Welcome to Litsy!

“Maybe you always mourn the lost thing to spite the new?”

It‘s an apocalyptic ‘groundhog day‘ meets ‘endless sunshine of the spotless mind‘ that focuses on a friendship between 30-somethings Kate and Bertie. As a world ravaged by climate disaster and terrorism surrounds them, they take a trip to Paris before Kate leaves their hometown for a new job. As tensions arise, the time-loopy stuff commences, and things definitely take a turn. A great premise and writing, but that ending, took a pick to a so-so!

Such a disappointment after loving Invitation to a Bonfire and enjoying the writing of the Daughters by Adrienne Celt. The book was repetitive and boring. There was such an intense presence of toxic masculinity and a fear of putting LGBT+ identity in the central characters. The writing felt silly and even nonsensical at times. The major “twist” was predictable and did not incite much emotion. This was my least fave read of the year.

It's hard to say too much about this novel without spoilers, but time loops are in the description, so I'll say that much. Bertie & Kate are negotiating friendship in a world that is falling apart around them in frighteningly relatable ways. They decide to go on one last vacation while vacations are still a thing that people are able to do. And once in Paris, well, that's when things start to get really weird. Great writing - a pick for me.

Semi-apocalyptic, semi-trippy sci-fi, this book follows 2 friends who travel to Paris (war has been raging but hostilities are paused and they figure this is likely their only chance) who suddenly experience something weird. Full of time-loops and what ifs, I really dug this. It doesn‘t answer all the questions it poses, and I think that‘s for the best.

Is it October yet?! Summer hasn‘t even hit yet and I‘m already ready for Fall! 😂

Bertie and Kate are the kind of friends who reconnect in an instant, have inside jokes and their own universe when they are together. The world around them is falling apart with bombings and refugees, and Kate decides to move to Los Angeles instead of buying a house in northern California like they'd planned.↘️

Although I had high hopes for this one- expecting the colorful cover to match the jaunty description of a Groundhog Day-esque comedic friendship adventure- it frankly fell flat for me. Bertie and Kate are in Paris (the borders just opened back up!) and as the world falls apart economically, politically and ecologically, they visit the Louvre and fall into a loop… I couldn‘t connect with the characters & felt like I kept waiting for it to improve…