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Only Alive on Sundays: A Novella

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Written using tarot cards , this book is a case study in desire and a yearning for living in the present. A young woman explores love and obsession’s ties to devotion . Looking for the holy in acts of existence such as friendship, decorative tiles, and nectarines, she treads the line between deciphering the universe’s signs and longing for forbidden fruits.

One summer, she runs into him. After a whirlwind of emotions and bump-ins, she finally confronts the him that lives within her. The day of the holy is made so when she can worship herself.

Both electric and mundane, Kim Rashidi's fictional debut explores the concept of imagined possibilities through a magical antique shop. Writing lyrically and with inspiration from tarot cards, Rashidi weaves the grander narrative of each Major Arcana card into the story. What would it look like to be in the middle of The Lovers, The Tower, The Moon? Only Alive on Sundays explores how it feels to live in a constant haze of romance—through love and heartbreak.

169 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2023

45 people are currently reading
5882 people want to read

About the author

Kim Rashidi

5 books23 followers
Kim Rashidi explores the cosmos through her words and has a soft spot for capturing love and life in the mundane. Writing about the lives, cities, and timelines that mirror back the romantic, she weaves reality with imagined possibilities. She holds an MA in English literature and is based in Toronto.

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5 stars
54 (24%)
4 stars
84 (37%)
3 stars
54 (24%)
2 stars
24 (10%)
1 star
7 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Flor Ana.
Author 11 books46 followers
January 30, 2023
this book holds a little piece of my heart, and reminds me to live and to love (and always love myself first and foremost). it’s a beautiful love letter to sundays and a beautiful nectarine to sink your teeth into as your next read
Profile Image for Steph Grey.
54 reviews383 followers
April 29, 2023
Introspective narrative, a young woman’s ruminations in love in a multitude of ways; love for others, love for yourself, love for the mundane, and love for the sake of love itself. Honeyed magical realism, sticky threads of connection, poetic prose that evokes the smell of sunshine on citrus peels.
I yearned for more dialogue-driven exploration of Camila and Baz because I was enthralled by her revolution of self and wanted to know more about her connection with him (namely the genesis of it all and why it happened). 4.5 stars because I adored her and found her easy to connect with, but I craved more to solidify their desires (and the motives behind their relationships) in my mind.
Really so lovely :) and the gorgeous cover doesn’t hurt
Profile Image for sarah.
246 reviews
September 27, 2024
mona awad x challengers but the mc has a love for life

kim rashidi uses the major arcana and plays on language with a plethora of metaphors to pull apart our main character’s understanding and love for the life around her. she uses the plot as a tool to develop her character rather than the plot being the journey/destination.
Profile Image for Michaela Angemeer.
Author 8 books766 followers
December 10, 2023
This book is incredibly well-written, charming and a feast for the imagination. It made me laugh out loud multiple times. I especially loved how each chapter was related to a tarot card - being a tarot lover it was so cool to reflect on Rashidi’s interpretations of the cards and how they tied in.
Profile Image for Lavelle.
376 reviews109 followers
July 9, 2023
if only my obsessive reflections on love/life and my place in it could be so enthralling
Profile Image for Hannah 💌.
32 reviews
March 11, 2025
4 ⭐️ and I loved it !

Such sharp and reflected observation about thought patterns the protagonist has. In a way its philosophical but almost written in a way that resembles poetry, every word holds so much meaning that it feels intimate to be in Mila's thoughts.

Overall that makes it a bit difficult to read or at first tough to find the flow and I had to go over many sections multiple times to really grasp the essence of what was said. But at the same time I felt so deeply understood and called out on having the same thought patterns but not in a negative way at all, more in a way that feels like a hug by someone who understands, completely without judgment but celebration of the quirks as the beauty that lies in living.

The mind-TV image that was introduced is one I really enjoyed. It fits so well, I sometimes feel like an observer looking from the outside into my own life, whatching myself in a movie scene instead of being the one that actually experiences it, like I'm "a witness to the happenings of Lila's life".

Whereas some of Lila's scenes were disturbing, I do appreciate that she represents Milas counterpart, the potential of what could be, different decisions made and parallel lives lived. And that there was a point in which Mila understood that she needs to accept the doubt and ambiguity as part of life while realising that in the presence there is only space for her if she decides to fully embrace all those aspects whilst not loosing sight of her core and enjoying it fully.

I also loved the image of the nectarine pit growing inside of her whenever she was excited to be alive and when something exciting started to take shape 🩷

I feel like I will read this again at some point!
Profile Image for Peyton Williams.
12 reviews1 follower
March 22, 2025
Loved this, short and sweet. Novella about love; love with others, self love, falling in love with life and being alive, and actively searching for romance. Kim Rashidis writing was beautiful and had creativity pouring out of it!
4 reviews
March 31, 2024
I saved this read for a Sunday indoors and it did not disappoint. Quite poetic language. I even jotted down some notes or notable quotes because I was impressed by the author’s prose and knack for an introspective moment. I did not find the use of tarots to be overwhelming or complicated to understand as I know nothing about that realm. Nevertheless i appreciated how the author incorporated the use of tarot to introduce each chapter. It made me excited for what’s to come. I would definitely reread this at some point in the future. You can finish this in a handful of hours depending on reading speed, but I would take my time as the reader could learn something about themselves as a takeaway. Highly recommend
Profile Image for Camille.
60 reviews
November 28, 2024
Ik ben echt een whore voor mooie covers hihi
solid 3.75
Profile Image for Sabrina Pisciotta.
316 reviews
Read
May 10, 2025
Shout out Joslyn for getting me an ILL so I wouldn’t have to buy this because it was bad. Delulu tumblr girl energy.
Profile Image for Annika Stanioch.
76 reviews1 follower
February 20, 2024
This is not at all the kind of book I would normally reach for but I really liked this! Beautiful reminder to look for love in everything you experience
Profile Image for Maisy Talbot.
188 reviews5 followers
January 13, 2025
Interesting little novella! I liked the magical realism aspect. Unfortunately the writing style bothered me.. it's like every sentence wanted to be something that could be underlined.... Whatever! I love Sundays and I was born on one!
Profile Image for Samantha.
273 reviews3 followers
July 10, 2023
There has been only one other book that has called to me through the ether and that was The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. This was the second and just… everything.

This review would be so much more adequate if I was as equal in the art of language as Kim Rashidi, but though I am not, I am warmed that artists such as she share their essence with the rest of us. To me, this novella surpasses language to describe it and it must be *felt* by the reader – an experience of unity with the author and the cosmos – our interconnected-ness or Oneness. The images the author invokes were palpable and stirred in me a sort of communion with the words. It was equivalent to tarot in its moonbeam connection to the universe.

The novel smelled of the energy of summer and slowed time. Between chapters, I was much more present in the *now*. Everything was so much more alive than they are during my many days of not being *here* and I felt the simplicity of awareness brought forth by the book carry throughout my Monday – Friday. As Mila says in the novella, I was “alive rather than living”.

To me, it was a guiding tool in the work of shedding the ego that paralleled the same work of the narrator. The author has a way of “capturing love and life in the mundane” (Bookshop.org bio) that radiates through the simple live of the characters by instilling them with a magic, ease and contentedness that I long to have in my every day living. Much like the tiles of a bathroom, this is a book that finds you and at the precise time that you were meant to.
Profile Image for Martina.
84 reviews1 follower
April 4, 2024
I loved the book and it’s magical realism. The narration was sublime, it added a great touch when the POV went from third to first when Mila started understanding and knowing herself. It reminded me of Fleabag. Jakob reminded me of The Priest. Mila was relatable, with her spacing-out, her love for fantasy and daydreaming and thorough analogies and images.

Now I want to personalise my bathroom tiles.

“I love you because I anticipate you. The truth is, I have no idea the type of life you live or anything about you, really. I am basing my love on snippets I have gathered based on what you have said and shared so limitedly. I am afraid to admit that the way I know you, so intimately in my mind, is a fantasy”.

“I hope to know you, really know you, or forget you completely”.

“…begging her to settle back into the comfort of wanting something she couldn't have?”

“nothing would ever live up to the romance of leaving a possibility for the future on the table”.

“Rather, the easiness of friendship settled in between them like the first gentle snowfall of a long winter season that was not yet there”.

“You're never going to get anything you want if you're scared of having it”.

“She had lost herself to the moment, and not in it, and now felt like an outsider watching a cozy home beyond glass windows during winter”.
Profile Image for Corrine.
119 reviews
September 6, 2024
3.5

This was a very cute introspective book. It’s a cute short love letter to Sundays. With a heavy emphasis on loving just for the sake of it: loving the mundane and being content in whatever the world throws your way. I really enjoyed the bits of magical realism in this book.
I wish that the character and her desires were a bit more flushed out, or more was shared on the magic cabinet in her store, but overall very cute read
54 reviews
January 8, 2025
2.5 I think. I wanted to read this book because of my interest in tarot. I was curious about the way the writer would connect it to the story. I guess I feel a little disappointed that it was not present that much (or I just didn’t realize. I think this would’ve been better as a longer story. A lot was happening but it felt like nothing was explained well enough. I guess I just hoped to get a little more world-building. It seemed a little flat.
Profile Image for gautami.
8 reviews
December 19, 2024
i really do judge books by their titles and their chapter names. having said that, i wanted to love this book, i really did. and i succeeded in a way— the vibes and the essence of it were one i wanted to sink my teeth into the way one would a pear, or a nectarine, as Mila would’ve described it.
seed left bare and shiny on the mantle.
the attempted allusive tendencies of our main character Mila and both the objects of her affection did not have the intended effect on me; the intrigue all these characters brought out (which they were meant to, certainly. they were written for it), did nothing in the end.
even Mila herself, who is the life and centre and vivacity of this entire book, whom i loved very much, felt like someone who was scratched on the surface. even after we’d spent 164 pages reading her thoughts and her perspectives.
regardless, i loved so many of the images painted. the descriptions—of sleep, of Sundays, of making a vase, of sinking into a hot tub, of running your hands over vegetables—were so vivid. the language did have a tendency to over-explain at times, reiterating the same point (which if left as it was, would have more of an impact) one too many times in the same chapter.

i really did love the magical realism and wish it had been explored more, more than the romance plot(s) or the thoughts of Mila.
Profile Image for Eco.
20 reviews
June 14, 2025
I am not sure how to put this book into words. It was beautiful, romantic, and heart wrenching in a way I can’t describe. I want to dog ear it and fill it with notes and highlights and tabs. I want to crease the spine and tear a bit of the cover. I want to know it like an old friend, like a lover. This book was beautiful and much like the antiques at Luna, it found me when I needed it. The characters were all so human. The bathroom tiles were a beautiful metaphor but I must admit I too am a romantic who finds deep meaning and beauty in the little things. I’m finishing this book on my porch as a storm rolls in and it almost feels like the perfect setting to reflect on this. This is one of those books that just makes you sit with it and think about it for a long time after you’re done reading. I relate to Mila in a lot of ways but also not at all. It’s amazing how much humanity this book has in it. I will sing this books praises for years to come, I know that for sure.
Profile Image for Ella.
171 reviews
August 5, 2025
Hard to believe this had to come from San Francisco. Why do we not have it closer?

This book was great. The writing style swept me up. There were many motifs but they were well organized and didn’t get lost in each other. It was all done so well and each piece was vital. The nectarine, the bathroom tiles, the market and the produce, the portal, the mail, Lila and the mirrors, the hot tub, the parties as bookends to the story, the switch from third person to first person (and then to crossed out at the end), the way the story moves from Sunday into early Monday morning hours and then skips back to Sunday again.

I was not expecting this. It was a hopeful approach to “only living on Sundays.” Very relevant. I am not her, but it would be so interesting to try to live/love like her.


There also has to be a playlist for this book, starting with Close To You (I burn for you and you don’t even know my name) and ending with august (to live for the hope of it all).
Profile Image for Sheherezade.
150 reviews
May 13, 2024
Esta novela se está transformando constantemente en algo que no esperas, lo cual tiene todo el sentido del mundo cuando descubres como Kim Rashidi ha perseguido la trama a través del tarot, jugando con la escritura y las cartas. Me parece que debe haber sido un ejercicio más complejo de lo que aparenta. La obra que empieza siendo dulce, poética y visualmente brillante va tornándose oscura, enredando la realidad y lo onírico. Es una novela que abarca mucho simbolismo y trama en sus pocas páginas, y aunque no haya sido totalmente de mi agrado, es un libro que me alegra haber leído y seguro releeré con un bolígrafo en la mano.

Dicho esto, I keep waiting for the thresome to happen.

Profile Image for Andrea farry.
69 reviews
September 7, 2025
4.25
It’s hard to explain this book but I like that it’s not like anything else and I might love it.
Mila works in a quirky antique shop, one corner of which offers people whatever objects they seek and has a portal to the ether, which also delivers letters to keep people on the path they need to be on.
It’s quite slow-paced and poetic as the main character is figuring out how to live, the moments to savour, how to feel about herself and the men in her life.
Whilst there are parts where I wanted it to move along quicker, the beauty in the book is the introspection and the way it writes poetically about the most normal parts of life, like the smell of coffee or Sunday morning.
106 reviews1 follower
September 13, 2023
this book was really beautifully written, on subject matter everyone can probably relate to. the parts with lila were a little lost on me, but the imagery and symbolism was comforting. the chapters are named after tarot cards, and the author used them to guide the narrative. this was a short novella, but there were several quotes that stuck with me. this is a little different than my usual - glad i picked it up!
Profile Image for Megan T.
1 review
March 6, 2024
such a gorgeous book, a really wonderful twist on the classic style of love story, with the focus on not only romantic love for other people but love in general. really clever hidden meanings and the poetic writing is so refreshing and smooth, i normally find this style of writing to feel forced and unnatural but this is far from it. i strongly believe this book will find all the right people, right when they need it most
Profile Image for HeyItsKarima.
72 reviews
December 18, 2024
[3.5] « This novella is a love letter - in the broadest sense of the term. It is a celebration of life and creativity, lust and lessons, pain and pleasure, nectarines and love. The human experience in all its twisted tastes and turns - fates and that for which one yearns. »

I would loved to know more about the magical antique shop and it’s portal section, and less about Mila’s Sundays.

Beautiful writing. Perfect for people who enjoy slow reads with no plot, and plain characters.
Profile Image for ellie ✯.
2 reviews
September 5, 2024
this was such a beautiful book !!! it’s gonna hold a special place in my heart forever. reading it made me ache. ache to feel alive, to love, to go to the market and buy tea and nectarines. it was truly beautiful and i am so glad i picked it up. i, being a tarot lover, adored the way tarot was used to tell and move the story.
(everyone needs to go read this !!!!)
Profile Image for Trinity Henjes.
8 reviews
January 18, 2025
This is so wonderfully written, romanticizing the little parts of life and finding pieces of ourselves in the world around us. Would absolutely recommend. Not only is it fantastic, but it is a quicker read because of its length, allowing someone to read it in a couple sittings or really dive into it through several readings.
34 reviews
August 13, 2025
It was good and I feel it is the kind of book that will make things make sense long after I finish it.
Yet, I do feel that with some more editorial work the story could've shone more

It does offer a lovely romantic image of life, the kind I would want. And offers a beautiful example of how to use your Sundays
Profile Image for shreya.
40 reviews3 followers
September 30, 2023
very my type of book. the writing was to the point but still managed to describe mystical elements of this world

the switch in perspective was delicious. i was never bored throughout the book, like camila i kept searching for hints and emotionally i felt very in tune with her most of the story -
Profile Image for meg (the.hidden.colophon).
522 reviews3 followers
May 11, 2024
I think this book explores what Virginia Woolf meant by moments of being. Inexplicable moments that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things but that are infinitesimal in meaning in the day to day.

4.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

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