Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
By: Gail Honeyman
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Summary:

Eleanor Oliphant is the main character of this story. She is 29 years old, she has had the same job for 9 years, and she is completely alone, but she is fine with that. Eleanor spends a lot of time going through life not really living. When she suddenly realizes that something needs to change. This story is broken into three sections and tells her story of trying to change in order to live. Eleanor starts with her outer appearance and much to her annoyance, the new guy in IT won't leave her alone. Raymond becomes a constant in her life. Eleanor eventually realizes that Raymond is also part of the new life she is missing out on.

My thoughts:

Eleanor has a dry sense of humor that I found myself relating to on so many different levels. She is funny, but no one else sees it. Eleanor finds common social settings difficult to navigate, not knowing what is the right thing to say and when. All of that changes over the course of the book. The character development is remarkable.

The best part of the development is that Eleanor is so bent on changing her life and changing her circumstances that she doesn't realize that her life is already changing and growing and moving forward.

Eleanor is so broken, but she knows that she is supposed to be completely fine. Nothing is supposed to be wrong with a 20-something woman who as a good job and lives well. So, she tells everyone she is fine. No young person is ever supposed to admit that anything is less than fine, is less than happy. This is such a truth that is so hard for so many 20-somethings.

I love the contrast of Raymond and Eleanor's characters. I think they are a great dichotomy. Raymond just won't let up and I find that so heartwarming. Raymond, for all of his disgusting habits, becomes Eleanor's one true friend.

The book was very well paced, although the beginning seemed to move a little more slowly than I was expecting. Once I got through the first 45 pages or so though, I could not put it down. I wanted to know what was next. I wanted to move forward with Eleanor.

Most importantly, the way Gail Honeyman broached the topic of mental illness and the stigmas around all of that was beautiful and meaningful. It wasn't a fleeting topic that some one threw in the story to stir up conversation. Honeyman thought the story out and worked through all the details, it is such a powerful story that is so easy to relate to. Honeyman brought depression into the light and how it can beat you down if you don't feel like you have the support and resources to step up and say you need help. How true is this?

How often do you as a single 20-something, 30-something, 40-something, or working parent, or stay-at-home parent, or single parent struggle and are too ashamed to raise your hand and ask for help? This is a scenario that happens to so many people all over the world and no one wants to talk about it. Well, Honeyman talked about it. Honeyman brought it to life in a way that is real and funny and sad and inspiring and heartbreaking all at the same time. My hat is off to you, Gail.

Book Review: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Title: They Both Die at the End
Author: Adam Silvera
Kindle Edition
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Summary:

Rufus and Mateo both know it is their last day to be alive. They are complete strangers. They are both lonely on their last day for very different reasons. Is it fate that they come together on their last day through an app? They are too young to die, yet it is their day. They make the best out of the day doing everything they can before they die.

My thoughts:

Wow! What?!?! I don't know!! What would I do? There has to be a happy ending! Do they really both die in the end as the title suggests?!?!?!

These are all the things that were zinging through my mind as I read this book. It was a very moving story about two strangers who connect with the world and each other in the most unexpected of ways.

The writing style was good and the conversational texts and parts were very realistic to the way I would assume teenagers would talk. An example of this is the way Rufus uses the word "mad" to describe all of his going ons. Its like the valley girl 'like' that is so excessive it is annoying, yet endearing and accurate.

The changes in POV was also a great way to tell this story. You can infer the connections that are happening, but there isn't a way to know 100% that those connections are what you think they are.

It is hard for me to identify what I didn't like about this book. The concept is basic, yet profound. I wish there had been a character that wasn't completely broken, but that is a stretch. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have their soul ripped out and repaired. You will cry, you will fall in love, you will think. This book becomes a very introspective book. Would it be better to know you are going to die that day so you can live without regrets, or would you rather not know and hope you die without any regrets? It is a self fulfilling prophecy? I don't know the answers to these questions, I wish I did.

How I rate books

Let's talk about rating. There are so many methods out there and it is really subjective. I have struggled determining what the number of stars mean and how I use them to promote my favorite authors. I have been using a five star format for years through good reads. I have also been a very stingy reviewer. I have not given out a lot of five stars in the past. However, as I get older, the more I realize how much weight people take the five star reads into account. There are people out there who will not even consider reading anything under a 4 star reviewed book. This is interesting to me because I don't put a lot of weight into the number of stars the reviewer gave the book and I put more weight in what they said about the book.

Due to the subjectivity of the stars, I will read books as low as 3 stars automatically, if I think the plot looks good and the premise seems to have potential. This has definitely burned me in the past, but not as much as it has rewarded me.

In the past I have set my ratings compared to other books I have read, so I have been even more subjective than I should have been. So I am going to clear up the muddy waters as it relates to my ratings anyways.

One star: HORRID, didn't finish, or it was a challenge to finish for the following reasons: writing style, lack of character development, editing mistakes, plot pace and direction. No recommendations from me.

two stars: BAD, there is potential, but it was still a challenge to finish, editing mistakes are still obvious and I wouldn't recommend this book to my enemies.

Three stars: GOOD, I enjoyed this book. There were still some problems, specifically lack of character development or depth. I probably won't re-read this book, but it was worth the read. I would recommend this book to people I know well, and know that they will enjoy this book.

Four stars: VERY GOOD, I really enjoyed this book. There was good characters and decent development. This is a book I would recommend for most fans of the genre to read.

Five starts: AMAZING. I died and went to heaven. It was incredibly entertaining. There wasn't a single editing mistake that I found. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!


So there you go...How do you rate the books you read? What system do you use? Please Share!

Book Review: Sandalwood by Carol Deeley

Title: Sandalwood

Author: Carol Deeley

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I would like to thank the author for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Sandalwood is about a 20-something girl named Josie. She is living her life after college, scraping by. All of that changes when she gets a mysterious package at her door. It is from her estranged grandmother. And that is where this story begins. Josie never knew her grandmother. As far as she knows, her grandmother abandoned her mom and grandfather just after her mom was born. How on Earth did this woman even know she existed? What could her grandmother say that was of any importance to Josie? She never knew Josie, she wasn't important to her grandmother. So the mystery begins. She takes a road trip with her best friend in an attempt to uncover the answers to this mystery.

Here is what I liked:

The writing style was great, first person narrative, and in a diary kind of format. It was beautifully fast-paced and easy, entertaining read. The mystery, the intrigue, the overall plot was unique yet easy to relate to. I can still relate to being a fresh out of college, working a crappy job, scraping by on the few dollars I have left over, having a crappy boyfriend and knowing I can do better. I love the characters. There were a lot of characters in this book, some for a few pages, some for much longer. The growth of Josie and her relationships were well paced and appropriate. The range of emotions this book made me feel was extensive. I wanted to cry in parts, and laughed out loud in others.  I loved the ending. It was amazing. It was perfect, it simply ended with "the end." I was engrossed in this story. When the end of the book came, I kept trying to move to the next page. I wanted to know more, I wanted to continue to be an observer in Josie's life. I wanted to know about her life after all the revelations and mysteries were solved. 

Here is what I think could be better:

My version had a few editing errors. Such as lack of capitalization of proper nouns and plurality instead of singularities. However, this did not cause enough of a distraction to deter from the story line at all. The only thing I could have wanted was more of Josie's story.

Overall, this book was fantastic and earns a respectable 4.5 ⭐'s. The only reason it didn't get the full 5 stars was because of the editing errors I found. Regardless, I would definitely read it again. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who enjoys contemporary fiction shaken, not stirred with mystery, humor and a twist of romance.

August Update: Mid-month progress

August has been a busy month.

Between house stuff, work, family fun, and sunny weekends, I have had hardly any time to enjoy my books.

In fact, I attempted the @25infive readathon on instagram this past weekend, and I didn't even get 5 hours of reading in! WHAT?!?! not cool👎👎

But, it wasn't all bad, we got to do a bunch of fun stuff with my kiddos and husband, we saw Incredibles 2, which was probably funnier for me than for my 3 year old. We got to go swimming and bike riding, we got to go to a couple birthday parties of some of our favorite people. We are finally closing on our old house this Friday. (yay for only one mortgage!) The amount of stress that will evaporate on Friday is going to be so palpable in our household.

So where does that put my TBR books for August?

I have only completed one book in August so far. 😳😳😳

That book was:

30th Century: Escape by Mark Kingston Levin

This book was a book I read for Onlinebookclub.org, and it was a disappointment. I had high hopes from the synopsis, the premise has a lot of potential, but it was just lost in the writing style and the direction of the plot got lost throughout the book.

You can check out my complete review here: Online Book Club review

I am currently reading Sandalwood by: Carol Deeley. It is good so far, and an interesting mystery.

I would like to read at least 2 more books in August.

I have Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by: Gail Honeyman on my list for my Reading Between the Wines book club. Bookclub is scheduled for August 25th. I have been seeing great reviews about this book and I can't wait to dive in.
What is it about summer and contemporary lit? It is just the perfect time for these delicious books.
Oddly enough, I haven't read a whole lot of contemporary lit this summer, I have been diving into a lot of fantasy and young adult books. What contemporary lit have you read this summer?



I am not sure what other book I want to read by the end of the month...one of my favorite authors Bec McMaster came out with her next book in one of her series today and I am debating throwing out my TBR list and reading this next delicious paranormal romance. I seriously love the world Bec McMaster has created throughout her London Steampunk series (both of them).

Until next time...happy reading everyone

July Wrap Up-What did I read?

Wrapping up July! Here we go, I didn't have the best month of reading, but I did read some REALLY GOOD books!

I read 4 books this month.

Hexbound (Dark Arts, #2) by Bec McMaster ⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I truly enjoy McMaster's books. They are a guilty pleasure, and easy reads. I usually finish them in a couple days because they go so fast.

Soulbound (Dark Arts, #3) by Bec McMaster ⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the conclusion to the Dark Arts trilogy and it was a great read. She brought all the characters together so fluidly. It was wonderful!

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
OMG, drop the mic. This book was so good, I had to know what was going to happen next so I completely threw my TBR list for July out the window so I could continue in this series. IT WAS EPIC

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have to say, this book was not my favorite in the series. IT WAS STILL AMAZING, but not 5 stars worth of amazing. I thought Maas did a lot of good growth and writing for this book, but it wasn't as awesome as the first two. It started slow and worried me, it picked up and finished well, so 4 stars it is! She will rattle the stars!

That's all she read for July. I wish I had time to read more, but alas, July was a busy month with birthdays and work and summer fun in general.

Look for my August plan coming soon!