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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was a bit disappointed by this one. Obviously, a romance with a ghost is, by definition, a paranormal romance novel. But I’ve always classified stories of ghostly love around themes of mortality, loving-to-the-fullest-while-you-can, loss and recovery, etc. Never in my wildest dreams did I think of ghosts as belonging to the vampire/werewolf trope of hot, steamy paranormal romance. Welp, this book goes there, and the results are...meh.
Actually, in hindsight, it feels like this book couldn’t quite make up its mind of what it wanted to be. It starts as something of a satire about the bureaucracy of death, with a angel’s metaphorical paperwork mix-up causing Thomas to have to spend a few more months on earth before being able to die properly. Next is Rachel’s section. She’s a Brooklyn hipster who has a history of unfulfilling sex. She gets the hots for a man she sees every day on the bus, they hit it off, she finds out he is a ghost, and the have sex. Lots of sex. They think this is love. But he is a ghost, so he starts disappearing. This is only an inconvenience in that it forces them to get more creative about sex. He eventually disappears entirely, but the static-energy-sex continues. This would be the steamy paranormal romance section. To wrap this story up, we get a few sections where other characters help Rachel leave her dead boyfriend (she eventually realizes this relationship that cuts her off from all friends is a bit...abusive?). Her ex-boyfriend helps by having more sex with her. Thomas the ghosts goes to the beyond - we don’t follow up with the messy bureaucracy of it this time. Rachel decides to actually try stop the meaningless sex. The end.
I feel like digging more into any of these themes — the death satire, the sexytime romance, the allegory for an abusive relationship — would have made this book stronger. But dipping toes in each and leaving them all a bit unresolved feels pointless.
Actually, in hindsight, it feels like this book couldn’t quite make up its mind of what it wanted to be.
I feel like digging more into any of these themes — the death satire, the sexytime romance, the allegory for an abusive relationship — would have made this book stronger. But dipping toes in each and leaving them all a bit unresolved feels pointless.
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Regrets by Amy Bonnaffons is a book that holds you at arm’s length. It’s also not quite what the summary on the back advertises, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The overall effect adds up to a bizarre and compelling story about a toxic relationship.
Rachel’s life is one of empty drudgery in an unfulfilling job as a librarian. When she notices a strange, golden-haired man at her bus stop, it isn’t long before they strike up a relationship. Their attachment only builds in intensity even though she soon learns that he is actually a ghost stuck in a strange limbo.
That summary might make you think that most of the book would focus on Rachel and her perspective, but that isn’t the case. The Regrets feels more like a collection of related novellas with different viewpoint characters. Rachel only drives the action in two out of the six sections.
The opening chapters introduce Thomas, the lingering ghost who will eventually become Rachel’s lover. The opening does a lot of heavy lifting to set up the world and its rules, emphasizing how Thomas risks terrible consequences if he makes any personal connections during his period of enforced on-Earth limbo. Naturally, he doesn’t let that stop him.
There are also two sections from the perspective of Mark, another of Rachel’s romantic entanglements. Mark is still among the living, so he would theoretically be a more suitable object for Rachel’s affections, but nothing comes easy in the world of The Regrets.
I’d had The Regrets on my shelf for a while before I finally picked it up to read along with a book club run by several of my friends from Austin. The theme of the club is “steamy” reads, i.e. romance or generally sexy books, and they picked the book because NPR deemed it sexy in their year-end wrap-up.
However, we all agreed that the book wasn’t particularly steamy. There are sex scenes, yes, but those moments of connection all ultimately curdle into toxicity as the doomed relationship between Rachel and Thomas slowly disintegrates.
Despite the fact that the book wasn’t quite what I expected it to be, I still really enjoyed it. The writing is great, and it feels like a very specific depiction of how romantic relationships can go wrong and linger after their sell-by date. I’m also always a sucker for books with a slight twist of surrealism, so I was primed to enjoy this one from the start.
After I read this, I bought a collection of Bonnaffons’ short stories. It’ll be interesting to compare her short work with this novel, which really did feel like it only just graduated from a shorter medium.
Originally posted at Full of Words. Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from NetGalley.
Rachel’s life is one of empty drudgery in an unfulfilling job as a librarian. When she notices a strange, golden-haired man at her bus stop, it isn’t long before they strike up a relationship. Their attachment only builds in intensity even though she soon learns that he is actually a ghost stuck in a strange limbo.
That summary might make you think that most of the book would focus on Rachel and her perspective, but that isn’t the case. The Regrets feels more like a collection of related novellas with different viewpoint characters. Rachel only drives the action in two out of the six sections.
The opening chapters introduce Thomas, the lingering ghost who will eventually become Rachel’s lover. The opening does a lot of heavy lifting to set up the world and its rules, emphasizing how Thomas risks terrible consequences if he makes any personal connections during his period of enforced on-Earth limbo. Naturally, he doesn’t let that stop him.
There are also two sections from the perspective of Mark, another of Rachel’s romantic entanglements. Mark is still among the living, so he would theoretically be a more suitable object for Rachel’s affections, but nothing comes easy in the world of The Regrets.
I’d had The Regrets on my shelf for a while before I finally picked it up to read along with a book club run by several of my friends from Austin. The theme of the club is “steamy” reads, i.e. romance or generally sexy books, and they picked the book because NPR deemed it sexy in their year-end wrap-up.
However, we all agreed that the book wasn’t particularly steamy. There are sex scenes, yes, but those moments of connection all ultimately curdle into toxicity as the doomed relationship between Rachel and Thomas slowly disintegrates.
Despite the fact that the book wasn’t quite what I expected it to be, I still really enjoyed it. The writing is great, and it feels like a very specific depiction of how romantic relationships can go wrong and linger after their sell-by date. I’m also always a sucker for books with a slight twist of surrealism, so I was primed to enjoy this one from the start.
After I read this, I bought a collection of Bonnaffons’ short stories. It’ll be interesting to compare her short work with this novel, which really did feel like it only just graduated from a shorter medium.
Originally posted at Full of Words. Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from NetGalley.
Thomas is insufficiently dead. Due to an institutional error he must spend 90 days back on earth before he can cross over to the afterlife. He is urged to journal his daily activities, steer clear of ties to his previous life and resist temptations or he will surely incur regrets.
Thomas spends his days wandering and that’s how he meets Rachel, a quirky librarian with a cute butt. Rachel is a daydreamer who falls in love with her fantasies and has a hard time separating reality from her own dreams. The chemistry between the two is electric and Thomas breaks all the rules. They hole up inside Rachel’s apartment, enveloped in their own little world until Thomas starts to slowly disappear.
This book is weird—really weird. If the term “ghost sex” doesn’t pique your interest, this probably isn’t the book for you. There was a lot of philosophical inner dialogue that I really enjoyed and found relatable. Humans are messy creatures and so are these characters. THE REGRETS is a thought-provoking exploration of love, desire, life and death.
Thomas spends his days wandering and that’s how he meets Rachel, a quirky librarian with a cute butt. Rachel is a daydreamer who falls in love with her fantasies and has a hard time separating reality from her own dreams. The chemistry between the two is electric and Thomas breaks all the rules. They hole up inside Rachel’s apartment, enveloped in their own little world until Thomas starts to slowly disappear.
This book is weird—really weird. If the term “ghost sex” doesn’t pique your interest, this probably isn’t the book for you. There was a lot of philosophical inner dialogue that I really enjoyed and found relatable. Humans are messy creatures and so are these characters. THE REGRETS is a thought-provoking exploration of love, desire, life and death.
“Yet we hedged our bets. We showed up to her visions with full stomachs, expecting nothing.”
“Haunting is not confined to the realm of ghosts. It is a state of avoidance and obsession.”
“Haunting is not confined to the realm of ghosts. It is a state of avoidance and obsession.”
I am going to give the ever so famous Goodreads line "I really wanted to love this book." The week this book came out I carried this book around a bookstore to purchase it. At the last minute I put it back because there was something I wanted just a little bit more. When I was at the register there was a customer next to me purchasing it, I wondered if it was a sign that I was supposed to grab it. I didn't. Then I watched the reviews and became a little unsure. I was telling myself I could wait for paperback and wait until it wasn’t such a new release. There are just some books you need to see what they are all about and read them no matter what. This is one of them for me. I kept revisiting it over and over again. I caved and did choose to do this on audio. The narrators were very good, they seemed to fit the characters of the book.
This book is about "a love affair between the living and the dead", Rachel and Thomas. Thomas is dead and must complete 90 days on earth where he is forbidden from becoming involved with a living person or will incur "regrets". The summary lets you know they do break this rule and you follow their story and consequences.
I think this story was very creative and unique. Unfortunately it just wasn't a great fit for me, thus the lower rating. I enjoyed the POV by Rachel much more. At times their “Complimentary weirdnesses” was cute and endearing but overall I just didn't fall in love with the story. This couple had “The chance to become the world for another person”
Some parts were endearing when referencing lost loved ones but some were not as endearing. but I just didn't feel incredibly convinced of their connection or attached to them individually or as a couple. I kept listening hoping there would be a great turning point for me to fall in love with the story but unfortunately it just didn't work that way for me, but I did find myself looking forward to the portions of the story by Rachel.
As I stated, I would have read or listened to this at some point no matter what, I was interested in it and curious about it. Sometimes books are a great fit for us and sometimes not as much. I was glad I was able to experience the creativity and uniqueness of this one and I'm sure some will really enjoy it.
This book is about "a love affair between the living and the dead", Rachel and Thomas. Thomas is dead and must complete 90 days on earth where he is forbidden from becoming involved with a living person or will incur "regrets". The summary lets you know they do break this rule and you follow their story and consequences.
I think this story was very creative and unique. Unfortunately it just wasn't a great fit for me, thus the lower rating. I enjoyed the POV by Rachel much more. At times their “Complimentary weirdnesses” was cute and endearing but overall I just didn't fall in love with the story. This couple had “The chance to become the world for another person”
Some parts were endearing when referencing lost loved ones but some were not as endearing. but I just didn't feel incredibly convinced of their connection or attached to them individually or as a couple. I kept listening hoping there would be a great turning point for me to fall in love with the story but unfortunately it just didn't work that way for me, but I did find myself looking forward to the portions of the story by Rachel.
As I stated, I would have read or listened to this at some point no matter what, I was interested in it and curious about it. Sometimes books are a great fit for us and sometimes not as much. I was glad I was able to experience the creativity and uniqueness of this one and I'm sure some will really enjoy it.
Couldn’t put it down. Never felt more close to life love or death than when reading this.
I couldn’t get into this one, unfortunately. I loved the Beetlejuice-like bureaucracy and will try it again when I’m in a better mood