#Lola reads books

[miyakuli]

It’s been months I haven’t read any books; I used to read in transports in the past but with my current work I have less travel to do, and I have trouble to read at night bcs it makes me fall asleep x’)

I read a lot online but I missed holding a book in my hands so I tried to get back to it, so I chose the book that inspired one of my most favorite movie, Howl’s Moving Castle <3333

It was super charming and quite different in the ambiance; more energetic and more humorous touches. And boy, Sophie has such a strong personality in it xD and that’s nice she is not just a simple girl (no spoil), that gave her more depth. The witch of the waste is also much more cruel and intimidating in this one (her goal is horrible, uhhh) I also like how the universe is more detailed with objets, places and spells that weren’t in the movie!

Something I couldn’t get used to though is the french name they gave to Howl, “Hurle” >< it sounds like the conjugated verb “hurler” that means “scream” XD so I always had the impression Howl was screaming all the time lol at the same time it matched his more chaotic personality in the book x)

I had to say but I think Miyazaki sublimated the story <3 it moved me more with the poetry of it and how the relationship between Howl and Sophie developed (in the book I found their romance appears too suddenly at the end). Also, I think the theme of self-confidence is better represented too (just the fact that Sophie breaks the spell as her own as she learns to love herself, that only is for me the best message). I also think the end of the book is super rushed (o.o)’ I was a bit confused haha

I’m glad I went back to read with this book and it’s been so long I meant to read it so now I can say I know both book and movie x)

[toffeeteapot]

your fav characters reading for your goodreads profile pics!

[odetojupiter]

uhhh so the number four is associated with death in certain cultures, including japanese, which is fitting for the butcher’s son, yes but just remember neil was supposed to be number three and jean was supposed to be number four ,and in every draft but one jean dies. he is symbolically saved from that fate by dodging the number four (being given, instead, the number three which represents REBIRTH of all things - i made a whole post about that if ur curious) because it means he was never marked for death. so in this draft, where he’s number three, but was supposed to be number four, he comes so close to death - to the point where renee doesn’t know how he’s still alive - because he was supposed to die, doomed by the narrative, but that number three saves him. that number three represents resurrection, and so he doesn’t die like he was supposed to. because he’s not number four, he’s number three. he comes back. he transforms, he heals. he becomes number 29 (i will eventually make a post about jean and the 29)

neil, though, was marked for death. he had the number four tattooed on him, and he goes through his own narrative believing he will die by the end of it. his survival, however, is foreshadowed in the very moment neil thinks he’s about to die - when he is kidnapped. lola burns the number four - the signifier of death - off his face, leaving him scarred, yes, but not marked for death anymore. and so he lives. and guess what: the number 10 represents the start of a new chapter, that one cycle is coming to an end and a new life is starting, one that you’ve worked hard for. so for the number four to be burned off of neil, that tells us neil is going to live. and when neil becomes neil legally, he settles into the number 10 properly. and his new life begins.

[mmelolabelle]

I cannot believe people were so pissy about Assad’s casting as Armand, look at him —

The man looks like every homo-repressed renaissance painter’s wet dream - like 10/10 would paint him as Jesus or several angels into as many frescoes as possible.

[ramblings-of-lola]

*psst* yes, you, who else am I talking to?

Stop scrolling and go read that book you've been procrastinating all day.

[seredelgi]

Oh God, Jeremiah really went full "wattpad mode" this season and I can't complain.

I mean first the " if I kiss you, I don't know that I can ever stop", and that was ugh, gutwrenchingly good. And now with the " You don't need to hurt yourself to get my attention" whispered in Belly's ear.

Like, staahp.

I swear I'm trying so hard to root for the Belly/Conrad dynamic 'cause I think they're endgame but seriously tho, this season, even more than the previous one has me like "Conrad who?"

[holomermaids]

so i read Icebreaker and Wildfire by Hannah Grace this week and i really want a book, or short story, or something about Robbie and Lola because they are adorable and i love them

[throwbacktears]

as someone who knew nothing about the books or show until i watched it last year on a whim, i was a belly x conrad girlie. i still am, but man, with season 2 already foreshadowing how much theyre soulmates, i feel bad jeremiah doesnt get a fair and fighting chance as belly’s love interest. every time he is, it’s just an afterthought. and it makes the “love triangle” a lot less intriguing bc, well, theres nothing to be intrigued about!!! theres no pining, we all know — even jeremiah himself — that she will always have conrad as number #1. justice for jeremiah and belly to have a fair love story actually

[watchmakermori]

so like. I read Think Again by jacqueline wilson and I can't stop thinking about how weird bits of it were.

why did she have to do Mr Windsor so dirty. bringing him back as a love interest was a bizarre move in the first place, though I wasn't quite as outraged as some reviewers are. I don't think it'd have been quite as odd if he and Ellie reunited on more neutral terms and sort of rediscovered each other as adults...but they meet up for the first time since Ellie was 13 and it's instantly a date. then they jump into bed with each other immediately. It's weird and nobody really acts like it's that weird

And to some extent I think it's intentional, because Mr Windsor turns out awful and controlling and we aren't supposed to like the guy. But that felt like a very odd choice too. I get that a lot of time has passed, and it's not like we ever knew much about Mr Windsor's actual character...but the idea of him becoming this domineering, mansplaining caricature just didn't fit with what we knew about him. he's only ten years older than Ellie. As a hip young teacher in the 90s, he made a point to introduce his students to female artists, was always encouraging and kind to Ellie, and dealt with Magda's inappropriate advances in a very respectful way. I could believe he wasn't the perfect fantasy man that the girls imagined him to be as teenagers, but like...telling Ellie she shouldn't wear trousers? Making out she's a little girl who needs looking after? I don't know. He felt like a parody of a totally different man.

Which I guess he could be, given he's called Gary Windsor in the new book. Who the fuck is Gary?? The original series confirmed his name was Guy. Can't believe JW and none of her editors caught that.

So Guy/Gary is weird and patriarchal and generally awful, and Madga and Nadine both insist that he's just like that because he's a man (spoiler alert: no). They tell Ellie she obviously wants a woman, which is kind of where she ends up.

I'm going to be charitable and say that JW wasn't aiming for a take-home message of 'men are always bad so date women instead'. I feel like Alice's girlfriend Wendy, who also has an air of pantomime villainy about her, is supposed to illustrate that all is not always rosy in wlw relationships. But it still feels weird

And it makes the novel worse, in my opinion. I love the idea of Ellie rediscovering her sexuality as a 40 year old and realising she wants a relationship with a woman. That's awesome, it feels personal to JW's own life, and it's a good twist on what you might normally expect from a contemporary romance book about a single mum. But that aspect is confined to basically the final page of the book. We spend 99% of the time watching Ellie go on boring dates with a man she doesn't really like and who treats her badly. Then, on the final page, she gets with a woman and the book ends.

I just think the story would've been so much more interesting if this had been the crux of the story. Imagine if Mr Windsor wasn't such a shitbag - if he was just a regular guy who treated Ellie well, maybe had a few flaws, but was fundamentally a great potential partner. Then imagine you have Ellie, who feels logically that this is everything she should want - the happily ever after she's long been waiting for. Except Alice has come into her life, and she makes Ellie reconsider what she really wants for herself.

That conflict feels like it would've played so much better with the throughlines in the original Girls books. Ellie's personality as a teenager, her relationship to her best friends, her relationship to the people reading about her - so much of it is about boys. Magda, Nadine and Ellie are constantly talking about crushes and dating, and that doesn't seem to have changed much even in this sequel. It would've been fascinating to see Ellie grapple with compulsory heterosexuality and how much of her connections to others are tied to that. She might wonder what it would do to her friendship with Nadine and Magda if she started to date a woman - how it might affect her relationship with her daughter, her parents, and obviously her own sense of self.

I just feel like that would have been way more interesting and sincere. the whole novel is called 'Think Again', for goodness sake. but instead we get 300 pages of Ellie dithering about whether to break up with a guy who disparages her flat, her opinions, and generally treats her like a child. It's tiresome

[miyakuli]

In my desire to read more often again, I embarked on the famous sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep.

It's a book my aunt offered me since years and I never dared to read it until then ; The Shining has always been my most favorite book ever, read it many times and I am still fascinated by the psychology of it. That's why I remained cautious about this sequel...I was a bit scared to be disappointed ><" (but at the same time, I read so many King books and except for two, I loved them all)

My verdict? it was fine but was it necessary? I don't think so x) Imo, it might as well be a separate story, since the link between the first book and this one only concerns Dan and some reminders of the hotel and its monsters.

But the story was ok. I still love SK writing style the most so it was easy to dive back into his work again. However I thought the pacing could have been better, the setting up of the story is quite long and not always intriguing.

The strong point obviously lies in the psychology of the characters and their relationship. Buuuuuuuuut the "vilains" are a bit too much xD I did not find them charismatic and I did not feel anything oppressive unlike the previous monsters of the hotel. Too bad for that.

Not my favorite but at least it didn't "damage" the lore of The Shining for me so I'm thankful for that xD

[leer-reading-lire]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge | August 4 | Young Author

The Waltz of the Monsters by Lola Ancira

[rosiesbookmark]

Review: Lola & the Millionaires duet (4.5 ⭐️)

I’ve just finished reading ‘Lola & the Millionaires’ by Kathryn Moon and now I officially don’t know what to do with my life.

Full review below:

I know these books get a LOT of love in the book community; however, Part I was such a slow burn that I didn’t quite understand what all the hype was all about.

It was also because I didn’t know much, if anything at all, about the omegaverse. So, having Lola label each person she meets as ‘alpha’, ‘beta’, or ‘omega’ was confusing AF for me (at times I kept wondering, okay, Lola, but wtf is a ‘knot’?!).

This was really my fault, as in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have gone into Part I completely blind. Perhaps this would have made the experience more enjoyable. That said, the end of Part I linked back to the main plot and by then, I was absolutely hooked.

Suddenly, everything had purpose and it wasn’t just about Lola getting it on with the guys (not that I really minded that part), but Part II really added the depth I was missing throughout Part I.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading about her blossoming relationships with Leo and Rake in Part I but maybe it was because these weren’t my favourite guys that I just wasn’t that interested for a while. I enjoyed her relationships with Matthieu, Wes, Caleb, and Cyrus much more. So, Part II was an utter gem for me.

Let’s talk about that sexy pack:

What I really appreciated about the bonds? Not every guy was bisexual.

For the sake of consistency, I’ve noticed that authors sometimes just make all the guys in the reverse harem genre equal. So, feelings like jealousy and wanting to be appreciated just as much as someone else etc aren’t readily explored or even problematic (at least in the books I’ve read).

So, I really loved the fact that the millionaires weren’t all into each other as much as they were into Lola. It made me appreciate and sympathise with each of the guys more, particularly in their individual feelings for her.

Even Leo (who wasn’t my favourite because he just seemed way too dreamy to be real at all) became super special to me by the end of Part II because of the fact that he wasn’t perfect; he struggled with the concept wanting her to bound to his alpha (because it would indirectly bind her to himself).

Heck, even Rake’s OTT attitude became loveable to me by the end. Had the author brought some of this into Part I, I think the duet would have gotten a 5/5 from me, without a doubt.

Who were my favourites?

In order of preference:

Matthieu and Wes

Literally everyone else

Leo, Caleb, Cyrus, and Rake

I don’t know why I tried to rank these magnificent men because my brain doesn’t work this way. I really loved all the guys, I just had special places in my heart for Matthieu and Wes. Everyone else was there too (these two just have their own special corner, let’s say).

********* SPOILER ALERT **********

And given that they were my ‘favourites’, I can’t begin to describe how much I gushed over the fact that these two got to officially bond with Lola first. My heart was overflowing with feels.

The description of the bond itself was the most romantic and beautiful thing ever, too. The way that Matthieu would silently comfort or encourage her through their bond mark — like hello, I need him to bite me as well.

Overall, I understand now why these books are so loved.

I’m sad that it’s over and will probably struggle with this book hangover for the next week or so.

4.5 🌟 out of 5.

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

parents will be surprised when you currently like tragic and/or scary media as if they didn't have you read Jacqueline Wilson when you were younger

[ramblings-of-lola]

Mourning the amount of reading I could do if I wasn't addicted to social media

[caribeandthebooks]

Caribe's Read Around The World TBR - Part 4

Books set in Africa <3

[omgwhatchloe]

if its possible to get the ick for a book, i definitely did when they had at least 2-3 paragraphs describing how uncomfortable she was of the homeless, and generally just putting them in this awful light, like they were actual evil threats towards her.

oh im sorry that you feel uncomfortable and scared when you see a homeless person, lola. it must be awful, when you’re walking around in your clean clothes with fresh food you can afford, knowing theres people looking out for you and youve got a stable life, im so not surprised those evil homeless people ruined your day.

but can you just imagine how absolutely dehumanising that is? like when she got scared of a homeless person, her boyfriend gave her all the sympathy and put his arms around her. THE HOMELESS PERSON DIDNT DO ANYTHING.

seriously ive been meaning to talk about it because just reading it made me so mad and ive been thinking about it since. undeniably the worst in the series.