after all, we build our homes upon the ruins of lost cities and sail our ships over the drowned palaces of forgotten kings.

this was so much fun!!! i loved the characters and the narrative voices. i loved the world and the cultural and historical references. truly, i cannot wait to know what happens next and to read about these characters again.

also, the audiobook quality is amazing, it's so immersive and the narrators are doing such a great job. i'm really glad i'd heard praise for it and decided to try it in this format, i think it definitely enhanced the experience for me!

lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.

this was a very interesting read, and a great first taste of Virginia Woolf's writing. this book is funny, witty and full of interesting thoughts, undoubtedly surprising and interesting at the time, and unfortunately still applicable today in some cases. i was always interested in Woolf's books but the writing in this definitely made me want to pick up more of her work.

however, as is the case with so many of the great feminist texts popular to this day, there are some glaring blind spots in Woolf's argument. although financial freedom is definitely touched upon, it is still from the fairly privileged position of someone who was able to receive inheritance in the first place, who had family and was able to receive some education. what of women with no family, of community outside the bounds of class and family? the question of race is also avoided entirely, which has always been an issue of early feminism and always jumps out to me when i pick up one of these 'foundational' texts. i still enjoyed it for what it was!

'i could scream and yell all I wanted, and nobody would hear.'

well, this was fine.

it was easy to read but so predictable. i genuinely predicted each twist to the T without even being a thriller reader, and it felt more annoying than fun to me. the only thing i didn't see coming was the very end/resolution in the last pages, and i didn't really like it because it was so unrealistic. it was also much too fast for a book that needed so damn long to get going. i did like the set up for Millie's future, though. i can see how this would make a fun and satisfying series.

i didn't like the characters much either but i still enjoyed reading about them and their relationships. i also enjoyed how distinct the voices were, i thought that was very well done. the writing was also very descriptive, and i can definitely see why this was made into a movie. i'm definitely interested in seeing the adaptation.