For What It's Worth


Monday, September 17, 2018

monday minis



Happy Monday all!

I think my arm is almost better (last week I had thumb strain that cause pain all the way up my arm and neck which made typing difficult) so hopefully I can get more blogging in this week.

It is soooo damn hot here. Hotter than it was all summer. The heat index, factoring in humidity, has been 103 degrees. So I'm cranky and not doing much.

I managed to get a few books in - one that I picked up on a whim that ended up being amazing! and one I was looking forward to be but ended up dnf'ing.

That's #booklife for ya!

40189670Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.
Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.


Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right? ~
Goodreads

Source: Purchased

My thoughts: What is there to say about this book that hasn’t already been said?? Not much – but I will say this is the type of romance I love! Two kind people, slowly falling for each other. Not a whole lot of drama but a whole lot of funny. The hype is real with this one. I say this as someone who hasn’t always enjoyed their books, and someone who didn’t love Act Like it, The Hating Game and The Wedding Date – other equally hyped romcom type books.

This was a 2018 favorite list kind of read for me.


37570555Mary Shelley: the Strange True Tale of Frankenstein’s Creator by Catherine Reef

On the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein,comes a riveting biography of its author, Mary Shelley, whose life reads like a dark gothic novel, filled with scandal, death, drama, and one of the strangest love stories in literary history. ~ Goodreads

Source: ARC provided by the publisher via ALA18

My thoughts: This really should have been the “riveting biography” the summary promises.

Mary is such a fascinating woman, with an obviously difficult life, and I can’t imagine how the author managed to make this dull but she did.

The information is doled out like a litany of the days activities. I’m paraphrasing here but…

Mary saw men and animals paraded by her house on the way to the gallows….

Sounds like creepy inspiration for Frankenstein right? I was excited! Only to be followed by…

Then she went inside to have a sandwich. One slice of cheese, two pieces of ham. It was sunny out. Her father wasn’t at home that day, as he was out with the poet Lord Byron. – followed by lengthy bio of Lord Byron.

Then there’s her wack-a-doo, douche-canoe of a husband, Percy Shelley, who, among other things, tried to get Mary to take Laudanum as part of a Romeo & Juliet inspired suicide pact and cheated on her with her sister while she was home alone and pregnant. Although, that’s probably not so surprising since Mary met and carried on with while he was married to his then pregnant wife.

Even though that's disturbing - it should have been more interesting and a clear connection to her future work but instead it's ...Percy spent too much time with her sister. Mary felt lonely. Mary took a nap because she was alone. Blah The author seemed more enamored by Percy than Mary.

I ended up DNF’ing this around the 100 page mark (out of 177 pages + references) and read a quick Wikipedia entry that took 5 minutes and that told me more about Mary and in a more captivating style than this book did.

Bummer because I was really looking forward to this one.

38 comments:

  1. Yay! I was worried you were going to say you DNF the Hazel and Josh book. I absolutely loved it! I actually passed up on a review opportunity for it way back when because I was feeling burnt out on mediocre romcom's. I, too, read The Wedding Date and felt like the only person that didn't love it. :\

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    1. I avoided it because, like I said, I'm not always a fan of their writing or hyped books but it was on sale at Target and something about it called to me lol

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  2. I'm glad you're feeling better and that you loved Josh and Hazel! I absolutely adored that book!! I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. I am over the heat, but I know it's not as bad here as it is your area. I hope it starts to cool off soon!

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    1. I'm always wary of hyped romcom books. I LOVE them but am also very picky. Josh and Hazel was perfection though.

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  3. Is this heat not the worst?! I was in and out this weekend running errands and it was just brutal. I am so over summer.

    I’m really excited for Josh and Hazel - especially with you mentioning the low drama. I’m just coming off a super angsty read so I can totally use a fun one.

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    1. It's AWFUL and sooooooo humid!

      Then J&H is the perfect book for you! It's sweet. low angst and funny.

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  4. Oh man with that heat. I could not deal with that right now. I am so glad you loved Josh and Hazel!!! I thought it was great too :)

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    1. It's hotter right now than it was in August and I just can't deal with that lol

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  5. Awww that first one! Yes yes I really should!

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  6. Quote: "[... ] and read a quick Wikipedia entry that took 5 minutes and that told me more about Mary and in a more captivating style than this book did."
    Oh boy LOL. If that's the book, even my stupid life seems more interesting than Mary's!

    Don't talk heat with me LOL. It was so humid today at lunch time. And it's not going away! I have chores to do! I don't want to drown in sweat! 😓😥

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    1. Her life is fascinating! Just not the way this author tells it.

      IT's unbelievably humid here right now. We don't really get fall here in Florida but this is hotter than what summer was O_O

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  7. We need to just have no expectations when reading books. You've got me sold on Josh and Hazel though!

    Sending cool weather your way!

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    1. Exactly! Expectations kill all good things lol

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  8. Sounds like I would have DNF Mary too :/

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  9. I am drying the happy tears in my eyes, because just hearing other people aver their love for Josh and Hazel fills me with joy. I absolutely adored this book. So good.

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    1. It was everything I love about romcom stories!

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  10. Oh sorry to hear about the Mary Shelley book. It really SHOULD have been more interesting. I'm so curious about Hazel and Josh though, and I totally trust your review since you didn't love a lot of the other hyped romance books (I tried The Hating Game and DNFed that lol).

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. She's such an interesting person! I know it was intended for YA audiences but I don't think it's enough to keep anyone's interest for long.

      Josh & Hazel was cute. I disliked The Hating Game a lot lol

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  11. Oh bummer on the DNF. Always stinks when you're really looking forward to one.

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    1. I don't know how you can make a woman who keeps her husbands shriveled heart in a draw boring but she did lol

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  12. I love mini- reviews. Josh & Hazel's sounds fun.

    Sorry to hear it's so hot! Hope it cools down soon. the last time I was in Florida in September I roasted my butt off lol. Went to Disney and ugh. It was HOT.

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    1. It's not like we get cool in September here but this is unusually hot right now. We've been breaking records.

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  13. I think I'll definitely avoid Mary Shelley! It sounds pretty dull!

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    1. It was! And I don't understand how you can make her sound dull! lol

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  14. I haven't read these. Sorry to hear you're in pain. It's been stupid hot here too.

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  15. I’m glad your arm is feeling better. It’s hot here, too. It shouldn’t be nearly 100 degrees when it’s this close to fall. I’ve seen a few bad reviews of that Mary Shelley book. That sucks because the synopsis sounds so promising.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. The book starts with Mary having her husbands dried heart in her desk drawer so I was sure this was going to be an awesome book lol but it all goes downhill from there.

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  16. That's disappointing about the Mary Shelley book. I was going to read it but I think I'll pass now. Thanks for your honest review.

    I understand about the heat. It has been terribly hot this week and I get cranky every time I have to be out in it. I am so ready for autumn weather.

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    1. It's for younger kids but still has dark elements so not too young but more than anything it was slow and plodding with more detail about unimportant things than about Mary.

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  17. Glad you enjoyed the fun romance :-) That's disappointing that the Mary Shelley biography was so boring. You're right, she seems so interesting, I would expect any books about her to be interesting too!

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    1. How can a book about her be boring???!!! When it sticks to her and the details of her life it's good but it detours one too many times to the weather, her sisters, the men in her life...

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  18. Yay for your arm feeling better with the thumb pain business but boo for a mini heatwave striking (hot weather is great in theory, but only if you can laze around by a pool like you're on vacation). I've heard varying reports on Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating so it's awesome you loved it, I do think it sounds like my kind of romance but I feel like I could go either way in my thoughts of Hazel because she sounds a bit much. It does sound like a brilliant romance though.

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    1. Damn thumb! lol It took almost two weeks to heal!

      I have a pool and it's still too hot. Even the water is too hot so it's not a relief.

      Hazel is a bit much at first but if you read it stick with it - she evens out and Josh is such a good influence/counterpoint to her that it works.

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  19. Yeah its pretty warm for September and I am hoping we get some cool weather soon for a decent fall season. We have had some bad fires here too.

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    1. You're in TX right? I imagine you aren't much cooler.

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