Review#1
There were some things I liked about this book, but most of my thoughts are negative, unfortunately.
A couple of things I liked were the flawed characters and the representation on multiple fronts. First, I loved that these characters were not perfect or always trying to do the right thing. They each had issues and selfish desires and made mistakes throughout the book. Second, I love all the representation! Not only were there multi-racial and multi-cultural representations, but there was also representation of different mental health issues. As well, there were a lot of concerns talked about or addressed in this book. I think the author cleverly weaved in these different aspects without it feeling forced or overdone.
Now, there were a few things that I wasn’t a big fan of, with the main one being the pacing of the book. It was soooo slow. It was so difficult to stay interested in the plotline because everything was just moving along too slowly. This book takes place pretty much over one day so I thought things might move along at a good pace. It seemed like there was a lot that needed to happen within those 10 hours or whatever, but apparently not. The book even went between the point-of-views of the three main characters, but that didn’t help either.
Overall, I’m disappointed that a book with so much potential flopped so hard in my eyes. There were many great aspects of this book, but unfortunately, they didn’t come together to create an engaging story.
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review #2
This is a really tough review to write because of my overall impressions of the novel and the controversy surrounding it.
I’ll start by saying that I was thrilled to be approved for another Safi arc. So far, I have enjoyed her novels. Because it has been so long since I watched _Empire Records_ (literally in the theater), I expected I wouldn’t be too impacted by the conversation surrounding similarities between the film and this novel. Even though it has been literally decades, I still got the constant connections when I started reading. It’s been too long (since viewing) for me to make an assessment about the depth of that tie, but I feel – diplomatically – uneasy about it. My star rating leaves out the possibility that there is something actually nefarious happening on this front.
Let’s say that none of that controversy exists, and I’m now looking at the novel as a self-contained entity. This is where most of my disappointment sets in. For me, this was such a slow read. While I was interested in some of the characters some of the time, I couldn’t get fully invested in them or in their unifying goals. I wonder if some of these dead spaces lend themselves to filling in with details from that other source…
I feel uncomfortable writing this review, let alone reflecting on my reading experience. Safi has a lot to offer, and I look forward to reading the next one. I’ll hope that the pacing and originality revert back to what, for me, are the previous standards.
Review #3
Thank you to the publishing house, Netgalley, and Hear Our Voices Book Tours for sending me a book so I could write an honest review!
So, I will say that I think I super hyped myself up for this book for the fact that it takes place in a bookstore and I must say I wasn’t let down. All the aspects of being part of a company such as an independent bookstore such as Wild Nights was very eye opening to the world. Bookstores are suffering and especially right now during these crazy times. This is me as a book lover telling you, go out there and support your local bookstores! They need your help now more than ever. Being a person who normally buys all of her stuff from big box and Amazon. I’m now changing the way I spend my money to try and help out more small businesses and independent bookstores.
Let me get myself back on track though, I wanted to point out a character in the book that I loved with all my heart and that I can personally relate to not on just personality levels but, with this being an OwnVoices book, I relate to Rinn Olivera a lot. I may not look it as much as she does but, I was born as a Mexican-American and honest to goodness after going through my DNA stuff we found out I was a little bit German too.
Rinn Olivera is a very happy go lucky girl. Hence, why she earns her nicknames from Imogen and Danny as “Little Miss Sunshine” or “Little Miss Perfect.” You learn further in the book that her happiness and perfectionist personality comes from her bout with anxiety. Personally, I suffer from it as well and I can honestly say, it is the most insufferable thing to deal with and if I could just wish it away, I would already have.
To me, I feel like this book is a mix of Empire Record meets a small bit of Breakfast Club aspect into it. Three girls who can’t stand the presence of one another, working in a bookstore that they learn is closing down. No help from Eli at all, he tried his best though at least and they all kind of learn to work together to save something they equally agree is the best thing in their lives. Wild Night isn’t just a bookstore but, its a home away from home for a few of them.
While it’s definitely not a romance book at all and the minimal amount of romance I feel you can possibly have in a book, it’s still cute. Aj is an employee that Rinn can’t help but fawn over this boy that I can’t really picture in my head. He is an artist of sorts and his art is wonderful (I WANT TO SEE THIS MYSTERY ART)
All in all, this was definitely a 4 star read for me and I’d love to go through it again and read it with some page tabs in my hand for sure. There are parts of the book that are something I would love to go back on and go more in depth with the reading.
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