
I will say that I would’ve been interested to have a bit more closure in regards to Clara’s Dad and Aunt, but I also can understand why that wasn’t meant to be the main focus of the story. I also think that it would’ve been interesting to see more of the past, or even gone a bit further into the present with the characters and their new relationships, but again I think that is just a me not wanting the story to end rather than an actual fault in the book.
Quotes in particular that stood out to me:
“I wonder if humans are the only living creatures that ever feel hollow inside. I don’t understand how my body can be full of everything bodies are full of-bones and muscles and blood and organs-yet my chest sometimes feels vacant, as if someone could scream into my mouth and it would echo inside me.”(1)
“And just like back then I don’t know if his disappointment is directed inward or outward.”(36)
“Sharing the same air with him sometimes felt stifling back then, like he was selfishly taking more of it than he needed and I was hardly left with any air at all.” (37)
“Find something to fill all the empty corners.”(49)
“Sometimes my chest feels hollow, as if I’ve lived a life with nothing significant enough to fill it. My heart is full, but that’s the only part of me that feels any weight.”(50)
“I used to collect snow globes when I was younger. They lined a shelf in my bedroom, and sometimes I would shake them up, one after the other, then sit on my bed and watch as the flurries and the flitter swirled around inside the glass eventually the contents inside the globe would begin to settle. All would grow still, and then the globes on my shelf would return to their quiet, peaceful states. I liked them because they reminded me of life. How sometimes it feels like someone is shaking the world around you, and things are flying at you from every direction, but if you wait long enough, everything will start to calm. I liked that feeling of knowing the storm inside always eventually settles.”(74)
“For some reason, sadness in music eases the sadness in my soul. Its like the worse the heartache in a song is, the better I feel.”(80)
“I’ve believed in you since the moment I met you. I believe in myself now that I’ve finally left you.”(143)
“Right after something tragic happens, you feel like you’ve fallen off a cliff. But after tragedy starts to sink in, you don’t realize you didn’t fall off of a cliff. you’re on an eternal roller coaster that just reached the bottom. Now it’s gonna be up and down and upside down for a long, long time. Maybe even forever.”(166)
“Grownups might not have their shit figured out anymore than we do. They just wear more convincing masks.”(205)
Overall: I would recommend this book. I hadn’t even left the first page before Hoover had me hooked by her words. I am really glad that this was my first taste of Colleen Hoover, and I definitely plan on ordering and reviewing more in the future.
Verity by Colleen Hoover:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well the future came a lot faster than I am sure you were expecting😂, but in all seriousness this was the Colleen Hoover book that I think I had heard/read the most about so I was was pretty excited to read this one. I must start with the fact that the thriller genre is not my favorite, so while I thought this was four stars, other readers might rate it the full five stars. I also must include that as expected in the thriller genre, this book does contain potentially sensitive or triggering material, so I would just proceed with caution or stop if it gets to be too much.⚠️
Random, but one of the first things I noticed was the quality of the book. The pages were nice and thick, and the print was nice and large. Overall, it was a very beautifully designed book. With that said let’s get into the actual story.
I think that the plot overall, had a good mixture of predictability, while also having some twists that left you with an uneasy feeling. I again liked the different perspectives Hoover incorporated, I think that the mixture of Lowen’s perspective as well as the incorporation of Verity’s writing was an interesting addition. I do however feel as though there were things added to the story that were a little bit unnecessary as they didn’t really add that much to the story, and they never were really resolved, especially in regards to Lowen and her storyline especially growing up. I think that the book is a quick read in the sense that it starts out pretty strong, the first day I started I read about 60 pages, and then after my procedure I read the rest in one sitting. So I will say that once you get to a certain point you are almost so simultaneously curious and disturbed that you can’t help but continue. I don’t want to spoil anything- but what I will say is I am curious as to how Verity was able to go virtually unnoticed by professionals.
Quotes in particular that stood out to me:
“The world was her manuscript, no surface was safe.”(55)
“The thing I abhor the most about autobiographies are the counterfeit thoughts draped over every sentence. A writer would never have the audacity to write about themselves unless there willing to separate every layer of protection between the authors soul and their book. The words should come directly from the center of the gut, tearing through flesh and bone as they break free. Ugly and honest and bloody and a little bit terrifying , but completely exposed. An autobiography encouraging the reader to like the author is not a true autobiography. No one is likable from the inside out. One should walk away from an autobiography with, at best an uncomfortable distaste for its author.”(61)
“What you read will taste so bad at times, you’ll want to spit it out, but you’ll swallow these words and they will become part of you, part of your gut. and you will hurt because of them.”(61)
“I learned very early on that a human is not merely compromised of only one thing. We are two parts that make up the whole. We have our conscious, which includes our mind, our soul, and all the intangible parts. And we have our physical being, which is the machine that or conscious relies on for survival. If you fuck with the machine, you will die. If you neglect the machine, you will die. If you assume your conscious can out live the machine, you will die shortly after learning you were wrong.”(103)
Overall: I would say that while I thought this book was well done, it was not my favorite of Hoovers. I think this is just largely due to the genre not being my favorite and also me reading it immediately after Regretting you. I also was left with a lot of questions that made it so in my opinion this book was not wrapped up as neatly as the last. I do think that the premise was very interesting, and that overall it was an interesting plot. I do have a post about this book on my instagram where some have left theories about the ending, so if you have read this book yourself and want to join the discussion I would love to hear your thoughts! I feel like I am somewhere in between believing the ending but also seeing how it can be one last attempt at having control of the story. Id say if you are into thrillers and darkness isn’t hard for you to read then you’d probably enjoy this, and for others I would say to just proceed with caution!
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman:⭐️⭐️⭐️
I must admit, this has been a book that has been on my shelf for quite some time. I attempted to read it in the past and just couldn’t get into it, but I decided to try again this week. I am glad I tried again, however I must admit it is not what I expected. I think that this is partly due to the fact that there was a review from Reese Witherspoon printed on the front that said it was “beautifully written and incredibly funny” this is not to say that I don’t appreciate the language or how witty it was, but I will say that I was expecting it to be funnier, and when I accepted I might have a different sense of humor than Reece I was able to enjoy it more. This book was still a very slow burn for me, and I was not invested until about 100 pages in, but once I accepted the book for what it was I was able to appreciate it.
I think the author at times got a little carried away with the superfluous language. I think that there was just a bit too much emphasis and unnecessary dwelling on the day to day life and thoughts. I can see how in some instances it was needed, but in others it seemed unnecessary. I found the language at times to be distracting, at times it was well done and witty, but others it felt a little like my high school papers when I would try and make them sound better by using a few too many big words because I thought they made me look smarter.
I liked the overall message of how important it is to see beyond someones quirks and to be their friend. At times I could see how Eleanor would put some people off, I mean in all honesty I thought about how if I were the person at the other end of the conversation how I might just shut down and be sort of turned off from making an attempt at being her friend. But I think that is why there needs to be more people like Raymond. I mean Raymond had plenty of reason to write Eleanor off and to stop trying, but he didn’t. He kept showing up, and instead of trying to change her he just kept was there for her. I think that this is something that everyone (myself included) should try to make more of an effort at. We should just accept people especially when they are showing their authentic selves. I mean I think that this is implied, but especially because we truly do not know what people have dealt with in their lives. We might be able to see their scars or their differences, but we aren’t able to see how they got them or how deep they cut. I also think that this book raised an interesting question especially during the age of social media, as to how well we truly know someone just by following them online. I mean we live in a day an age where you do not even have to leave your house to socialize, and you do not even have to introduce yourself to someone in order to feel like you know them. Which is a good and a bad thing, it can help you feel closer to people, but it also can paint a false picture in your head about them, which can be seen in the example of the musician. There was also the impact that cliques and not including someone into your group can have on them, which I think is something important to remember. You shouldn’t just include someone because they fit into a mold, but instead you should accept people for who they are as they will help you to continue to learn and grow. There is also the idea of awareness- I mean you might make a joke at someone else’s expense and think they are oblivious, but usually the more quiet someone is the more they observe.
Quotes in particular that stood out to me:
“There are scars on my heart, just as thick, as disfiguring as those on my face. I know they’re there. I hope some undamaged tissue remains, a patch through which love can come in and flow out. I hope.”(74)
“Some people, weak people, fear solitude. What they fall to understand is that there’s something very liberating about it; once you realize that you don’t need anyone, you can take care of yourself.”(134)
“I find lateness exceptionally rude; its so disrespectful, implying unambiguously that you consider yourself and your own time to be so much more valuable than the other persons.”(135)
“I allowed my mind to wander. Ive found this to be very effective of passing the time; you take a situation or a person and start to imagine nice things that might happen. You can make anything happen, anything at all, inside a daydream.”(165)
“These days, loneliness is the new cancer- a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought up on yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken around for fear that they might be afflicted, or that it might tempt fate into visiting a similar horror upon them.”(227)
“When you took a moment to see what was around you noticed all the little things, it made you feel…lighter”(266)
“I’d try to cope alone for far too long, and it hadn’t done me any good at all. Sometimes you simply needed someone to sit with you while you deal with things.”(319)
Overall: I think this is a unique book. It covers topics such as trauma, the foster system, isolationism, loneliness, and so much more. It reminds me a bit of the modern day more human version of the monster of Frankenstein. While this wasn’t my favorite read, I do think that it does include some important messages that everyone should read. I also want to include that if at anytime you feel alone, or as though you do not have friends, you can always reach out to me, either here or on instagram. I think it is important for everyone to have a friend and if you are ever in need of one, I would love to be yours🤗
The correlation between the three books: I would say that the only correlation that I can see between these three books is the highlighted importance of relationships and not feeding into your dark thoughts or feelings of loneliness. I think each of these books covers on the topic in a very different read, so depending on which kind of reader you are you might prefer one version over another.
As always I hope you enjoyed this post, and I would love to hear your thoughts either here, or on my instagram @ReadandRamble. I am pretty active on my Instagram so feel free to reach out! I am looking forward to another week of reading and another ramble coming soon! Until next time!🤗📚🖤
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