Posted on by Destiny

Review of “Tender is the Flesh”

“Tender is the Flesh can be found on Kindle

This book was never intended to grace the premise that is my Kindle library. Not this on early in our relationship, anyways. Typically, it takes a while for me to warm up to a novel so quickly; especially when I’ve seen “Tender is the Flesh” by Agustina Bazterrica talked about across the internet. I’ve relied heavily on Book of the Month and the aisles of department stores in person and online for my self-assigned reading list. My shopping list is easy, it’s accessible, and my spending problem also includes never cancelling subscriptions once I buy into them. If I hear about a book online, it will typically hibernate on some wish list until one day I add it into a shopping cart. I read too slow for libraries and spending sprees at bookstores I keep for rare occasions and mental health days.

On social media my timelines would be swarmed with divided opinions of this book. Everyone was reviewing this book, and some claimed that it was too mature for human consumption. The boundaries this book was said to push was going too far…so of course I had to read it. How could I say no?

First Impressions

The cover of the copy I downloaded is visually split vertically with a sepia portrait on the lower half of the novel and a red outline of a bull on the top half of the book. The cover is black, and there is a quote alongside the novel’s title by an author proclaiming this to be her newest novel of the year. On the top half of the book behind the red bull is black, which is a stark contrast, and the sepia portrait on the bottom half is offset by pink. The pink could be contrasted against the sepia, but it is not as stark as the contrast between the red and the black up top.

It is a bit of an eerie front cover, but it looks like a horror paperback book that I’d find at a used bookstore. The title makes the book standout for me because readers wouldn’t know what sort of horror genre this is just based off the title. Let’s be real, “The Haunting of Hill House” is probably a great book, but we know what it’s about. “Tender is the Flesh” let’s the imagination wander until you read the back cover.

Once you read a back cover summary for this book it’s game on.

During Reading

This book is horrifying and repulsive. I would love to compare and contrast this book to another dystopian novel one day, perhaps George Orwell’s “1984” because there’s a lot to unpack here.

There are reasons why I cannot see how an entire society would resort to cannibalism if we were no longer allowed to eat pork/beef/poultry, but a horror novel doesn’t have to make sense to work. With that being said, this book still made my skin crawl.

This book may be too disturbing for some to finish. It’s a very visual book and the narrator gets lost within his own train of thought a lot. There were some points that I had to read slower than others to really process what in the actual eff was happening. Some of the content was very graphic and because there’s jargon being used that I’m not familiar with I had to slow down.

After Reading & Star rating

I read this book within a day. Yes, it was disturbing but it was a fantastic dystopian horror novel. The author had a message they needed to convey about society, and they did so masterfully. This book will make the reader think about the darker side of humanity and about the meat processing industry. It’s meant for the reader to feel uncomfortable about these topics.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

My first 5/5-star rating in 2022 belongs to “Tender is the Flesh“. If you’re a reader with a vivid imagination you may have some trouble getting through this book because the material is very graphic at times. However, if you don’t mind the subject matter then I highly recommend this book.

Posted on by Destiny

How to Tackle Classic Literature

a romantic setting in the bathroom
Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

You want to be culturally literate. You want to know all of the witty banter to say when the mood strikes, and you want to know what your strange Cousin Hilda is talking about when she starts to quote Shakespeare at the Christmas dinner table. For whatever reason, you want to read the classics. As you start this journey, you may start to realize reading the classics is easier said than accomplished. It has nothing to do with you not being smart, it may have everything to do with the way you process information. So, let’s take a look at ways to help aid you in reading classic literature.

Watch a Performance

It shouldn’t be a secret that if you watch a Shakespeare play you may become more enlightened with reading the play itself. The best thing about this is most communities have local theatres you can watch performances at a discounted price. Or if you prefer to not spend money at all, you can always see when your local high school is putting on a show. A lot of times these small-town plays will still have great talent.

theater interior
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Read With a Friend

Okay, this may seem like torture to some, so pick what friends you ask wisely. Sometimes it is easier said than read–and when I say this, I mean reading passages back and forth can sometimes help delve deeper into the meaning behind the words. And, if you happen to be reading Charles Dickens, this may be what keeps you awake.

friends on the blanket on the beach
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Watch a Film Adaptation

Be very careful with this! There are some film adaptations that are great–and some, not so great. If you’re looking for a classic literature film adaptation that closely identifies with the text, it would probably do best to Google reviews of the movies first.

person in black and white striped socks lying on bed
Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

Keep to a Schedule

Just like if you were in class, it’s sometimes best to keep a reading schedule. Set a goal for yourself that’s easy to accomplish at first, and the more you accomplish your goals, the higher you can achieve. For example, if you’re trying to get through “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy, start off with setting a goal of 10 pages a day before slowly moving up the number of pages you want to read a day. As agonizingly slow that sounds, you’ll feel accomplished that you’re meeting your daily reading goals.

photo of planner and writing materials
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Read a Summary After Each Chapter

I know that some of us has been brainwashed into thinking Sparknotes is for cheaters, but it’s a great tool. With Sparknotes, you can read a quick summary of chapters you might feel you didn’t quite understand. Sparknotes is also a great place to research more in depth about the characters, plot, motifs, themes, etc. There is also Cliffnotes which is another summary website. Both of these summary websites come in paperback copy versions as well that you can pick up at your local Barnes & Nobles.

woman sitting on chair using black ipad
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Posted on by Destiny

Review of “A Quiet Place” I & II

Back in October I had originally penned a review about “A Quiet Place” but I didn’t want to post it until after I had watched “A Quiet Place Part II“. I had a lot of questions still after watching the first movie, and before I was going to pass judgement on another horror movie, I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and watch the second half before I decided to rate it so poorly. Was I disappointed? Let’s get into it.

Before Watching

It’s been a year since the sequel had came out and three since “A Quiet Place” was released in theatres. It’s crazy now looking back on it, because this was one of the last movies I remember being hyped before the pandemic happened and the world fell into general chaos. I remember hearing mostly positive reviews when both of these movies had came out. I remember this being a breakthrough movie in the deaf community for having a deaf actress.

I was aware this movie was a dystopian, taking place after an apocalyptic event. I knew this was a thriller, with the main antagonists being a species of aliens that did not like noise. I wasn’t sure if they made noise that would kill people, or if the noises people would make would cause the creatures to eat them– I really wasn’t sure how the plot was going to be spun, but I knew that basis of it.

I knew John Krasinski and Emily Blunt played husband and wife in the movie. Which at least I had hopes that meant their onscreen chemistry would be believable, considering they’re married IRL. John Krasinski also directed this movie, which feels a bit like he just wanted to play in a movie with his wife. Which is…sweet, I guess.

Overall, my hopes were fairly high for the first movie.

During Watching “A Quiet Place”

I had so many questions. Had these creatures really taken over the Earth in a year, and everything had fallen into this state of ruin so quickly? When the family is in town we get a glimpse of a dilapidated grocery store, and overgrown train tracks as they’re walking home. I know nature will take over without the interference of human beings over a period of time, but that quickly?

Where was the government during all of this? Did the United States give their entire Armed Forces a day off and that day happened to be the day the creatures decided to take over? You cannot tell me we wouldn’t have at least made a dent in their numbers. Especially this family in the middle of bum-hell nowhere. Have you not ever seen the inside of a rednecks house? Terrifying. Those creatures would’ve been dead.

Great work I guess on the set crew, considering they did a bit too well at making this world look dystopic.

During Watching “A Quiet Place: Part II”

That baby would’ve been dead.

If anything else would’ve been certain in this universe, it would’ve been that baby would’ve been gobbled up by these ET wannabes. There’s only so many times you catch the baby before it cries out and something snatches it. Also, they’re keeping the baby in a renovated suitcase…what’s going to happen when the baby becomes a bratty toddler? How are you going to keep it quiet then? Have you seen a toddler have a tantrum? Have you HEARD a toddler have a tantrum?

I had more questions following Part II than I did even following Part I. I felt at this point the writers were just throwing characters away because to hell with it. Why not? Also, why didn’t they use their newfound weapon against the creatures every.single.time they saw one of those things coming for them? This would have for sure spared a few people.

Final Thoughts

I really don’t see what everyone saw in this movie. The movie had a lot of plot holes. The creatures were not believable, albeit fascinating to look at. For the cinematography, this movie did a pretty decent job. This movie did give a platform to the deaf community. But this movie had a lot of plot holes. I had a lot of questions, and at some points I was frustrated with the characters.

Overall, I’m going to give both of these movies a 3/5. They aren’t bad and they kept me entertained, but I do think the movie could’ve been better.

Rating: 3 out of 5.
Posted on by Destiny

Hempz, the Organic Life Brand

Its that time of the year again where everyone is into their pumpkin craze and my lips and skin start to crack like there’s no tomorrow. I’ve mentioned it previously in posts that I have very dry skin and my skin is more prone to the sensitive side of things. There’s one lotion above all I recommend time and again, and it’s the Hempz.

Hempz is a brand that has never left my skin feeling dry or not hydrated enough. It never leaves my skin feeling oily or dried out from chemicals like some other top brand lotions can sometime. And it so happens that this lotion collection smells absolutely amazing to boot.

Hempz was founded in 1998. Their products are leaping bunny certified.

The ingredient list on the back is absolutely amazing. They use Argula oil, vitamin c, vitamin e, and collagen to give you a full rounded effect. In the wintertime especially if you live in a temperate climate or a climate that gets a lot of snow, this lotion will be a must have.

There are so many good smelling lotions to choose from now as well. Their typical line is yellow, pink, blue, cream, and green. Hempz also now treats their customers to a long line of seasonal products which include pumpkin and peppermint for your seasonal favorites.

For now on, I think I’m going to start rating products similarly like the ratings I give on my book reviews and movie reviews. I just feel like if I have a better template worked out, it’ll just promote for a better overall experience.

Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Overall I give this lotion a 5/5 star rating on efficacy, affordability, and overall execution. Yes. It is the shit. If you don’t believe me by the way, the company makes smaller sample sizes of their normal bigger products as well. If you’re familiar with their products, I would try checking out their seasonal line then as well.

The lotion is pretty fragrant however, so perhaps if you don’t want a stronger smelling lotion then this isn’t the lotion for you. I’ll be checking out a few unscented products so stay tuned.

Posted on by Destiny

The New Drugstore Mascaras of 2021

woman applying black mascara

It is now October 2021, the season is fall. The year, my friends, is coming to an end. With that, it is time to start reviewing the best and worst mascaras that were out on the market this year. For this list, I’ve compiled mascaras that I’ve seen show up on drugstore shelves in 2021.

Loreal Paris Air Volume Mega Mascara Waterproof

(Source)

This tube is shaped a bit differently than their previous mascara cosmetic lines with it’s curvaceous edges and thicker design. The tube is also metallic and shiny compared to the duller plastic of their previous launched mascaras. The mascara wand is a straight line with the black piping all the same length, so the volume the user is going to get is going to be less thicker than if the wand was curved. This mascara will be best worn for an everyday work look, and its waterproof version of this mascara will surely not disappoint.

Revlon So Fierce Big Bad Lash Mascara

This mascara was a bit of a weird choice for Revlon to make. The tubing is a vibrant red, which is a classic Revlon statement to make. However, the bold lettering on the sides is a true statement. Revlon’s packaging in their past lineups have not been as statement worthy as the So Fierce collection. I’m wondering if Revlon is now trying to rebrand themselves toward a younger audience.

Covergirl Clean Fresh Water Resistant Mascara

I know I’ve mentioned this previously, but to anyone who hasn’t heard Covergirl went cruelty-free! To go along with this, Covergirl has launched cleaner, healthier products over the past few years with more simplistic ingredients listed on the back. This mascara totes a vegan formula, so you know it’s going to have some good ingredients. This tubing is more simplistic in style than Covergirl’s edgier packaging designs of fashion yesteryear. This package has a white tubing top with a pink body, and is going to stick out along the cosmetic wall of your local drugstore for it’s mismatched yet simplistic design.

Elf Big Mood Mascara

This tube is flashy than it’s predecessors. It’s an all purple metallic tube with big, boxy texts across the body that announces this mascara to have a BIG MOOD. This brush has uneven piping along the sides, which will create more voluminous lashes for a more night look. This mascara is going to make your eyes pop, and the best part– it’s not going to break the bank.

Posted on by Destiny

Review of “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires”

It’s that time of the year again.

It’s spooky season.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and this year it holds extra special sentimental value. This time a year ago, I was preparing to launch this blog. Even though it was a soft launch and even a softer year as I don’t post much, this blog has brought me back to reading. It has helped me carve out a space on the internet where I can write what I think to my little hearts content and that’s something to celebrate.

As a form of celebration, I finally sat down to share with you guys one of my favorite books from this year. It’s the perfect book for October, and I’ve been recommending this book nonstop online. “The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires” by Grady Hendrix is a contemporary masterpiece.

There, I said it.

Do not get me wrong, he has a few authors he holds the spotlight with this season. Sophia Moreno-Garcia is another exceptional horror writer I’m recommending this season and Ali Hazelwood knocked it out of the ballpark with her academic romance novel. But Grady Hendrix brought vampires back for me, just as “Midnight Sun” was prepared to crush my hopes and dreams.

First Impressions

I picked this book up when I was shopping at my local Barnes & Noble. What attracted to me first was of course the name. I love a chunky name if done right, and something about “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” had my curiosity peaked. The book cover was a close second.

The southern peaches with blood dripping from gaping bite wounds was a “hidden between the lines” temptation for me. This book was daring me to imagine what it was trying to say by just the cover. Was a handsome vampire going to swoop into a southern belle’s heart (and bed…) while the reader begs her to understand what he truly is? Was the book club a clan of hardened criminals living on the edge of society and slaughtering vampires while reading smutty fanfiction?

During Reading

This is the first book I’ve read by Grady Hendrix, although I’ve had “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” in my mental TBR reading pile for a couple of months. I’ve heard this book is pretty mild as far as his other works are concerned, but I cannot attest to that. I do enjoy the book clubs reading lists for the timespan taking place in the book, and I do enjoy the rudimentary maps that were included in my copy as well. I am a visual person, and I always love when authors include extra materials in their books to help the readers better disappear into their world.

This book follows a group of 90s housewives as they find out the mysteries surrounding their neighbor and fellow book club member, James Harris. What follows is some female badass-ery as these housewives navigate the dark waters of what happens behind the closed doors in a sleepy Southern town. I don’t want to get into too much detail because I know I’ll end up spoiling something, but this book is going to be great for someone who:

1.) Doesn’t mind dark themes including – child murder, rape, suicide, kidnapping, domestic abuse and violence.

2.) Graphic content being drawn out figuratively across the page

3.) Likes novels with contemporary historical themes (it takes place in the 90s)

4.) Dislikes complex plots; this book is pretty clean cut, and is not for someone who likes longer length narratives.

Honestly, to me this book was pretty mild as far as language goes and content, but I would say it does have some pretty mature content that wouldn’t be suitable for younger readers.

After Reading & Star Rating

I really liked this book. The author tackled pretty hard hitting topics such as classism and sexism, and overall Grady Hendrix did a great job. I never thought I needed a book where housewives take on a creature of the night, but lo and behold here it is.

My biggest gripe with this book would be that we aren’t introduced to some of the background characters as much as I would have liked to be. Most of the book clubs family members are just mentioned in passing, and much of the husbands characters can be summed up in a descriptive word or two. I think if he had made these characters more complex he could have expanded further on sexism. Where it stands, most of the husbands I could either cared less about or they were just so self-centric it was easy to hate them.

Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Overall I give this book a 4/5 stars and highly recommend you reading this book during the month of October.

Posted on by Destiny

“Blue Lagoon” Did NOT Age Well

Whats up everyone? Today while I was home and bored I decided to watch this movie on Netflix. I had a deeply unlocked memory of Brook Shields playing in it during the infancy of her career, but I had never watched it. What I wasn’t ready for was a 1980 film portraying a couple of Victorian era children being stranded on an island and having a sexual awakening for an hour an a half of run time.

Before Watching

As aforementioned, I had a bit of background knowledge going into this movie, but not by much. I knew Brooke Shields had played in this movie, and I vaguely remember a sequel/remake coming out of this movie a few years ago. I had never watched the remake of the movie. My mother I remembered mentioning how she hated that all of her era movies were being rewritten for the big screen once more. Due to that, I knew this movie probably dated somewhere in the 70s-80s; my mother is a boomer and will go absolutely rabid for remakes of movies during this time.

During Watching

For all intensive purposes, the background to this movie is as follows: Ship gets shipwrecked, two children and the ship cook Paddy survives. Paddy dies and leaves the children to fend for themselves on an island only inhabited by a tribe on the other side of the island. There’s not much to know there, except that Paddy forbids the children from going to the other side of the island, claiming that it is “by law” they cannot ever go join the tribe. I sort of wish there was more to the tribe than that, but all you’ll really see is a couple minutes of screen time of the tribe as they kill someone.

So the movie ages up the two children, Richard and Emmeline pretty quickly after the cook dies. Not too weird unless you were prepared to watch “Lord of the Flies” — but they decide to age the children up to puberty and then decide to ditch the clothes for the majority of screen time.

Which is only made more awkward by two actors that are teenagers themselves. Upon googling I realized that Brooke Shields herself is 14 and Christopher Atkins is 19.

Weird. Talk about very weird and uncomfortable.

I know it’s a different time, but even then I still feel that unless I was a teenager myself this would’ve made me feel a bit uncomfortable back in the 1980s as well. This movie really likes the idea of sexualizing innocence. This was seen in many different scenes and scenarios throughout the movie. For example, Emmeline gets her period in one take and doesn’t know what’s happening. Richard wants to come closer and to take a look at where she’s bleeding from and then Emmaline shies away from him before he could get any closer. The way the characters talk to each other is very child-like. I know that they are portraying two children that had grown up outside of society and social norms, but some scenes are uncomfortable to get through because of this. Then to top it all off they are scantily clad the entire time.

The worst part of all was when they ended up conceiving a baby and then they had no clue what to do with it/him. I thought perhaps survival instinct would take over in these sort of scenarios, but that isn’t the case as they try feeding him coconut water as opposed to breast milk. After they seem to figure out how to feed them all seems well again, until they end up on a lifeboat they had and drift too far from shore after fighting a shark.

Yes they had a lifeboat. Yes they fought a shark.

I could go into an entire rant about the 70s fetishising young teenage girls and hatred of sharks as shown by Jaws– but thats an article for another day.

Final Thoughts

When this movie had came out in June of 1980, it was met by mixed reviews by critics for an array of reasons; Brooke Shield’s performance, the overall movie and execution being called out in the process (source). But it was a box office success, so make of that what you will if you’re planning on watching it. I will give the Blue Lagoon this: it took risks. Were the risks worth it? Up to you. For me I’m not the biggest fan of the movie.

Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Overall I give this movie a 1/5 stars. I didn’t like the oversexualization of teen actors. The premise of the movie didn’t make sense as there was multiple chances for the children to get off the island to the point it was almost comical. This movie didn’t feel romantic and it didn’t feel suspenseful. It just felt…wrong.

Posted on by Destiny

Review of “The Love Hypothesis”

I’ve seen so many women swooning over this book in the reviews section on Goodreads, and now upon finishing the book I can 10/10 confirm the swooning is needed. For anyone who loves spicy romance novels, this is going to be your next favorite.

First Impressions

The cover is simplistic.

We can expect two people to fall in love, and there’s probably going to be some science related chemistry going on. Which hey, I’m down to explore no pun intended. This looks like it’s going to be an interesting romance right off the bat to say the least. The cover isn’t super corny, and it’s appropriate. 

During Reading

For someone as smart as Olive is, she is really blind to Adam’s attraction to her. This made me roll my eyes a bit because a lot of the main problems would have been solved if she had just told Adam how she felt. 

I know, I know. That’s the point. 

But he’s letting her rub sunscreen down his biceps in front of his superiors and colleagues. I don’t have to be a biologist to know that’s probably an indicator he’s into you. Oh, Olive. You’re like the clueless friend we all know and love. The same goes for Adam, however Adam is clueless in a different way. Adam doesn’t realize how intimidating he is to everyone in his presence. 

I read between the lines that Adam had been harboring a crush for Olive all along. From the hints Holden had dropped to Adam already knowing Olive’s name, the moment the initial kiss happened he was already a goner. 

I was already picking Tom out to be the bad person from the initial meeting. I don’t credit this accurate guess to superior literary prowess but more so I had been watching Pretty Woman around the time I was reading that part. He just seemed like the kind of toad that would prowl on someone like Olive as a way to get back at Adam for being a better scientist.

Olive and Adam’s friends are amazing support characters in their own rights. They all have their own lives going on that we get to see glimpses of while still being good friends to the main characters. 

The smut…

The sex scenes were well written and not awkward at all. They didn’t happen until the last quarter of the book, and the author led up to them pretty well. Yes they were hot. Yes you will probably appreciate them. 

My Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This book was better than I had thought it was going to be. Not that I came in with low intentions for this book, it’s just that I didn’t know what to expect when two scientists fall in love. But this book made me a believer, and Olive and Adam deserve the 5/5 star rating I’m giving this book.  

Posted on by Destiny

Review of “The People We Keep”

I know I haven’t really been around recently on my blog, and I wish I had a better excuse behind my absence. No, I haven’t been working on an elaborate project lately. I haven’t gotten married or have given birth to any offspring. But I have been reading some pretty decent books that I wanted to share with you guys and talk about.

“The People We Keep” by Allison Larkin was my nominee for this year’s book in my Book of the Month app. Yes, I feel in love with it that hard and that deeply. Have I read most of the other nominated books on the list? Not yet, but I’m slowly getting there. Do I believe this book generally deserves the nomination and potentially winning the award? Yes.

This book is an emotional roller coaster. You follow the life of April Sawaki, a vagabond who moves up and down the East Coast following a series of unfortunate events that leaves this young woman believing she is not worthy of being loved. This book tackles deep topics such as family dysfunction and mental illness. It really goes in deep about the scars everyone carries based on the people we have loved and harmed in our lives, and those who have harmed us as well.

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As a really reflective person who didn’t grow up in the best of situations, I can relate to this character. I can relate to her on a deeper level and on an introspective level as I’ve watched a lot of people grow and come out of really crummy situations, thanks a lot in part both to the individual and the great support system they surround themselves with.

The story takes place in the 90s. Hello. The 90s. As a millennial I have an unnatural obsession for the decade I started grammar school in. The author leaves little nuggets of nostalgic joy into the story line. April has a Ren and Stimpy flashlight and a potential dislike for Pearl Jam. I enjoy whenever writers put time pieces into their stories, but I do know a lot of people believes it distracts from the overall plot or that it’ll just age the book that quicker. I read out a passage to my boyfriend and he literally cringed that they were hinting at a song on the radio mentioning to not call him daughter. He just thinks it’s unnecessary and the author is just trying to be cool.

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Whether you think it’s cute or cringe, that’s up to you.

If you ever sometimes feel like you are not loved, this is a great book to pick up and remember that you are deeply loved. It’s not always about the people we interact with every single day, but it’s about the people we keep and hold to us most in the darkest times of our lives.

Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

5/5 Stars

Originally I thought about giving this book 4.5/5 stars because let’s face it, I can be a hard ass. It’s hard for me to find a story that I believe cannot be enhanced in any way, but this story deserves all the stars I have in my box. This book was thought provoking, it was easy to read and get through, and the characters were well thought out.

What did you guys think? Have you read this book yet? What would you consider the greatest book to come out in 2021?

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Posted on by Destiny

“Midnight Sun” and Then Some

Okay…

The moment we’ve been waiting for since the beginning of December has finally come. I have completed Stephanie Meyer’s book “Midnight Sun” and I can now check this book off my February Reading list…

Ha. Right.

So I ended up not finishing this book, ya’ll. Perhaps maybe one day I’ll eventually finish this book, but now that I have tried countless of times I’m still just going to mark this off my list and leave it incomplete because I think I’ve made a strong enough opinion on it already.

We all know it’s not a good sign when a reader doesn’t want to finish reading a book, and a short list of the reasons why a person may forgo finishing includes:

1.) The book is a yawn, personified.

2.) The book’s plot is hard to follow, muddled, isn’t thought out, etc.

3.) The book is outdated.

In this case, I would like to say it was perhaps all of the above. I am not dragging Stephanie Meyer’s by any means because I really liked her series when I was a teenager. But I am now a twenty-six year old woman, and this book had a lot of moments early on that were hard to get through.

So let me count down the things I disliked in the story…

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First Impression: Book Cover

From the moment you lay eyes on the cover, you can tell it’s another book in the “Twilight” series. There’s just a distinct look these books have–the clean black background with the simple image contrasted on the cover always makes me do a double take in the bookstore to see if it’s another book from Stephanie Meyer. I can appreciate what they were trying to do with a pomegranate, since Edward refers to Bella as Persephone in the story. But honestly I dislike having the fruit sloppily cut open on the front. I feel like having a whole pomegranate sitting on the front cover like the original books always have a whole apple on their front cover (unless it was the version used to promote the movie series) would have been a better design.

I already knew what the book was going to be about, so I can’t really make a unbiased first impression on my thoughts going into this book. I have an expectation that this book is going to be Edwards point of view of Twilight. I figured my impression was going to be generally more focused on whether or not Meyer decided to add something crazy into it that wasn’t included in the first book.

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Going in, I’m feeling pretty open minded. I have read the twilight books since graduating high school. They are not that bad structurally compared to the House of Night series where I couldn’t get through the series based on how the author wrote her sentences. There’s some moments that used to make me swoon as a teen that as an adult make me laugh (the Bella-Jacob in a sleeping bag scene for one) but overall, I pulled through the series in the matter of days.

I expect this book will take about the same amount of time to get through, and will be the generally the same tone as the Twilight saga was.

Impressions After Reading

Oh, how wrong could I be.

Stephanie Meyer didn’t add any scenes, so that problem was easily laid to rest. However, she surely doesn’t do much for making Edward’s character less creepy than people had originally thought for him to be. This definitely is not a romance book now reading back at it from an adult’s perspective. This is a bit more horror-like now after binge-watching “You” on Netflix for hours on end in my adulthood.

Edward Cullen is fuckin’ creepy.

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He talks about killing his entire biology class in a moment’s notice just so he would be able to kill Bella the moment he’s hit with her scent. He mocks his science teacher’s intelligence level because he has two doctorate degrees. He follows her everywhere and listens into every person’s thoughts nearby. This guy is an absolute killer, and a stalker to top it all off.

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I think if this book had been published before we were adults it would have perhaps landed a bit differently, but that ship has sailed. Maybe I’m not the intended target audience, but this book series came out when I was a teen, so this was the audience it ended up being for. Why Stephanie Meyers waited so long to publish this book after a chapter was leaked back in 2008 is beyond me, because I really do think she missed her window on when this book would have ended up on the bestseller’s list.

Rating

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Overall, I give this book a rating of a single star. We have the Twilight Saga. We didn’t really need the first book retold in Edward’s voice. It came out way too late to make an impact, and Edward is a creeper.

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