The ending I wanted, with a mostly happily ever after/mystery solved vibe, but with a sliver of reality that makes it feel all the more authentic, with promise for a future that is full of just as much adventure/love. Different times and stories and people that McQuiston somehow manages to bring together by the end in a neatly wrapped package that would be cliche/trite in another author’s hands. Finally, there are so many things happening in this story. Honestly, it was all, as I’ve already said, wonderfully swoon-y. And the entire Wes and Isaac back and forth. I don’t think I could have loved Niko and Myla more. Also the other relationships are just as spot on.
And in general Jane and August are just *chef’s kiss* together – their jointly (but differently) prickly outsides hiding their softie (for each other) insides is great. In particular, the first (legit) kissing scene had me like…mouth hanging open and breath speeding up (and that was before it went past kissing). This is another thing that McQuiston did gorgeously in RWARB and does again here. There were a couple of steamy scenes that were like…hot damn. This mystical take on the reality of electrical pulses as love/emotion/connection is super cool. And really, the entire displaced from time and stuck on a train and re-finding memories and sci-fi use of electricity to get Jane back to her own time was so original. More things! The mix of paranormal/supernatural and real life/tangible detective work was so freaking charming. All in all, with the characters and the story and the setting(s) and the vibe (drag queens and diners and subways, oh my!) – it just all felt so quintessentially NYC. Let me just say it again, the found family. That’s about all I’ve got. The enviable part being that, for most of them (other than August, really) they were all happy with the little part of the world they’d created and carved out for themselves – untraditional as it was. It all felt recognizable and a little enviable. They’re weird and special in lots of ways, but they’re also so….genuine. I also love how all the characters are like normal “new adults” with normal jobs and attainable situations and aspirations and, let’s be honest, issues. McQuiston’s writing is the perfect compelling contemporary narrative voice for the characters and the story.
My thoughts on this one are a jumble of a list of all the things that were so wonderful about it. So I ask you, how is it possible that McQuiston has managed to write two perfectly swoon-y, compelling, full-hearted, with the exact right alternate reality/paranormal twist, romances in a row? I do not know. Something about their connection is making Jane remember, and August is realizing she’d do anything to help Jane remember, and find her way home – even if it involves some magic (which she doesn’t believe in), sleuthing (she thought left that life behind), and losing the girl she’s fallen in love with (excuse me, what?! love?!). She’s been displaced in time, from the 1970s, and has been stuck on the Q train ever since. Jane doesn’t just have an old school punk rock vibe, she actually is old school punk rock. Over time, the sparks between Jane and August grow, but something becomes clear. August plans her entire commute around being on Jane’s train. This spectacular, mesmerizing, attractive, there’s-just-something-about-her girl: Jane. And then she meets this girl on the subway. The kinds of friends that can become a family. But when she moves into an apartment with some rather off-the-wall roommates and starts working at a 24-hour pancake diner, she starts to make some unexpected connections. “…you’re movies and destiny and every stupid, impossible thing…”Īugust moves to NYC content to be alone, convinced having no belongings and no people that matter to her will keep her life simple…there’s just less to lose.
0 kommentar(er)
