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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Amy Bonnaffons' "The Regrets" follows the story of Thomas, who has, unfortunately, died. And to top it all off, he can't officially die yet due to a misstep on the afterlife's part and is stuck in a body that begins to disappear as he reaches his death date. Rachel, a girl who can't feel much of anything when it comes to being satisfied by her partners, decides to take Thomas on as her new lover. As these two move through the song and dance of loving something you know will end, they examine their pasts in relation to themselves now and reflect on how this new experience defines them. Fun, charming, and never short of strange, "The Regrets" definitely isn't your mother's romance novel.
Have you been feeling lonely lately? Have you ever felt displaced when revisiting an old place in your life and wondered what you were doing there? Like a ghost? The Regrets perfectly captures that hollowness as well as the desire to feel whole and full by being completely understood. This story takes you on a surreal out-of-body experience and allows you spend time in liminal spaces of reality to gain a fresh perspective on life, desire, presence, absence, and belonging. It's one of the most charming and playful ghost stories I've read.
So many perfectly written, quotable observations about relationships and loneliness and independence. The book is told from a few different characters' POV and it loses the best voice towards the end, which is a real bummer. That said, I really really really loved 75% of The Regrets, so it gets 4 stars from me!
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(gifted listen via @librofm & @littlebrown) I started listening to this quirky little book on a complete whim. Paranormal romance is not something I've ever tried before, and honestly, it was pretty fun! When Rachel meets Thomas at the bus stop, he seems to be the package deal: handsome, funny, intelligent. There's just the teeny tiny issue of him being dead.
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This is the first audiobook I've listened to with different narrators for chapters from different characters' perspectives and it really does add that extra element! Except that I didn't like the voice of the woman narrating Rachel's parts at first, but I got used to it. I thought the beginning, narrated by Thomas, was superb, with Bonnaffons setting out how Thomas died, sort of, then ended up back on earth due to an administrative error in the afterlife. This was super creative and showed off her imaginative prowess!
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I also loved that it was a paranormal book fully set in the modern world. She blends together modern, millennial life with supernatural elements like angels and the afterlife seamlessly. But the romance aspect was a little less up my alley. I do like a rom-com novel occasionally, but The Regrets is mainly rom, little com. I was listening to this while on a walk with Mia one morning and they started talking about throbbing cocks and it was all very awkward
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But if you do like romance and are open to something a bit unusual, then I recommend this one! Not life-changing, but certainly fun.