Litsy

pick

Why do some books hit right? I dunno, but this one hit the right notes for me 🎶 Was it long? Yep - but I was ready for it and I was intrigued enough to settle in and enjoy the ride. It does feel like YA and I am not complaining; it had humor and teenspeak (hey I am old) and sex and crushes and twists and turns and magic with ambiguous good vs evil and I enjoyed it very much. #ToB2025 #Dec2024 Book119

Photo of Christmas 7 Fishes Stew 🌟

Chelsea.Poole This is one of two I have left for the ToB shortlist. Glad to see you enjoyed it! 5h

squirrelbrain Just started this - it‘s not my ‘thing‘ but I‘m going to settle in to enjoy it, like you did. 54m

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BkClubCare

The Book of Love: A Novel | Kelly Link

“It was as easy as pie. A big old slice of hypno pie with delicious whipped mesmerism on top.”

#LitPie #iLovePie #CaresBooksandPie

sarahbarnes Can‘t wait to hear your thoughts on this one! 1d

BkClubCare @sarahbarnes - I liked it! 1d

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jhod

The Book of Love: A Novel | Kelly Link

Thanks so much Barbara! A perfect choice that I wouldn't have got myself as have not really seen it anywhere, but that I am very keen to read! Merry Christmas and thanks again! And thanks again Chelle for organising us! @BarbaraBB @MaleficentBookDragon

squirrelbrain I‘m just about to start this from the library. Hope you had a lovely break ‘up North‘! 2d

LeeRHarry This book nearly made it onto my irl bookgroup reading for next year so I‘ll be picking it up at some point. It‘s on the library holds list. 😊 2d

BarbaraBB I hope you‘ll like it! I still have to read it too for the #ToB25! 2d

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sarahbarnes

The Book of Love: A Novel | Kelly Link

so-so

This book was a little too long and frankly I was glad to get to the end. I enjoyed a lot of it but I definitely prefer Link‘s short stories. Overall a good story and well written, but it did not need to be this long! 😆 #TOB2025

squirrelbrain Oh oh, still to start this one! 😬 1w

sarahbarnes @squirrelbrain I often enjoyed reading it, it just felt too long. I wanted to finish it; again, just wanted it to happen a little sooner. 😆 It felt like it dragged in places. 1w

BarbaraBB Thanks for reading it. I am still on edge about doing so 1w

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sarahbarnes

The Book of Love: A Novel | Kelly Link

I haven‘t had nearly the reading time I want these days, but I‘m slowly making my way through this very long book. Although I really like Link‘s writing so I‘m enjoying it. #TOB2025

BarbaraBB That is good to know. So many mixed reviews! 2w

squirrelbrain I borrowed this from the library as I‘m not sure if I‘m going to like it, so it‘s good to hear that you‘re enjoying it. 2w

sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I‘ll be interested to hear what you both think if you read it. I like that her stories involve elements of magic and fantasy but just casually as if it‘s normal. I don‘t like fantasy as a genre but I do really like her. 2w

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BkClubCare

The Book of Love: A Novel | Kelly Link

I am looking forward to this the more I hear that people didn‘t like it. Not sure why 🤷🏻‍♀️ Hope this approach works in my favor: Tempered Affinity? #ToBShortList

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 3w

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Robotswithpersonality

My Murder | Katie Williams

This post contains spoilers

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The Echo Wife meets How to be Eaten and The Final Girl's Support Group.
I am very glad I did not figure out what was going on until the reveal - I'm even more relieved this was not a 'the husband did it' plot.
I really admire the book for presenting the doubt in motherhood, and a character who is not shamed for deciding that motherhood and marriage were not right for her only after having tried it. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? The main perspective is that of the woman who chooses to be a wife and mother, who wants to stay, so subjectively the judgement could be there, but the narrative leaves room for an individual to make their own choice.
The commentary is clear on which figure society sees as more sympathetic - the young mother being the role model victim - the original clandestinely slipping away to a new life 4mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/? - though that probably has more to do with the fact that she can't just pop up without creating issues for the cloning company and possibly herself given the murder investigation.
I'll admit for a while there I was more enamoured of the first half than the second, when the first had the literary sci fi bent of examining how a woman fits back into her life as a clone of a previous self, how a VR setting could provide intimacy, 4mo

Robotswithpersonality 4/? could provide catharsis for murder victims - though I guess that last one's more a second half revelation; how the serial killer and the cloning board both seem to view the women as special and yet homogenous, replaceable, the idea of women feeling devalued, unrecognized even as they're unable to escape public attention. 4mo

Robotswithpersonality 5/? Then there are the non sci fi related questions around dealing with a sense of self, mortality, vulnerability, being a woman not automatically meaning victim, even as trauma, as media, as society keeps trying to attach that label; the struggle for control, obviously the concerns about trying to be a good mother, worries about connecting to one's child, physically and emotionally, even before post partum depression is suggested. 4mo

Robotswithpersonality 6/6 Because the second half shifted into murder mystery mode I thought I was losing the contemplative pieces but the last revelations, the choices available, the role cloning actually played, that the husband actually played, really worked for me.
Similar to The Echo Wife, all the comps above, really, I enjoyed how this worked out way more than I thought I would. Adding another 'clones' book to my favourites pile!

⚠️mentions of domestic abuse (edited) 4mo

3 likes5 comments

Robotswithpersonality

My Murder | Katie Williams