Book Review: hello (from here) by Chandler Baker and Wesley King

hello (from here)

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hello (from here) 〰️

I’m a little unsure how to rate this book. It was slow to begin with but slowly got better over time. Though for a romance, this book was a bit depressing (primarily because of the time it takes place in). 

This book was published during COVID-19 and occurred during the first big spike of the pandemic. While I read this in 2023, this book felt a little too… fresh. I’m not sure of the right word. We read romance stories that take place in other big world historical events like WW2, but the COVID-19 pandemic is too close to home and feels too soon. The world was challenging for a while, and I don’t know if people want to relive that wound so early. Having had COVID-19 myself (thankfully a milder version), I didn’t really need a reminder of all the craziness we all lived through in recent years. 

Covid-19 aside, the book itself was a bit depressing. I mean, I get it. A lot of people died or were sick, and many other tragic things happened during 2020. But for a romance book, I wasn’t expecting it to be this dark. I will say, though, that Jonah’s anxiety was done really well, and I love the LGBTQ+ rep that was treated so normally. But there were a lot of things that made this book a downer. It works for the time it takes place in, but yeah. I was hoping for some extra cute lockdown moments. We had some, but then they got depressing again.

I also really hated the font. I don’t blame the authors on this one, though. I blame the publisher’s poor choice in font selection. It worked for the texts we see, but it’s super ugly for the main story.

I think this book would be better if I had read it a few years from now as opposed to the world finally returning to somewhat normal. I’m not sure I would feel any different about it, as, again, lots of depressing things, but I think I would have enjoyed it more in a few years regardless. 

It’s not bad. It’s not super good. It’s alright. I think if you’re in the right headspace, however, you should give it a go.

Book Review: The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

The End Of Men

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The End Of Men 〰️

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

You'd think a book about a Plague (pandemic) would be white noise in today's reality. But it's not and different enough from our current pandemic of Covid-19 that it works. As bad as Covid-19 is, I am glad that it is the pandemic we are living through and not the one in this book. Yes, Covid-19 is terrible (I should know, I had it, and it wasn't fun), and it has killed so many people, but somehow this Plague in The End Of Men spreads faster and is more deadly. Most of the people I know are female, so at least if this were to happen, I wouldn't lose them, but I'd hate to lose my dad and male friends and relatives.

This book was so heavily researched on various topics, such as medical terms, vaccine making, politics and economy (to name a few), that I feel as though I am reading a history book instead of fiction. Everything that happens sounds like it actually <i>could</i> happen, and it's insane. Seeing as 2025 isn't far from now, I wonder if the author saw the future and wrote about it as a virus prevention method. Yes, she started writing in 2018, but most of the book was written and then published during the current pandemic.

I loved reading this book from multiple perspectives from characters of different backgrounds worldwide. (And there is some LGBT+ representation, and we love that in a book). I initially thought I wouldn't like it and that I might have a hard time remembering which character did what, but it wasn't like that. It was easy to follow, and each character had such a distinct role in the story, so I always knew who was who.

This book is certainly not white noise. I think it is a necessary read that may even help with the current Covid-19 pandemic. Not to mention it's just a fantastic story that hits all the heartstrings. I can't recommend this book enough.