Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2190)

Content

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Grace After Henry in Books

Oct 31, 2019

This was a lovely and often heartbreaking book about love and loss. Grace and Henry have just bought a house together when he dies, leaving Grace bereft. She moves into their new home and one day Henry shows up to fix the faulty boiler. Only it isn’t Henry, of course; the look-alike man’s name is Andy, and suddenly Grace’s life is turned upside down.

This is a different sort of story—sometimes predictable but often not. It’s touching and sad and captures grief and love quite wonderfully. Grace is an excellent, real character, and her ache for Henry is so true and honest. There are plenty of funny moments, too; her parents’ battles with the moths in their home was my favorite. The supporting cast is simply wonderful, particularly Grace’s friends from the cemetery (you read that right) and her elderly neighbor, Betty.

This isn’t always the easiest book to read, as it so well portrays grief and heartache, but it’s very well-done, and I appreciated reading such a heartfelt and loving story. Definitely worth picking up.

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Juliet, Naked in Books

Jul 30, 2019

Juliet, Naked

Nick Hornby | 2009 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy

7.0

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

A little dull

When you think Nick Hornby, you usually think a funny, witty romantic comedy similar to his bigger hits like High Fidelity and About a Boy. Unfortunately Juliet, Naked doesn’t quiet meet up these rather high standards.

It’s well written which you’d definitely hope for from Nick Hornby, however it’s usually dull and rather long winded. The characters often go off into these dreary and long internal monologues that make this a bit of a slog. Annie and Tucker are fairly likeable characters but yet neither of them really stand out or make for a highly intriguing story. The plot itself while it sounds interesting, doesn’t actually play out as entertaining and fun as you’d think and the characters don’t really help much. The film has changed nearly everything in this book, especially the main events, and for once I don’t mind. The film has actually made this story a lot more entertaining for the most part, and those of you who know me on here know I won’t often admit that a film is better than the original book!