I love watching Chandler just absolutely sh*t on books for 20 minutes. It’s literally more fun to watch than actual recommendations. A series idea: Chandler’s Slander
I know this is the wrong video but I just finished lovelight farms and I'm so glad I listened to you and read it. Hallmark vibes are not my usual thing but I read it bc of you and I adored it.
I would like to recommend olive if you've not read it already, it's a better the unlucky bridesmaid or whatever it's called, Olive is a woman who doesn't want kids, and her friends group are going thro different things in their pursuit of having kids. She has a happy ending, she is kind, sincere, and supportive to her friends who want different things to her (most of the time anyway, but it annoys me when they have stories where the main character doesn't want kids and so can't relate in anyway to anyone else who wants kids) and it just made me cry, i don't want kids at all, and Olive's happy ending is now my comfort daydream, I would very much recommend
Beth "why the hell did I get this book?" O'Leary. I grabbed "The No Show" at the library because the cover looked cute. I *thought* it was supposed to be a rom-com. Well, that balloon got busted big time. Drag on, drag on, then the twist is revealed. It was a hate read to the end.
I’m so glad you included My Year of Rest and Relaxation. I hated it for the same reasons and the cheap ending was the cherry on top. Considering how popular it is, I struggle to see the widespread appeal of it.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on these. I understand why all of these are here, and I read one of them (The Jessica Knoll book) a while ago and didn't like it. Looking forward to your favorites list of the year as well. I think having a stacked list for that is a great thing.
I didn't hate Husband Material but I agree with you that Luc is relentlessly annoying in it. It's like we can't go five minutes without a reminder that he has self esteem issues and (used to) hate himself.
One of my worst books of the year was Ledge by Stacey McEwan, which was just every NA romantacy trope shoved into one book with surface level worldbuilding and flat ass characters. I never like to go hard into indie books but wow, the only thing I liked about this book was the writing wasnt terrible
I love Boyfriend Material so much and HATED Husband Material DNF at 60% I was so sad, because was one of my most anticipated books 🥲🥲 No one needed this sequel
I do audiobooks, so I don't know if I liked that one or not, BECAUSE I LITERALLY COULD NOTTTT LISTEN TO IT. Again, I do audiobooks, so I'm very familiar with the fact that some narrators are better than others, and I'm pretty good at blocking out the ones I find subpar and just enjoying the story. But EGADS that male narrator was just unbearable. I tried, HARD, but couldn't get past the first couple of chapters...
Not everyone has to be likable 100% of the time, but there has to be SOMETHING there that makes care about what happens to the characters, otherwise I just finding myself not giving a fuck.
Man it really irks me when people say that someone didn't like a book (movie, artwork etc.) because they didn't understand it. As if everyone who doesn't like that thing is just less intelligent. That to me says so much more about the intelligence or lack thereof of the person making that comment.
The No Show was one of my top book books of the year, and I definitely see where you're coming from with the comments you made. I think I found each of the women compelling in their own way, which gave me hope for them. I also really liked the way their stories were wound together, particularly near the end. My worst book of the year was Verity by Colleen Hoover - which I know is an unpopular opinion, but for me, who loves both romances and domestic thrillers it was just not for me!
My least favorite book of the year was My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey. Because you know stealing the underwear of a woman you just met and then sort of stalking her while you scooby-doo your way through a murder investigation is just ... peak sexy. Big yikes.
Not just your subscribers,87% of the Takeover ratings lie within 4 and 5 stars! Not once did you mention the hilarity.... Perhaps the avoidance of the Com portion of the Romcom,is where the problem and or misperception lies!?
@@chandlerainsley It takes but a glance,but your prerogative my friend !.As are your literary choices ! 🙃 I'm here ,so I'll take a moment to correct myself since I looked at the wrong title in the series.More like 98% 4 and 5 star ratings...
Thank you for spoiling my year of rest and relaxation because I HATE when that specific event is the punchline to end a book or movie. I was mildly interested but now won’t be touching it.
To be absolutely honest I always come to channel before even picking up a book I’m just not sure I will like and you never disappoint your opinion is greatly appreciated and I love that the truth is always available on your Channel I feel like the other RU-vidrs I watch they just don’t want to sh*t on a sh*ty book but sometimes you have too cause I invested most of my free time to reading I’m crazy over reading so ya thank you so much for your raw opinions your awesome 🤗🤗🤗🤗
I really loved Husband Material this year, but I think I went into it expecting Luc to still be a hot mess so I was just enjoying his nonsense for 400 pages. Definitely an unnecessary sequel, though. :)
i loath Husband Material but probably for different reasons. the number one unforgivable problem with Husband Material is that they never even mention the legal protections that marriage affords and 1) Oliver is a lawyer 2) Oliver's family is homophobic. they would have screwed Luc in a second. there are generations of gay men who suffered through the AIDS crisis who were not afforded those protections and to so casually not even recognize that aspect is extremely disrespectful and dissing marriage as some sort of gay virtue is vile the second is Oliver's internalized homophobia and feeling oppressed by gay culture. the way Luc is written is exactly the way that a disaffected gay man with internalized homophobia would view the situation. in the first book, we learn that Oliver went to some mixer at school and decided that he had nothing in common with them. that is a huge red flag. seriously, he's in a university so nobody is even in his degree? that he talked to all of them? it stinks to high heaven that what he's reacting to is the gay trappings which he feels oppress hm. Husband Material is that internalized homophobia on steroids. the way that Luc is written is exactly the way somebody with internalized homophobia views things: that he's being oppressed by Luc and that he's the victim. i've had hundreds of gay friends and never once seen anything even vaguely similar to that. i've seen way too many whines online, however, that would have you believe that it's an epidemic only to find out that the whiner has severe issues. gentle teasing gets transmogrified to sneering indictments of being a lesser gay, blah, blah, blah. Luc is a purposeful boogieman to justify his (Oliver, Alexis) prejudices. i can't tell you how many times i've see this; it's common as dirt. last is the complete idiocy of the notion that marriage is some sort of straight institution that you have to buy into as a whole. no. no you don't. it's a complete strawman argument and it's silly and frankly insulting to those of us who fought to get gay marriage. marriage is a legal document, nothing more. all of the rest is completely optional. it's just so weak and so from a position of privilege to view it the way Oliver does and it smacks of more internalized homophobia that the real reason is that it makes him look gay just like the rainbow balloons do. god help them if they want kids next book without even considering the legal ramifications and Oliver's homophobic family
I HATED Husband Material and The No-Show so much. At the end of Husband Material, I felt like Luc and Oliver should break up. They’re not good for each other. It was an awful book. I didn’t read My Year of Rest and Relaxation, but I did read Eileen by the same author and I wanted to pluck out my eyeballs the whole time I was reading. It was unbearable and pretentious and not in a fun or funny way. I’ll never read anything by her again.
God Husband Material was SO BAD. Loved the first one, but it was just SO LONG. 450 pages of nothingness. I got so bored that I ended up spoiling the shitty ending for myself and didn’t even finish it
My worst book of the year was easily The V Girl by Mya Robarts. I only read two chapters, but those two chapters were something else. Honorable mentions to Our Way by T.L Swan and Crow by A. Zavarelli. Those also sucked, and I made it less than 50% in before calling it.
From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata was probably my least favorite read of the year, partially because of how much damn time I wasted on it. People kept promising it was going to get better and would be worth the journey and it was NOT.
I'm with you on the Takeover. Here is a short piece of my review that you may appreciate, "One of the things I loved about the story was Claire's fierce loyalty to her dead husband and her desire to complete his dreams and carry on his legacy. While some may find this a frustrating part of this book, I thought it was actually realistic. Unless someone has lost a spouse, it is impossible to understand the stages of grief that need to be gone through. Claire is not finished grieving and has issues to work through. At times I was frustrated with Tristan for not thinking to take Claire's feelings into account and just barreling ahead with plans that she should have been consulted about. Claire needed someone to help her with her boys and Tristan's take charge approach was what she needed at times, but he goes too far and can't seem to get why she would be upset. At the end, we see them both ready to give the other what they want and don't really see how they resolve the conflict besides declaring that they want to be together forever." Also, children travelling across the world alone with a stolen credit card - really! My least favorite book of the year was Life After Perfect by Nancy Naigle.
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz was my worst book this year. I’m also someone who doesn’t really read literary or historical fiction and I had to for one of my college classes. The whole plot is about this guy whining that he cannot get laid while being a creeper incel. As soon as I finished it, I yeeted it out of my life asap.
as much as i enjoyed Husband Material because the writing and the audiobook, it definitely disappointed me on so many levels. luc and oliver were probably my favourite characters up until this book and i think there were so many out of character moments. i loved being back with these characters, especially Odile i love her, but the story itself definitely wasn’t what i was expecting. i was hoping this book would’ve been more fluff and domestic bliss because luc and oliver do that so well but they just ended up annoying me…
Your opinions on these books sound completely justified tbh! I'm not sure what my worst book was, I think if I didn't like a book, I just dnf'd and apparently completely forgot? 😅
I’m curious if Chandler finished The No Show because the ending of this story completely negates her criticism of the women and recontextualizes the entire story. Her characterization of the women is also interesting because that isn’t how they are portrayed in the book.
I read Dr Stanton like 30 minutes ago and DNF'd it. It was horrible and I don't know if you have read this. The hero was so abusive and I sobbed like three times before I decided to DNF. What is it with T.L Swan being able to write a book where the hero is a pieces of shit and still people swoon over him.
Your videos are so much fun. When you do like a book, I know I will too. But I just laugh at your dislikes and find other reviews to decide if I want to read it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have anything to read. You are lovely, eloquent, and have a great personality. I really do enjoy watching you.
I recently read the first book The STOPOVER and actually liked it(3 stars). I read the plot of the takeover and the first 5 chapters and idk something wasn't clicking and now I am glad to have not continued.
Don't agree about Bad Luck Bridesmaid. I mean, I didn't like the book. But I didn't hate her, I hated him. He was the ass. He dumped her. He slept with her at the wedding (without a condom) and left her to deal with it, he told her twice: "what is wrong with you?" There is nothing wrong with her, not everyone wants to get married and she did love him very much. I did like the ending and I am happy she didn't end up married to that asshole, good for her.
My worst reads this year were A Lesson in Vengeance, The Love Hypothesis, Bunny and I would say It Starts with Us comes close. Booktokers come at me 🤣🤣🤣
@nix Ugly Love was also meh. I think I gave it 3 stars cause I was like whatever this was a dumb easy read but looking back I think I was being generous.
@nix So far I loved Priory of The Orange Tree, The Book Thief, Book 5 of The Zodiac Academy (it's emotionally damaging though) and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I'm currently reading The Secret History and am really enjoying it.
oh nooo, i recently read the no-show and absolutely loved it. i did go into it a little bit… eh. but as it went on i got so invested and the ending/plot reveal had me crying. not at all what i expected
Please don't take me as saying that you didn't understand that book with the 9/11 finale-I haven't actually read it, so I'm not about to try and comment on whether you or anyone understood it or not-buut I'm just going to go out on a limb here and take a wild guess in the dark here that maybe, just maybe, could the author possibly have ended it that way just to try and make a point about why people shouldn't actually simply check out of their lives for whole entire years like that, no matter how much they may want to nor how tempting it may be to actually do so sometimes, or something? ? Like..specifically, because...you might miss out on things that you can never get back[ like spending time with loved ones before you lose them forever], if you do? I dunno, honestly!🤔😅😅😶🤷♀️😅 😶 🤔🤔🤔 I have zero idea, really. I'm just mildly curious suddenly, too. Loll (I could be completely wrong here-I just find it somehow interesting to try and puzzle out why people might have done things, such as ending certain stories in certain ways or just about anything else, even if it's a terrible way to end it or such-I guess I'm just that kind of weirdo, personally , for some reason; I have no idea why 😁🙏Sorryy!!! 🤍) I just really like to try and guess at why writers or other people may or may not have done the things they did, especially if it seems unfathomable why anyone might have; I just like trying to see if I can think up any even possible reason why, and then contemplating about whether or not I think it might ever hold any water no matter how miniscule and/or obscure OR if I think it's more just some wonky kinda bizarre and makes-sense-'to-them'-only type logic. If this makes any sense. Lol 🤣 I'll shush, and see myself out now. ^--^ 😹😹💜💖 (Love this video though-and wholeheartedly agree with you about it being a shame when representation of women who don't want marriage or kids depicts them in a terrible light as if we're all completely incapable of being respectful of or even appreciating and valuing each other's differences every bit as much as we can value or appreciate any commonalities between persons. And I love that you stick up for people's rights to not want those things for themselves, even though you are someone who does want them yourself-I'm the same way, but from the other side of it. I don't know that I will ever actually feel any particularly strong desire for marriage or kids, myself; but I will always stick up for other people's rights to actually want those things for themselves, every bit as much as I would stick up for anyone's right to not want them too. ^-^ 💖🤍)
My least favorite book of the year was one to watch from her obviously problematic crush to her negative self talk and then the absolute worst part was the way the men talked about her! AVOID at all cost.
I’m so happy I haven’t read My Year of Rest and Relaxation. There’s a movie with Rob Pattinson that ends similarly and I’ve realized it’s something I steer so clear of. Appreciate the spoiler
Omgg thank you for hating my year of rest & relaxation! I read it on vacation 2 years ago and complained about it so much my friend I was away with was like “please stop reading this book.”
My mother is always telling me to stop reading or watching stuff, because I rant out loud when they're doing stuff I think is stupid or frustrating and such. But, the thing is, I do that sometimes even when I am actually enjoying things-I don't know how to explain to her how I can still like things sometimes, even when the characters do things that irritate or frustrate the heck out of me(I don't always understand exactly why or how I do either)!!!! 🤭🤣 Really couldn't say if 'my year of rest & relaxation' would be one I enjoyed or genuinely disliked myself though-I've never read it. Lol
What kind of lipgloss are you wearing? It's totally gorgeous. Also, The Takeover was my least favorite read this year too. I feel betrayed by all the people who recommended it to me.
Oh no! Chandler I’m so sorry that you ended up reading The Takeover as your TL Swan pick 😬 I’ve read the majority of her books and that one is just not it! If you ever decide to give that author another shot, I would HIGHLY recommend Dr Stanton. It’s my absolute fave of TL Swans books and I reread it constantly 😘
