wuthrinheights's reviews
202 reviews

I skipped The Importance of Being Earnest for I have read it already before. I will begin my review with the second play: Lady Windermere's Fan. What a fantastic play! It was thoroughly captivating. I was hooked from the start, and wanted to devour it as quickly as I could. It had so much tension and drama, with twists that made me gasp out loud. I was lucky to read this with a buddy, because I needed someone to talk to immediately! Full 5 stars. Great play!

A Woman of no Importance was a slightly slow play to me, especially in the first half. There were too many characters that they all kind of blur together, that I kept referring to the list of names just so I can be sure that I know who's who--as best as I could keep up, for there were so many gossip surrounding each person. It was mostly a play consisting of a group of friends talking about each other behind their backs. But things started to pick up deliciously by the end of Act 2. Suddenly it was going so fast and I was invested. I was so scared about how it was going to end but WOW. What an amazing ending. I loved it in the end! It was also funny that Wilde copied and pasted quotes from his other works (lines from Dorian Gray and Importance of Being Earnest, and then from this play again). 4.5 stars!

An Ideal Husband was different than his other plays. It was longer and more political. But the characters were more lively than usual. I was feeling all kinds of things reading this; curiosity, anger, triumph, disappointment. I couldn't wait to see how it played out but although some felt great, a lot of it felt underwhelming. I wanted more drama and flair like in A Woman of No Importance. Alas, this was my least favourite play. 3.75 stars.

Scratch that. Salomé was the most different out of all the plays he's written (that I've read so far). It actually felt like I was reading a Shakespearian play what with the humour, the omen/foreshadowing, the theatrical dramatic characters. It was completely out of the box, and the ending was utterly shocking. It ended on a wildly abrupt tone. 4.5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book of compilated plays and I wish it had all of his works as well. I may need to reread Dorian Gray to be sure but I think I enjoy his plays better than his novel. 

Going into this with no idea what it's about, I had little expectations. It wasn't disappointing, but it was also just... fine. 

I only liked one character (Miranda) but the others, even till the end I couldn't remember who everyone was. I kept having to go back to the list of characters throughout the book. 

It was slightly funny and I liked the scenes between Miranda/Prospero/Ferdinand/Ariel the most. The others, not so much. 

I wasn't thrilled about the pacing of the play either. Some felt too rushed, some felt too draggy. But overall it wasn't terrible. I'm glad I gave it a try.

I thought there would be a couple of deaths in the end but no, Shakespeare didn't deliver this time. I felt disappointed that it ended so abruptly and without a punch. I wanted justice for the villains!

I picked this up yesterday for I had time to kill. A gothic victorian novella that centers around a governess in a manor with haunted kids? Sounds just like something I'd enjoy. 

I'm aware of this book being the inspiration of The Haunting of Bly Manor, a show I wasn't a fan of, but I was very curious to read the original book. I was half glad, half disappointed that I read the book after watching the show. I'm glad it was easier to picture them, but I was disappointed because I couldn't help but feel like I knew what was going to happen. So sometimes I felt a little bored because it was like watching the show again. But I didn't have to worry about that because it ended up being different from the show.

This story wasn't as great as I expected, and the creepiness felt flat; I wasn't scared at all. But the language was easy to read and I liked the way it was written. It was a breeze to read this book.

However, the ending was incredibly abrupt that when I got to the end, I literally said "HUH?" out loud. I had to look up the Sparknotes to make sure I read it right. It was certainly unpredictable to me.

One of the possible analysis said that she was losing her mind and she accidentally smothered Miles which led to his demise. For this, I do think it was a creepier ending, making it better than I initially thought of.

After reading Me and Mr Darcy, I decided to go for another romance book. Plus, I DNF-ed this book many years ago so technically this is my first time reading it (till the end). 

This book ended nicely but through it all, I felt like the pacing wasn't that smooth. It was fast and fun at first but suddenly it grew really slow, like she was trying hard to fill up the pages. It picked up again till the end so I bumped up my rating another 0.25. 

The main character felt very similar to Emily from Me and Mr Darcy. I understand authors tend to write their MC through themselves like a self portrait, but sometimes I felt like I was reading about Emily again and not a different person. 

I do think Jack was a better male love interest than [whatever the last guy's name was. He was so terrible till the end, I couldn't find him appealing]. Yes, he was obnoxious at first but he was alright. I think the romantic parts were a bit sudden but they're okay. Enemies to lovers, road trip, only one bed. Hey, these tropes never fail. 

I enjoyed reading about the many types of love in this book but the description of the travels felt a little repetitive and echo-ey. Like trying to write down as many memories as you can in your diary after a long vacation. 

I sound like I have more negative things to say about this book than good ones but honestly, it wasn't a bad book. It was good enough to keep me engaged to read till the end but I think my expectations were too high after the previous book. It's quite alright!

When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with Alexandra Potter. When I found this book on my shelf, I knew I had to reread it because it's been so long since I picked it up, I've forgotten most of it. And after watching Austenland (again and again and again), this sounded so similar to the movie, I definitely had to read it again.

Emily Albright was hilarious. She was relatable, feisty, and loyal. From the first page, I immediately felt like we were soulmates. Not only because of her love for books, but also because of her complaints about modern men. I kept agreeing with her and shaking my head, laughing.

This book made me giggle and gasp and groan. I couldn't quite put it down, it was that entertaining. I am so happy I picked this up. Would definitely recommend this to Austen fans. It's always a nice reminder that sometimes the thing you've always wanted may not be all that great. 

What a book. My copy had a little over 800 pages and it was such a heavy book (figuratively and literally). But not once did I regret getting a copy. This was beautiful. 

From his early years of knowing Felice and groveling at her feet, pouncing at the mailman for her letters, and rubbing her letters to his face (to get as close to her as possible), to the all-too-real commitment of being engaged to her making him spiral, it was a lot.

In the first half of the book, he was more lighthearted. All he wanted was to get to know every single part of her (from asking her many, many questions to scrutinising every picture sent by her). But as they grew closer and the relationship became more serious, he grew more frightened. 

Suddenly his flaws were blown up like a film on a movie screen. His derailing health, his inadequacy, his worries and quirks. He was so worried that Felice will shirk away from him, and her parents wouldn't allow him to marry her (which, he felt was valid). 

But everyone loved him. Felice, her parents, his parents, etc. Julie Kafka (Franz's mum) was adorable. Her letters to Felice (and to Felice's mum) were included. From there, you could see how sweet and caring she was. And she was completely supportive of their relationship.

This mammoth of a book was a lot to take in, but I loved it very much. It is possible that I found hundreds of favourite quotes within these letters. Letters to Felice was much better than Letters to Milena. The last few pages made me teary eyed when he broke the news of his tuberculosis and how he feared that his last letters to her would be 

I am amazed that Felice kept all the letters he sent. Their love must've been incredibly intense. I could see so much of myself in Franz (the good and the bad), that reading these made me feel like I could've written all that in another life. And no matter how many times I feel so frustrated by him, I had to step back and think "perhaps the reason why you are so angry is because you see so much of yourself in him." Rest well, Kafka. This was life-altering.

I haven't read SVU in years so I'm introduced to new characters for the first time. This book was incredibly scary, especially because it felt like there's some truth to it, and how real it could be (or already is?). 

Channel X held my attention from the first page. It was intense and terrifying. It was hard to know what was real or wasn't. And even till the last page, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen, and the characters won't ever get to escape the horrors.

Reading this with a Dickens fan was a great idea, for I learned so much than if I were to read it alone. I also enjoyed it a lot more with a buddy who is so passionate about his works. 

I'm not going to lie, I had a pretty tough time getting into this story. I'm not very familiar with Dickens' style, especially with his take on historical fiction. The book was like an EKG machine. It goes up and down. When it goes down, the story was like a blur and I couldn't get through it like walking through a foggy street. But when it's up, oh boy. So was I. Suddenly I'm feeling so many things, and sweating nervously through my shirt. 

This book wasn't anything like I thought it would be. I haven't the faintest idea of what it'll contain when I first picked it up. But it was a story of love, and heroism, and justice to evil people, of alliances and enemies. It was so many things at once. 

Just like the first line of the book, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times", the ending reflected it too. It had such a bittersweet ending, and Charles really nailed it perfectly. 

The Lost Girl - 5 ☆
The lost girl was a shocking read. It was horrific on many levels, that I didn't expect to come from a Fear Street novel. It was intense and gory from the very first part of the book. But despite the horrors, I couldn't put it down. It was a real page turner. 

RL Stine has got to be one of my favourite authors ever and it took me so long to realise that. Some books often make me feel bored but Stine is one of the few authors that keep me completely engaged throughout the whole story. His language was really simple but the storyline was captivating and truly horrific. At one point, my sister told me I shouldn't read it anymore because I looked so scared.

I love the Fear Street series and The Lost Girl had all the elements I love about it. The creepy atmosphere, the murders, the stalking, the supernatural elements, the connection between the past and the present,.. I was enjoying it so much, I wanted to devour it all in one day but I had to take it slow and savour it as much as I can. 

//

Can You Keep A Secret? - 3.5 ☆
After the incredible first story, I was on high. I was excited for the second book but sadly, it didn't live up to the first one. I really expected the whole 2-in-1 book would be a full 5 star rating but it was so different. It didn't even feel like a Fear Street book to me. 

I couldn't connect to the characters, and the story didn't feel as smooth as the first one. In TLG, the blending of the past and present, and the logical and supernatural elements felt smooth and flawless. But in CYKAS, it felt like putting two wrong jigsaw puzzles together. Sometimes I felt like I was reading two different stories at once. 

Minor spoiler: On one hand, it had robbery and stolen money fought among friends, and the other, it had folklore and lycanthrope. It didn't mesh well together and although it was an easy read, it wasn't such a great story. 

This book was wild from start to finish. I was literally laughing in disbelief. I've made it to the end, and Lewis kept throwing curveball after curveball. 

The story of the evil ape, the fake Aslan, the follow up about every character, and the huge reveal at the end... I never would've expected the series to end this way, but wow, what an ending.

I'd definitely give this series another reread someday, maybe according to publication order. Although chronological order made more sense. But I do want to read it in a different way another time. 

(This book was great, but I had to lower the rating because of the racism and sexism.)