Review of ARC You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

You Exist Too Much is a book about a Palestinian American woman who has a toxic relationship with her emotionally abusive mother. The fact that our protagonist is bisexual, further drives a wedge between them. From the blurb, I thought this book was more about merging her religious and sexual identities in a positive way to accept herself. In actuality, it's much more about the protagonist cheating on her partners, idolizing unattainable women, and sowing distrust with her manipulations. The main character was extremely unlikable because she recognizes these unhealthy patterns but continues to make these kinds of choices. Additionally, the story jumps around a lot in time and place; making it feel unorganized. However, the writing was beautiful and the main character felt like an actual person.  I gave this book 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an early copy. This book will be published on June 9, 2020.

May Wrap Up #1

Well, quarantine is helping me read a lot. However, I'm definitely noticing a change in my reading tastes right now. I'm enjoying more plot-driven books rather than slow character based stories. These are the five I've read so far.

The first story I read was a short story called Gods of Risk by James S.A. Corey. This focused on some backstory for Bobbie and her family after the events of book 2. I love this series so much already and it was neat getting a peek into Mars life. It was a bit too short though as it ended right at the climax. I gave the book 3.5 stars.

Then I picked up The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco. This was a retelling of a Japanese folklore that the movie The Ring is based on. It was creepy and paranormal. It kept me turning the pages as I wanted to learn all about this vengeful spirit and why it had decided to protect a specific boy. I gave it 4 stars.

I decided I wanted another page-turner so I picked up Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel. This was a psychological thriller based on a true story. A mother is found guilty of poisoning her daughter over the years to get attention from others; a condition known as Munchhausen by proxy. The story starts when the daughter, now a grown woman, picks her mother up from prison after her five year sentence. The mother is expecting revenge but definitely doesn't see what's coming for her. I found the mother and daughter both equally fascinating and kept waiting for the twist. I definitely didn't see it coming. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in one day. I gave it 5 stars.

Afterwards, I read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. The premise is a woman gets to relive her life over and over again, making changes or improvements. It is historical fiction, set in the early 1900s. The writing was beautiful and compelling, but that's where my praise ends. The reason for reliving life is never explained and she is only a tiny bit aware of her former lives. She gets panicky at a point in time where something bad happens and tries to avoid it. Sometimes she remembers full details of conversations or places with no real distinction of why it is that way. Towards the middle, I thought I knew where they were going with the reliving gimmick. However, they went there, and then she died and was reborn again and all her efforts were undone. It ends abruptly, with no real closure or sense of purpose. Additionally, it was incredibly repetitive as she relives some scenes identically. The author literally copy and pasted whole paragraphs. It felt unnecessarily padded out and I awarded it 2.5 stars.

I knew I wanted something quick and compelling after that so that I wouldn't go back into a book slump. I decided to continue on with the Dresden Files series with Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. It was a similar set up as the first book. Murders happen, police call in Dresden, he tries to protect them from the supernatural by omitting info, they get suspicious and arrest him, he gets away and tries to clear his name and save them from the baddie. However, the lore they introduce on werewolves was super interesting, more depth is added to the crime boss Marcone, and the sassy and witty banter just made this super pleasurable to listen to. It definitely helps that it is also narrated by James Marsters.

May TBR

I'm not quite out of my slump yet, but the Magical Readathon definitely helped. I am going to keep this list fairly short to allow for some mood reading.

1. You Will Be Safe Here by Damien Barr
2. You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat (ARC)
3. Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
4. The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco
5. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
6. Gods of Risk by James S.A. Corey