Noel > Recent Status Updates

I was really liking the development of their relationship, but now that they're off to war, I hope the book doesn't become just a series of fight scenes and battle strategizing.

Ok they're 15 now so the yearning makes more sense. I'm actually really enjoying the story now.

So it's as swoony as described, but I don't understand it in context. The book says Patroclus is 10 years old when he meets Achilles. The sheer amount of romantic goggling over Achilles' beauty (his "supple, fawn-skin soft" throat??) doesn't make sense for a 10 year old.

I have such a pet peeve with characters constantly interjecting each other's names into their dialogue. WE KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO, STOPPPPP

This really shouldn't have been marketed as a "thriller" on the book jacket. This is a slooow-going slice-of-life character study about an old lady who stumbles on some dead bodies, but we don't see any of the investigations. Instead we get full scenes of astrology, home repair, and poetry. I'm kinda liking it for the character, but I almost stopped reading earlier, because where was the "thrill" in this "thriller"??

Oh my god this is so hilarious, I’m loving it so so much

These two are so adorable I can’t handle it

Absolutely delightful so far. God I love British comedies.

Jenny Slate’s writings do the tenderest things to my heart…

I’m relating to so so so much in this character 😭

The alien biology on this planet is so coooool. The book had stalled a little at the beginning as things were getting set up, but now that the aliens are in, I’M IN.

MY HEAAARRRT. My heart my heart my heart my heart…..

The banter between the main characters is so damn endearing, gaaah these two are cute 💓

An absolute delight so far, I’m loving it so much.

I've had this on hold at the library since JULY and only just now got it!

Ugh, the way this author writes about women is so annoying. Every woman that appears for even a second needs to have her body evaluated. He assumes women are always cattily evaluating other women too. But the last straw for me was this scene just now where he called two TEENAGERS’ bodies “RIPE.” Friggin GROSS, dude. I’ve been tolerating the book so far bc it’s audio but I don’t know if I can keep going.

I don’t get this relationship… He’s a quantum physicist who spends his every waking hour entranced by the wonders of the universe, yet our protagonist, a woman who has exhibited absolutely ZILCH of a personality or drive or even a basic hobby, is the person he keeps saying is so “interesting”? WHAT is so “interesting” about her!?? Either I don’t get it or this is really lazy character-building.

So, I don’t necessarily “dislike” all these scenes from the past about her online dating foibles, but I’m puzzled by how *much* space they’re taking in the book, when the much more interesting and relevant stuff is in the present. Maybe it matters? With this being (potentially) a time travel story and all… But at the moment it feels meandering and bogged down.

The audiobook narrator for this is fantastic

This narrator for the audiobook is so Britishly delightful 😄 Her voice and delivery are perfect.

Ooooffff this book hurts my heart so much to read. What has happened to the character is so awful that I was literally groaning “no no no” during some scenes. There is a potent feeling of powerlessness as the reader, wanting to reach through the page and save her from this tragedy, but unable to. Aagh!!

Man, this book suddenly got dark! Like, uncomfortably dark. Squirm in my seat kind of dark. But in a way I respect. Koontz gets kudos for having the gall to write out an idea this unsettling.

I was sooo curious how the “choose your own adventure” format was going to work here… It seemed like such a fun concept, but how do you choose different options for a life already lived?? Would one choice be the “real” one and the other be a “what if” version or something? Turns out… it’s just a book you can read out of order. That’s all. Hm.

It’s not “bad” so far… just kinda bland. :/ It’s labeled as a comedy but I haven’t cracked a smile once… David Levithan was much funnier when he teamed up with John Green for “Will Grayson Will Grayson.” Or… was John Green carrying all the comedy??

Welp, this book definitely misrepresented itself in its jacket description. Really should have come with a content warning of some kind, at least a *hint* of the graphic child molestation that was going to occur right in chapter two!!

He’s in the stomach now! It’s actually pretty scary 🫢🫣 I’m so so so so curious about how he’ll get out

Not connecting with the character at all, but damned if I'm going to stop reading before he gets in that whale. 80 pages and finally, the star has arrived! Now get IN. (*taps fingers*)

So, I'm at the halfway point, and I can say the writing style is lovely and interesting and emotionally evocative, but the *story* has been really one-note. I don't feel like I know much about the character other than she's being suffocated by her job and her depression. Relatable, yes, but also repetitive. I'm hoping things take a turn, because I feel like I'm reading the same page over and over in different words.

I’ve looked for a book like this for a long time. It’s a rare type. Very literary, very intellectual, yet also very romance-forward.