adding books purely because they remind me of summerarc from-publisher-author non-ya ...more51 s Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins581 154

Go Lightly is everything I hoped each of Sally Rooney’s novels would be, a millennial novel that actually captures the realities of millennial life. It’s wry and self-deprecating and insightful without holding your head under its water – if Rooney had a sense of humour and used quotation marks for speech.

My full review of Go Lightly is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.12 s Kim Lockhart1,153 154

It took me forever to get through this book, and I strongly suspect that I (an older reader) was not the target audience. If you are in your early twenties, I think this book will read very differently for you than it did for me. It had a kind of a more Sally Rooney (Conversations With Friends) vibe.

From the title, you may correctly surmise that this is a contemporary rendering of Truman Capote's famous character Holly Golightly.

Ah, to be twenty six again, full of yourself, patronizing to twenty one year olds, impervious to advice, dangerously suggestible, and a compendium of bad choices, limited sleep, and cheap drinks.

The opening setting is in Edinburgh, during the cold, dark, winter, at a party where you can smell the staleness of the atmosphere: a mix of old couches, cigarettes, and spilled beer.

Living in a University town is living in a tourist destination. It mirrors the untethered nature of Ada, an Australian ex-pat, who loves this age, and refuses the serious in favor of the temporary. Speaking of which, the novel immediately moves toward London. The first location only serves as a vehicle to create a tenuous bond for the characters.

I never did quite get a hold on what made Ada tick. Ada fears being overlooked, so she tries to be completely present, to be noticed. This means she also becomes a little obnoxious. Ada privately wonders if she's more of an experience than a person.

Imagine thinking that your purpose is just to prop up the egos of others. Ada battles a gnawing emptiness. But, she also knows how to switch out masks of emotions to manipulate others, and at the same time, feels too much? You see my dilemma. I had a hard time getting all of her presented traits to work together, and no part of her seemed particularly able. I had sympathy only for Mel, a side character.

So, basically this is a novel about conflicting emotional travails in the context of the world of hookups and the gig economy. I'm not sure what the point of all of it is supposed to be, and quite a bit seemed unbelievable, especially the text exchanges.

As far as style goes, I prefer my scenes more spare in their description, with more emphasis on mood and atmosphere. That's a subjective preference, I just want the reader to know that the author describes a lot of extremely mundane actions. 

There are a few very top notch lines, so we know that the author has potential.

So, I would sum up the world of the MC, Ada, as such: Ada observes a lot of the world insightfully, though she bulldozes her way through it, and feels way too much about it all. If I'm exhausted by her, she is even more exhausted by herself.

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and to Harper Perennial, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, for providing an ARC of this novel for review.goodreads-giveaways-won10 s2 comments Shelleyrae at Book'd Out2,526 535 Read

DNF - Made more than one attempt but this was not for me.
Too ‘millennial’ for this Gen Xer, if that makes sense.about-to-read arc-are provided-by-publisher4 s Doe39 1 follower

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

How I read this book: eBook

So the reason I wanted to read this book is that it was described as LGBTQIA+ romance on Netgalley and I requested the book. I am so appreciative that I was able to get this book and read it before it officially comes out and I definitely will be buying this book in physical form when it does. Most of the book is really enjoyable and is just such an easy read. It was nice to see some queer representation which isn't just MLM or WLW specifically. As someone who's bi/ace I find it really difficult to find representation in books/movies and it just made me really happy to see it here. I did spend a couple days longer reading this book not because it was difficult to read but because it was so easy to just pick up when I had a couple of minutes spare! The chapters are mostly short so it's so easy to pick up where you left off! I also really enjoyed the chapters which were the characters sending messages to each other because it made the book feel more real. It was also great to see real life situations being handled very realistically as well and mostly not too overdramatized (although Ada does sometimes still have her moments). The only critique I have about the book is that there are two moments that involve drug use, and that put me off a little bit (not enough to stop me reading, but is worth noting if you're uncomfortable with reading that). I definitely would recommend this to anyone who just wants a nice little queer contemporary to read throughout the day!

My Favourite Characters:

- Mel: Mel is Ada's best friend and roommate and I absolutely adored her throughout the book. She very much tries to be Ada's moral compass but also lets her do her own thing with little judgment.

- Sadie: I loved Sadie from the very start. She very much matches Ada's energy and is so honest and communicative throughout the book.

- Hank: Hank is honestly such a sweetie and I wish we actually got more of him throughout the book but I enjoyed the time we did get with him.

My Least Favourite Characters:

- Stuart: I just didn't him at all in the book. I understand that Ada can be a bit difficult sometimes throughout the book, but that did not excuse his behaviour. He was just so creepy and I really just hated him.

(If you'd to see more of my please go to my blog:
https://doesden.blogspot.com/)4 s Jess42 1 follower

There are no words for this book for me. I struggled through reading it and if it hadn’t of been an ARC I don’t think I’d of finished it.

Obviously I can appreciate that some people may love this book but ultimately, it wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the writing style… it was a lot of Ada did this then Ada did that and then Sadie said this so Ada said that. The only parts I did enjoy were the chapters with the messages.

I’m not even certain I understand what happened at the end. I’m not being dense I don’t think, I just couldn’t tell you what happened…

Also, I hate Stuart, he’s so annoying.

I can appreciate the journey that the book takes Ada on, where she’s trying to find herself and find who she is as a person by herself and with others. But other than that it just wasn’t for me. 3 s2 comments Georgia26 6

Gifted this book as an ARC, was slow to start with but I really enjoyed. I flew through it and actually enjoyed the main characters pov. I saw someone say it’s for fans of Sally Rooney, but I’m not a fan of theirs and enjoyed this read sooo
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