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Crushing
Single? Nein, Hauptperson!
Die selbsterklärte Serien-Monogamistin Marnie steht an einem Nach Jahren gescheiterter Beziehungen und zahlloser Versuche, die »perfekte« Partnerin zu sein, beschließt sie, dass es genug ist. Für immer. Keine Beziehungen mehr. Keine Kompromisse. Keine vergeblichen Liebesmühen. Ausgerechnet da taucht Isaac auf - ein Traumtyp und der einzige Mann, der sie wirklich versteht. Aber das ist okay, sie sind nur Freunde, und er ist schon vergeben. Außerdem hat Marnie wichtigere Fragen zu klä Wer ist sie wirklich, was will sie vom Leben, und wie konnte sie sich so lange in Beziehungen verlieren, die ihr nichts gegeben haben?
Mit coolem Humor navigiert Genevieve Novak durch die Tücken moderner Romantik
Für alle, die aus den Rollen der »perfekten Partnerin« und »idealen Freundin« ausbrechen wollen
Die selbsterklärte Serien-Monogamistin Marnie steht an einem Nach Jahren gescheiterter Beziehungen und zahlloser Versuche, die »perfekte« Partnerin zu sein, beschließt sie, dass es genug ist. Für immer. Keine Beziehungen mehr. Keine Kompromisse. Keine vergeblichen Liebesmühen. Ausgerechnet da taucht Isaac auf - ein Traumtyp und der einzige Mann, der sie wirklich versteht. Aber das ist okay, sie sind nur Freunde, und er ist schon vergeben. Außerdem hat Marnie wichtigere Fragen zu klä Wer ist sie wirklich, was will sie vom Leben, und wie konnte sie sich so lange in Beziehungen verlieren, die ihr nichts gegeben haben?
Mit coolem Humor navigiert Genevieve Novak durch die Tücken moderner Romantik
Für alle, die aus den Rollen der »perfekten Partnerin« und »idealen Freundin« ausbrechen wollen
401 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2023
302 people are currently reading
11067 people want to read
About the author
Genevieve Novak
2 books365 followersGenevieve is a writer from Melbourne. She writes character-led romantic comedies, culture columns for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, digital content, and not-great author biographies.
She loves croissants and her dog, Viktor. She hates being called Gen.
Her debut novel, No Hard Feelings, was published by HarperCollins in 2022. Crushing is her second novel.
She loves croissants and her dog, Viktor. She hates being called Gen.
Her debut novel, No Hard Feelings, was published by HarperCollins in 2022. Crushing is her second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 692 reviews
February 23, 2024
I swallowed this in one night, mostly because everything this book was about was exactly what I needed: an incredibly well-written and witty romcom about a woman reaching her thirties (extra points for this from a woman in her late 20s), the description of life’s general messiness, or life’s crashing if you want to stick to the title, and the craving to cover up abandonment issues with something you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to actually sort out — the good old love delulu. But not just any love delulu. We are talking about the delulu that many of us romance lovers are too familiar with. The ‘I don’t need you to do anything; my imagination will create an image of you and I will pretend it’s reality’ delulu. You know the one I’m talking about, right?
But back to the point —
It’s quite hard to rank romance books, because I always find myself questioning whether I should focus on everything ‘literary’ (the plot, the writing, the touch of artistic genius) or on whether I enjoyed what the book did to me, how it resonated within me, what emotions I felt, and whether I could see myself in the main character. Rating this book, however, was a no-brainer. I just loved everything about it—loved the author’s wit, loved the relatable plot, and loved how in many ways this book wasn’t a romance book, but a book about the many shapes of love.
But back to the point —
It’s quite hard to rank romance books, because I always find myself questioning whether I should focus on everything ‘literary’ (the plot, the writing, the touch of artistic genius) or on whether I enjoyed what the book did to me, how it resonated within me, what emotions I felt, and whether I could see myself in the main character. Rating this book, however, was a no-brainer. I just loved everything about it—loved the author’s wit, loved the relatable plot, and loved how in many ways this book wasn’t a romance book, but a book about the many shapes of love.
February 1, 2024
Obsessed. This just became one of my favourite books. I loved it so much.
July 6, 2023
Honestly disappointed and embarrassed to give this such a low score but damn i did not enjoy this book. In a workd full of media centred on the chaotic woman, this book did nothing to add substance to the genre. Marnie was whiny, selfish and annoying and kept literally screaming “VAILDATE MEEEEEE”. I found it very difficult to get through this, especially when there was a real lack of plot, her saving grace was creating a pasta night? I’m confused and annoyed that i had to sit through so much whining between the beginning and the end of the book and i dont want to compare it to novak’s first book but this was a fall from grace unfortunately
August 10, 2023
I loved the middle section but I thought it lost steam in the end and just didn't go as far as it needed to. Like everything was just kinda wrapped up in a chapter and I thought it needed more. Didn't like as much as Genevieve Novak's first book BUT! still think she is a great young Australian talent and will read her next book
May 11, 2023
I am sorry but the writing in this book was super cringe and I could not relate to any of the characters
April 10, 2023
I loved this! Just as I loved Genevieve Novak’s debut, No Hard Feelings, her second novel, Crushing, has also ticked all of the right boxes for me. There’s something about the combination of her wit, the topics she writes about, the characters, the banter between the characters, and the deep pockets of insight sprinkled throughout, that has her at the top of my list for life-lit authors.
‘If anything, he reinforced my resolve. That someone could have a girlfriend, be loyal to the point that they reject a kiss from a cute stranger, then go on to talk to them every day, lie in bed on the phone and reach new depths of intimacy when the moon came out – it only poured concrete into the belief that happily ever after was a falsity invented by romance novelists.’
Along with this being a novel about finding yourself and starting over (again), it also takes a sharp look at the ways in which women attach themselves to men who aren’t good for them, or good to them, because of a fear of the alternative: loneliness. Living alone, sleeping alone, eating alone, dying alone. It’s a fear that can be blown off when you’re in the flush of good times going out with your mates and you aren’t the only one left single, but as soon as you are the only one left single, that urgency returns, to couple up, to settle, even if it’s not an ideal relationship.
As the novel progresses, Marnie’s metamorphosis takes on a whole new force. She not only learns to be with herself but make it her mission to show others that they can too, creating a flow on effect throughout her life for the good. I loved the dynamics between Marnie and Claude, and the sister bond between Marnie and Nicola. Within Marnie’s relationship with these two women, we witness the ways that women can also misrepresent their own relationships to their friends on account of just wanting to have a person in your corner. We also see the ways in which sometimes, as a friend, we just need to let something play out and be there when it all falls apart to help pick up the pieces.
‘This is what it is to be a woman: to give. To give life, to give support, to give herself, to give in. And in return she receives: contempt, indifference, more requests, his load. She gives until she breaks, a spiderweb of cracks in her porcelain skin, holding still until she shatters into a thousand tiny pieces.
And men take. Take the love, the support, the credit, our patience. They take and take what isn’t theirs, what never was, what was designed to be shared, not stolen, until she is tired, angry, broken and useless, only then is she granted freedom from it all: the male gaze, the pedantry, the entitlement. They lose interest when she can no longer do anything for them; when they’re no longer a doe-eyed plaything with pillowy cleavage and endless capacity.’
Not just a novel of self-discovery, this is a joyful and hopeful novel about friendship, about creating your own village, and about discovering who you are and embracing that with gusto. Highly recommended with five stars.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
‘If anything, he reinforced my resolve. That someone could have a girlfriend, be loyal to the point that they reject a kiss from a cute stranger, then go on to talk to them every day, lie in bed on the phone and reach new depths of intimacy when the moon came out – it only poured concrete into the belief that happily ever after was a falsity invented by romance novelists.’
Along with this being a novel about finding yourself and starting over (again), it also takes a sharp look at the ways in which women attach themselves to men who aren’t good for them, or good to them, because of a fear of the alternative: loneliness. Living alone, sleeping alone, eating alone, dying alone. It’s a fear that can be blown off when you’re in the flush of good times going out with your mates and you aren’t the only one left single, but as soon as you are the only one left single, that urgency returns, to couple up, to settle, even if it’s not an ideal relationship.
As the novel progresses, Marnie’s metamorphosis takes on a whole new force. She not only learns to be with herself but make it her mission to show others that they can too, creating a flow on effect throughout her life for the good. I loved the dynamics between Marnie and Claude, and the sister bond between Marnie and Nicola. Within Marnie’s relationship with these two women, we witness the ways that women can also misrepresent their own relationships to their friends on account of just wanting to have a person in your corner. We also see the ways in which sometimes, as a friend, we just need to let something play out and be there when it all falls apart to help pick up the pieces.
‘This is what it is to be a woman: to give. To give life, to give support, to give herself, to give in. And in return she receives: contempt, indifference, more requests, his load. She gives until she breaks, a spiderweb of cracks in her porcelain skin, holding still until she shatters into a thousand tiny pieces.
And men take. Take the love, the support, the credit, our patience. They take and take what isn’t theirs, what never was, what was designed to be shared, not stolen, until she is tired, angry, broken and useless, only then is she granted freedom from it all: the male gaze, the pedantry, the entitlement. They lose interest when she can no longer do anything for them; when they’re no longer a doe-eyed plaything with pillowy cleavage and endless capacity.’
Not just a novel of self-discovery, this is a joyful and hopeful novel about friendship, about creating your own village, and about discovering who you are and embracing that with gusto. Highly recommended with five stars.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
June 2, 2023
Crushing is as good as (if not better) than Novak’s first novel, No Hard Feelings.
It follows Marnie, as she struggles with her latest break-up and potential new love interest - not to mention her complicated friendships and feeling at a loss with her work.
Much like No Hard Feelings, the part of the book I enjoyed most was the immensely flawed protagonist, Marnie makes rash and terrible decisions, but also healthy and smart ones. This makes the character feel real, there’s no easier answer (especially when you’re 28), and the world feels like a mess. Sometimes you’ve just got to do better. And that’s all you can do.
Maybe I’m just reading it at the right time in my life.
Also, I am so easily sucked into a book set in Melbourne. Mention Trams or the Sun Theatre and I’m there with bells on.
It follows Marnie, as she struggles with her latest break-up and potential new love interest - not to mention her complicated friendships and feeling at a loss with her work.
Much like No Hard Feelings, the part of the book I enjoyed most was the immensely flawed protagonist, Marnie makes rash and terrible decisions, but also healthy and smart ones. This makes the character feel real, there’s no easier answer (especially when you’re 28), and the world feels like a mess. Sometimes you’ve just got to do better. And that’s all you can do.
Maybe I’m just reading it at the right time in my life.
Also, I am so easily sucked into a book set in Melbourne. Mention Trams or the Sun Theatre and I’m there with bells on.
May 8, 2023
I felt personally attacked by this book. 10/10 though?? May be the best book I’ve ever read??
January 17, 2024
I really wanted to like this book because I’ve heard good reviews and comparisons to Diana Reid, but sadly it wasn’t really for me.
I found the cringey dialogue and unlikeable characters made this incredibly difficult to read. Everything just felt so unrealistic!
I also found Marnie’s personal growth journey in the timeframe of a few months really unbelievable, considering how annoying she was.
I found the cringey dialogue and unlikeable characters made this incredibly difficult to read. Everything just felt so unrealistic!
I also found Marnie’s personal growth journey in the timeframe of a few months really unbelievable, considering how annoying she was.
August 11, 2023
This is the most comforting, relatable and wholesome book I have ever read. I could read this over and over. This is how to be ‘independent, happy, hopeful and alone without being lonely’. The happy ending is her on her own without a man and it’s everything. The literary equivalent of the barbie movie, I loved this.
March 17, 2024
forever pinning all my hopes and dreams and certainties of loving reading on my absolute favorite of all favorite genres: literary fiction.
September 11, 2025
Pleeeaaase let it be known that I love Genevieve Novak, I loved her debut, and I really wanted to love Crushing, too.
In terms of raw enjoyment, it definitely inched towards four stars for me. For most of the time I spent reading, that’s what I thought I’d give it. Genevieve Novak has such a delicious writing voice. I adore the Australiana of it all, her quippiness and wit, the entire experience of devouring a pacey, part-chick-lit, part-lit-fic novel about the profundity of mundanity (because it’s all most of us will ever experience, and why shouldn’t we romanticise our lives?) from cover to cover in a day or two. I love it all. I gave her debut, No Hard Feelings, five stars; as a general rule, I love, love, love books like this.
But Crushing just had too many flaws for me to rate it any higher. It has the same golden heart that I loved in its predecessor, NHF, but felt somehow structurally unsound. The characters and relationships weren’t as believable; there were a little too many rom-com tropes played a little too straight; it wasn’t as well crafted.
Marnie's relationship with Claud is essentially a platonic rebound after all the codependence of her twenties, something Marnie herself acknowledges (albeit more than two thirds of the way through the book) but does not examine further. And the fix to everything was…
So many of the takeaways felt unearned in a way they didn’t for Penny in NHF, because she at least had a therapist helping her come to these conclusions. Like, sometimes thinking about it more deeply really IS the answer, but that’s rarely something we’re able to do on our own, especially when these bad habits are as baked-in and well-established as Marnie’s.
And then there was the fact that every non-familial relationship Marnie had with a male was either work-related or ended in sex - sometimes it was both. I just felt it was strange messaging to have your female protagonist express indignation at the notion that men and women can never be just friends - righteous indignation, because of course they can! - and then not give her even one (straight) male friend (who wasn’t fifteen years older and her boss).
I’ll still read whatever Genevieve Novak puts out next. I think she's brilliant, and I think the problem with Crushing is actually a problem with me: that I was expecting the subtle subversion of NHF, not realising that what I was signing up for was more of a straight rom-com. Had I known that beforehand, maybe I would have found less to pick at. As it was, though, the majority of the plot required very little picking before it all came unravelling.
In terms of raw enjoyment, it definitely inched towards four stars for me. For most of the time I spent reading, that’s what I thought I’d give it. Genevieve Novak has such a delicious writing voice. I adore the Australiana of it all, her quippiness and wit, the entire experience of devouring a pacey, part-chick-lit, part-lit-fic novel about the profundity of mundanity (because it’s all most of us will ever experience, and why shouldn’t we romanticise our lives?) from cover to cover in a day or two. I love it all. I gave her debut, No Hard Feelings, five stars; as a general rule, I love, love, love books like this.
But Crushing just had too many flaws for me to rate it any higher. It has the same golden heart that I loved in its predecessor, NHF, but felt somehow structurally unsound. The characters and relationships weren’t as believable; there were a little too many rom-com tropes played a little too straight; it wasn’t as well crafted.
Marnie's relationship with Claud is essentially a platonic rebound after all the codependence of her twenties, something Marnie herself acknowledges (albeit more than two thirds of the way through the book) but does not examine further. And the fix to everything was…
So many of the takeaways felt unearned in a way they didn’t for Penny in NHF, because she at least had a therapist helping her come to these conclusions. Like, sometimes thinking about it more deeply really IS the answer, but that’s rarely something we’re able to do on our own, especially when these bad habits are as baked-in and well-established as Marnie’s.
And then there was the fact that every non-familial relationship Marnie had with a male was either work-related or ended in sex - sometimes it was both. I just felt it was strange messaging to have your female protagonist express indignation at the notion that men and women can never be just friends - righteous indignation, because of course they can! - and then not give her even one (straight) male friend (who wasn’t fifteen years older and her boss).
I’ll still read whatever Genevieve Novak puts out next. I think she's brilliant, and I think the problem with Crushing is actually a problem with me: that I was expecting the subtle subversion of NHF, not realising that what I was signing up for was more of a straight rom-com. Had I known that beforehand, maybe I would have found less to pick at. As it was, though, the majority of the plot required very little picking before it all came unravelling.
April 20, 2023
What a fun contemporary romance! While I’m probably not the demographic reader (by a few decades, mind) I found myself thinking 1- thank god I’m not in my 20’s and 2- I was raising wee babies and sleep deprived during that period! It was refreshing to read this highly witty, fictionalised take of being on the cusp of your 30s. The theme of Crushing, is protagonists Marnie’s reckoning with “who are we when we are on our own?”
I listened to an episode on the @betterwords podcast which was hilarious, interviewing Genevieve, who comically referred to it as “dumb bitch lit” In explanation as to why her protagonists make all the wrong choices until they stumble on the right ones - very accurately surmising the narrative and reflective of her protagonists journey in her latest book.
Filled with hilarious banter, it’s an exploration into self discovery, friendships and tackling the fear of starting over. Highly entertaining, with a smidge of sadness, it was the equivalent of sitting down with your closest friends, laughing, crying, drinking copious amounts of wine while listening to Anti Hero by Taylor Swift 🥂🎶
Many thanks to the wonderful team @harper for a #gifted advanced reading copy 🥰Crushing is out now to buy.
I listened to an episode on the @betterwords podcast which was hilarious, interviewing Genevieve, who comically referred to it as “dumb bitch lit” In explanation as to why her protagonists make all the wrong choices until they stumble on the right ones - very accurately surmising the narrative and reflective of her protagonists journey in her latest book.
Filled with hilarious banter, it’s an exploration into self discovery, friendships and tackling the fear of starting over. Highly entertaining, with a smidge of sadness, it was the equivalent of sitting down with your closest friends, laughing, crying, drinking copious amounts of wine while listening to Anti Hero by Taylor Swift 🥂🎶
Many thanks to the wonderful team @harper for a #gifted advanced reading copy 🥰Crushing is out now to buy.
January 13, 2024
Htela sam da čitam neku laganicu, ali ovo je sve samo ne lagano 😭 Mogla je malo da skrati pred kraj, ali prava milenijalska, preporučujem
November 8, 2023
This was just perfect. I love love loved it
April 11, 2024
4.5 stars!
This book has: a 28 year old witty main character that is on the struggle bus but is ultimately likable, female friendship soulmates, a complicated romance, a self-discovery/self-love plot line… basically, it was right up my alley. Marnie is such a frustrating main character in that she makes bad decisions that are so incredibly relatable. I really loved how the romance in this book turned out — do not go into this expecting a typical romcom. It’s definitely a character driven, “coming-of-age” in your 20s story, which really works for me. I was bothered by the constant Covid references (it just felt unnecessary), and, yes, the ending was a bit tidy and wrapped up quickly, but the amount of quotes I underlined, and how much I enjoyed the story made up for it.
If you want to see a summary (with spoilers, sorry), along with all of the many quotes I underlined, here's a link to a longer review I wrote: https://royal-buffer-e18.notion.site/...
This book has: a 28 year old witty main character that is on the struggle bus but is ultimately likable, female friendship soulmates, a complicated romance, a self-discovery/self-love plot line… basically, it was right up my alley. Marnie is such a frustrating main character in that she makes bad decisions that are so incredibly relatable. I really loved how the romance in this book turned out — do not go into this expecting a typical romcom. It’s definitely a character driven, “coming-of-age” in your 20s story, which really works for me. I was bothered by the constant Covid references (it just felt unnecessary), and, yes, the ending was a bit tidy and wrapped up quickly, but the amount of quotes I underlined, and how much I enjoyed the story made up for it.
If you want to see a summary (with spoilers, sorry), along with all of the many quotes I underlined, here's a link to a longer review I wrote: https://royal-buffer-e18.notion.site/...
March 12, 2023
like a sad romcom that delivers the perfect amount of chemistry, existential crisis, and comedy.
it's hilarious and sad and entertaining. i finished this within 24 hours because i could not put it down! Novak's writing is engaging and funny, filled with pop culture references that screams TASTE. the characters are flawed but you can't help but root for them. the plot follows a rudimentary storyline but executed competently and satisfyingly that makes it good. it's an understated skill to write a novel with a typical plot and still be able to make it fresh and compelling. i enjoyed this novel very much. i cannot wait to read more of Novak's writing!
reminds me of The Worst Person in the World (2021) and Fleabag (.... of course) so you get the idea what this book is about.
it's hilarious and sad and entertaining. i finished this within 24 hours because i could not put it down! Novak's writing is engaging and funny, filled with pop culture references that screams TASTE. the characters are flawed but you can't help but root for them. the plot follows a rudimentary storyline but executed competently and satisfyingly that makes it good. it's an understated skill to write a novel with a typical plot and still be able to make it fresh and compelling. i enjoyed this novel very much. i cannot wait to read more of Novak's writing!
reminds me of The Worst Person in the World (2021) and Fleabag (.... of course) so you get the idea what this book is about.
January 7, 2024
I’m crying bc this was so beautiful. One of my favourite final lines of a book ever
August 20, 2024
oh the glorious, wonderful women and the mediocre men they have to survive
October 27, 2025
“etwas anzustreben, fühlt sich toll an. es dann zu bekommen, ist etwas ganz anderes.”
auf crushing war ich sehr gespannt, nachdem der vorherige roman der autorin ein großes highlight für mich war!
anfänglich habe ich etwas gebraucht, um in die story reinzufinden. sobald man jedoch mitten im geschehen war, habe ich die restliche geschichte schnell verschlungen.
viel dazu beigetragen hat der schreibstil der autorin, den ich auch in diesem buch ganz toll fand. ihre art ist sehr humorvoll, an den richtigen stellen beweist der stil jedoch feinfühlige ernsthaftigkeit.
einen bezug zu marnie als protagonistin konnte ich im laufe des lesens aufbauen, auch wenn ich sie phasenweise als sprunghaft empfunden habe, was jedoch ihrer persönlichkeit entspricht. bei den charakteren hat mir die dynamik untereinander am meisten gefallen — so die freundschaft zu claud sowie die beziehung zur ihrer schwester nicola.
4 stars
auf crushing war ich sehr gespannt, nachdem der vorherige roman der autorin ein großes highlight für mich war!
anfänglich habe ich etwas gebraucht, um in die story reinzufinden. sobald man jedoch mitten im geschehen war, habe ich die restliche geschichte schnell verschlungen.
viel dazu beigetragen hat der schreibstil der autorin, den ich auch in diesem buch ganz toll fand. ihre art ist sehr humorvoll, an den richtigen stellen beweist der stil jedoch feinfühlige ernsthaftigkeit.
einen bezug zu marnie als protagonistin konnte ich im laufe des lesens aufbauen, auch wenn ich sie phasenweise als sprunghaft empfunden habe, was jedoch ihrer persönlichkeit entspricht. bei den charakteren hat mir die dynamik untereinander am meisten gefallen — so die freundschaft zu claud sowie die beziehung zur ihrer schwester nicola.
4 stars
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October 29, 2025I'm actually not going to rate this book using the star system! It's objectively not a good book and I would never recommend it to anyone but i really enjoyed reading it ? It's just exactly what i needed during exams, a frictionless rom com girlboss easy beach read vibe - even easier it was set in Princes Hill so i didn't have to use my imagination whatsoever. It just lulled me to sleep every night and I got nothing out of the story nor will i probably ever think of it again but that's why i picked it up and it delivered on that ?? so for that reason i'm withholding my star rating <3
January 23, 2025
LOVED this book. Such a good easy read and couldn’t put it down
August 24, 2023
I am Marnie, Marnie is I.
I loved this from the get-go! Molding yourself into characters, into shapes that are far away from the person you really are when all the lights are out - only in the quest of finally becoming someone to some essential stranger and be worthy of their love. I see it, I really do. Humans are so messy, so complicated and so full of love. We should all be kind to another, since no one truly knows what the hell is going on. What a wild ride!
I loved this from the get-go! Molding yourself into characters, into shapes that are far away from the person you really are when all the lights are out - only in the quest of finally becoming someone to some essential stranger and be worthy of their love. I see it, I really do. Humans are so messy, so complicated and so full of love. We should all be kind to another, since no one truly knows what the hell is going on. What a wild ride!
May 16, 2023
3-3.5
i guess gen’s writing just isn’t for me and maybe it’s the fact of my current life situation and therefore state of mind but i found myself repeatedly getting lost in the stream of consciousness prose so i didn’t even properly take in a lot of marnie’s thoughts and experiences but i also didn’t care to go back and reread. i kinda just wanted it to hurry up and finish.
i will say unlike no hard feelings, i couldn’t really tell where this was going. or rather i knew where i hoped it was going but i didn’t trust gen to take it there. thankfully she did. i enjoyed the ending though (like most people i’m sure) i experienced the frustration of wondering what could have been. which was kinda great bc that’s obviously how the mc felt too and it takes strength to make that decision - in life and from a narrative perspective.
there were things that i would have liked to play out slightly differently in terms of pace (ie. a certain first kiss) and other things that i wanted to be delved into further (though maybe they were and i just didn’t take it in).
overall i enjoyed the narrative tension and marnie was a way more likeable mc than penny. i can see this being a really enjoyable book for the right audience. unfortunately that isn’t me.
i guess gen’s writing just isn’t for me and maybe it’s the fact of my current life situation and therefore state of mind but i found myself repeatedly getting lost in the stream of consciousness prose so i didn’t even properly take in a lot of marnie’s thoughts and experiences but i also didn’t care to go back and reread. i kinda just wanted it to hurry up and finish.
i will say unlike no hard feelings, i couldn’t really tell where this was going. or rather i knew where i hoped it was going but i didn’t trust gen to take it there. thankfully she did. i enjoyed the ending though (like most people i’m sure) i experienced the frustration of wondering what could have been. which was kinda great bc that’s obviously how the mc felt too and it takes strength to make that decision - in life and from a narrative perspective.
there were things that i would have liked to play out slightly differently in terms of pace (ie. a certain first kiss) and other things that i wanted to be delved into further (though maybe they were and i just didn’t take it in).
overall i enjoyed the narrative tension and marnie was a way more likeable mc than penny. i can see this being a really enjoyable book for the right audience. unfortunately that isn’t me.
January 10, 2025
3.5*
Like junk food for the brain
Like junk food for the brain
October 19, 2025
relatable but also cringe
June 26, 2025
Vienas iš tų pasakojimų, kurį suskaitai (mano atveju – suklausai) visai smagiai, bet jau po kelių dienų sunkiai prisimeni kažkokias ryškesnes detales. Kaip ir nieko blogo, nes tokios knygos, mano nuomone, irgi turi savo laiką ir vietą, bet jų kažkaip stipriai išskirti nesigauna. Šiame romane viskas tarsi labai gerai – tema gana artima, veikėjai įvairialypiai, nenuobodūs, stilius pagaulus. Tačiau sunku visiškai mėgautis istorija apie veikėją, kurios gana greitai pradedi nemėgti.
Marnie toli gražu nėra tobula ir čia tikrai jokių priekaištų neturiu. Tačiau didžiausia jos problema, kurią ji lyg ir bando spręsti knygos eigoje, yra ta, kad ji visada pameta save santykiuose. Prisitaiko prie tuometinio vaikino ir suformuoja save pagal tai, kokios merginos jam reikia. Problema čia tame, kad bent jau man neatrodė, jog Marnie pakankamai pasikeitė knygai besibaigiant. Neatrodė, kad ir išmoko tam tikras pamokas, kurias pati autorė jai pateikė. Žodžiu, pasigedau virsmo, mat be jo ji man tiesiog buvo užknisanti veikėja, kurią kartais darydavosi itin sunku pateisinti.
Kaip knygos pliusą galiu išskirti gerą humorą ir kur kas už pagrindinę veikėją įdomesnius šalutinius personažus, kurie bent jau man pasirodė ir artimesni, ir tikresni. Apibendrinant – vienas tų reikalų, kurį nesigailiu suklausiusi, bet entuziastingai rekomenduoti irgi neketinu.
Marnie toli gražu nėra tobula ir čia tikrai jokių priekaištų neturiu. Tačiau didžiausia jos problema, kurią ji lyg ir bando spręsti knygos eigoje, yra ta, kad ji visada pameta save santykiuose. Prisitaiko prie tuometinio vaikino ir suformuoja save pagal tai, kokios merginos jam reikia. Problema čia tame, kad bent jau man neatrodė, jog Marnie pakankamai pasikeitė knygai besibaigiant. Neatrodė, kad ir išmoko tam tikras pamokas, kurias pati autorė jai pateikė. Žodžiu, pasigedau virsmo, mat be jo ji man tiesiog buvo užknisanti veikėja, kurią kartais darydavosi itin sunku pateisinti.
Kaip knygos pliusą galiu išskirti gerą humorą ir kur kas už pagrindinę veikėją įdomesnius šalutinius personažus, kurie bent jau man pasirodė ir artimesni, ir tikresni. Apibendrinant – vienas tų reikalų, kurį nesigailiu suklausiusi, bet entuziastingai rekomenduoti irgi neketinu.
December 12, 2025
This is a book for the delulu girlies and I‘m a delulu girly
January 10, 2025
I loved this so much I churned through it in a day!
August 12, 2024
3.5⭐️ Flew through this one and found it very easy to read. Fun that it was set in Melbourne but maybe a few too many specific brand references 👀
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