The Last Romantics: A Novel | 
#LitsyLoveSummerSwap @KadaGul you put together the most amazing swap! Today has been crazy, and I just got the opportunity to open my box, and I‘m blown away. Thank you, thank you! I‘m laughing, too, because it looks like we did a tea swap😄 I‘m excited to try these, and oh, do I need a quiet afternoon with one of the masks. I feel so fortunate to have you for my partner and my friend ❤️
#InvolvesFuneral This one has literally been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read since an arc unexpectedly showed up at my house 🤦♀️ #BookBinge @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickI enjoyed much of this family saga chronicling the love between four siblings (initially marked by the early loss of their father) and the unexpected ways their lives unfold. However, I was much more absorbed reading about their childhoods than the frustrating adult years, which made this a somewhat tepid pick.
panThis is a book for someone going through deep, dark grief. For that, I commend it. For me, I wish I had abandoned it early on and avoided the maddening repetition. If you are grieving, however, this book will be of great help.
panOof... Anyone that follows me, knows how difficult it is for me to hate a book. This book was terrible. I hated the choppy flow, how it jumped from present to past and then changed character views. It felt rushed and forced. The characters weren't very developed and they weren't very dimensional.
I also loathe knowing any authors political views, regardless of what they are... Politics are so ugly and divisive, I read to stay away from them.
so-soWell written but a bit of a slog to listen to.
1. The Last Romantics, Three Little Words, There, There
2. Crying in H-mart
3. The Killer Across the Table
#weekendreads
pickI loved this book, it made me think deeply about the how life is determined by each decision we make. It also made me think about the connection of family and sharing joint history. This was a thriller of sorts but an enjoyable story through the journey.
so-soToday's #BookOfTheDay opens in the year 2079 with a slightly dystopian feeling - sirens and bunkers and the implied restructuring of the government - but transforms into a meandering story about a family. From the childhood tragedy to the quiet continuing of life as separate, but connected, adults, this story is a great #contemporaryfiction #bookclub pick, but personally not a book that satisfies. #BookNerdReads 14/365
pickI liked this one just fine.
That being said, I feel like I won't remember much in a few weeks time.
Still more a 'pick' than a 'so-so.'
pick
A beautifully written story about four siblings trying to cope with life after ‘The Pause‘, a time when they are bound together by the freedom and responsibilities forced upon them. This made me think about our roles in familial relationships and how they‘re created. I could definitely relate to the two older sisters who take on the roles of not just care givers but the responsibility of the invisible load, the carrying of the worry for others.
so-soAn okay read, but I wasn‘t blown away.it started out pretty good with a group of four siblings coming to terms with their father‘s death, their Mother‘s following depression, and the upheaval of their lives. However, from there it became messy, as the book moved to their adult lives, and all the foreshadowing drove me nuts.
#Doublespin #BookSpinBingo
pan⭐️⭐️
I barely slogged my way through this book. The characters were boring boilerplates, the storyline was annoying to try to follow, and the author‘s not-so-subtle agendas were irritating. The book was superficial and vapid at times, with a few tiny, bright moments. I gave it two stars because I could see the author is a talented writer and that perhaps this just isn‘t her best work. I don‘t recommend this book. It‘s just...blah.
pickRead this a while ago. A lot stuck with me after I was reminded of the plot when my library suggested it. I like that there was a tension throughout of a family tragedy and it didn't just wallop you with it out of the blue. Loved these siblings and the way they made their lives function out of so much disfunction
Tackle the TBR 🤓📚 #boleybooks #thelastromantics #taraconklin #booklove #bookbeast #bookclub
What are you reading?😊
4 of my favorite things in one photo.
Books, monkeys, the color purple, and Orchid flowers.
Today is a happy day.
so-soIt is okay. I was a bit disappointed because this book had been on my want to reads list for years, but I didn't enjoy it very much. I had a lot of trouble connecting with the characters, and I don't understand what the future setting was supposed to do for the story. I wish I had been able to grab it from the library, instead of buying it.
pick“We are all or nothing.”
The Skinner siblings forge a deep bond when their father dies during the early years of childhood. With their mother on a “pause”, the skinner siblings are left to their own devices. They come to depend on one another for everything, so when Joe the lone brother falls away from his sisters, they all begin to unravel. 👇🏼
pickThis was between a so-so and a pick. I enjoyed it just fine, and I never felt like quitting, but it was just ok. There were too many moments where I found myself asking questions of the characters that never had good answers. They didn‘t quite feel real to me.
So I‘ve listened to over 5 1/2 hours of this audio ~ 6 1/2 to go 🎧It‘s a slow build up, I‘ve JUST now gotten to the plot! But as an audio it‘s perfect , it‘s totally fine if your mind wanders for a bit😁
This is a slow burn - it‘s an elegantly written story of siblings navigating a traumatic childhood. The death of their father and the abandonment of their mother. It‘s very slow paced but I don‘t mind listening, Cassandra Campbell is a wonderful narrator.
Just started this book. It‘s on my #BookSpin list but I think it might be #16 😜I‘m not quite following the designated order 🤫 Anyway, I know this has mixed reviews but so far I‘m liking it.
pickI won this ages ago in a Goodreads giveaway. It‘s just slightly better than a so-so. As I read this book, I often thought about the relationship I have with my sisters and the ways in which certain people and events brought us together.
#februaryfeels #spinepoem2
The Last Romantics
A Constellation of Roses
The Atomic Weight of Love
Love and Ruin
When All is Said
How to Walk Away.
so-soThis lengthy family saga seemed to go in so many different directions. The story mainly revolves around three sisters and how they dealt with their brother, collectively and individually. I would have preferred to see more between the sisters. There were numerous side plots and details that pulled the reader away from the central story, though. Also, as a CT resident, I often found the sections on CT geography a little confusing. 🤔 3⭐️ #hoopla
pickThis was a great family narrative of four siblings who dealt with the absence of their mother during what they call "the Pause", an episode of depression for their mother, by becoming close and reliant on one another. The effects of this time in their life have reverberations as they become adults. I enjoyed each of the characters of the siblings and the sensitivity and love shown to the mother.
pickRecent reads. Tagged book revolves around family drama, dysfunction and buried secrets. Another solid Irish crime/thriller from McKinty. And one of Jewell‘s better showings, IMO. Standard fare from Mayor. And a new to me author in Barclay! Good ‘ol fashioned fast paced crime novel. Thanks @Hooked_on_books !
It didn‘t matter how great a mother you tried to be; eventually every child walked off into the world alone.”
so-soOverall, this book has a steady rhythm to it-too steady I think. I enjoyed reading about a family's journey with grief over many years from an outside POV but I wish the good and bad was more deeply contrasted. I was decently happy with it, nothing life changing but decently satisfied with it until the last few chapters. To be blunt, I thought they were a joke. She should have wrapped up a long time ago but instead stretched it with filler.
My husband and I have two book shelves. One (not pictured) is solely devoted to Bibles and theology while this one is dedicated to everything else. 😜 Only the best books ever (in my opinion) and the TBR are allowed here. The rest are donated to HBP 😊📖
1. Tagged plus 5-6 more
2. After I Do
3. The gifted school
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
Starting the last #lmpbc pick for round 6 tonight!! Loving this cover 🤩
@suvata @Kaila-ann @Hooked_on_books
pickRead for Litsy Markup Postal Book Club (#LMPBC) Round 6 - Group B.
This book is a very intense family drama. I liked it quite a bit. A small part of this book takes place in the year 2079. It hints at a dystopian future that I really would have liked to learn more about. Although I was eager to learn more, this book really wasn‘t about the future so, I can‘t blame the author for that – just my curiosity.
Yay! I received this today!
#LMPBC Round 6 - #GroupB
@mynameisacolour @Kaila-Ann @Hooked_on_books @suvata
pickLoved the relationships between the characters, especially the way everyone deals with trauma and grief differently.
The last couple of weeks have been a bit trying. So, this weekend there will be rest, reading, a little baking & plenty of downtime. I need it, & hopefully, I‘ll be able to recharge & start next week & month w/ a fresh perspective.
This evening, I‘m starting my final read for August. I received a beautiful review copy from @WilliamMorrowBooks It‘s also on MMD Summer Reading Guide, which I‘ve been making my way through this summer.
pickA family saga following a single generation from childhood to each of their deaths, The Last Romantics details how the lives of each sibling are altered by tragedy. There were some small details I didn‘t like, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a slower read, demanding to be put down for a time after certain segments to allow for digestion.
It‘s headed to Florida tomorrow.
#LMPBC #groupB
I can‘t believe I read the entire #MMD Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide. I left off The Last Romantics because my bookclub is reading it in September. Yay me!
