the signalman

♥ this short story was highly enjoyable. I suppose it couldn't be longer, so the plot ends up being quite predictable. I listened to it in audio format, and it was at times quite a haunting experience: the train and rain sounds, the eery music, the careful narration. It was the best Dickens I have read, and I came to find out that it was written many years after the Christmas Carol - from which I enjoy the plot, but find the writing could be more succint. 4/5

apartamento em crise

♡ I didn't expect the utter shit that this was. I had never read a romcom in my native language, and I understand know that it hits different than when I do it in english. there is a distance to the cringe that I simply wasn't afforded here. It was an attempt to pull a Emily Henry/Casey McQuiston in portuguese that fell extremely flat. the writing was awful: sometimes overly simple, sometimes trying to hard to sound poetic that it was out of the place. the main character was insufferable, a pick-me boy that was rude to every of his friends and that, for some reason, every boy was in love with. his friends who actually seemed interesting (especially andre) had 0 development. we were often told instead of shown that tiago was struggling with adapting to the new city and his degree, the problems with his parents (caricatures of a tiger parent) and the issues with his roommates (I guess they were messy?). the characters were not given room to breathe: instead of feeling like they existed in their story, they seemed only to exist inside that apartment. I didn't feel like we would catch glimpses of their daily life - they didn't seem to have any. moreover, the pretending-to-kiss-you-for-money plot was horrible and cringy; so were the smut scenes. I could have forgiven some of these issues if I felt like it had a good message. It didn't. I didn't learn anything new about the world or myself; didn't feel comforted or challanged in any way like literature is supposed to make you feel. a honestly good premise that ended up in nothingness. 1/5

game changer

♥ I thought I would dislike this book more than I did. Up to 60%, it was all smut and no plot, with a quick-developing love story that didnt' feel realistic and middle school level writing. After the conflict was introduced, I started actually enjoying it: the loneliness of being queer, the struggles of coming out, and the fear of what change it might bring to your life, is no stranger to me; neither is the sinking feeling of seeing your friends move on in their careers while you struggle to find something for yourself.These real problems added a depth to the characters that I was not expecting and that I didn't really get from the only one episode of the tv series. the resolution might have been slightly irrealistic, but I am tired of doomed gay books. let us be happy. 4/5

a streetcar named desire

♥ I can see why this book is such a classic. The discussions on reality vs illusion, class differences, lust, abuse and mental health are all extremely pertinent and interesting. Williams had a special sensibility for women's feelings. However, I am afraid I am simply not a big fan of stories that include - in fear of simplifying it too much - toxic relationships, (hetero)sexuality and messy characters. I don't think I have had these experiences in my personal life, so it is a bit complicated for me to relate to the characters. I enjoyed the audiobook, even though the r*** scene was extremely uncomfortable, it was well done; the actors were great and the sound effects added to the whole experience. 3/5