PL鈥檚 Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2024

28,537

pages read

books read

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

544

pages

Average book length in 2024

343

pages

Most Shelved

8,108,164

people also shelved

Least Shelved

104

people also shelved

PL鈥檚 average rating for 2024

4.5

Highest Rated on 欧宝娱乐

4.46 average

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

PL鈥檚 first review of the year

it was ok

It鈥檚 a quick and easy read but now that I have read this I don鈥檛 understand the hype. I love vampires as much as anyone but just having a vampire character doesn鈥檛 make a book good. So many moments took me completely out of the narrative and that made me sad.

The premise sounded cute鈥攁 vampire (Frederick) needing a guide to the current century, after being in stasis for 100 years, so he puts an ad out for a roommate (human Cassie). But the story d It鈥檚 a quick and easy read but now that I have read this I don鈥檛 understand the hype. I love vampires as much as anyone but just having a vampire character doesn鈥檛 make a book good. So many moments took me completely out of the narrative and that made me sad.

The premise sounded cute鈥攁 vampire (Frederick) needing a guide to the current century, after being in stasis for 100 years, so he puts an ad out for a roommate (human Cassie). But the story did not live up to that premise for me. Learning about coffee shops and instagram felt uninspired. Literally that and clothes shopping. That鈥檚 pretty much the extent of the lessons.

The writing felt flat, the characters were flat, the plot thin, and far too much telling going on rather than showing. I did not find the instant attraction compelling. He may be handsome, but the getting to know each other was pretty much nonexistent. Frederick has been alive for hundreds of years and met literally hundreds, if not thousands of people, but with literally minimal interactions with Cassie he suddenly thinks she鈥檚 brilliant and talented and oh so special? I kept waiting for the actual chemistry between them to appear.

Vampire lore here felt haphazard, although it was amusing to have Frederick watch episodes of Buffy to compare. The vampires in this book have some magic. It鈥檚 inconsistent between vampires. The wording of vampires 鈥渆ating鈥� their victims kept being used and that phrasing felt awkward and isn鈥檛 really what vampires do in this book. Vampires drink blood. They don鈥檛 eat people.

The big conundrum separating the lovers at the 80% mark was not exciting and was solved in an underwhelming way鈥擳hreatening to expose the vampires on TikTok. All-powerful, centuries-old, vastly wealthy vampires folded at a threat of TikTok and then never even checked to see if the 鈥渆vidence鈥� they wanted suppressed was deleted? So. Many. Plot. Holes.

Speaking of plot holes: supposedly Frederick had been in a coma/stasis for 100 years. So he needed Cassie鈥檚 help to navigate this unfamiliar world. But 100 years ago would have been roughly 1918-1922, depending on when this book is set in modern times. WWI was just over. So electricity existed. Vehicles existed. Paper money. Yes, a lot has changed but not as much as say the difference between 1818 and 2018, for example. Frederick鈥檚 na茂vet茅 felt overdone to me.

More things that frustrated me (and that might very well just be me issues): The book is set in Chicago. That鈥檚 great. I鈥檓 here for Chicago rep!! It鈥檚 a great city. But when writing about Chicago I think it鈥檚 important to get some basic things right. And one really basic thing about Chicago is the public transport system is called the L. Not EL. Not El. It鈥檚 just the L. Single letter. It鈥檚 a fact easily found in Chicago transit websites and even on Wikipedia. It was not a one time typo in the book.

Also: yes, Chicagoans love their sports teams. It is unlikely, however, to see masses of Cubs fans in full game gear on the L at the end of November, after the season is already over.

More Chicago puzzlers: Frederick lives in the city, as does Cassie, and as does her friend Sam. When they go shopping for modern clothes for Frederick, to update him from his fussy three piece suits, they go to a suburb of Chicago to shop鈥擶oodfield Mall. Why? Are there no stores in Chicago itself? In the Loop? The iconic Magnificent Mile? Water Tower Place? Nordstrom鈥檚/bloomingdale鈥檚/macy鈥檚/etc. they鈥檙e all RIGHT THERE. Cassie gets around by public transport. Frederick doesn鈥檛 use public transport on his own nor is there any mention of this guy who just woke up from 100 year sleep DRIVING. So how did they get to Woodfield? How did Frederick meet Cassie there? So many questions. I mean, he didn鈥檛 fly there, even though we learn in this book that some vampires can fly鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 happen to be a magical power Frederick has.

He does have a magical power though. He brings fruit into existence when he鈥檚 nervous. An entire cornucopia of it. Why? I don鈥檛 know鈥擨 didn鈥檛 feel it added to the story?

And then there is Cassie. She is an artist influenced greatly by Rauschenberg, per her own statements. She creates art by combining painted canvases and found items. We are told time and again, by her, that she is not like other girls and is edgier and thus also not like other artists. Yet the art described felt like an uninspired take on art. She paints and then sticks garbage or food wrappers or sea shells on it and it means capitalism sucks. Sigh. It felt like somewhat of a caricature on the idea of the Combines Rauschenberg pioneered.

I was sorry to not be engaged by the characters or story line. The parts I liked best were the notes/diary entries/letters at the start of each chapter. Those were cute and gave us some of Frederick鈥檚 pov, which had potential.

I truly wish I had liked this more. I was so looking forward to this book. I wish there had been more editing done and that the discrepancies/plot holes/inaccuracies were caught earlier. The idea had so much potential. ...more

笔尝鈥橲 2024 BOOKS

Alice and Gabby's Excellent Adventure by Maya Rodale

it was amazing

it was amazing

it was amazing

This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill

it was amazing

Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig

A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey

Second Chances in New Port Stephen by T.J. Alexander

it was amazing

The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn

The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin

it was amazing

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

Dear Cisgender People by Kenny Ethan Jones

it was amazing

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

it was amazing

You're the Problem, It's You by Emma R. Alban

Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

it was amazing

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry

PL鈥檚 last review of the year

it was amazing

This was a brilliant book. A reimagining of Huckleberry Finn from Jim鈥檚 point of view.
I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it. There are passages of song and also the deft way the story delineates between how slaves talk amongst themselves and how they talk to non-slaves that really came through with the audio.

Such a thoughtful and thought provoking book. It makes me want to go back and read Huckleberry Finn again, with this versio ...more

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