Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 360
Rating:
My Thoughts
I’m so glad my book club chose to read REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES. Otherwise, I might never have read it and I absolutely adored this book. As soon as I started reading it, I could tell it was going to suck me right in. I laughed, I cried, and I mostly smiled as I read this heart-warming story of love, loss, grief, and resilience.
I loved that it’s mostly told in a third-person limited POV and a charming first-person POV from Marcellus, the octopus–the star of the book. Marcellus is smart, snarky, a little bit cranky, and a delightful narrator. I especially loved his friendship with Tova, the main human character. Their friendship reminds us, not in a preachy way, that animals know more than they let on and they each have feelings and deserve our kindness and respect.
I also loved Tova. She was such a likable person despite being a bit closed off because of her grief. She reminded me a bit of my own grandmother whose family, like Tova’s, immigrated to the US while she was very young.
Book Lovers
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle
Pages: 377
Rating:
My Thoughts
I absolutely loved BOOK LOVERS. The enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes are two of my favorites and Henry’s execution didn’t disappoint and was excellently written, producing a spicy slow-burn romance with some of the best bantering I’ve ever read. The sexual tension between Nora and Charlie is palpable and leaves you wanting for more. It’s also a story with some meat to it. It explores complicated familial relationships, feelings of not fitting in, extreme anxiety, different types of love, loss, and healing.
Remarkably Bright Creature
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 360
Rating:
My Thoughts
I’m so glad my book club chose to read REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES. Otherwise, I might never have read it and I absolutely adored this book. As soon as I started reading it, I could tell it was going to suck me right in. I laughed, I cried, and I mostly smiled as I read this heart-warming story of love, loss, grief, and resilience.
I loved that it’s mostly told in a third-person limited POV and a charming first-person POV from Marcellus, the octopus–the star of the book. Marcellus is smart, snarky, a little bit cranky, and a delightful narrator. I especially loved his friendship with Tova, the main human character. Their friendship reminds us, not in a preachy way, that animals know more than they let on and they each have feelings and deserve our kindness and respect.
I also loved Tova. She was such a likable person despite being a bit closed off because of her grief. She reminded me a bit of my own grandmother whose family, like Tova’s, immigrated to the US while she was very young.
2023 Wrap-Up
Books Read
Stats
Books Read: 12
Rereads: 3
Pages Read: 4,870
Average Rating: 4.1
Favorites
My top three favorite books (in order of how much I loved them):
My least favorite book was THE CHRISTMAS MURDER GAME by Alexandra Benedict.
December 2023 Wrap-Up
Books Read
Stats
December
Books Read: 2
Rereads: 1
Pages Read: 921
Average Rating: 3.8
Year-to-Date
Books Read: 12
Rereads: 3
Pages Read: 4,870
Average Rating: 4.1
The Christmas Murder Game
Author: Alexandra Benedict
Genre: Holiday, Mystery, Thriller
Format: Audio
Pages: 345
Length: 9h 5m
Narrator: Ana Clements
Rating:
My Thoughts
I thought the concept of THE CHRISTMAS MURDER GAME sounded fun and suspenseful. While I was never bored, I just didn’t think the execution was done very well and the writing was awkward. I feel like Benedict tried way too hard. The “sonnets” were very clunky and the anagrams were weird. Fortunately, listening to the audiobook helped hide the weird spellings. I also thought the use of “obvs” and “pud” (pudding) in the narrative, not dialogue, was really strange.
As far as the story goes, I knew who the main antagonist was pretty early on. It was fairly obvious, or obvs *rolls eyes*. I didn’t mind Lily but I thought some of her choices were a little suspect. Every other character was either annoying, selfish, or not developed very well. The circumstances that had to happen so the story could take place weren’t very realistic either.
This is a nit-picky thing that took me out of the story. It could be because I’m from the US and speak American English. Anyway, one of the characters is pregnant and this character and their cousins said that the cousins would be the baby’s aunt or uncle. Aunts and uncles are parents’ siblings not cousins. They’d be a cousin too–first cousin once removed, actually.