Month: August 2025

Sunday Post | 10 August 2025

Posted August 9, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 12 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Superhuman!

Last week I was very responsible. I caught up with almost all my book reviews, updated my reading challenges, did some journaling, got a lot of cleaning and reorganizing done, ran a couple of 5ks, and did some meal planning ahead of time. Am I even human?!

I am proud of me but now I’m not sure if I can ever perform at this level ever again!

It’s not all work and no play though. I read some really good books too, and watched a couple of scary movies – I don’t know why we chose scary movies, it just turned out that way.

On my watchlist:
We watched The Monkey and Nosferatu, and they were both really creepy but The Monkey had a little more levity than Nosferatu. I enjoy a little bit of morbid humor sometimes. The Monkey is an adaptation of a Stephen King story and we all know I love Stephen King.

Nosferatu has got an amazing cast and the acting from every one of them was superb. It was so intense, I couldn’t stand it, I had to take breaks in between. If you like horror, I highly recommend both these movies!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman – I ended up getting this book from the library on a “skip the line” basis and I jumped on it because I’d been wanting to read it for a while. So glad I did! I loved it!
  2. The Long Walk by Stephen King – Also a “skip the line” borrow. And a reread, but it’s been a while. I love how so much of King’s books are psychological. I didn’t remember how he managed to write a whole book out of people just walking, but he did it so well and I’m excited to watch the film adaptation coming out soon!
  3. Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca – Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life featured this book in her Top Ten Tuesday Beachy Reads post a couple of weeks ago and I was intrigued! I got the book a couple of days ago and finished it yesterday because it was so good! Thanks for the rec, Erin!

Books I’m reading:

  1. The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – I had a false start last week and got distracted by several other books that “skipped the line” so I’m trying again this week.

Last Week on The Blog

I finished so many book reviews!! I’m almost all caught up, but I’m reading just a little faster than I’m reviewing and I feel like I need new rules that I can’t start a book until I’m done reviewing the one I just finished! I know I don’t have to take reviewing so seriously and I do sometimes skip them, but it’s important to me to record the books I’ve read somewhere, otherwise I’ll forget them and feel like I need to read them again.

This Week

I haven’t gotten started on any of the books on my August TBR yet. After I finish The Keeper of Hidden Books, I’ll get started on them, I promise!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Book Review | A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Posted August 7, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

All you need is Ove.

At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet, a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People think him bitter, and he thinks himself surrounded by idiots.

Ove’s well-ordered, solitary world gets a shake-up one November morning with the appearance of new neighbors, a chatty young couple and their two boisterous daughters, who announce their arrival by accidentally flattening Ove’s mailbox with their U-Haul. What follows is a heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unlikely friendships, and a community’s unexpected reassessment of the one person they thought they had all figured out.

A word-of-mouth bestseller that has caused a sensation across Europe, Fredrik Backman’s irresistible novel about the angry old man next door is an uplifting exploration of the unreliability of first impressions and a gentle reminder that life is sweeter when it is shared with other people.

Ove is all you need.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #33: A standalone novel)

The Reason

I have been wanting to read a Fredrik Backman book for a while. I recently watched A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks, and I loved it, so I bumped this book up the TBR.

The Quotes

“People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had.”

“We always think there’s enough time to do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens and then we stand there holding on to words like ‘if’.”

“Men are what they are because of what they do. Not what they say.”

“We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.”

The Narrator(s)

George Newbern. It was good, no notes!

My Thoughts

I am in love with this book. I watched the movie with Tom Hanks and now that I’ve read the book, I feel like it did a great job of covering most of the things that happened in the book. I love that even though I’ve watched the movie and knew what was coming, I still got so invested and emotional when I read the book. I couldn’t help myself from crying all over again at the end.

This is such a wonderful story of unconditional love; both of the romantic and platonic kind. I love that it also talks about difficult topics; of grief, and loneliness, of loss, growing old. So many difficult topics, with Ove at the center of it all. He’s a miserable old man; unfriendly, rigid, difficult. And yet, he’s got the biggest heart. He’s the perfect character for us to follow through this journey. What a joy to have read this book!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Crêpes of Wrath by Sarah Fox

Posted August 7, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

The Crêpes of Wrath by Sarah Fox

When Marley McKinney’s aging cousin, Jimmy, is hospitalized with pneumonia, she agrees to help run his pancake house while he recovers. With its rustic interior and syrupy scent, the Flip Side Pancake House is just as she pictured it–and the surly chef is a wizard with crêpes. Marley expects to spend a leisurely week or two in Wildwood Cove, the quaint, coastal community where she used to spend her summers, but then Cousin Jimmy is found murdered, sprawled on the rocks beneath a nearby cliff. After she stumbles across evidence of stolen goods in Jimmy’s workshop, Marley is determined to find out what’s really going on in the not-so-quiet town of Wildwood Cove. With help from her childhood crush and her adopted cat, Flapjack, Marley sinks her teeth into the investigation. But if she’s not careful, she’s going to get burned by a killer who’s only interested in serving up trouble.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #1: A pun in the title)

The Reason

I was looking for books to fit the prompt for the 2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge with a pun in the title. This title caught my attention, and the rest of the series have similarly fun titles too!

The Narrator(s)

Marguerite Gavin. She did a great job, I think I like the book more than I would if I was reading on print because of her narration.

My Thoughts

I don’t read a lot of cozy mysteries but I love reading the occasional one when I come across them. This book caught my attention because of the brilliant title, and I thought I’d try it. It was quite fun and entertaining, and the narrator was also very good and made listening to the story very easy. However, I found the characters a little two-dimensional and didn’t connect with them as much as I wanted to. I also thought the plot itself was a little flimsy, and in the end, I don’t like the book enough to continue with the rest of the series.

One thing to note, that I both like and dislike, is that the MC constantly calls the detective every time she has any new information. I dislike it because that sort of removes the MC as the unofficial sleuth in this genre, but I like it because the practical, cautious person in me is like, finally! A portrayal of what an actual, smart person should do if this was a real life situation; let the professionals handle this and never, ever keep important clues to yourself or decide to investigate on your own!!

In any case, it was an entertaining read and I enjoyed it.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Revival by Stephen King

Posted August 7, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Revival by Stephen King

A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life.

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. It’s a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #28: A crossover (Set in a shared universe))
The Stephen King Constant Reader Challenge

The Reason

For the The Stephen King Constant Reader Challenge and because I’ve heard amazing things about this one in particular.

The Quotes

“That’s how you know you’re home, I think, no matter how far you’ve gone from it or how long you’ve been in some other place. Home is where they want you to stay longer.”

“People say that where there’s life, there’s hope, and I have no quarrel with that, but I also believe the reverse. There is hope, therefore I live.”

“Religion is the theological equivalent of a quick-buck insurance scam, where you pay in your premium year after year, and then, when you need the benefits you paid for so—pardon the pun—so religiously, you discover the company that took your money does not, in fact, exist.”

“This is how we bring about our own damnation, you know-by ignoring the voice that begs us to stop. To stop while there’s still time.”

The Narrator(s)

David Morse. It was perfectly fine and I enjoyed it very much.

My Thoughts

I liked it very much but I’d hope to like it more. I’d heard so many people hype it up so maybe I went in with overly high expectations. The story itself was really good but not what I expected. I thought it was going to be some kind of church horror in the vein of the movie Midnight Mass, but it wasn’t. Which is completely fine, I like where the story went too!

It was very slow burn, taking fifty years to come to fruition, and it was very interesting to see the characters develop over that time; the way they grow up and grow old, the way their beliefs and values evolve, everything they do to bring them where they end up. I’ve said it before that one of the reasons I love SK’s books so much is because he’s so good at character study. This book was amazing for that, and it’s still one I really enjoyed reading, even if I don’t love it as much as SK’s other books.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino

Posted August 7, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler is a marvel of ingenuity, an experimental text that looks longingly back to the great age of narration—”when time no longer seemed stopped and did not yet seem to have exploded.” Italo Calvino’s novel is in one sense a comedy in which the two protagonists, the Reader and the Other Reader, ultimately end up married, having almost finished If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler. In another, it is a tragedy, a reflection on the difficulties of writing and the solitary nature of reading. The Reader buys a fashionable new book, which opens with an exhortation: “Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade.” Alas, after 30 or so pages, he discovers that his copy is corrupted, and consists of nothing but the first section, over and over. Returning to the bookshop, he discovers the volume, which he thought was by Calvino, is actually by the Polish writer Bazakbal. Given the choice between the two, he goes for the Pole, as does the Other Reader, Ludmilla. But this copy turns out to be by yet another writer, as does the next, and the next.

The real Calvino intersperses 10 different pastiches—stories of menace, spies, mystery, premonition—with explorations of how and why we choose to read, make meanings, and get our bearings or fail to. Meanwhile the Reader and Ludmilla try to reach, and read, each other. If on a Winter’s Night is dazzling, vertiginous, and deeply romantic. “What makes lovemaking and reading resemble each other most is that within both of them times and spaces open, different from measurable time and space.”

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #25: Breaks the fourth wall)

The Reason

This was the BOTM for my in-person bookclub, and one of our member’s favorite book.

The Quotes

“What harbor can receive you more securely than a great library?”

“Reading is going toward something that is about to be, and no one yet knows what it will be.”

“Every new book I read comes to be a part of that overall and unitary book that is the sum of my readings…if you need little to set the imagination going, I require even less: the promise of reading is enough.”

The Narrator(s)

Jefferson Mays. The narration was fine, I had no issue with it.

My Thoughts

If you are reading this for the first time, please do not read it on audiobook. I was so confused! It was only during our bookclub discussion that I realized the overarching story was interspersed with little short stories in between. I didn’t realize that and couldn’t understand why the story was jumping all over the place. Subsequently, please take my review with a grain of salt since I’m sure I missed a lot.

The things that I did get and understood; I like that it was meta. It reminded me a little of The Shadow of the Wind, which I enjoyed very much. I like that there was a focus on the reader and reading experience, but interestingly, the part that interested me most was where there was focus on the writer and the writing experience. That part made me want to write!

I’m pretty sure I missed out on a lot by listening on audio instead of on print, but either way, I feel like this is a book that gets better with more rereads. I like rereading so I’ll get to it again eventually, but probably not anytime soon.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

Posted August 6, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

If there’s one trait that makes someone well suited to comedy, it’s being able to take a punch—metaphorically and, occasionally, physically.

From growing up in a family of firefighters on Staten Island to commuting three hours a day to high school and “seeing the sights” (like watching a Russian woman throw a stroller off the back of a ferry), to attending Harvard while Facebook was created, Jost shares how he has navigated the world like a slightly smarter Forrest Gump.

You’ll also discover things about Jost that will surprise and confuse you, like how Jimmy Buffett saved his life, how Czech teenagers attacked him with potato salad, how an insect laid eggs inside his legs, and how he competed in a twenty-five-man match at WrestleMania (and almost won). You’ll go behind the scenes at SNL and Weekend Update (where he’s written some of the most memorable sketches and jokes of the past fifteen years). And you’ll experience the life of a touring stand-up comedian—from performing in rural college cafeterias at noon to opening for Dave Chappelle at Radio City Music Hall.

For every accomplishment (hosting the Emmys), there is a setback (hosting the Emmys). And for every absurd moment (watching paramedics give CPR to a raccoon), there is an honest, emotional one (recounting his mother’s experience on the scene of the Twin Towers’ collapse on 9/11). Told with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, A Very Punchable Face reveals the brilliant mind behind some of the dumbest sketches on television, and lays bare the heart and humor of a hardworking guy—with a face you can’t help but want to punch.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
N/A

The Reason

I really like him on SNL and Pop Culture Jeopardy.

The Quotes

“I’m a creature driven by a combination of guilt and FOMO, which often overrides any sense of self-preservation.”

“What I realized was: I might never have this chance again. In fact, I almost certainly would never have this chance again. Did I really want to look back and think: I could have done more, but I was afraid people would think I was lame for trying too hard? I decided to try really hard.”

“That’s two lessons I learned very quickly: (1) You don’t need to do anything in life—if it feels wrong or unnatural, it probably is. And (2) I had no one but myself to blame for not trusting my own instincts and pushing back when I felt something was wrong.”

“That’s what Harvard was like: thinking you’re pretty good at something, then meeting someone who is really good or even one of the best in the world. And that doesn’t mean they get good grades. A lot of the most famous alumni left without graduating because their work became more important than school. People like Bill Gates, Matt Damon, and Mark Zuckerberg. And you know who did graduate? The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. The point is: Never graduate from Harvard.”

The Narrator(s)

The author himself. It was great!

My Thoughts

I really enjoy watching him on SNL and Pop Culture Jeopardy, then I came across his book, thought the title was funny, and decided I wanted to learn more about the guy. It was actually quite fascinating because I know nothing about him other than his recent public works, and I have so much more respect for him now seeing how hard he worked to get where he is. Especially in the entertainment business.

One of the things that surprised me most was learning about his family background and his firefighter mom. I thought that was really cool. It got real when he talked about his mother working during the Twin Towers’ collapse, and I could tell how impactful that experience must have been for his mother and his family. I like him more now than ever, and I’m glad I read this book.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Posted August 6, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating.

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but fakes it that she can.

Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!

But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #22: Found family trope)

The Reason

I need more Katherine Center books in my life!

The Quotes

“Reading love stories isn’t frivolous. It’s profound. It’s not escape, it’s the opposite. Trust me, and trust yourself: love stories are the best kinds of therapy. They aren’t shallow, they’re deep. Start looking and you’ll see it, too. Love stories make us better at love. In all directions. And getting better at love of course, means getting better at life.”

“The funny thing about the internet is that it is basically a collective hallucination. If you don’t join in, it doesn’t exist.”

“Every time you have to be brave, you get to be a little braver next time. That’s what life is for.”

“If you don’t reject the harsh things people say to you, then I guess, at some point, that means you accept them.”

My Thoughts

This was so perfectly charming and fun to read! I love Katie and Hutch’s chemistry, and I love the story and how their relationship unfolded. Katie was adorable and awkward and so relatable. I couldn’t help but love her. Hutch was portrayed as the strong, silent type, but he’s just as awkward and I love it! It was such fun reading this, I even learned some things about helicopters and how rescues work.

I also love that there was a found family element to the story with Rue and her friends. Katie was being cared for and I love that for her. I didn’t like Cole so much, I thought he was wildly unprofessional and what he did was basically workplace sexual harrassment. It might not have been so bad if they were friends, but as he was Katie’s superior at work, I really didn’t like that part of the story.

The main part of the story was sweet though, and I love the dog. He was the funniest wingman! This was such a fun and enjoyable read, and just what I needed.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

Posted August 6, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

Two strangers find themselves stranded at sea together in this epic new love story by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

What if you were lost at sea…with your one-night stand?

Zeke and Lexi thought it would just be a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend’s daughter.

Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water.

With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone—and to fall in love with them.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #52: Published in 2025)

The Reason

I’ve enjoyed many of the author’s works.

The Quotes

“Sometimes the biggest moments in your life are disguised as nothings.”

“If you’re the sidekick for long enough, you forget how to lead your own life.”

“Life is full of extremes right now. Either I’m doing absolutely fuck-all for hours on end, or I’m dashing around panicking.”

My Thoughts

This might be my least favorite of all the author’s books. I can’t go into detail without spoiling it, but there’s a lot of big traumatic stuff casually thrown around like it’s nothing. If you’ve read the book or don’t mind spoilers, you can click on the arrow below.

Spoiler
It’s not really lighthearted romance, it’s quite serious and traumatizing, tbh. Also, the MMC having sex at 16 with a 28yo for two months, and then numbing himself with sex with 65 partners for years afterwards. And Penny getting pregnant with his child 4 years ago and never telling him, with no remorse on her part and yet it was just…forgiven? This is a whole lot of fucked up shit.

I have no issues with serious topics being covered in a romance, if it’s done right, but in this case, it’s the fact that they are presented as normal. Also, I usually really enjoy the forced proximity trope, but the circumstances were just too scary in this book. I feel like this at this point, the story should’ve been categorized under survival fiction or drama, and the romance shouldn’t be a part of it at all. More care should’ve been given to the sensitive topics, imho.

My Rating

⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Posted August 6, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #31: Audiobook has multiple narrators)

The Reason

It’s a TJR book, plus Julia Whelan narrates it. Of course I’m reading it!

The Quotes

“Happiness is so hard to come by. I don’t understand why anyone would begrudge anyone else for managing to find some of it.”

“You are what you are, and I like what you are. Anyway, nobody is one thing all the time.”

“In all of her time spent watching others, she hadn’t picked up on this part of falling in love, that someone could look at you as if you were the very center of everything. And even though you knew better, you’d allow yourself a moment to believe you were worthy of being revolved around, too.”

“So when you look out at the sky, the farther you can see, the further back you are looking in time. The space between you and the star is time.”

The Narrator(s)

Taylor Jenkins Reid, Julia Whelan, Kristen DiMercurio. TJR narrated the Author’s Note. Julia Whelan and Kristen DiMercurio read the different timelines of the book. They were both great, and of course, everyone knows I love Julia Whelan!

My Thoughts

This book packs 100% emotional damage. I know it’s a little dramatic but I was genuinely emotionally wrecked at the last part of this book and I was sobbing so loudly the night I finished it that my husband was completely perplexed. He asked me the next morning, hesitantly, to tell him about the book because he wanted to know why I was crying so hard, and so I told him the summary, and started crying again!

I don’t know why the book hit me so hard, I can’t even say it’s my favorite TJR book, and I do have issues with the storytelling/time jumps and feeling like they spoil the story for me. It’s just that the whole scene at the end was so emotionally powerful. It was hit after hit after hit, and a KO punch at the end!

Well, now that we’ve established that I’m a huge crybaby, let’s move on. I loved the story; I love reading about how life might have been like for female astronauts breaking into a male dominated space. I love seeing the women navigate their environment, and I love that different coping methods were represented, not all good ones. Times are different now, I know, but I like that Lydia’s reasoning for why she does that was discussed, because I can see her pov as well. I also love how Lydia learned and grew as a person. Not saying that I like her as a person, but I love her character!

Overall, I loved the story, and I guess I loved being emotionally destroyed, but as I said, I’m not sure I like the timeline edits, and I’m also on the fence about where the story ended. I feel like it ended there for maximum emotional impact, but I also feel like the story is unfinished. I wanted to know more about everyone else; there were other characters’ stories that felt unresolved and I needed more. I feel like it might have been better served with an epilogue. Still a great story by one of my favorite authors!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Posted August 6, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

‘Everything is finished. I have nothing but you now. Remember that’

Anna Karenina seems to have everything – beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love and self-destruction is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life – and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #49: Set in a country with an active volcano)
The Classics Club

The Reason

This has been on my TBR for a while. I had a few false starts last year but there was a buddy read this year that motivated me to finally finish it.

The Quotes

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.”

“He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.”

“Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed.”

The Narrator(s)

Maggie Gyllenhaal. She was great! I enjoyed her narration a lot more than the one I tried last year (forgot who the narrator was, but it wasn’t Maggie!).

My Thoughts

I honestly love Tolstoy’s writing and the way he keeps me invested, interested, in suspense, never knowing what’s coming next, but I also didn’t like the characters and the over-the-top drama and toxicity, and I’m just so happy it’s over!

I thought I would like Anna’s character more, but I couldn’t stand her once we got to know her more and I really hated her by the end of the book. In fact, I didn’t really like any of the characters much, but funny enough, I loved the character study and I was very impressed by the way Tolstoy kept me interested in them throughout the whole book.

There was so much to explore with the different characters; their behaviors, motivations, growth or non-growth. I never knew where they were going to go or what they were going to do, but it also never felt unrealistic to me. I just love Tolstoy’s writing and I definitely want to read more, but I feel like I never want to read this book again because I’m so sick of Anna and I never want to see her again. Fortunately, Tolstoy has got several other books I can read, so I’m looking forward to those!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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