en-US Sun, 16 Mar 2025 16:58:58 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7351310495 Sun, 16 Mar 2025 16:58:58 -0700 /review/show/7351310495 Rossi gave 3 stars to Box Office Poison: Hollywood's Story in a Century of Flops (Hardcover) by Tim Robey
I’ve been waiting for a book of this kind to come along after the calamity of Cats (2019), so hallelujah for its arrival!

And whilst, I enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of this and found it fairly entertaining, it’s been about a week since I finished, and honestly I can’t really remember a thing about it?

I had issue with the structure and wish that the author had led each new film chapter with some form of plot synopsis as to what each film was actually about. Some films (especially in the earlier chapters) seemed to either never speak of the plot or was mentioned in very scant detail. This then made it really hard for me to gage a sense of what the film was actually trying to discuss amidst the behind-the-scenes dramas.

This felt like a great starting base covering the major flops, but I finished a little dissatisfied. ]]> Review6937938884 Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:25:15 -0800 /review/show/6937938884 Rossi gave 5 stars to What I Ate in One Year (And Related Thoughts) by Stanley Tucci
Stanley eats a lot, and suggests his wife visits sex clubs when she says that she is away at ‘work meetings�.

Loved it.

(And if you don’t want to hear about how much pasta Stanley eats in one year, then give this a miss. But trust me, you want to know.) ]]> UserFollowing319248443 Mon, 13 Jan 2025 16:49:16 -0800 /user/show/38722585-sarah-hawkinson Rossi is now following Sarah Hawkinson ]]> Review7062158059 Sun, 05 Jan 2025 11:31:50 -0800 /review/show/7062158059 Rossi gave 3 stars to The Last House on Needless Street (Hardcover) by Catriona Ward
You’ve seen it all before. The author even makes a point of saying this in the ‘Acknowledgements�.

And whilst I appreciate the subject matter is treated slightly differently, this type of ‘twist� is so overdone at this point I couldn’t help but be disappointed (or maybe I’ve just read/watched too much!)

That being said, I did really enjoy Catriona’s writing style and I found her writing addictive and pacey. Shame that the story fell flat in the end. ]]> UserChallenge59569502 Sat, 04 Jan 2025 03:48:05 -0800 /user/show/109570303-rossi Create your own 2025 Reading Challenge » ]]> Review7028095577 Sat, 30 Nov 2024 14:55:51 -0800 /review/show/7028095577 Rossi gave 4 stars to Conclave (Paperback) by Robert Harris
I devoured this in a couple of sittings - not my usual cup-of-tea, but I absolutely gulped this down.

I was expecting more of a ‘thriller� which this isn’t really - more a religious drama. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the world and its characters.

The ending was a little wtf, as if the someone had told the author to add an extra few pages for a ‘you’ll never guess the endingâ€� marketing hook to slap on the cover. Wasn’t a massive fan of that, but otherwise a solid, entertaining read. ]]> PollVote79532437 Tue, 26 Nov 2024 06:25:01 -0800 /poll/show_vote/79532437 Rossi voted for The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir as Readers' Favorite Memoir in the 2024 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards. ]]> Review6877472885 Tue, 19 Nov 2024 06:21:37 -0800 /review/show/6877472885 Rossi gave 1 star to Wicked. Son of a Witch (The Wicked Years, #1-2) by Gregory Maguire
*REVIEW OF WICKED*

After having seen the musical adaptation about a million times, I thought it high-time I visited the original text in advance of the movie coming out. I’m shocked that I hadn’t already read it�

Well my intuition was correct in steering clear of this book for so long, because what on earth was this mess?!

Painfully dull, horribly sexist, and an absolute slog to get through, you can see why the musical only took loose inspiration from this. I wasn’t able to connect with anything - the characters, the setting, the story, the dialogue. Absolutely nothing.

I bought the double-feature edition (featuring the sequel, Son of a Witch) but it’s fair to say I don’t think I’ll be reading that any time soon. ]]> Review6937940285 Wed, 23 Oct 2024 10:09:35 -0700 /review/show/6937940285 Rossi gave 3 stars to I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You (Hardcover) by Miranda Hart
I mistakenly picked this up expecting it be the second-part of Miranda’s memoirs and buckled up for a laugh riot.

In a way, it is this, but I would say this is more a self-reflection/self-help ‘memoir� where Miranda explores various ‘treasures� upon reflection of her ME/Lyme Disease diagnosis.

This isn’t my usual cup-of-tea, but I did find some sections very profound and thought-provoking. A tad repetitive at times, and a little too heavy-handed on the ‘Live, Laugh, Love� vibes, but it’s hard to be so negative when this is sure to bring joy to a lot of readers. ]]>