#TNReads: Real Quick Reviews for Lazy Readers featuring Becky Albertalli

I was obviously going to read a YA romance about a normal American girl whose life gets weird because her sister’s marrying a prince on the day the book releases. I love both The Fug Girls’ The Royal We and Beverly Cleary’s Sister of the Bride, so how could I not?

Royals is a fun travelogue of present-day Scotland, with an emphasis on castles and hot aristocratic boys in kilts and a side of PR management and mild scandal. I don’t really understand what the alternative history is that gets us to having a reigning, independent Scottish royal family while the Windsors still exist but Scotland is referred to as part of the United Kingdom, and it’s sadly never explained (I love a well researched fake history!). But I’m always willing to suspend disbelief for a suddenly-princess story with a Darcy-ish love interest, and this was no exception. Looking forward to hanging out with Daisy Winters and co. again as the series continues.

“Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.”

A solid historical fiction read, Fatal Throne is comprised of six parts, one for each of Henry VIII’s wives. Each part focuses primarily on the doom and downfall of each wife, but also provides some background history on how they met King Henry and whatever “honeymoon” period they experienced, if any (looking at you, Anne of Cleves). Each section concludes with an amusing chapter from the perspective of Henry himself, highlighting his unparalleled narcissism and paranoia.

There’s no new information to be had, and the actions of each wife align pretty closely to accepted history (Anne Boleyn was innocent of adultery, Catherine Howard was not). If you’re not well versed on Henry VIII and his infamous six wives, then this is a great intro. Or if you’re a Tudor aficionado, it’s still a worthwhile, interesting take on the women who sat on the fatal throne of Henry VIII.

Leah Burke is a character that you can’t help but like. She’s so relatable and just funny. She’s a little (ok a lot) cynical, but it isn’t often in her life that she’s seen the fairy tale work out (minus Simon and Bram, that is). And as much as she might not believe it, it’s so fun to read Leah get her own cliche high school movie ending.

If you liked Simon, you’ll love Leah on the Offbeat. All your faves are around and this book makes being queer normal which is something that I wish there had been more of back when I was a high school nerd who spent the majority of her time reading. Also, I want to read her Draco/Harry fanfic. Get on that, Becky.

The way we share information changes fast and it has affected the worlds of publishing and journalism on a massive scale. For Elinor Tomlinson and her boyfriend Mike, graduating with journalism degrees has not worked out as expected but finally, they both have writing jobs, for competing websites.

While Mike dives into long investigative pieces, Elinor is in charge of developing viral content to drive internet traffic to her new employer, Journalism.ly. As her employment and relationship status change, we see Elinor overthink everything and then decide how to deal with the public perception of it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and eventually at Journalism.ly. Elinor’s narcissism is reflected in her online activities but it’s hard to tell if the inundation of social media is the cause or an extension of what was already there.

As other reviewers have said, this book is going to be divisive. Some will think its a load of blabber, and some will find it entertaining and original. Surprisingly, I fall somewhere in between. If nothing else it’s interesting. I don’t like Lucy, but then again you’re not supposed to. She’s a love addict in the midst of crisis. She’s selfish, neurotic, lacks any sort of common sense, is a terrible friend, but if nothing else she’s honest. And there’s a lot of humor in the honesty of both Lucy and this story in general. But it’s not humor for everyone.

There’s a lot in this book that I think women – or literally anyone who’s ever dated – can relate to. We all want to be wanted and seek that out. And as someone who’s used Tinder, I can relate (on a very small level) to some of Lucy’s encounters. But her attitude toward other women is just nonsense. When she should have been substituting her obsession with love and sex with meaningful relationships of other kinds, she instead just judges and shames. The book is a journey of self-discovery, but I have a feeling that Lucy’s journey is not even close to finished…

I had no problem with the merman love affair. I’m into it. There are some very explicit sex scenes, but I found them well-timed and justified for a story of this nature. The commentary on bodily functions was entertaining and wholly real. Sex is messy.

This book is without a doubt different from most other books out there. Love it or hate it, at least it makes you feel some kind of way.