petitrat started reading...
The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles, #3)
Anne Rice
petitrat finished reading and wrote a review...
The lack of quotation marks really alters the reading experience in a way that’s not objectively good or bad just interesting- it gives this book a dreamy quality, a pervasive unreality. It is often unclear where the narrator’s thoughts end and speech begins, let alone who is speaking any given line. It’s disorienting, which I am assuming is the intent but made it a challenging read for me. (And for context, I am someone who highly enjoyed Normal People by Sally Rooney despite the lack of quotes.) That being said, if you like books with no quotes or you listen to the audiobook there’s some good stuff in here. Genuine insights about gender and queerness, about the odd inbetween-ness of your early 20s, and coming into your own autonomy. Not for most people I imagine but a certain kind of lit fic reader would eat this up.
Post from the Mrs. S forum
To be honest I'm struggling a bit with this one. It just feels like there's very little happening and I'm a bit disoriented by the lack of quotation marks. I loved Normal People despite the lack of quotation marks but here I can barely tell what's a thought versus something being said or who's saying things. I'm hoping it picks up a bit, I really do want to like it.
petitrat started reading...
Mrs. S
K. Patrick
petitrat started reading...
Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It
Greg Marshall
petitrat finished reading and wrote a review...
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Post from the The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo forum
Post from the The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo forum
It feels like reading a great celebrity memoir but with the advantage that the author can push the story in whatever direction is the most compelling. I have a feeling I know where it's generally heading but I can't wait to see how it gets there!
petitrat started reading...
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Taylor Jenkins Reid
petitrat commented on a post
I'm on page 94 and I took a break from it and I'm hesitant to keep going... is it that good? I don't feel a spark just yet.
petitrat finished reading and wrote a review...
A little scattered but very raw and compelling. If you have been messy and aimless and self-destructive, a bad feminist or mother or girlfriend, you'll find something you recognize here.
petitrat started reading...
Sex Object: A Memoir
Jessica Valenti
petitrat finished reading and wrote a review...
If you loved Our Flag Means Death, this book definitely has similar vibes- and not just because it's about gay pirates. Quite spicy but not in a way that feels repetitive or disconnected from the journey the characters are on which I really appreciate. I actually think the sex scenes are my favorite element which isn't an insult to the rest of the book, it's a testament to how strong the sex scenes are (if a little anatomically fantastical). Is it perfect? No- it suffers from reminding the reader very explicitly and very often exactly how the characters are feeling about eachother and the enemies-to-lovers feels half-assed but that being said...it's so fun! Just a really good, really horny, brain-off romp.
petitrat commented on a post
Post from the Kidnapped by the Pirate forum
Possibly an unpopular opinion but I think the dual POV is actively undermining the set up of this story. Hawk arrives on the scene as the scary Blackbeard-esque pirate and a couple pages later we get his POV telling us how actually he'd never hurt a woman and he's just putting on his scary pirate act to freak Nathaniel out :/ I think it would be so much more powerful for there to be a genuine sense of danger! Also to have Hawk's backstory reveal more slowly- by 10% in we have a full explanation of how he's a misunderstood good guy forced into a life of piracy when all he wants is to raise sheep somewhere in peace. It's just not selling the fantasy!!
petitrat started reading...
Kidnapped by the Pirate
Keira Andrews
petitrat commented on a post
I feel like I'm reliving my teen years to some extent while reading this and it's making me feel some kind of way. As much as I enjoyed watching Percy flossing during capture the flag, I kind of wish the Disney+ adaptation had given us millennial Percy (he's a '93 baby) with all of his timely 2000s references, snark, and sense of humor.
petitrat finished reading and wrote a review...
This book is three metaphors in a trenchcoat, disguised as a zombie containing a crow. Recommended if you like: being confused, having a nonspecific ache somewhere deep inside you, light gore
petitrat commented on a post
I'm not sure what to think of this book at the moment... I like dystopian fiction, but I'm not sure I like the way it's written... To be continued 🤷🏽♀️
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Summer 2025 Readalong
Read at least 1 book in the Summer 2025 Readalong.