"𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶." -𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦
"𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦." -𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢
Some people have a voice for radio, but I must have a fanny for infidelity. This is why I bought a one-way ticket from London to New York and decided to ignore all men forever. And then I meet Owen.
Owen holds all the red flags I can’t resist: mysterious and handsome, sarcastic with a clever smile… Plus, he works in tech like I do? Here’s my knickers, good sir.
But, a few cybersecurity breaches at my job means I don’t have time for anything, especially not a classic New York City romance. The bad part is I think the break-ins are coming from the same source. The worst part is that Owen is quickly stealing my heart.
The more time I spend with mysterious, handsome Owen, the more I wonder if maybe he’s the man I’ve been looking for all along. And unfortunately for me, I think that statement might be true in more ways than one.
when you're a child you long to be an adult and decide everything for yourself, but when you're an adult you realize that's the worst part of it. that you have to have opinions all the time.
"she liked a drink and could tell dirty jokes, no matter who she was with. if anyone even asked what God would think about that she always replied: "i don't think we agree about everything, but i have a feeling He knows im doing the best i can. and i think maybe He knows i work for Him, because i try to help people."
pages: 310
read 8/31 to 9/1/2020
book: 68 in 2020
SYNOPSIS
Andy Carter was happy. He had a solid job. He ran 5Ks for charity. He was living a nice, safe Midwestern existence. And then his wife left him for a handsome paramedic down the street.
We’re All Damaged begins after Andy has lost his job, ruined his best friend’s wedding, and moved to New York City, where he lives in a tiny apartment with an angry cat named Jeter that isn’t technically his. But before long he needs to go back to Omaha to say good-bye to his dying grandfather.
Back home, Andy is confronted with his past, which includes his ex, his ex’s new boyfriend, his right-wing talk-radio-host mother, his parents’ crumbling marriage, and his still-angry best friend.
As if these old problems weren’t enough, Andy encounters an entirely new complication: Daisy. She has fifteen tattoos, no job, and her own difficult past. But she claims she is the only person who can help Andy be happy again, if only she weren’t hiding a huge secret that will mess things up even more. Andy Carter needs a second chance at life, and Daisy—and the person Daisy pushes Andy to become—may be his last chance to set things right.
THOUGHTS
Matthew Norman has become an auto read for me.
I loved the last couple standing and I loved this one just as much. it was such a delight to find this one as a UK read.
 #bookslesreads on IG * sorry for whatever misspellings there are....its been a while and honestly, im just being lazy AF. |
published: 2020
pages: 310
read 8/25-29/2020
book: 68 in 2020
A chance meeting with a handsome stranger turns into a whirlwind affair that gets everyone talking.
Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe's mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can't resist--it is chocolate cake, after all.
Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble--not just some privileged white politician she assumed him to be. Because of Max's high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?
same story as all before it. nothing new. little spice. 🥱
I'm praying and hoping there won't be a sixth book.
(i think there is. sad face)
I have no idea why I keep reading Jasmine Guillorys books. I havent been a fan of a single one and I don't know why I keep picking them up but I do.
I saw that this one was coming out and I wasn't excited about it. I was bummed because I knew I was going to read it because idk, I just couldn't not.
I'm fucking odd.
I will give it to JG. She does tackle subjects that need to be touched up more. Like how Olivia has to deal with certain aspects of her life way more carefully than lets say Max. Because he is a privileged rich white male where as she is a Black woman who grew up nowhere near Max's level. Her actions require way more work and effort and thought and execution.
She does not have the freedom he does.
Or how Max is a rich white dude who.....knows it and happens to use it to his advantage....so much so that he "doesn't see" when he does use it, no matter who its aimed at......until he finally does and then.....🙄
I noticed that she has flipped the script a bit in the sense that instead of hating to dating, some of these couples acknowledge their feels, date THEN fuck it all up just to end up happily ever forever after.
In this books case, we get the new formula but omg! No.
I still think Maddie & Theo had a very borderline abusive relationship but they at least had believable fire since the very moment they first hated each other. Max and Olivia had the kinda fire that goes away right after it finally lights even though you'd spent that last hour trying to light it; it just wasn't there.
All this book was just the same boring discussion over: "how can I date a politician that im madly in love with without having to be in any of the spotlight!?"
same
fucking
shit
for
300
fucking
pages.
😞😬🙄😦😧😖🥱😤
Ima just end this here.
#bookslesreads on IG |
The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While they were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction without ever lifting a finger. Well, that’s not exactly true. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories.
Months later, the world is as confused as ever. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online about the world post-Carl; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda infiltrates a new scientific operation . . . one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension.
As they each get further down their own paths, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers; unexplained internet outages; and more—which seem to suggest April may be very much alive. In the midst of the gang's possible reunion is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality.
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It’s a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions. How will we live online? What powers over our lives are we giving away for free? Who has the right to change the world forever? And how do we find comfort in an increasingly isolated world?
"im trying to show you how good my brain was at convincing me that i never belonged where i was. these are the lies that our brains tells us to push happiness out of reach."
"For me it goes without saying that much of the dogma of many religions is harmful. thinking other people will burn forever because they love the wrong person or worship the wrong god hos done a whole lot of bad."
#bookslesreads on IG |
"when you're faced with something you don't understand, i think the most natural thing but also the least interesting thing you can be is afraid."
pages: 338
heard: 8/5-7/2020*
SYNOPSIS
The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship--like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor--April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world--everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires--and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.
Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity, and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.
Compulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric, and radicalization; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring from the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye.
THOUGHTS
I knew there was a possibility for a second book; with an ending like that, how could there not be....but because I read this when it first came out and I didn't really think about it after I read it, I didn't know the sequel was coming out this year. Of course once I found out, I pre-ordered it right away. It was such a nice surprise to see that book 2 was coming out this year in only a few short months (wtf is time now a days!) while randomly scrolling bookstagram. 🙂
I originally read this one back in 2018. I didn't blog about it then because it was during that time where I didn't care to give the books I was reading their own posts. Back then i knew not doing one for this book would come back to bite me in the ass because I really liked this book then but luckily, I did end up doing a re-read so it's all good!
.....except that this time I did it as an audiobook and while I was invested I know there are parts where I kind of glossed over. not because the story sucked, because it didn't, but because I already knew, I guess, subconsciously what was going to happen so idk, I zoned out. overall, I am glad I did a re-read since I never really do them in the first place.
i'm glad I got to it and now that I've read book 2 (its been a slow/lazy reading month) I can say I'm glad I dove into these books. They're kinda science fiction-y which hasn't really been my jam so im glad I liked these.
Its also eerie how this book touches on a lot of things that are currently going on right now. (yes I know a lot of those things were also going on back then but....you get my drift.)
anyway, ima make this one short cus im over blogging rn and so yea....but def read these books if you have a chance!
Anyway, jump over for spoilers.
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