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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The Do-Over - Lynn Painter

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
Genre: YA Magical Realism

Blurb (on back of book): In this riotous young adult romp for fans of Recommended for You and A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, a teen girl has the worst Valentine’s Day ever—only to relive it over and over again.
After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.
Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.
How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?


MY OPINION: ****

Shorter review but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wouldn't say it was better than Better Than the Movies but I wasn't the most avid stan of that one like everyone else was. Thus, I wasn't really disappointed in this one since I wasn't expecting a lot from it. 

I'm not a big fan of the Groundhog-day trope where the main character relives the same day over and over. However, this one was done fairly nicely and while it was getting redundant after a while, I still managed to keep reading without getting overly bored. I liked how Painter tried to vary each day and highlight the differences so that we weren't literally reading nothing. 

Nick was far better than Wes from BTTM, so that was a plus. I really loved Nick and I liked how Painter gave him a whole backstory so that he wasn't just some Greek-god, basic dude. I didn't think he was the most lovable love interest I've ever read about but he was definitely not bad. 

Emilie was kind of annoying but I think we got to watch her grow in an exceptional way. Clearly, she had lots of issues that her Groundhog day needed her to work on, and I enjoyed watching her develop as a character. While she definitely wasn't my favorite, just like Liz from BTTM, it was still nice to see the character progression.

Anyways, I have a TON of work to do so I'm going to cut this review off early. This is definitely the most YA of YA novels and yeah, it can get a little cringe at times, but overall, I'd definitely recommend for a cute, fast, fluffy novel.

Main Character: Emilie
Sidekick(s): Nick, etc
Villain(s): Groundhog day, etc
Magical Realism Elements: This was mostly realistic aside from the Groundhog day thing.

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