Sign in with Facebook
Jenna � ❀ �'s Reviews > I Cheerfully Refuse
I Cheerfully Refuse
by
by
You know how some people are such good friends that they do whatever they can to make their besties happy? They might, for example, bring them soup when they're sick or take them out for their birthday. They might call for no reason, just to say hi.
Some might try to play matchmaker, helping their friend find true love.
I'm not that friend. I've never played Cupid, for a friend or anyone else. Nor do I pick up the phone.
I can, however, imagine how the conversation might play out, the day after a blind date.
Really Good Friend (RGF): So how did it go?? I can't wait to hear all about it, I know it must have been fabulous!!!! Now spill!!!! (view spoiler)
Other Person (OP): Um, what do you want to know?
RGF: Everything!!! Did you like them, did you talk for hours, did you have sex???????
OP giggles, biting their thumbnail.
RGF: Oh come on, I can't stand the suspense!!!!! What did you think of Finley?!?!?!
OP: Um, well, they're, um..... nice?
That right there should tell RGF that Cupid's arrow didn't pierce any hearts. Maybe they got along, maybe they didn't. Probably they just waited it out, frequently checking their phones to pass the time.
It wasn't necessarily bad but it could have been better. OP doesn't feel like they wasted their time, because Finley was nice enough.... but there weren't any sparks.
That's how it was with me and this book. It was nice. I don't feel like I wasted my time but I never fell in love with it. Never felt anything more than mild interest, enough to turn the pages, but with frequent phone checking.
As OP might say, it wasn't Finley, it was them. And I say, it wasn't the book, it was me. I just wasn't in the mood for sweetness. From the synopsis, I thought this book would be darker.
It takes a special talent to write about such bleak times and events with a sense of hope and.... niceness.
As with the author's Virgil Wander, the story is more about the characters than the plot. Enger does characters well, fleshing them out and making them interesting. Not enough for me to really feel much for any of them, but again, that might just be me.
Some really shitty, awful things happen and yet the author writes with a sense of wholesomeness. The Road meets Little House on the Prairie.
It's not the first time I've gone on a nice-enough date with a book and I'm sure it won't be my last. If I was a really good friend, I'd know exactly who would love this book and thus whom to pass it on to.
As noted above however, I'm not an RGF.
Some might try to play matchmaker, helping their friend find true love.
I'm not that friend. I've never played Cupid, for a friend or anyone else. Nor do I pick up the phone.
I can, however, imagine how the conversation might play out, the day after a blind date.
Really Good Friend (RGF): So how did it go?? I can't wait to hear all about it, I know it must have been fabulous!!!! Now spill!!!! (view spoiler)
Other Person (OP): Um, what do you want to know?
RGF: Everything!!! Did you like them, did you talk for hours, did you have sex???????
OP giggles, biting their thumbnail.
RGF: Oh come on, I can't stand the suspense!!!!! What did you think of Finley?!?!?!
OP: Um, well, they're, um..... nice?
That right there should tell RGF that Cupid's arrow didn't pierce any hearts. Maybe they got along, maybe they didn't. Probably they just waited it out, frequently checking their phones to pass the time.
It wasn't necessarily bad but it could have been better. OP doesn't feel like they wasted their time, because Finley was nice enough.... but there weren't any sparks.
That's how it was with me and this book. It was nice. I don't feel like I wasted my time but I never fell in love with it. Never felt anything more than mild interest, enough to turn the pages, but with frequent phone checking.
As OP might say, it wasn't Finley, it was them. And I say, it wasn't the book, it was me. I just wasn't in the mood for sweetness. From the synopsis, I thought this book would be darker.
It takes a special talent to write about such bleak times and events with a sense of hope and.... niceness.
As with the author's Virgil Wander, the story is more about the characters than the plot. Enger does characters well, fleshing them out and making them interesting. Not enough for me to really feel much for any of them, but again, that might just be me.
Some really shitty, awful things happen and yet the author writes with a sense of wholesomeness. The Road meets Little House on the Prairie.
It's not the first time I've gone on a nice-enough date with a book and I'm sure it won't be my last. If I was a really good friend, I'd know exactly who would love this book and thus whom to pass it on to.
As noted above however, I'm not an RGF.
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
I Cheerfully Refuse.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
June 6, 2024
–
Started Reading
June 6, 2024
– Shelved
June 10, 2024
–
Finished Reading
June 11, 2024
– Shelved as:
fiction
Comments Showing 1-25 of 25 (25 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Julie
(new)
Jun 09, 2024 11:59AM
Ha! I think I'm going to start using this line. "I cheerfully refuse!" Or, "I cheerfully decline!"
reply
|
flag
Julie wrote: "Ha! I think I'm going to start using this line. "I cheerfully refuse!" Or, "I cheerfully decline!""The older I get, the easier it is to say it, Julie, whether or not it's cheerfully said!
Claudia wrote: "😂😂 great review!"Thanks, Claudia! 😀
I love your review but think I'll skip the book!
I quit after 4 chapters, I was bored. Not a good sign on a date.
There are many reasons why this review made me laugh out loud!!!!! ;) (See what I did there?- ha!)
Lisa (NY) wrote: "I love your review but think I'll skip the book!"Thanks, Lisa!
Diane wrote: "I quit after 4 chapters, I was bored. Not a good sign on a date."Nope, not a good sign at all, Diane. Glad you didn't waste any more of your time on it.
Candi wrote: "There are many reasons why this review made me laugh out loud!!!!! ;) (See what I did there?- ha!)"LOL, Candi!!!!!! 😂
The Road meets Little House on the Prairie??? What I wouldn’t give to have an autographed copy of that! I wish I was thoughtful enough to be a ref and bring soup to someone. I did sign up for meal train once though.
hahaha...love this review!! (oops...too many exclamation points? 😉)on a more serious note, the frequency with which I pick up my phone to scroll is a tip-off that I'm not enjoying the book even if I try to convince myself that I do.
Judith wrote: "The Road meets Little House on the Prairie??? What I wouldn’t give to have an autographed copy of that! I wish I was thoughtful enough to be a ref and bring soup to someone. I did sign up for meal ..."Ha! Probably Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiography would be worth more... though Cormac McCarthy's might go for a pretty penny now too.
I had to Google "meal train".... you're a better friend than me, Judith! 😂
JanB wrote: "hahaha...love this review!! (oops...too many exclamation points? 😉)on a more serious note, the frequency with which I pick up my phone to scroll is a tip-off that I'm not enjoying the book even i..."
It is a good sign for sure, Jan! I think I wanted to like this more than I did so I persevered.
Absolutely love this review Jenna, you could be talking about me! Forgive the exclamation mark 😂
I've read only one book by this author, Peace Like a River, and it did not work for me, but I was assured by my book club and friends here on GRs that I was in the minority!
Agh, I hate that feeling when you want to like a book more than you actually do. But I’m glad you didn’t feel it was time wasted.
Maureen wrote: "Absolutely love this review Jenna, you could be talking about me! Forgive the exclamation mark 😂"LOL, Maureen. We Non-RGFs are allowed to use one exclamation mark. It's just multiple ones that are reserved for the RGFs 😂
Julie wrote: "I've read only one book by this author, Peace Like a River, and it did not work for me, but I was assured by my book club and friends here on GRs that I was in the minority!"Well, I'm often in the minority too, so at least we're in good company!
Barbara K. wrote: "Agh, I hate that feeling when you want to like a book more than you actually do. But I’m glad you didn’t feel it was time wasted."Yes, and we keep reading and reading, waiting for things to spark and click.... to see the magic.... but sometimes it's just not there.
An excellent review, Jenna - shame it was a bit mixed though.
"That's how it was with me and this book. It was nice. I don't feel like I wasted my time but I never fell in love with it"--Thank you for your candid review! I did like Virgil Wander--so I may still give this one a try.
Rowan wrote: "An excellent review, Jenna - shame it was a bit mixed though."Thanks, Rowan!
Kathleen wrote: ""That's how it was with me and this book. It was nice. I don't feel like I wasted my time but I never fell in love with it"--Thank you for your candid review! I did like Virgil Wander--so I may sti..."Thanks, Kathleen! I hope you'll connect with it more than I did, have some sparks fly :)
