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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
I didn't hate this exactly, but I didn't like it. It was weird and dark which are both things right up my alley, it just didn't work for me. I also expected to relate to Rachel the librarian, but she was a little too manic pixie dream girl. I think it could be a good read for fans of Kevin Wilson.
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i'm definitely not the only one to say this is one of the strangest books that i've ever read - right up there with "The Pisces" by Melissa Broder, who funnily enough, wrote a blurb for this book. this was a really fast read, and the writing made it easy to get sucked into the story. there were a lot of things that i really liked about the book, like the conversations about grief, trauma, and how regrets that occur in our lives can deeply effect us and our future relationships. however, i feel like a lot of these themes weren't handled as well as they could have, and i feel like it was kind of just thrown together haphazardly. it's difficult to say who the main character of the story is, and if the whole is better than the sum of its parts. there were some really brilliant parts in here, but a lot more confusing and unnecessary parts, too.
overall i wouldn't say this is a bad book, just a very very strange one that i don't think would work for a lot of people (myself included). there were times when i actually laughed out loud and times when i paused to contemplate my own existence, but it also fell a bit flat for me in the end.
overall i wouldn't say this is a bad book, just a very very strange one that i don't think would work for a lot of people (myself included). there were times when i actually laughed out loud and times when i paused to contemplate my own existence, but it also fell a bit flat for me in the end.
"In my defense: is there a form of love that's not a welcome unraveling?"
I can tell the extent to which I will love a novel by the amount of notes I jot down while reading. By page 90 of The Regrets, I had two full pages of notes, and I didn't plan on slowing down. With my trusty Sharpie pen in hand, I went on to write even more quotes, key words, and all the emotions this story evoked in me.
This is a ghost story. It is also a romance---sensual and at times unflinching in the candid ways in which Bonnaffons describes the sexual encounters between the two main characters. But at it's core, what really shook me---rattled me---was the honest portrayal of a destructive relationship.
When Rachel falls in love with Thomas, she is aware he is already dead, and yet she can't let him go. With their sexually charged connection that is consuming and isolating, she believes he is her daydream come to life. But she knows nothing about his pervious life; his real life. She doesn't know he was cynical, at times callous, and had no idea how to be in a happy, healthy relationship.
As Rachel begins to yearn for a real connection, one that she can share with her friends, one that involves actually seeing and touching another person, Thomas begins to haunt her, staking his claim on the only link he has to the real, living world.
As Rachel's relationship with Thomas progresses, she slowly forgets who she is. She forgets what she wants. She forgets how to feel. And Thomas knows he can control her. He knows he can interfere with her happiness because no one can stop him.
We all live with the ghosts from past relationships, in a sense, whether we allow them to haunt us or not. That was my biggest take away from this novel. Every ex, every past lover, leaves their mark on us. Some fade away with time while others carve a deeper scar. Some of our ghosts are happy to leave us alone, but in some scary, tragic situations, some ghosts refuse to be ignored. The Regrets explores that tragedy in an unconventional yet poignant way.
Look, in the name of being honest, I'll say this: this book is straight up weird. Quirky. Unusual. It has an indie feel, and a lot of times there is very little dialogue and pages of interior monologues. (Very similar to Normal People in this way.) But if you give this little novel a chance, really allow it to push your boundaries and flood your mind with it's dark absurdism, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I know I sure was.
4/5 stars, only because I wanted a little more from the ending.
**A big thank you to the publisher for a gifted finished copy. All opinions are my own.**
I can tell the extent to which I will love a novel by the amount of notes I jot down while reading. By page 90 of The Regrets, I had two full pages of notes, and I didn't plan on slowing down. With my trusty Sharpie pen in hand, I went on to write even more quotes, key words, and all the emotions this story evoked in me.
This is a ghost story. It is also a romance---sensual and at times unflinching in the candid ways in which Bonnaffons describes the sexual encounters between the two main characters. But at it's core, what really shook me---rattled me---was the honest portrayal of a destructive relationship.
When Rachel falls in love with Thomas, she is aware he is already dead, and yet she can't let him go. With their sexually charged connection that is consuming and isolating, she believes he is her daydream come to life. But she knows nothing about his pervious life; his real life. She doesn't know he was cynical, at times callous, and had no idea how to be in a happy, healthy relationship.
As Rachel begins to yearn for a real connection, one that she can share with her friends, one that involves actually seeing and touching another person, Thomas begins to haunt her, staking his claim on the only link he has to the real, living world.
As Rachel's relationship with Thomas progresses, she slowly forgets who she is. She forgets what she wants. She forgets how to feel. And Thomas knows he can control her. He knows he can interfere with her happiness because no one can stop him.
We all live with the ghosts from past relationships, in a sense, whether we allow them to haunt us or not. That was my biggest take away from this novel. Every ex, every past lover, leaves their mark on us. Some fade away with time while others carve a deeper scar. Some of our ghosts are happy to leave us alone, but in some scary, tragic situations, some ghosts refuse to be ignored. The Regrets explores that tragedy in an unconventional yet poignant way.
Look, in the name of being honest, I'll say this: this book is straight up weird. Quirky. Unusual. It has an indie feel, and a lot of times there is very little dialogue and pages of interior monologues. (Very similar to Normal People in this way.) But if you give this little novel a chance, really allow it to push your boundaries and flood your mind with it's dark absurdism, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I know I sure was.
4/5 stars, only because I wanted a little more from the ending.
**A big thank you to the publisher for a gifted finished copy. All opinions are my own.**
I listened to the audiobook read by Jay Ben Markson, Christie Moreau, and Gary Tiedemann. The narration was alright, I didn't like Moreau as much as the other two.
Sooooo... I didn't realize I was getting into ghost erotica until I was there, haha! Maybe that's just not for me? But that and anything else outside of that I just wasn't into. I didn't like the style of writing I think, like it was too "high and mighty" or seemingly meant to be deep, I guess. I didn't catch onto anything that was meant to be deep, maybe that's because of the ghost sex or the voice of the writing or the narration, I dunno. But this is maybe my first "it's not 2 stars but not quite 1 star" book so there's that lol!
Sooooo... I didn't realize I was getting into ghost erotica until I was there, haha! Maybe that's just not for me? But that and anything else outside of that I just wasn't into. I didn't like the style of writing I think, like it was too "high and mighty" or seemingly meant to be deep, I guess. I didn't catch onto anything that was meant to be deep, maybe that's because of the ghost sex or the voice of the writing or the narration, I dunno. But this is maybe my first "it's not 2 stars but not quite 1 star" book so there's that lol!
Thanks to Libro.fm for the free ALC.
Ummm, what did I just read?
I knew this was going to be a strange one going into it. There's a ghost and a girl that falls in love with him. Already a weird premise. What I didn't know was just HOW WEIRD this was going to be. I didn't realize that I had a limit on how much ghost sex scenes I could handle, but apparently I do (and the limit is much lower than the actual number of them in this book).
Rachel and Thomas' relationship is incredibly toxic, which I think is the point of this book. And as an exploration of what it means to be in a toxic relationship and how it affects the victim, this was an interesting story. But the way that it unfolded was not for me. Especially since we hear so much from Thomas and I just didn't really care about him? Also I feel bad for Mark...
A really interesting premise here but the execution just did not work for me. I'm sure others will love it and find it clever, but it is not something with a universal appeal. I will say that I appreciated the full cast audio, which really enhanced the POVs from which the story is told.
2 stars
TW: Graphic sex scenes; toxic relationships; death
Ummm, what did I just read?
I knew this was going to be a strange one going into it. There's a ghost and a girl that falls in love with him. Already a weird premise. What I didn't know was just HOW WEIRD this was going to be. I didn't realize that I had a limit on how much ghost sex scenes I could handle, but apparently I do (and the limit is much lower than the actual number of them in this book).
Rachel and Thomas' relationship is incredibly toxic, which I think is the point of this book. And as an exploration of what it means to be in a toxic relationship and how it affects the victim, this was an interesting story. But the way that it unfolded was not for me. Especially since we hear so much from Thomas and I just didn't really care about him? Also I feel bad for Mark...
A really interesting premise here but the execution just did not work for me. I'm sure others will love it and find it clever, but it is not something with a universal appeal. I will say that I appreciated the full cast audio, which really enhanced the POVs from which the story is told.
2 stars
TW: Graphic sex scenes; toxic relationships; death
dark
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Strange, unusual & beautifully written.
Different to what I normally read but I'm glad I took my girlfriends recommendation, I really liked it.
It's one of those books I'd like to take my time with on a re-read.
The ending was a little abrupt though so loses a star, I wanted another 100 pages to find out more stuffs. 🤷♂️
Different to what I normally read but I'm glad I took my girlfriends recommendation, I really liked it.
It's one of those books I'd like to take my time with on a re-read.
The ending was a little abrupt though so loses a star, I wanted another 100 pages to find out more stuffs. 🤷♂️
A strange falling in and out of love story involving a human girl and a dead boy. The writing is so otherworldly and whimsical it felt like being in a dream - like, it took place in NYC in modern times, but also, it didn’t. Hilarious and dark, this book was unlike anything I’ve read before.