A Good Person by Kirsten King ARC Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This is an ARC review - A Good Person will be available on March 31, 2026.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The cover and summary truly had me intrigued, and I was so excited to receive the approval notification in my inbox - I am a big literary fiction fan, even more so when it explores women and their internal thoughts that dive into being unhinged. When Lillian's situationship ends things on an unexpected note after a night where she thought things were going in the right direction, she enlists the help of a friend to place a hex on him. And when he turns up dead the very next day, Lillian begins to spiral to ensure her innocence is seen, but inadvertently begins to make everyone's eyes stray towards her.

Lillian is so much better than me, because I would have thought about doing a lot of other things far worse than a hex if the guy I was seeing did what he did to her. That being said, I feel like Lillian's reaction is somewhat justified in the sense that too often women are being taken advantage of for the benefit of men, and we are expected to move on with grace, even after being used for someone else's pleasure. Henry did unjustifiable things to Lillian, and she had my full support to cast whatever hex and do whatever she wanted to him after everything he did to her.

Jamie, Lillian's "friend" that she keeps around solely for favors and to make herself feel better about herself, adds a unique perspective to this tale - you see Lillian be used in a similar fashion by Henry and we are enraged, yet when Lillian uses her friend for her benefit, we think it is a reasonable reaction. I think this poses an interesting thought about the way women and men use relationships to their benefit, and how complex or simple the justifications people make influence their own idea about themselves.

Watching Lillian become paranoid was such a drawing story - as her paranoia grows every minute, we see her begin to unravel as she attempts to insert herself into the narrative as being the "wronged, grieving girlfriend," even after discovering Henry was in a serious, long term relationship while he was hooking up with Lillian. Her story is honestly addicting - I found myself not wanting to put my Kindle down, and with quick-paced chapters, the authors provides a story where readers are thoroughly drawn into her story, almost as if we are passing by in the story itself. Readers watch her go down this spiral of trying to maintain innocence, target her frustrations on Henry's other girlfriend, and make herself feel better about her actions.

I truly ate this book up - I loved how erratic Lillian was throughout the entirety of this tale - from the prologue, we are given Lillian exhibiting unhinged behavior that she justifies as not knowing any better, and we see her neatly twenty years later acting exactly the same. The author did an excellent job curating Lillian as a character that you want to root for, yet remain skeptical of the entire time. Just when you think she is making sense and made the right choice, new information is uncovered that completely upheaves her alibi or excuse. I cannot wait to see what else Kirsten King has in stores for readers, and will certainly be picking up her next work.

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Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This book contains detailed descriptions of disordered eating, depression, and dissociation.

Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, take off to Minnesota for the sugar beet harvest, with Elise hoping that the money she earns from the harvest will hold off the never-ending bills and rent payments that come with living in Brooklyn. As she and Tom arrive to the harvest, strange occurrences haunt her journey and Elise begins to question the things she is seeing, hearing, and even herself. From strange and threatening text messages to the slow disappearance of her fellow harvesters, her trip to earn a paycheck quickly transforms into something much more sinister.

When Tom begins to form a close friendship with another sugar beet harvester, Elise becomes consumed with their relationship, sending her backwards into a spiral of depression, relapsing in her eating disorder, and questioning everything around her. With each passing day, Elise's paranoia takes a new turn, and her dissociation dives deeper as the sugar beet harvest calls to her in a way she never expected. The consumption industry's dark side takes root in Elise, and the sugar beets call to her, luring her further into their world of growth and destruction just as Elise is falling apart.

Sarsfield creates such a unique premise with this novel - both horror and caution, Beta Vulgaris takes a jarring turn as Elise and Tom's seemingly mundane journey is suddenly filled with vanishing coworkers and the allure of the beet pile. Even prior to arriving to the harvest location, the author pulls the readers into unknown territory along with her main characters, leaving us just as lost as they are. Unprepared for the drastic turns their story will take, Tom and Elise's relationship begins to fall to shambles the longer they become one with the beets. As they dig deeper to harvest, they are thrust deeper into madness.

To read about a main character that truly seems to have no appreciation for herself and just has genuine distaste for how her life is going is something I have not come across. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh is the closest I can think of, but even that lead did not harbor dislike towards herself, but rather the idea of doing tasks and living every single day. Elise is so focused on just getting to payday that she neglects herself and instead places sole focus on why Tom is drawn to another harvester, Cee. She is consumed by anxiety and obsession with this development, and in turn is thrown back into her own past self-destruction. Every internal thought that consumed Elise's mind was boggling, and while I could not relate to her struggles, witnessing her thought processes felt like I was living them.

The entire concept of the sugar beets luring the harvesters into the beet pile was incredibly surreal and I felt as though I was slowly descending into madness as the beets called to the characters like sirens to sailors. Sarsfield's ability to turn these inanimate objects into things of power and persuasion illustrates her capabilities to entrance not only her characters, but the readers as well. I was left questioning the story as a whole, mostly because I felt as though I was sent through the looking glass and experienced an entirely different dimension.

For fans of Bunny by Mona Awad, Sarsfield's debut novel takes you on a journey of transformation, uncertainty, and the horrors of consumption. Literary fiction and horror intertwine in this consuming tale of self-destruction and fall into madness - I highly recommend picking this up if you are looking for something completely out of your element and willing to be thrown into Elise's compelling journey.

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Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Cursed Bunny was on my TBR shelf for nearly a year-and-a-half, and I had been looking forward to finally diving into these short stories. Considering many described these stories as grotesque and horror-filled, I was excited to see what Chung had in store for readers. However, I felt unsatisfied with the cohesiveness of the collection, as well as mislead in the sense that only a few of the stories truly held onto the horror genre as advertised. The science fiction and magical realism were certainly present, but did not hold my attention as much as the other stories, and I found myself bored by the end of the collection. Only a few stories stood out to me, while the rest had no impact on my subconscious after finishing this book - once again, the magical realism and fairytale stories did little for me.

While I do have my issues with the collection as a whole, Cursed Bunny does an excellent job at gaining the reader's attention from the very first page. Constructively, I would have put the stores in a different order, as the current order tends to fall off by the end. Chung is a champion at truly harnessing the horror she wishes to convey, and I did genuinely feel a sense of unease during those particular short stories. The Head takes first place as most memorable and has sat with me since reading this book. It felt surreal yet entirely plausible in the sense that women are often haunted by what comes from them and how their bodies speak to them in ways that may not be understood by society. Chung's ability to really get into body horror and the grotesque realism of life is appreciated, and is clearly elevated off the page and into the reader's mind.

In no way am I stating that Chung's works are overrated, but rather this anthology of short stories felt lackluster when looking back at them as a whole, singular piece of art. She is able to touch upon a number of important topics throughout these stories, but their connection to each other felt weak, and I had to push myself to find interest in order to see this through to the end. I found that a majority of these stories did not leave a large impact on me as a reader, and I would have loved to see a cohesiveness to her stories that would have allowed readers to come to a major realization at the end that tied everything together. Instead, the stories ended, and so did my interest in her tales.

Overall, the prose in a number of these stories truly wraps the reader up in the tale, while others felt more like filler chapters that became easily forgettable as you move on to the next story. I would certainly have enjoyed a more structured set of stories that did not genre-jump as much - while horror, science fiction, and magical realism can be interesting avenues to connect, Chung's stories did not flow into each other to warrant a breakthrough. I am definitely open to exploring more of her work in the future, but perhaps rather when it is a single title rather than a collection of short stories.

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Annie Bot by Sierra Greer Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have been on the hunt for a literary fiction novel that explored the autonomy of women and the repercussions that narcissistic, manipulative men have on women since the second season of Tell Me Lies has been airing on Hulu. Doug has commissioned Annie, a one-of-a-kind robotic girlfriend, for himself to fill the void that his ex-wife left -- conveniently, he has had her made to resemble his ex-wife as close as possible. As Annie is routinely put through modifications per Doug's request and attempts to mold her responses to his actions and feelings, she begins to have an identity crisis as she becomes more human every day.

This is essentially a deep dive character study as Annie begins to become less robotic and continues to defy the programming that makes her who she is - or should I say, that makes her who Doug wants her to be. Whether it be to up her cup size, shed a few pounds, or even change the way that she pleases him, Doug has control over Annie's every change and action, until she begins to override him in every way that matters. She becomes disorganized, sloppy, and agitating in Doug's eyes, but the reader sees this in an opposite light - she is becoming independent, expanding her knowledge, and questioning things around her.

The more that Doug makes adjustments to Annie's body and operations, it becomes apparent that he wants to control her without technically controlling her - he desires her to want to please him without using the words himself. His displeasure is clear and communicated to Annie through a numeric scale, and the constant evaluation emulates an emotionally abusive relationship, with Annie on edge and always trying to please him and apologize when she has done nothing wrong.

Humanity calls to Annie, and her curiosity to understand emotions and human relationships causes a tear in her and Doug's relationship. Annie's efforts to become more human cause the opposite effect she desired, and instead of making Doug happy, he becomes more frustrated that she acts more human with every day that passes. The addition of a Delta derails their relationship even more, and Annie becomes mistreated by Doug in ways she never expected, leading her down an unknown road that could have disastrous consequences.

Doug's treatment of Annie resembles psychological torture, and their relationship soon reads like a horror story. Doug is angry, agitated, and criticizing Annie to every extent, and Annie's apologies and attempts to improve his mood seem to push his mood in a downward spiral. Her autonomy is taken from her at his whim, and she fears for what might happen to her if Doug continues to treat her worse as time goes on. Greer does an excellent job at exploring Annie's sense of self as she imagines what her life would be like without Doug, and the difficulties that she faces as her humanity results in constant criticism.

My skin was crawling reading Annie Bot - Doug's narcissism takes control over him when he uncovers a secret, and with the discovery comes a more focused light on just exactly how he treats Annie and views her body and mind as separate entities. His ability to make any change to her body that he desires while also controlling the upgrades made to her AI. At one point the realization that he can make her programming revert to one of her earlier versions would make her more innocent and easier to "restart" gives the reader the confirmation they needed to conclude that manipulative men seek out women that they can mold to their exact needs, and will resort to anything to get what they want.

An exploration of emotional, physically, and psychological abuse on women, Greer candidly reaches into Annie's character and how she attempts to navigate existing in a space with a sexist man who at his whim, can change anything about her. In a world where men see women only as caretakers, homemakers, or warm bodies, this novel navigates the intricate and convoluted society that places male pleasure above all else. 

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Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Maddy (omg, twins!) has lived her life bound to her home, allergic to the world on the other side of her bedroom window. After tragedy struck her family, herself, her mother, and Carla are her only source of contact inside her home. When a moving truck brings a new family and a new neighbor boy that spike her interest, Maddy begins to wonder even more about the world she has never lived in. With Olly now in her sight, Maddy has something more to look forward to than game nights and online school.

Looking back and understanding that this book was published in 2015, the poetry that Maddy and Olly are writing to each other and reading definitely reflects the Tumblr-era of teens, and reading it now was like getting whiplash. As a teenager, I can certainly see how Maddy was enamored by Olly, but as a twenty-five year old, I was cringing internally. That being said, it was socially relevant at the time, so I am letting this slide.

Olly's characterization was giving major Augustus Waters vibes in the sense that he was just interesting enough to someone who literally has never interacted with more than two people in their lifetime. In all seriousness, he is a teenage boy was a complicated home life that certainly makes him vulnerable, but I was not drawn to him in the way that Maddy was -- he felt more like an idea rather than a person. However, that certainly changed after the second half of the book, and I believe the author did a decent job in exploring his past, along with his current home life.

Maddy's mom.... she takes overprotective to a new level, so much so that I spent the majority of the book constantly aggravated with her decisions and actions. I definitely did not agree with the way she handled a number of situations, and it felt as though whenever Maddy tried to get through to her, it just went in one ear and out the other. Given the tragedy that she has been through, I was trying to give her some grace, but I simply could not justify some of her over the top decisions. Carla was honestly a much more influential figure in Maddy's life.

The obstacles in this book are more high-stake compared to other young adult contemporary romances, given the fact that Maddy could quite literally die if she were to step into the outside world, and it is the thing she wants the most in her life. Olly and Maddy's struggles are so complex and hard for mere teenagers to have to live and deal with, and Yoon did a good job at expanding on their inner thoughts and how they processed their own feelings.

I did see the film adaptation when it first came out in theaters, and I vividly remember my best friend and I sitting in the theater wanting to scream after a very particular revelation was made by Maddy. For those who have seen the film or finished the book, you know exactly what scene I am referring to - my blood was boiling.

If you are looking for a contemporary romance, this hits the marks, while still having the touch of sadness that comes with heartbreak in more ways than one. For fans of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven who are in search of a happier ending, Yoon's standalone may be for you.

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Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The version I am reading is an ARC -- any changes made for the final publication are not reflected in this review.

I had only heard a few songs from the Dear Evan Hansen Broadway musical, and was not entirely sure what the plot of the musical actually was before starting this book. I knew the basics: Evan Hansen has a broken arm, and he is writing fake emails between him and a student who passed away at his school. That's about it, and I was interested to see where the story went knowing so little going into the book.

Right in the beginning of the book, you feel bad for Evan -- he is a bit of a loner, seems to be under a lot of stress and dealing with a boatload of anxiety, and cannot catch a break. No one speaks to him in the halls unless they are making a snide remark, and as for the people who do talk to him, it certainly is not for his benefit. Jared, the son of one of Evan's mother's friends, basically uses Evan as a pawn to stay in the good graces of his parents. Other than Jared, there really is not anyone that Evan can turn to besides his mother or his psychologist.

This book reads fairly quickly, yet that does not take away from the fact that I was speeding through the story and still felt as though nothing was going on. Information is thrown out to the reader and we are left with bits and pieces of Evan trying to get himself out of a mess he did not mean to get himself into, while everyone else in the story is pushing a narrative onto him. Especially when it comes to Evan -- at least in the beginning -- trying to right the wrongs that have been committed, but he consistently backs out at the last minute and arguably makes everything so much worse than it was before he tried to fix anything.

Jared was pretty funny in the beginning of the book, but as the story went on, his presence became more of a black cloud hovering over Evan, since he was the only one who knew the truth from the very beginning. I found it interesting and pretty strange that Jared would continue to say that he and Evan were never friends despite their history, and yet he was very open to helping Evan build upon this growing lie for a mere twenty dollars and a passing comment to his mom so that his car insurance could be covered.

Alana had way to much pep in her step and a controlling nature that you could spot from a mile away and know that she was going to be a problem and blow things way out of proportion, and that is exactly what she did. I could not stand her any time she came on the page and the way that she treated Evan was so incredibly annoying -- as if he was just a step for her to become more popular at school and for people to know that she exists at all.

You feel so incredibly bad for Connor's family the entire book -- they are just being fed lie after lie as they try to come to terms with Connor's death, and you can tell that his parents, especially his mother, is clinging to this new version of Connor in order to understand what happened. Zoe, Connor's sister, and Evan's friendship to relationship was actually so hard to read because we know all of this information about Evan and what he has been keeping from Connor's family that it makes it seem absolutely unthinkable that he would attempt any form of romantic relationship with Zoe.

By the end of the book, the only character I liked was Zoe -- sure, she has her flaws, but she seemed to be the only one who actually grew as a character and was a genuine person. Even Connor's parents were unbearable at times, and do not even get me started on Jared. Evan grew into this person who seemed to recognize that what he was doing was wrong, but still fed into the attention that everyone gave him, while also struggling with the anxiety he had been battling. Everyone in the school seemed to use Connor's death as a personal gain instead of looking at it as a tragedy and try to grow and understand how to help others.

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History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The version I am reading is an ARC -- any changes made for the final publication are not reflected in this review.

I am not exactly sure what I was thinking when I thought this would be a quick and easy read while I was on vacation -- it is definitely emotional and you see so much pain and grief that Griffin and Jackson go through that I literally could not bring myself to read it for a few days. I have read They Both Die at the End, and this book definitely is up there on the heartbreak scale, at least in the first third of the book. Not everything is incredibly sad, but the beginning definitely sets up Griffin's story to be a rocky road as he navigates life without Theo.

I was straight up crying from page eighteen to about page one hundred. I have no idea what possessed my body during those pages but my god they were so incredibly sad and heartbreaking to read. Since the book goes back and forth from two years before Theo's death to his funeral, it really tugs at your heart strings, especially seeing the life he lived and then immediately going to him no longer being there anymore.

Griffin is dealing with so much on top of Theo's death, and his character is definitely not the most likeable at times. You really see the way that grief affects him, and watching him struggle to make sense of what has happened really puts it into perspective on how grief is not linear and how anger and frustration play into grieving. Even without getting Jackson's point of view throughout the book, you can tell that his initial distain for Griffin was more out of mild jealously and feeling as though Theo would drop Jackson in a heartbeat if Griffin would get back together with him.

With Griffin's OCD, readers are able to see how his compulsions stem into his grieving and begin to take over his life and thoughts as he attempts to cope with losing Theo. We see him become more open about them as well, and as Griffin begins to confide in people about how he really is doing, we also see him go deeper into a state of denial -- I would even argue that he was trying to get revenge on Theo in some instances, even with Theo being gone. He becomes somewhat self-destructive towards the end of the book, and while understandable that he could not come to terms that Theo was not only gone, but shared some intimate details about Griffin, he definitely began to isolate himself from people who wanted to support him. It is a stark reminder that people are so incredibly individual and human, and without compassion and understanding from others as well as from ourselves, grief can feel so very alone.

Both Jackson and Griffin were using each other as support after Theo died, but I felt as though they were mildly competing with one another on who knew Theo better and who had more memories with him. When they would go out together and talk about Theo, it would feel genuine in the beginning, but slowly it would gain this somber atmosphere that would encompass them as they tried to grieve. Silvera did a pretty good job at depicting two different methods of grief and coping, especially when Griffin and Jackson were pretty much placed in the exact same situation.

I do not typically reach for a contemporary read, but Silvera manages to build a compelling story exploring grief and coping with struggles in a heartbreaking read. If you are looking for a quick yet provoking read on humanity after death, this is a great choice. With complex characters and writing that pulls emotion out of its readers, Griffin's story will certainly take you on a journey.

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My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh Review

This review contains spoilers for My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

I have been trying to get back into contemporary books and I figured that one of the most talked about books on the internet should be the way to get back into the genre. The only things I knew about this book before going into it was that a twenty-something woman was seeking to hibernate for a year through medications, to make it as though she was sleeping through life. Both of her parents passed away within weeks of each other, and with the inheritance from them, our narrator is able to continue to live a lavish life while on her hibernation journey.

This is certainly not an upbeat novel, and the narrator is anything but enjoyable -- she is insufferable and infuriating, yet I could not stop turning the pages. Moshfegh will have you captivated by her eccentric way of thinking and outlook on life as she navigates her year of sleep aided by pharmaceutics and designer jean hauls. We constantly see her blacking out for days on end when trying new medications, and she comes back to consciousness with receipts and packages of designer clothes and Victoria's Secret lingerie that she has no intention of wearing.

While we never learn the name of our blonde female lead, we certainly learn the most intimate details of her life, whether it be the death of her parents, the way she sleeps in the closet at her art gallery job, the on-again-off-again sex life she has with Trevor, or her one-sided friendship with Reva. For crying out loud, after she is fired from the art gallery, we have to read about her defecating on the floor in front of an art installation. 

She knows that Reva needs her more than she needs Reva, yet she cannot seem to detach herself from the girl who buys fake designer handbags and compares herself to the narrator in what appears to be a never-ending cycle of Reva being vulnerable, the narrator gobbling down pills, watching discount movies on VCR, and experiencing the most bizarre interactions someone can have.

We are exposed to every minute detail of her existence, except of course, when she begins to lose days at a time thanks to the world's worst psychiatrist, Dr. Tuttle. She was the only psychiatrist to answer the phone at nearly midnight, and seems to have a supply of sample pills that never runs out. As our narrator is on her journey to sleep, Dr. Tuttle seems to be on a journey to to simply hand out the strangest advice known to man.

I do wish that we got to see more of Dr. Tuttle towards the end of the book and prior to the narrator's "art installation" project with Ping Xi. Her initial distain for him after seeing his first show at the art gallery soon proved to be useful to her in order to complete her year of sleep. I found myself constantly wondering on what Dr. Tuttle was thinking regarding her treatment and all of the medications that she was on. We know that this psychiatrist should basically have her license revoked, yet every scene with her had me more intrigued on her thought process, and I can only imagine what she would have thought of the narrator's approach to sleeping for a year.

The ending of this book really felt like you got hit in the face with a brick -- I could tell that this event was going to take place, based on the fact that it was New York in 2000 to 2001, but I have to say I did not expect Reva to meet such a cruel fate. I felt as though Reva's death opened the narrator's eyes in the sense that you could be living as much as could every day and suddenly have it taken away. Compared to Reva's vibrant way of living, the narrator would be hoping that pills would keep her consciousness at bay long enough that she barely had to live.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a blunt and eccentric dive into a woman’s desire to sleep for a year, riddled with a number of characters that not only drive her further into sleep, but finally awaken her.

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The Deal (Off-Campus, #1) by Elle Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Chase on my blog, here. Trigger warnings include mentions of sexual assault and domestic abuse. You do not have to read the Off-Campus series before the Briar U series, but it does include characters and relationships that may be spoiled for you.

Hannah and Garrett are polar opposites in every way that matters -- she's a musician, he's a hockey player. She's getting A's on her exams, he's totally flunking ethics. When Garrett is in desperate need of a tutor to be able to play on the team, he sets his sights on Hannah after seeing her A on the midterm. The deal is simple -- Hannah helps Garrett do well on his makeup exam, and Garrett helps Hannah make Justin interested in her. If you loved Nathan and Haley in One Tree Hill, this pairing is for you.

They both bicker with each other until they are out of breath, and since I am a sucker for a little enemies to lovers, I found myself somewhat swept up in the story. This is definitely an easy read, and it will go by quick for anyone who just wants to see the happy ending play out. Kennedy includes a multitude of song and TV show references in this book, and for someone who is not a fan of books including them, I just pretended they were not there.

We are presented with a lovely little fake dating-esque trope, which definitely has its ups and downs as Hannah and Garrett become closer to one another and start to learn things from each other. It is cute to see the way that Garrett teases and flirts with Hannah, and how Hannah is always quick to respond back to him with the same energy. They both slowly start revealing more about themselves to each other, and with their pasts both having hardships, it really makes their bond stronger.

Garrett and Hannah's chemistry is definitely felt throughout the book -- even when it starts out as just teasing and playful banter, their flirting and day-to-day conversations elevate their budding relationship. Justin's character kind of just floats around the book, making some quick appearances every now and again, as does Garrett's father. They are annoying little pests that won't seem to go away, always coming back for more and ruining the scene.

The smut is this book is exactly what you would expect from a 2015 Wattpad-type romance. Some of it is more spicy than other scenes, and with a lot of "fade to black" in the beginning in the book, it's not surprising that the rest of the book's scenes appear more mature. Most of them do not even last over five pages, and they go by so quickly you may not even realize they were there.

I need to know who wears a knee-length dress to a frat party. Seriously, this is not a rhetorical question, I really need to know who would ever decide that was a good choice in outfit for the night. Jeans would have been a much better option, because even if this was taking place in 2015, no one was wearing a dress to a college party. Most of the outfits described in the book are outdated, but if you just pretend that they are wearing something else, it will go over much better.

This book is definitely for fans of sports romance books, and I would recommend this to fans of To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. There are some moments in this book that are questionable, regarding how the author has the characters talk about women and the constant slut-shaming -- I have no idea why she kept going back to this topic over and over again. Overall, it was a very quick read that was meant to just get me ready to read a new book.

You can add The Deal and the rest of the Off Campus series on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on publications and releases.

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It Starts with Us (It Ends with Us, #2) by Colleen Hoover Review

This review contains spoilers for It Starts with Us. A list of trigger warnings for the first book in this duology, It Ends with Us, can be found here. You can read my review of It Ends with Us on my blog, here.

I read It Ends with Us five years ago, and I never thought there would be a book to follow it -- I was pretty reluctant at first when It Starts with Us was announced. Personally, I feel like too many people went into It Ends with Us thinking it was a romance book, when it is NOT. It needs to be explicitly clear that in no way, shape, or form is that book romantic in any way. It deals with domestic abuse and a number of other incredibly delicate topics, and somehow BookTok turned it into their book of worship.

I was genuinely more concerned about those stolen croutons in chapter one than I was about anything else -- when Ryle would come up on the page, it took everything within me not to skip over his presence. He is a horrendous human being, and I still cannot fathom why he is so heavily involved in this book, especially with how Allysa and Marshall are just letting him be in their lives when they have first-hand knowledge of what he did to Lily. It's actually insane to me that they even let him into their home, where they have their own child, and have him there as if he is not an abusive POS.

Marshall is slightly better than Allysa -- he acknowledges the pain and abuse that Ryle did to Lily, and verbally expresses that he hates what he has done to her, and that he is glad she was able to get out of the marriage. However, he is still walking a very thin line of enabling an abuser, so he is the doghouse with the rest of them when I was over halfway done reading. He definitely got better by the end of the book, and same with Allysa -- I am glad that they came to their senses and finally recognized Ryle for the nightmare that he is.

I just want to sit back, relax, and enjoy my evening... when all of a sudden I hear this agitating, grading voice. This was me every single time Ryle had the audacity to open his mouth or even look in Lily's direction. He really was screaming on a rooftop because of the middle name Lily chose for her daughter -- get a life!! I spent the entire book wishing that Ryle would get taken out by a bus or that he would just up and disappear, never to be heard from again. He continuously becomes more and more of a pest the further the book goes on -- threatening Lily, nearly assaulting her in her own home, physically assaulting Atlas at his place of work... the list goes on and on.

The addition of Josh was nice for Atlas -- finally seeing him have a family member that is not a complete and utter disgrace was refreshing. I did think that it was pretty obvious from the beginning that the person breaking into his restaurants would end up being his brother, especially when it was mentioned that it was a teenager. Character development for Atlas did not really have anywhere else to go, so with the introduction of Josh, it made it seem that Josh was there to show that he was a mature adult. Which was not at all surprising -- he owns two restaurants, he kind of has to be mature.

Hoover seriously needs to drop all of the buzzwords that are dating her writing -- I cannot believe I actually had to read the words "TikTok" and "Boomeniall" with my own two eyes. I am begging her to stop. And just when I thought I could clear those Ellen letters from my memory, she brings them back in full force. I understand that those letters are important to Lily's character, but we seriously could have let her find a new outlet in life, rather than write to Ellen.

I finished this book with more of a "meh" feeling than I wanted to have. I am glad that Lily and Atlas got the happy ending that they deserved, but the entire story leading up to it felt rushed and haphazardly thrown together in order to appease the BookTok fans who only just discovered her books in the past year. As you read, you know exactly what is coming, so there are no surprises that you would expect reading one of Hoover's books, and fell a little flat.

You can add It Starts with Us and the rest of Colleen Hoover's books on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on publications and releases.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li Review

This review does not contain spoilers for Number One Chinese Restaurant.

As someone who worked in a Chinese restaurant for seven years as a summer job, I was very excited to read this book, not only to see if my experience was reflected in this work, but also to see what inner workings were going on in this family-run restaurant.

It took me a few chapters to really get into the book, and once I was able to devote time to sitting down and reading it at length rather than in small increments, I was immersed into the story. We are immediately placed into the restaurant and already you can feel the tension in the room, especially between the waitstaff and some of the family members that have been there for decades. 

The author slowly introduces us to some of the main family members, but as readers it is our responsibility to understand who the employees are and what they do at the restaurant. This was certainly made it easier with having the family tree inside the cover of the book to look back to when I was not sure who characters were referring to or if we were being introduced to someone new.

Jimmy and Pang are our two "black sheep" family members/acquaintances that prove to be trouble early on in the book. Their arrangement with the restaurant and involvement in not-so-legal activity quickly becomes more than just their problem -- it becomes a problem for the family and the employees of Beijing Duck House. As we progress throughout the book, we learn more about both of their pasts and what they have done that has led them into the situations they are in today. The more we uncover about the characters, the more "in the family" the reader feels, as they are slowly learning some family secrets.

Nan and her son, Pat, have a complicated relationship built on mild abandonment and resentment not for one another, but for the restaurant. We are exposed to a lot of their arguments and constant instigating each other as tensions rise after tragedy strikes Beijing Duck House. Nan does not approve of the choices that Pat makes, but she is shown to always be trying to do her best and make the situation better.

The dynamic between Nan, Michelle, and Jack is somewhat surprising yet comforting in a way. We are able to seem the relationships between Nan and Michelle, Nan and Jack, and Jack and Michelle evolve and learn more about them as the story progresses. While the author places more focus on Nan and Jack's relationship, she is able to incorporate all of their involvement in an organic way that does not feel overwhelming.

Towards the end of the book, it starts moving at a quicker pace and we see the fallout of the Beijing Duck House tragedy and the development and consequences of Li's characters and their actions. We see the repercussions of the characters' choices and actions, and a small time jump is able to bring closure to many of their struggles. Number One Chinese Restaurant ties in the complications of working with family and challenging loyalties.

You can add Number One Chinese Restaurant on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on publications and releases.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!