The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m
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Maybe Someday - Colleen Hoover

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
Genre: NA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): Sydney is living in an idyllic bubble—she's a dedicated student with a steady job on the side. She lives with her best friend, has a great boyfriend, and the music coming from the balcony opposite hers is fast becoming the soundtrack to her life. But when Sydney finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, the bubble bursts. The mysterious and attractive man behind the music, Ridge, gives Sydney hope that she can move on and they be
gin to write songs together. But moving on is harder than she expects, Sydney can only hope….
Maybe someday…
Colleen Hoover draws you in to this passionate tale of music, love and betrayal…

MY OPINION: **

I could have sworn I had already written and published this review but after double-checking, I apparently have not.

I love Colleen Hoover. I binge read a fair amount of her more popular books and loved most of them but I am sad to say I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and the plot was not my favorite.

Sydney has just broken up with her cheating boyfriend and lost her best friend/roommate in the same night (they cheated together). She is left with nowhere to go and ends up being scooped up by a Hooters waitress to go stay in her flat with the boy across the building whom Sydney loves to secretly spy on while he's playing music.

Ridge is a musician and songwriter who is the lead singer in a band of his own. However, we soon find out he is also deaf, making his musical genius that much more impressive. He has recently been struggling with writing new lyrics and asks Sydney to help him write some lyrics, and thus the story begins.

You think it's going to be a cute romance, given that it's CoHo and we all know she's a genius of her own when it comes to writing romance novels. But no, there's a catch. There's always a catch.

Ridge has a girlfriend of his own and they've been together for 5(?) years or so. His girlfriend, Maggie, is also hard of hearing. They are in love and Ridge promises he will never leave her. His loyalty to her is quite strong. However, his feelings for Sydney start to conflict with his feelings for Maggie, leaving him in quite the predicament. For reasons I will not disclose, he has an undying loyalty for Maggie and swears to everyone that he will never leave her.

I wasn't a big fan of this book because the girlfriend felt so unnecessary. Why am I reading about two characters who we KNOW are going to end up together but one of them is literally cheating the entire time and the other one knows about it? Also, I hated the back and forth mentality of Ridge as he can't seem to decide what he wants. I can't forgive him for his actions because he literally cheats and is aware of it.

I absolutely never condone cheating and even if this book dealt with it in a different way and really tried to paint each character as being equally guilty, I cannot forgive what happened. I was so tempted to drop this book several times but I have made it a self-goal to finish all of CoHo's books and I couldn't leave it at this one, especially since this one is so well-loved by a lot of my reader friends??! I'm honestly not sure why but I guess it was a fluffy cute romance if you just completely disregard the blatant cheating and utter disrespect for Maggie.

I loved Bridgette and Warren, the Hooters waitress and the other roommate. I would love to read a book about those two because they are so opposite but yet so perfect for each other. And there's no cheating!

I actually enjoyed a lot of the cute moments between Sydney and Ridge but I just couldn't forget about poor Maggie. The songwriting together and helping Ridge to "hear" the music and his speaking?? SO cute! But at the same time, he has a GIRLFRIEND.

Overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of this one and hope that future CoHo books I finish won't be as disappointing. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a dramatic romance novel full of conflict and heartbreak.

Main Character: Sydney, Ridge
Sidekick(s): Maggie, Warren, Bridgette, etc
Villain(s): Cheating, misunderstandings, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.

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