THE CHANGE by Kirsten Miller

The Change by Kirsten Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been meaning to read this book for ages, so I'm glad I finally got stuck into it.

Three very different women find each other when they start going through some changes. Harriett Osborne is an advertising director, but now spends most of her time growing a wild garden. Jo Levison is a former executive who runs a gym and has developed a newfound strength that manifests in a fiery rage. Nessa is a widowed nurse who can hear the voices of dead girls who deserve to be found. Together, the trio is determined to get justice...

Wow. This book is fucking amazing. There's no other way to describe how much I enjoyed it.

I love the way it deals with everything, starting with everyday sexism, amping up to disgraceful misogyny, and everything else in between. Through the lives and the untimely deaths of the girls and women who live in Mattauk, the female experience—the wonderful and the nightmarish—is captured perfectly.

OMG. I absolutely LOVE Harriett, Jo and Nessa!! All three are such strong, empathetic characters whose flaws enhance their personalities.

Not only did I enjoy the interactions between the three leads, because their friendship is strong enough that they can be brutally honest with each other, but I also liked their individual stories.

The way multiple POVs are threaded into the main narrative hooked me from beginning to end.

The powerful tales of three very different middle-aged women opens up to include so much more, and other stories weave their way into the narrative in a way that kept me glued to the pages. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next, and I was on the edge of my seat during the last few chapters.

It's a long and it's quite sad, but the author's brilliant voice is very addictive. This is a powerful and important book and definitely worth reading.


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Hey, it's November!

How are you?

I hope you all had an awesome Halloween! I spent mine listening to a thunderstorm while reading the latest Sally (The Nightmare Before Christmas) book. Such a trope, right? I also popped into my ACNH island to catch up with Jack, chatted with hubby, and filled up my first Attic Notebook.

It might be November, but the Halloween aesthetic never ends. At least, it doesn't for me. 😊

For the first time in years, I'm not actually writing a novel first draft during November. But it's not a big deal because I've been busy writing a lot of short-stories. Speaking of shorties, I completed another one last week.

The final word count:  1,987.

As I mentioned last week, I completed two more stories, and both were about the same character. The idea to round them out as a trilogy of sadness and self-discovery came to me during one of my walks. And guess what? After I finished, I realised that I love this character so much, she's getting a spin-off. Not sure if it's going to be a novella or novel, but I'm very excited about the continuation of her story and already started taking notes!

So, here's the vampire world update: two novels, one novelette, and twenty-one short stories. The short story collection has now crossed 78k words.

Still having a blast writing them but I think it's slowly coming to a nice and organic end. Of course, that's what I think today. Tomorrow, the plan could change because these characters are loud.

Did you guys hear about the upcoming ACNH updates? My husband and I still pop into our islands daily, so we're super excited!! I love my island (I called it Grimoire) and my villagers are adorable, so these new features are going to be a lot of fun. Especially getting the chance to build islands inside your dreams. What a cool idea!

Well, asides from all the writing and revising, I've been catching up with some reading. I'm also enjoying long daily walks. The days are a lot longer and I'm taking advantage.

Okay, that's it for now.

Have an awesome week!! 😁

 

HOUR OF THE PUMPKIN QUEEN by Megan Shepherd

Hour of the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas by Megan Shepherd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favourite stories. I love Sally and Jack, so I'm always going to be interested in checking out any Sally book that gets released. 😊

Sally and Jack Skellington got married a year ago. During that time, Sally has been busy because she takes her role very seriously. As the Queen of Halloween Town she wants to make everyone happy and is spreading herself a bit thin. When she gets sucked into a mysterious portal with her new apprentice, Sally goes on an adventure that will test her in many ways...

OMG. I absolutely loved Sally's latest adventure through time. And I mean that literally because she actually ends up in Time Town. Another fascinating location that leads Sally to a serious problem: the destruction of Halloween Town.

A lot of very cool and intriguing locations and characters are introduced during Sally's adventure to save everyone she loves and cares about, but the underlying theme at the heart of her story is being honest with herself. That helping others, or being their queen, doesn't mean losing herself in the process.

I also like that every Sally story I've read so far (this is my third) is true to the character. Her voice feels sincere and her actions match the subtle bravery she displays in the movie. Another thing I loved about this particular book is that the love and romance between Sally and Jack is passionate and sweet. A mutual devotion and adoration that adds so much to the chaotic events.

The addition of a rag doll apprentice is so cute. Luna has a lot of potential and she's great, especially when she meets a curious dragon. Scorch longs to be a hero instead of the villain.

I wanted to read this during Halloween, and it has the perfect cozy vibes. A great way to end the month.

Oh, and although the main mystery is solved... the darker one isn't. Can't wait for the next installment.


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BLOB: A Love Story by Maggie Su

Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm enjoying my unhinged-women-behaving-badly run, and decided to read this book next. I mean, who doesn't want to read a love story about a blob?

Vi doesn't fit in, her boyfriend dumped her months ago, she flunked out of college, and now works behind a hotel reception desk. She mostly keeps her distance from people, but the night she goes out with a workmate, she finds a blob with eyes in an alley. When she decides to rescue him, her life takes a weird turn...

What an entertaining story! I was hooked from beginning to end, and couldn't wait to see where Vi and Bob ended up.

Let me start by saying that Vi isn't a very nice person. She's a total wreck, and some of the shit she does is appalling. In many ways, she's a lot messier than the blob she's trying to shape. Bob is a blob that transforms himself into a man. Together, these two misfits embark on their personal journey to find out exactly what it means to be human.

Vi is such a spiky character who's got a huge chip on her shoulder and has convinced herself that no one could possibly ever want to be her friend, or be romantically interested in her. So she pushes people away by hurting them before they get a chance to hurt her.

Like I said above, she's not a very nice person. But I still enjoyed her voice and the self-discovery she makes along the way.

This is a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it!


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Spring & Writing

Hey! How are you? Hope you're all having a great October!

Personally, I think it's going too fast and for some reason, in spite of finding some very cool Halloween stuff, it doesn't feel very Halloweeny this year. Maybe it's because I haven't watched any horror movies or shows yet. Although, it could also be because this season is giving a lot of not-feeling 100% vibes. Yeah, the change of season is really affecting me this year because the temperature is all over the place.

The cool thing is that, even though it took me over a week to complete the first draft of the story I mentioned during my last post, after I realised what was missing, I finished it. Actually, as of this afternoon, I've completed two more stories.

This is the final word counts: 6,984 and 3,037.

These two particular tales have been circling my brain for a while, but I wasn't ready to write them because this character's stories fit into timelines that made it tricky until I had everything straight in my mind. When that happened, the words poured out of me.

So, here's the vampire world update: two novels, one novelette, and twenty short stories. The short story collection has now crossed 76k. Yikes.

I just can't shake these characters, LOL. 

Asides from writing and revising the above stories, I've also been doing a bit of reading (reviews posted below) and quite a bit of walking. Also been sorting out and updating my Writing Folders and external drives (time-consuming boring work that has to be done).

Also, my publisher gave me the link to an awesome Kirkus review for FALLEN DESTINY today. If you're interested in finding out a bit more about my upcoming novel (release date: 11 November), you might want to check it out. A GET IT verdict from Kirkus makes me very happy. Especially since the reviewer totally got Destiny's tale.

Well, that's about it.

Have a great weekend!!

THE PISCES by Melissa Broder

The Pisces by Melissa Broder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been curious about this book for a while and finally decided to check it out.

When Lucy's relationship ends, she ends up in a very dark place. So when her sister offers to pay her to housesit and watch her dog during the summer, Lucy agrees. She also has to go to group therapy and plans to work on her book-length project about Sappho...

Yikes! Lucy is one messy woman. She's selfish, and indecisive. She's judgy, and nicknames/puts down every woman she meets. She can't be trusted, and is obsessed with making men want to be with her. She's also obviously suffering from depression, and her mental health is in a really bad place.

Basically, she's not fit to look after a house, let alone a gorgeous dog. 😫

In spite of the fact that I didn't like Lucy because she's so awful, I still enjoyed this book. It's raw and gross, a little too honest in its depiction of bad dates and unsatisfying sexual interactions with strangers. Even the raunchier 'love' scenes are full of descriptions that might make some readers pause. But I'm sure that was the intention.

Lucy is DEFINITELY NOT a nice person. In fact, I found her to be terrible. She wants everyone to be there for her, but refuses to help others. She craves male attention but when she gets it, tires of the guys too quickly. She's too self-involved and often drowns in her own pompous thoughts. Like I said, not nice. But that's who she is. A terrible person who doesn't give a fuck about anyone or anything not serving her purpose.

This leads me to Dominic and Theo. The two males she appears to actually care about at some stage during her summer visit.

Dominic is her sister's beautiful foxhound and he's adorable. She truly doesn't deserve him and what she does to this poor dog is atrocious. Disgusting. I hated every interaction she had with him during the second half of the book because she's such a cruel bitch.

Theo is a merman she meets on the rocks. A seemingly young and attractive mythological creature enamoured with her. In him, Lucy sees herself differently. It's like he's a mirror reflecting adoration and love that consumes her. But is any of it real? Or is she once again projecting her shit on someone else? The way things turn out sure answers at least one of those questions. Yet, makes you wonder about the reality of the situation.

Either way, the writing style and Lucy's voice drew me in and kept me glued to the pages.

Yeah, while I personally enjoyed it, this book is not flowery or pretty. It's not romantic and definitely needs several trigger warnings: mention of suicide, dealing with suicidal thoughts and actions, animal cruelty, animal death, lying, mention of self-harm, mental illness, adultery.


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WE LOVE YOU, BUNNY by Mona Awad

We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVED Bunny so I was really looking forward to reading this prequel/sequel. Not to mention that my lovely husband surprised me with the special edition that has pink edges with white bunny faces.

After Sam publishes her first novel and ends up in New England during her book tour, the Bunnies kidnap her and decide to bore her to death with their own repetitive versions of the story...

Okay. Um... Ugh. Where do I start with this review? 😒

So, I have to admit that, even though the long-winded accounts were too much, I enjoyed the first part of the book. I mean, the four Bunnies are determined to tell Samantha their unreliable side of the story while taunting, insulting and ridiculing her because she's tied up in the Attic and they insist on holding an axe.

Then Aerius enters the book and O.M.F.G. What. A. Freaking. Borefest. His section, which drags on forever, is PAINFUL. Such a slog to get through that I actually skimmed several sections because I couldn't stand his voice or writing style. Plus, I didn't care about this character. At all. I've read several reviews comparing him to Frankenstein's monster and personally, I find that insulting.

Anyway, after reaching page 333, I didn't touch the book for two whole days and didn't even feel compelled to pick it up again. But I did, and after reading three more pages, I put it down. Picked it up again and skimmed through the rest so fast I didn't absorb anything and didn't even care.

FFS. This book is mega painful.

A total disappointment. Boring. Too long. Boring. Over explains details that didn't need any explanation. Boring. Destroyed characters the were intriguing and interesting in the first book. Boring. And introduced an annoying af character I hated reading about.

Not a fan.

I'll always love Bunny but won't waste my time with any other story written in this world.

Bye Bunny.


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Hey there!

How are you today? I hope you're having a great October so far. 😊

Last week started with a long weekend (yay!) and the beginning of daylight savings (cool!). That makes me happy because I love the longer summer days. And the weather is already pretty warm, so it looks like we might be skipping spring to race straight into summer.

What did you get up to?

I spent most of my time reading and spring cleaning. Yeah, re-organising is a never-ending task but I'm in the zone and even went back to re-organise shelves I already went through last month. 

The next round of sorting made me realise that the more I look through stuff, the less attachment I have for certain things. I think that's great because it makes it easier get rid of so much. It also makes me value the stuff I do care about a lot more.

Although the process is mentally and physically exhausting, it's also pretty great. We've donated a heap of things, threw away useless stuff, and even managed to sell the collectibles that actually have value.

In between all the spring cleaning, I also managed to read two very cool books: STONE HEART by Katee Robert and MY HUSBAND by Maud Ventura. Plus tonight I started WE LOVE YOU, BUNNY by Mona Awad. I really enjoyed the first book, so I'm excited about this one.

As far as writing, I didn't finish any stories, but I did start writing another one on my phone. It's a story that's been kicking around inside my head for quite some time, so it's going to be nice to finally get it out of my head. 😁

Well, that's about it for now.

Have an awesome weekend!!

MY HUSBAND by Maud Ventura

My Husband by Maud Ventura
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Since finishing Annie Bot and Victorian Psycho last week, Goodreads kept suggesting this book. So I decided to get stuck into it because I already had it on my Paperwhite. Then last week, I found the paperback in a local Street Library!

It was meant to be, and I actually started reading the paperback during the day and switched to my Paperwhite at night! 😅

Anyway, time to talk about the story.

She might be beautiful (goes to a lot of trouble), has two jobs (teacher and book translator), two well-behaved kids (she never wanted), friends (she constantly judges), and a lovely house (she doesn't even clean herself), but all she cares about is her husband. She's obsessed with everything about him, to the point of toxic behaviour...

Yikes. Well, that was addictive. I couldn't put the book down because I found myself being dragged into this unhinged woman's world. It says a lot about the author's writing style and the narrator's voice because the main character is going about her neurotic, everyday business but I found myself totally immersed.

The way this woman obsesses over her husband's words and actions borders on psychotic. And I'm not even exaggerating: she writes things down in notebooks, keeps score, knows when to punish, and even messes around with other people as revenge. 😳

Yeah, she's not a very nice person. She's judgy, fake, cold, and a total user. But I still enjoyed the hell out of this book. And the epilogue rounded out the story perfectly because of course that would be the case. (Sorry, can't specify what I'm talking about without spoiling everything.)

Great book! Unhinged women behaving badly is a great subgenre.


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STONE HEART by Katee Robert

Stone Heart by Katee Robert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The other day I bought a bunch of Dark Olympus books for my Paperwhite, and then found this novella for free, so I decided to give it a go.

In Olympus, nothing gets past the most powerful. So when Athena orders Medusa to kill Calypso, the mistress Odysseus wants gone, she does as she's told. After all, Medusa owes Athena. But this assignment feels different from the beginning, and when she catches sight of the mistress, Medusa finds herself questioning everything...

This novella is a great introduction to this fascinating world. I love Greek mythology, so retellings always catch my attention, and this one delivers. Not to mention that Medusa is one of my faves.

I read the whole thing in one sitting and really enjoyed the tale of these two very different women with similar mental scars. Medusa is tied to Athena because she feels like she owes her everything for saving her life. Calypso is tied to habits that ensure she gets what she wants via seduction.

One is a killer, the other a mistress, but both don't realise there's more to life until their paths cross. The attraction is instant, and I liked how their story turned out.

I'm intrigued by this version of Olympus, a city full of familiar names with different lives and roles, but no less dangerous. Not to mention what lies on the other side of the River Styx.

Definitely interested in reading more about this dark world and characters.


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