Review: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

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“Never have been asked, “Who do you think you would’ve turned out to be if you weren’t an intergalactic princess?”

I’d be me.

You know, Carrie.

Just me.”

I’ve never seen Star Wars. I can already hear the gasps from all around the world and see pitch forks being picked up. In fact, I have not seen a lot of classic/popular films. But that is a topic to cover on another day. Back to Star Wars- although, I haven’t seen the franchise, I’m aware of what it is about.

I know the characters. I know the actors, and last year I started to understand why everyone loved Carrie Fisher. And like many, I was shocked and deeply impacted by her passing at the end of last year. She was an extremely funny individual. She also was very candid about her struggles and wanted to educate people on mental illnesses.

The Princess Diarist is a collection of many diaries during the filming of Star Wars. Carrie talks about her first film role, how filming was with Star Wars, and even drops a big secret from the set.

“If anyone reads this when I have passed to the big bad beyond I shall be posthumously embarrassed. I shall spend my entire afterlife blushing.”

This book was both funny and heartbreaking. It is something that you don’t want to stop reading, and wish that there were more pages because you don’t want it to be over. Because when it’s over. It’s over.

Carrie’s humor is sprinkled throughout. There are amazing one liners and funny tales. It’s heartbreaking because you feel her pain while reading her diaries. She was deeply affected by something in her life, and after years of keeping it a secret, she finally told the world.

In addition to her big reveal, you also get a sense of what Carrie felt about Hollywood and what parts she struggled with. She didn’t want to be an actress; it was something that sort of just happened.

It was also heartbreaking because she mentions death multiple times and even thanked her mother for not dying in the acknowledgments. Tissues are definitely needed while reading. After reading this, I want to read more of her books because she was a talented writer and that is showcased in her poetry throughout the book.

You can’t help but feel connected to Carrie Fisher after reading this book. She was more than just Princess Leia.

Final Analysis

The Princess Diarist is an autography that centers on Carrie’s life before, during, and after Star Wars. It’s full of humor, secrets, and heartbreak. It feels personal, and it makes you miss Carrie Fisher even more.

Review: After All by Karina Halle

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I have conflicting thoughts about this book. Some things I really enjoyed and others things were completely unnecessary- especially, the climax and the ending. The turning point and the main conflict felt forced. The story didn’t need it. There are other ways to keep the main characters apart- especially since one is famous and the other is not.

The book is in essence a book of tropes. There’s the famous person/normal person dating trope, huge age difference trope, enemies-to-lovers trope, and the fake dating trope. There are more in the book but this these are the most prominent ones. I never felt overwhelmed with the tropes. At times they did feel a little cliché, but never overly annoying.

Characters

I liked Alyssa. She was funny and took absolutely no nonsense. However, Alyssa’s actions were a little unclear. For example, why did she want to be an actress and why did she leave at the end of the book? Also, it was a little sadden that she always commented on her size and put herself down.

I think Alyssa described Emmett best in the book when she said, “…you’re no different from the vapid dirty-talking alphas I read.” I was put off by his “dirty talk”; it made me a little uncomfortable because it always felt random. But, I must say I really enjoyed him and Jimmy’s relationship. I wish that had been explored more because it was emotional and made Emmett likeable. I wish that side of him was shown more.

I found it interesting that he was an actor on Degrassi and that his current acting job is on a CW superhero show. I used to watch Degrassi and current watch superhero shows on that channel.

I genuinely love the enemies to lover stories. The banter is always hilarious and it’s interesting to see two characters who hate each other start to fall for each other.  Emmett and Alyssa did have banter, and you could really see the connection between them. My favorite moments between them is when they would have heart-to-heart conversations. The banter happened a little less than I would have wanted.

Final Analysis

After All attempts to incorporate all of the most popular and interesting tropes into one story. Although interesting and heart wrenching in some parts, in others it begins to feel unnecessary and plain.

Review: It Started with Goodbye by Christina June

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It Started with Goodbye is a modern day retelling of Cinderella. The story centers on Tatum Elsea, who after unfortunate events will spend all of her summer doing community service and being watched over by her Step-Mother. Her best friend, also a victim of unfortunate events, has been shipped away and not talking to her. On the low-key, Tatum opens a graphic design business, meets a boy, and learns some things about her family.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the fact that the main character was a graphic designer. And I was very pleased that Tatum’s passion was a huge part of the book. However, my overall conclusion is that the book was not for me.

This book felt extremely rushed, predictable, and seemed like the author wanted to solve everything quickly and tie a nice red bow atop. The relationships were lacking depth and believability. For example: how and why did her best friend suddenly have a change of heart? Why did S not return Tatum’s item earlier if he knew who she was?

Tatum was a decent main character. You really get to know her as the story progresses. She responded to situations in ways that a normal teenager would. Again, I loved that she was a graphic designer.

Unfortunately, Tatum never really had that character development moment that everyone in the book claimed had happen. She seemed the same to me; start to finish.

I really enjoyed how her and “S” communicated by email. That was cute. The only issue I have with the romance is that the emails were better than the actual meeting between the two. When they finally met, the relationship was rushed and definitely felt instalove.

It is worth mentioning that calling this book a Cinderella retelling is a stretch. If it was not mentioned by the author at the end, I would have never known.  

Final Analysis

It Started with Goodbye is filled with fluff and isn’t too serious. Although, I wasn’t a big fan, I do think younger audiences would enjoy this book. It’s a quick read and is extremely simple. Everything is resolved at the end, and the main character is likeable. It’s a no-strings-attached kind of book, that doesn’t require much thought.

Review: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

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I’ve been seeing this book everywhere. And on a whim, I decided to pick it up without having any knowledge of what it was about. And surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. Milk and Honey is a collection of poems that are both heartbreaking and inspiring.

The book is broken down into four chapters- The Hurting, The Loving, The Breaking, & The Healing. Each chapter emotes a different type of emotion out of the reader. The book is somewhat of a journey through life.

The book teaches you that life is filled with terrible and heartbreaking moments but within those moments you can find great things. Great things that you might have missed if you were not looking.

After reading one poem readers cannot help but want to stop and analyze the simple words that pack such a powerful punch. These poems can be read several times without ever getting old.

There is so much meaning and emotion behind every word, and it is even relatable. Several of the poems deal with situations that many face today. For example, there are poems about being trapped in a relationship and having an abusive parent.

In addition to being heartbreaking and inspiring, the author manages to showcase body positivity, women supporting other women, and other important topics that should be taught. This is definitely a book that everyone should read at least once.

Review: Always & Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

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I read the first two books in the series a while ago, and I remember that I didn’t enjoy them as much as I had hoped. I’m not sure what aspects about the books that I didn’t like, but I knew it didn’t live up to the hype that surrounded it.

I was a little hesitant to read this; however, because of the glowing reviews and constant online chatter, I decided to give it a chance. As I sit here, only an hour after finishing the third, I realize that maybe I judged them a little too harshly.

I highly enjoyed this book. It was fun and cute. And you can’t help but feel good while reading. There’s so much rainbows and happiness packed into it. But don’t get me wrong, there are a few dark clouds and rain. This book will hit you hard in the emotions.

There were a couple of times where I felt tears building in my eyes. The book portrayed the emotions impacted by graduating and also getting a new step-parent. All the character’s actions felt real and relatable. There was never a moment when a character’s motive or feelings felt odd to the reader. For example, when Margot returns home from college and notices that some things have changed at home, I could really picture myself acting like that if I was in that situation. And I think a lot of readers could picture themselves too.

It was hard to get attached to the supporting characters because I could barely remember the first two installments. It was also hard to know certain details of character’s lives and what happened in the past. There were a lot of times where the book mentioned something and I had no idea what it was. It felt very much like a tribute/goodbye book.

It didn’t slow down to give you a recap of what had happened last time. That was fine because I enjoyed this book so much; I’m willing to go back and reread the others. Maybe they were the right book, however, they were in the wrong time in my life. I could see myself enjoying them now.

A random tidbit that I enjoyed about this book is that this feels very much like a Jenny Han book. I follow Jenny Han on Twitter and she really lets her personality shine on there. You really get a sense of what type of person she is. And throughout the book there are tiny sprinkles of her personality and interests throughout. For example, the Broadway musical Hamilton was mentioned several of times, and that is something that Jenny talked about a lot.

Characters

Prior to this book, I believe that I was impartial to Lara Jean. Maybe perhaps, a little annoyed by her? I can’t exactly remember. Again- right book, wrong place. However, in this book, I really enjoyed her. She is what the fandom world calls a precious cinnamon roll. She is so sweet and relatable. And if she was a real person, I believe that we would get along well. We have so much in common besides the cooking thing.

I related very much to her feelings. Especially the feeling of rejection. It hurts when you want something so much but life doesn’t go your way and you don’t get it. However, maybe it wasn’t something that you truly needed. This relates to Lara Jean. Where she ended up, is where she belonged.

Peter was everything. He was such a good boyfriend; and that was really shown throughout the book. At first I was worried that he was going to be portrayed as being “too perfect”. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. He made some mistakes; he said a couple of things he should not have said. But those moments were important to show because it really showed that he was only human.

Peter and Lara were adorable. Everyone knew that they belonged together. Of course, they face challenges in this book, but none of the drama felt odd or excessive. It was always grounded and real problems that people face in that time in their lives.

Family was a huge part of this book. Lara Jean has a great relationship with her sisters and her dad. Lara’s youngest sister, Kitty, was amazing. She had the best dialogue and was hilarious. I wouldn’t mind reading in her POV one day.

Final Analysis

Always and Forever, Lara Jean was great and like coming up for fresh air. Everything was well done. The main character and romance were amazing. It was a nice farewell to the series.

Review: One Wrong Turn by Deanna Lynn Sletten

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Author Deanna Lynn Sletten returns with an unforgettable novel about one man’s crisis of self and his greatest act of love.
The words “I’m her husband” roll off Clay Connors’s tongue, but with his estranged wife lying in a coma—and no assurance that she’ll awaken—he knows he’s perilously close to losing everything. A singular, terrifying accident has left Jess Connors suspended between life and death. Now Clay is reunited with the family he hasn’t seen for two years, including the daughters he left behind.

Clay should have been there for his family. He never should have stayed away so long. The alcohol that took over his life destroyed everything but a shred of his self-preservation. Sober and haunted, Clay revisits the memory of love, marriage, and how his life unraveled. He hopes that by trying to reconnect with the daughter who blames him and the daughter who barely knew him, he can find a light of hope in this darkest hour. As his family faces its most grueling, emotional test yet, Clay must summon the courage to make right what was wrong—and find forgiveness from his harshest judge: himself.

Review

The novel opens up with Jess Connors, a single mom trying to do what all moms do, juggle a millions things on their plate and trying to do as much as you can. On her way to pick up her daughter, she decided to do a quick errand and found herself on the wrong side of luck when her vehicle on wet pavement went into a spin, leaving her unconscious. With her life uncertain, one thing for sure, the thought of it lost brought back the one person she never lost hope for, Clay. 

Never the fall in love with a guy from the band kind of gal, she fell in love with Clay. Clay had everything going for him until his life spiraled out of control leading his life in rehab unsuccessfully. Despite her love and devotion to him, she had to make an ultimatum which by his own choice left them estranged for the past two years. As a result, lost out on the lives of including that of their two daughters, Jilly and Maddie. 

Much has happened in the last two years, all of which Jess had started to rebuild her life. All of it uncertain, at the current moment in her state of a coma, Clay is brought back to the life he once knew but didn't know how to return to. Nothing can bring back the lost time but while he waits for his wife to wake up, Clay's mind goes into overdrive for his past mistakes, looking back on his marriage, his family and through courage and hope tries to amend his wrong with the hope that he will get a second chance with his family.

One Wrong Turn, was a beautiful second chance story. It dealt with such a common problem facing many families today. It's really hard when someone you love has an addiction because ultimately no matter how much you love them, you can't heal them, they have to take the step to heal themselves. Their relationship was really a testament of faith and not wanting to give up despite the hardships. What I loved about her was that even though they were apart, she never gave up on him even when he couldn't get it together. The strength that she had to take herself and protect her children was something that is admirable because many people wouldn't have the courage.

The story alternated between the current and chronicled their experience so we could learn their past which complimented the story. The best part about second chances is that especially within the parameters of this storyline of Jess being in coma, I love how when people are on the cusp of losing someone they love, it is through tragedy where they feel the depth of the love for a person to find the will to be the person that had struggled to be. The dynamics of the impact of his decision on children was authentic and really captured that innocent emotion of the depravity of the loss of love from a parent. This journey of Clay having to rebuild that with them really came together nicely in the book. Overall, I thought was an enjoyable read. I'd recommend.