Like am I just illiterate??? Have I failed basic English reading comprehension??

“she placed a hand on her shoulder like a protective raft” what???

“He’d approached her like she was a disposable body he recognized across the street” i thought the requirement for being described as “disposable” was not being easily recognizable???

”They followed them through alpine meadows, mirroring the rows of caterpillars that crawled down the moss” what the fuck does this mean?

”The ceramic fox [cake topper] curled between buttercream and strawberries. His eyes were closed, his bushy tail a veil that hid him from the rest of the world” a veil is BY DEFINITION not “bushy”….

I’m really struggling with this. This book would be better if it didn’t try so hard to sound impressive and poetic.

***Note that these are from the ARC, and final wording is subject to change in the official version