book.dreamblog’s Book Reviews!

Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie: Book Review  *Warning: This review contains spoilers* *Content Warning: This review mentions drug usage and addiction*  Introduction  Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six will either gladly eat this novel alive out of how similar it is to the former, or they will decry it as a rip-off. While the two are very similar in plots and themes, they’re written in drastically different styles. As far as their similarities, there’s only so much difference that can be made between two novels that are both loosely based on 70s musicians, with Daisy Jones and the Six being inspired by Fleetwood Max and Songs in Ursa Major being loosely based on Joni Mitchell’s career. It’s sex, drugs, & rock ‘n’ roll both ways, so obviously similarities are to be expected. So I don’t hold the similarities against Ursa Major too much, even if I personally preferred Daisy Jones.  Summary & Review  Songs in Ursa Major gets a lot right...

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Book Review  *Warning: This review contains spoilers*  Introduction  This is the third book in TJR’s infamous “Mick Riva Universe,” and it’s the third TJR book I read after Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo in the incorrect order because I didn’t know they were part of a continued universe, it’s the installment set in the 80s (with Daisy being the 70s, Rvelyn set primarily in the 60s, and the fourth installment following this one covering the 90s), and it’s the only book in the four books set in this universe that doesn’t contain the first and last name of the female protagonist (I’m so sorry Nina Riva, you deserved the spotlight).  Look, are these books serious literature? No. But I enjoy them nonetheless, they’re fun and entertaining and sometimes emotional, and I like the way that Taylor Jenkins Reid managed to create a literary universe that is more satisfying when you realize the books all go together, but at the same time don’t r...

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (Book Review)  *Warning: This review contains spoilers* I was a bit skeptical going into this book because thrillers are pretty hit or miss for me. I generally prefer my stories to be character driven, and often I find thrillers to be more plot driven (understandably so, usually). In the case of Then She Was Gone, that’s wasn’t really an issue at all! My absolute favorite thing about this novel had nothing to do with the plot or figuring out who the killer was—it was Laurel as the protagonist. There are so many things to applaud about her as a main character. First of all, not many books feature older women as protagonists, so there aren’t a lot of well known stories out there about life for women past the age of twenty-five or thirty. Laurel is a middle-aged woman who has been married and divorced, has had children, and we spend a lot of the novel getting to watch her continue to live life—fall in love again, re-establish her sex life, redefine her...

  The Secret History by Donna Tartt *This review contains spoilers* Content Warning:  This review mentions incest.  Introduction  Before I bought this novel, I was given two very specific instructions from one of my literature professors in college.  Read The Secret History. Only read it during a snow storm.  So I waited until the first major snowstorm of the winter, and then I dove into this amazing book.  At first I didn’t understand why I was supposed to read this book in winter, because a large majority of the beginning takes place during summer. Once I got to Richard’s near freeze-to-death experience and Bunny’s murder, I completely understood.  And I fell in love with this book. The references to Greek mythology, the dark academia vibes, the reverse murder mystery, the small town college aesthetic, the way that Donna Tartt made me empathize with characters who are literal murderers? It’s all so well done.  Summary and Review At first, t...

  Daisy Jones and Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid  *This review contains spoilers* Content Warning This review discusses drug and alcohol abuse and abortion. Introduction I'll preface this review by admitting freely, first hand, that I absolutely loved this novel. I had heard good things about it before I started it, but Taylor Jenkins Reid managed to exceed all my expectations. This book was so different from anything I've ever read, and it was done so remarkably well.  Summary & Review The style that Daisy Jones & the Six is written in definitely takes some getting used to when you first start reading. It's not a traditionally written novel, with the narration of actions and the protagonists' thoughts, nor with dialogue written in quotations. Instead, the novel feels almost like it's written as a play, only without the stage directions. It is entirely written with the name of the character, followed by a colon and their dialogue, with no narration used to desc...