valsbooks
just another girl who loves romance and fantasy and spends way too much time on bookstagram
2206 points
valsbooks commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
hi guys! i'm planning to write a romance novel based on my personal experience with my childhood crush, it's just for a lil passion project while i'm still on summer break. despite this being for shits and giggles, i still want to create something well-written. so for all romance book lovers out there, what makes a romance good? i want it to be unpredictable, but that's quite difficult with a romance novel where you know two characters would end up together and i'm struggling to make it more compelling (it's an academic rivals to friends to lovers kinda trope). any pieces of advice would be appreciated!
11valsbooks commented on valsbooks's review of Emma
View spoiler
6valsbooks commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Hello everyone!! Summer is just around the corner (at least it is in the northern hemisphere), and with that I had the thought of building a little summer reading list!
The categories are as follows: 🧐 A nonfiction on a new topic you’re interested in 🤿 A nonfiction on a topic you want to dive deeper in 🕯️ A classic (bonus points if it’s not a well-known classic) ⭐️ A fiction from a new-to-you author 🫶🏼 A fiction from an indie author (because I feel like there are so many indie gems passed over)
Add yours in the comments! They can be suggestions for others (ie. books you like that fit these) OR your own little summer reading list!
43valsbooks commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Are you adverse to DNFing? Did you have to read it for school or a book club?
My entire bookclub struggled through American Psycho, (thankfully it's pretty short.) One of the rare times the movie is better imo.
121valsbooks commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Tell me your bookish disasters!
For me, a couple months ago my electric dehumidifier decided to unload all of its water (no it wasn't full) and it flooded 2 of my book cases. And now they're wonky like a banana and make expensive sounding creaking/popping/cracking noises sometimes despite being thoroughly dried out... And I'm scared of my books being in the bookcases but I'm 🌠broke🌠 and can't afford to buy new shelves
65valsbooks commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Hello everyone!! Summer is just around the corner (at least it is in the northern hemisphere), and with that I had the thought of building a little summer reading list!
The categories are as follows: 🧐 A nonfiction on a new topic you’re interested in 🤿 A nonfiction on a topic you want to dive deeper in 🕯️ A classic (bonus points if it’s not a well-known classic) ⭐️ A fiction from a new-to-you author 🫶🏼 A fiction from an indie author (because I feel like there are so many indie gems passed over)
Add yours in the comments! They can be suggestions for others (ie. books you like that fit these) OR your own little summer reading list!
43valsbooks commented on a post
Post from the The Nightingale forum
Page 28 and I’m already feeling emotional and tearing up… this does not bode well for me lmao
1valsbooks started reading...
The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah
0valsbooks commented on honeydijon's review of The Seven Year Slip
DNF @ 35%
Disclaimer: romance isn’t my genre but I do still enjoy a good love story when there are other elements at play, such as magical realism. I enjoyed The Dead Romantics quite a bit so I genuinely anticipated liking The Seven Year Slip, but I did not. If you are not normally a romance reader and you’re wanting to find a book to get you into the genre, this probably won’t be it.
The concept of this novel is fantastic, and reminiscent of the movie The Lake House. Unfortunately I did not feel that the writing was strong enough to support the premise. I struggled to get a sense of who the characters were as people, which exacerbated my frustration with the use of the insta-love trope. The tone of this book seemed to be at war with itself: it wanted to be a serious exploration of grief and how time changes people, but it also wanted to be a romcom. While both things can be true, the levity undermined the story’s gravity instead of tempering it.
I know I didn’t see it through to the end, but by 1/3 of the way into the book I lost interest and patience for the characters. I am definitely in the minority on this one.
2valsbooks wrote a review...
3.5🌟 This was a really beautifully written book about romance and grief. I can totally see why so many people love it and connect to it.
The first half of the book was a bit difficult for me, I thought it was kind of slow and frankly a bit boring, it took me a while to get invested it. And when they met for the first time I didn’t really like it. It was definitely very insta love. Whether you enjoy it or not, that’s just a matter of preference, personally it’s not really my vibe. I find it much harder to believe the romance that way and it makes it harder for me to get into the story.
And yes, a lot can happen in a weekend but it wasn’t even a full two days, really they fall in love basically from the moment they see each other. She’s immediately obsessed with him and they sleep in the same bed literally the same day they meet. And nicknames are fun but I could not take seriously the fact that it started from the moment they met, it felt forced. I just wish we could’ve seen more of them together before all these big feelings came up.
I do however believe that the second half of the book is stronger. I did have to ignore the insta love but once Iwan shows up in the present it was easier to do that because I was much more hooked and interested. I thought they had a lot of cute scenes and moments, the way Iwan spoke about her and waited for her was very sweet. And their love was so giving Invisible String by Taylor Swift.
But honestly, the thing that compelled me the most was the exploration of grief in the story. The thing that really kept me going was reading about how Clementine processed the passing of her aunt. Especially with such a difficult way of losing someone, I thought the way that was written was very real and raw and very well handled. I also loved Clementine’s evolution, her journey of self discovery and the exploration and acceptance of change and the ever present transformation that comes with living.
The plot was also very unique. I find the concept of a time travelling apartment so cool, especially for a romance novel. And it was really beautifully written, with a lot of metaphors and memorable lines, though there were some quirks, like the fact that the author repeated lines several times, that I didn’t love.
All in all, cute book, sweet romance but not my favourite since didn’t feel all that connected to it. But I think the themes that it explores really elevate the story and it did end up being quite emotional for me.
0valsbooks finished a book
The Seven Year Slip
Ashley Poston
0valsbooks commented on mariangello's review of The Seven Year Slip
While I'm up for a time travel book like any other hopeless millennial romantic, what I really stayed for was the way the two main characters processed their grief.
(I recommend reading vs audio for this one)
A touching and poignant story about how a young woman experiences change in the face of loss, and her encountering a young man during a similar crossroads of life. This is a story about how they intersect and ricochet each others' future and past.
🍽️ yearning is served with a side of whipped cream (artistic licensing inserted here)
2valsbooks commented on a post
valsbooks commented on a post
okay so i was little bit bored with this im ngl but now its starting to pick up the pace. my only complaint is how it’s kinda insta-lovey 🥴 clementine being so affected by this guy she met for like 2 seconds is something im nawt in to
5valsbooks commented on a post
I'm not sure if I like how fast the girl is already expressing how she is feeling something for the stranger boy in the appartment 😅 it doens't feel.. balanced?
2Post from the The Seven Year Slip forum
“She was the master of belonging.” Oh my God I’ve never NOT related to anything more🤩
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