Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What did I just read?!
The Regrets is like the movie Ghost on acid. I kept reading because I couldn’t stop...it was a unique experience.
The Regrets is like the movie Ghost on acid. I kept reading because I couldn’t stop...it was a unique experience.
I have no idea how people can compare Amy Bonnaffons with Sally Rooney. Bonnaffons has an incredible gift for writing the mundane with a twist. The Regrets is an excellent book about finding one's blockages. Thank you Amy Bonnaffons for making self-isolation tolerable.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
#partner Thank you to @bibliofinder and @littlebrown for my free copy of The Regrets by Amy Bonnaffons! I couldn’t resist the irony of pairing this wall with this book
"This was exactly the problem I'd always had with the men I'd dated: either they weren't weird enough, or their weirdnesses were not complementary with mine. When you have noncomplementary weirdnesses, they just amplify and sharpen each other, collide at uncomfortable angles."
This book surprised me - I thought I had an idea of what it was going to be about, but boy was I wrong. This starts off with the story of Thomas' death, and then his life, and branches off into a few other stories once he meets Rachel. Part sci-fi, part ghost story, The Regrets was everything I didn't know I needed at the time. I was instantly drawn in by the questions that were raised in the beginning of how Bonnaffons paints the afterlife, but I was carried along by Rachel's story and her quest for love and this unnameable thing that would fill this empty part of her soul. In some ways, this book is all over the place, but somehow fits perfectly together. I thought that I would mind the switch in narratives, since each character had so much to offer, but I really enjoyed it. I wish that we learned what really happened to Thomas, before his death and then after when he leaves, but I did love that the story ends with Rachel and how she decides to start her life for real this time. I was reminded of myself in some ways, and was pleasantly surprised when everything had actually taken place so that she could be whole.
I loved the first half of this quirky, sexually-charged book, but the last half wasn’t as interesting and the end fell flat for me.
I received an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.
I received an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 stars
What happens if you’re almost dead but you fall in love? What if you’re not dead and you fall in love with a ghost? And this ghost becomes a haunting constant in your life. How do you get rid of him? What in the what??!! Yes, this sounds like a crazy premise and my bumbling words can’t do it justice. It IS good. It’s a love story, it’s a ghost story, and it certainly deserves some buzz. Not only for being unique but it’s written in such a lovely way. I could relate to these characters, I felt for them, rooted for them, even became a little scared of them – it’s an odd story but I liked it.
I kept thinking as I read this, about a probably now obscure movie from years ago – Meet Joe Black. Anyone with me on this one? I loved this movie and watched it many times. Joe Black (Brad Pitt) is death, in the body of a newly dead person – again it’s a weird premise but it ends up being a love story and ohh I just loved it. I wonder if I’d still like it now. Anyway, this book is not exactly like that but I was getting those vibes…something about the whole idea of this in between world and being able to connect to the afterlife (think Patrick Swayze in Ghost, or City of Angels...not an uncommon idea really for a movie, the more I think about it) – I think it’s comforting in a way and disturbing too, angels, ghosts, death itself – makes for interesting reading.
Caution: this book should probably be rated R for the sexual stuff/language. It did not bother me at all and it fits in to the story (not overdone or gratuitous at all) but I think some readers may not like it. Also the characters have some pretty vivid and freaky dreams - one in particular that left me squirming.
What happens if you’re almost dead but you fall in love? What if you’re not dead and you fall in love with a ghost? And this ghost becomes a haunting constant in your life. How do you get rid of him? What in the what??!! Yes, this sounds like a crazy premise and my bumbling words can’t do it justice. It IS good. It’s a love story, it’s a ghost story, and it certainly deserves some buzz. Not only for being unique but it’s written in such a lovely way. I could relate to these characters, I felt for them, rooted for them, even became a little scared of them – it’s an odd story but I liked it.
I kept thinking as I read this, about a probably now obscure movie from years ago – Meet Joe Black. Anyone with me on this one? I loved this movie and watched it many times. Joe Black (Brad Pitt) is death, in the body of a newly dead person – again it’s a weird premise but it ends up being a love story and ohh I just loved it. I wonder if I’d still like it now. Anyway, this book is not exactly like that but I was getting those vibes…something about the whole idea of this in between world and being able to connect to the afterlife (think Patrick Swayze in Ghost, or City of Angels...not an uncommon idea really for a movie, the more I think about it) – I think it’s comforting in a way and disturbing too, angels, ghosts, death itself – makes for interesting reading.
Caution: this book should probably be rated R for the sexual stuff/language. It did not bother me at all and it fits in to the story (not overdone or gratuitous at all) but I think some readers may not like it. Also the characters have some pretty vivid and freaky dreams - one in particular that left me squirming.
I can’t say that I enjoyed this book only that I couldn’t stop reading it. And honestly I’m glad it’s over.
Strong writing and prose. Wonderfully absurd premise. I really enjoyed this book!