Welcome to Litsy!

Finally finished this book and loved it BUT the first half took me weeks to read because nothing really happened and I wasn‘t invested in the characters. The second half I gobbled up in a couple days. Basically, it‘s the story of gay siblings living together and their day to day life. They have a large, complicated yet lovable family and though far from perfect, they have each other‘s back through rain or shine with ALL the love.

This book was very chaotic, (in a good way!), and had one of the most beautiful endings I‘ve read this year ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Library holds coming in and I have been looking forward to this one. It already feels like a hot mess and I‘m here for it! 😅

What just happened?!
I don't usually read feel-good books because they tend to make me feel like 💩. Funny books rarely vibe with my sense of humour. Loud, chaotic situations (and especially families!) make me want to hide under my desk. And don't get me started on weddings!
I only picked this up because of Litsy.
I loved Greta and Valdin, the characters and the book, both.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Funny and feel-good, but in a chaotic real life kind of way. I usually stay away from books described as funny because they‘re cringeworthy, but this isn‘t like that at all.

Definitely literary, more about the characters and their development than the plot. It‘s about a brother and sister who live together in New Zealand. Their lives, their loves, and their family.

#lgbtqbookbingo2024
@Kenyazero

As someone with this exact tattoo, mine is also after the Oscar Wilde short story, this is hilarious. 😂

Quite chaotic, this book. And this family. But so funny and loving. I don‘t have much to add to what others have already said but I wouldn‘t have mind spending more time with Greta & Valdin or have people like them in my inner circle. A feel-good book!

#ReadingOceania24 🇳🇿

#WhereAreYouMonday

Today I arrived in Auckland, starting the tagged book. Looking forward to spending some time here 😀 #armchairtraveling

#WeeklyForecast 36/24

I am about to finish The Missing Word, which is sad and lyrical. Next will be the tagged one, because everyone loves it. Wild Houses will be my next #Booker read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A heartwarming story of family and love, bubbling with quirk and charm. It was a little hard for me to keep track of all the rest of the family members while the plot meandered, but Greta and Valdin‘s characters shone.🎧

When I started this book I didn‘t see what all the fuss was about but by the time I was finishing it I was hugging my Kindle to my chest every couple of pages. Loved it!

I fully expect my favorite book of July to be in my top 5 this year.

The book itself is incredibly funny, touching, and wonderfully written. I adored all of the characters, the setting, and the general messiness of the family dynamics here. The audiobook is a thing of beauty. Brilliant narration!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely LOVED this but can barely articulate why. A review on GR said this was no plot, all vibes & I can see it. G & V are siblings trying to build good lives for themselves.They're mixed race & queer, looking for love & satisfying jobs. Fortunately they have a supportive, if bonkers, family. There's a large cast but the side characters are complex & interesting. I listened to it & have already bought a physical copy so I can see the words.

This was fun for a book club. Lots to discuss. Almost like a rom com. Everything was very neat and perfect in the end, making much of the story pretty unbelievable, but it was engaging to read.

Oof. Having to choose between Greta/Valdin, Tom Lake, Demon, and Blacktop?!? That was HARD. Ultimately, Greta and Valdin just can‘t be beat! Makes me happy all over again just remembering it 🥰 #readingbracket2024 @CSeydel

I acquired these 3 lovelies over the weekend! The Stacy Willingham is due to the generosity of @ImperfectCJ and their #clearmyshelvesgiveaway! Sooo nice! And the other 2 I bought at a great indie bookstore in Lancaster, PA called Pocket Books. Love that place. The owners do a great job of recommending books, and both of these were among their Pride Picks. I‘m almost done with my job so I can read these guilt-free! Almost… 😋

Such a happy making book! It's tender and funny and silly in the best ways. Greta and Valdin's close-knit but surprising family makes you wish you could be absorbed into the book with them.

What did I tell y‘all? May favorite, hands down ♥️♥️♥️ #readingbracket2024 @CSeydel

A book for when you need something light. Something with normal people with nothing really happening but still engaging enough for you to keep on reading. Now that I‘m finished, I kind of miss going back to this family tonight.

Welp, that‘s it for May, because no other book I‘ve read so far this month can even remotely come close to this absolute GEM. If anyone needs me, I‘ll be here nursing a major book hangover for the rest of the month….. 😍😍😍😍

How much does love really matter in this economy? 🙃💕

Everything that Littens have said about this book is true! I need more of Greta and Valdin…and Xabi and Linsh and everybody in this splendid book. 💜

Really liked this story about the siblings and their multicultural family in New Zealand.

#MarvellousMarch @Andrew65

Omg this is such a wonderful treat of a book! Such lovely characters… it centers in the titular siblings, and extends outward to include their complicated family dynamics, their partners/ex-partners, and the life challenges they face: relationships, finances, racism, mental health, etc. I want them to adopt me.

I haven‘t experienced such uncomplicated joy and love for a novel in I don‘t know how long. I mean, I‘ve loved plenty: Turtle Diary, Saltus, Rouge, The Sentence, The Memory Police, and Disappearing Earth (to name a few). But…they‘ve all been a bit *sad* on some level. And it‘s not that the characters in Greta & Valdin don‘t struggle - with their mental health, money, racism, sexism (all the usual culprits) — because they do! 👇🏻

Fantastic book from NZ that touches on family, queerness, immigration, and being biracial all through the lens of a couple of rather lighthearted love stories.

Brother and sister Valdin & Greta navigate complicated romance while trying to stay close to their older brother and parents. She‘s looking for a woman who understands her while he pines for an ex-boyfriend in Argentina.

“Having OCD is so stupid. I wish I had something cool, like double joints or purple eyes.”

Um, excuse me…
Did Rebecca K. Reilly travel back in time specifically to enter my 9-year-old brain? 😆 As someone who has diagnosed herself with magical thinking OCD (based on nonsensical compulsions to complete certain tasks in order to avoid the death of my loved ones?), I feel this so hard. 👇🏻

This book just became available on Libby, two days before #NewZealand ends for #foodandlit for February. I won‘t be able to fit it in. Well, it will still count for #readingOceania!

 @Catsandbooks @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Greta & Valdin are a sister and brother pair, 20-somethings, sharing an apartment in New Zealand. They‘re biracial, they‘re anxious, navigating their love lives and they care deeply for each other and their family. A large cast of family members feature prominently, each with their own backstory and ongoing drama. I don‘t know how to describe this book well enough to do it justice, other than to say I loved this endearing and quirky family.

I loved this. Effortlessly funny, thoughtful, and full of so much heart. This glorious, weird, beautifully convoluted family who lead with their hearts with stay with me for a long time.

And kudos to the cover designer. Second book in a row with a simple yet totally perfect cover. 🥰

I used to be able to listen to music with lyrics when I was reading, but my focus is stained lately, so I've been turning to instrumental tracks. I always try to pair the music to what I'm reading in some way, and my current read (tagged) needed indie tunes like some instrumental Feist (she is forever a favourite):

https://open.spotify.com/track/5qsQrSxbclGbUUX6YMrZGN?si=T-VWONvnSFOcpw8ihaUGcA

#TuesdayTunes @TieDyeDude

Funny and smart novel about two queer siblings and their interesting family. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-galley.

This was as wonderful as everyone says. I very rarely laugh out loud at books. This was funny, warm, joyful and a bit melancholy occasionally to make it even more real.
Just a really lovely read.

A showstopping debut!! I absolutely loved this story about two queer siblings and their eccentric Māori-Russian-Catalonian family. It‘s laugh out loud throughout but also makes you cry and think. Reilly makes it look effortless. I loved the characters fiercely and felt so moved by the book's insights into family, parenting, queerness, and cultural identity. These wonderful weirdos will live on in my mind like real people for a long time.

My view while reading for the next little while! 😍 🐣

This was NOT a part of my reading plan for February but I innocently opened it and I‘m hooked!
Also, that glorious sun—I‘m so so happy to see it! 🌞

January #Wrapup
I am tracking how much money I save this year at the library January savings=

4.5⭐
Greta and Valdin
Doppelganger
Indian Horse
4⭐
Stone Raft
How Not To Drown In A Glass Of Water
Lies and Weddings
Built From The Fire
Hello Beautiful
Ultra Processed People
3.5⭐
The Bromance Book Club
Small Things Like These
3⭐
Bright Young Women
Lives of the Wives
1⭐ DNF
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

A smaller #libraryhaul this week which includes a few #ARC and some books for my boys. Most excited about the tagged.

4.5⭐

I loved living with this family for a while! G & V are 2 of 3 siblings. They live together and both are trying to find love while they keep connected to their unique, fun, funny, and wonderful family. They fall in and out of love and get into complex situations.They are half Romanian and half Māori they are smart, and funny and their family is a bit of a mess.
There is a character guide at the beginning but I found I didn't need it.

Reading in the car while my toddler sleeps in the backseat. This book is very funny so far. I love a sibling story, and in this one they are both queer!

I loved this one. It's about a Maori-Russian-Catalan extended family in Auckland, and I just loved all the characters and how they interacted with each other with love. This needs to a TV show so I can have more. I'll also accept a sequel.

Loved this! Greta and Valdin are twenty-something siblings negotiating life, love and their bonkers Māori/ Russian / Catalan family. It‘s weird, snarky but warm and a tiny little bit sad in places. I can see why it was your favourite book of 2023 @CarolynM and why you loved it so much too @Centique .

You‘re in for a treat Emma @Oryx (if you haven‘t already read it yet!)

#netgalley #greta&valdin Published in the UK on 8th Feb

I'm only allowing myself one book purchase* in NZ because they are so blooming expensive. But this NZ book sounds great, and looks like it has some lovely reviews on Litsy.

(*Unless I really really want another one)

#12Booksof2022. #December

I just adored this story about a complicated Māori / Russian / Catalan family living and loving in Auckland. It was my favourite book, not only of December, but of all of 2022.

I absolutely loved this charming, quirky story of twenty something siblings Greta & Valdin & their complicated Māori/Russian/Catalan family & the “four million nonsense anecdotes … life is comprised of” as they learned about themselves & about one another. I enjoyed their company so much I didn‘t want to finish reading. It may be my favourite book of the year. I can‘t thank you enough, Paula, for bringing it into my life. #kiwifiction

How I laughed!

I‘m loving this book @Centique

This was sarcastic, quirky and adorable in equal measure. Such a change for me to read a book set so definitively in my own city - it places action on specific streets, references NZ brands, uses Kiwi slang & a little Maori.
Greta and Valdin are a mid twenties, angsty, brother and sister living in central Auckland. They‘re both queer, part Maori, part Russian, and part of a chaotic and complex family.⬇️

I don‘t usually read the acknowledgements but these are brilliant. 😂😂
“Thank you to the surprisingly high number of people who have approached me to enthuse about my illustrious poetry career. I don‘t know who you have confused me for but I am happy for them, their publications and the great performance at the gallery”