I read a mix of different books while I was in Europe. I hoped to read books set in the places I was going to and books I could find on Libby, which were also on my to-read list. Many of the books I chose were taken from Jack Edward’s YouTube video of Books that he would give six stars if he could.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

I chose this book because my sister had it, so I could read it on the plane. She loved it as a doctoral student and found some of the struggles the main character, Olive, went through relatable. I knew it was a Reylo fanfiction set in a university between a doctoral student and a professor. It was okay. I don’t enjoy the big man, petite woman trope and hate the constant height and blue eyes mentioned. The book also has the main character pining for several years, which I dislike; I always wonder, “Why not make a move and get it over with?” I can see the appeal, but it is not appealing to me.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Having read Book Lovers, which I loved, I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. This book is about two friends who spent ten years holidaying together every summer until one year, when they stopped. They decide to go on one last holiday for old times’ sake. Are there unrequited feelings? Yes. Will they not address them till the very end? Also, yes. I usually don’t think about whether these characters will break up after the book ends, but I couldn’t suspend that belief for these two. One is a travel blogger who wants to escape her hometown, where she was bullied for being different. While literally being described as Sabrina Carpenter. Her friend loves his hometown and works as a respectable teacher at her old high school. I don’t see the compatibility, but I did believe in their love. One thing I took from this book was that she got to confront her high school bullies, which didn’t go as she had thought. It made me evaluate my relationship with my bullies from school. I realised I had no ill will towards them or resentment, so why do I still let their words define how I see myself? Some food for thought.

Last Summer in the City by Gianfranco Calligarich

Sometimes you read a book and know that you’re not the audience. I can see men being moved by this, but it was not soul-shattering. The book follows our protagonist on his last summer in Rome. Reading this after leaving Rome, the novel appreciates Rome’s setting. It brings a nostalgia to the place, and the places mentioned in the city did feel like you were being whisked around as well. Throughout the book, he searches for feelings, as nothing excites him after losing his job. His friends he doesn’t like, the girl he loves he can’t please, he is adrift with his only anchor being the city, but that too is sinking. It is sad, short, and poetic in a way. It has a melancholy to it, which is what I mean.

Boulder by Eva Balatazar

Boulder follows a woman (nicknamed Boulder) who works as a ship cook, and when she meets Sansha, she sacrifices pieces of her soul to be loved by her. It is very introspective. I don’t want to spoil it, but the book’s strength is its writing and language. It makes you feel sad for what is happening to Boulder. She is nicknamed Boulder as an immovable object, but we constantly see her moving or sacrificing what she wants for Sansha. Eva has a way with words, like the metaphors paint vivid images in your head. This book is part of a trilogy, and I will definitely read the others when I find them.

Quicksand by Nella Larsen

Nella Larsen only wrote two novels, and what novels they were. So, some books I chose to read are a mixture of what was on my Goodreads list and what I will find in the library or Libby currently. Quicksand follows the story of a biracial woman brought up by her white side in the 1920s. We follow her as she tries to adopt a different lifestyle but quickly becomes discontent with all of them. Unfortunately, she reaches a point where she can’t escape. It is the story of someone searching for meaning, purpose, a sense of community, but at the slightest discomfort, leaving to start again. There is also something to say that although she changes her surroundings, she doesn’t change her mindset, so she falls back into the same pattern, like quicksand.

Passing by Nella Larsen

Passing is about two light-skinned Black women who have known each other as children. One, Clare, chooses to “pass” as white, marrying a white husband, effectively burying her black side by hiding her ethnicity from her husband. In 1920s America, this was incredibly dangerous. The only person who realises this is our protagonist, Irene. She is put in a strange predicament as Clare uses her to masquerade in her Blackness. This story shows that hiding one’s true self only hurts you. You feel for these two women, and at the climax, when a tragedy occurs, you ask yourself, was it avoidable, and if so, how?

Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna

Evenings and Weekends follows a series of characters loosely tied together through being friends, acquaintances, etc. The characters navigate their lives in London over a week when a whale is stuck in the Thames. Now I think the novel details a shared experience in the 2010s and early 2020s with online discourse and between the characters well. There is also a heatwave in London. Reading this book in London during a heatwave was an immersive experience. The author also describes how young people view being in a city, which I found relatable. It is constantly moving, making you feel part of something. Hence, we see people moving in for jobs and universities but then having to leave because it is not sustainable. Due to friend break-ups, relationships, having kids or leases expiring. One thing that irks some people is how often someone is supposed to reveal something to another person, but they don’t. All because of how they will take the news. Now, as someone who also avoids conversations until I can’t, this was relatable. Another message I think I should take away from this book is that people don’t care about you, as if you walked through high school constantly worried about how you were perceived. Don’t let it define you. People care way more about how they come across than about others. So be true to yourself.

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

This book follows the life and death of Vivek Oji and how it affects his friends, cousin and parents. Spoilers: This is set in Nigeria, and Vivek is queer person who prefers both masculine and feminine gender roles. He/she unfortunately cannot be their authentic self. I personally didn’t know anything about this book. But I am kind of tired of books where the reveal is that the characters are queer, like it is a plot twist rather than an identity. I want to read more books about the characters’ identities being less the focal point and more about what they’re doing. For some reason, the most thought-provoking part was when the parents learn about Vivek’s death. How they realised they did not know her/him. Then the realisation that their mindset was similar to that of his murderers, and how, with his death, there is no resolution.