Review

This is more like thought dump and less like a review, but who cares, right? My blog, my rules.

1. Famous Five Nostalgia

It was like famous five but with adults instead of kids and two instead of five and hiking etc instead of kid adventures.

2. Kinda Cathartic

The food, the preparation etc was quite cathartic especially in the depressing mood I was in when I read the book.

3. Adam Levine Connection

At one point, Julie describes Dustin’s smile with crinkles around his eyes and how fit he was, and for some reason I saw Adam Levine singing

'Cause girls like you run 'round with guys like me

I watch that video every couple of days, could be one of the reason of that particular imagary.

4. Relatability Factor

The amount of time and energy and worries Julie puts in for her blog was so relatable. Breaking even on the expense from ad money etc. #relatableAF

The work shit she suffers through at the hands of an obnoxious coworker who thrives on wasting her own time and dumping her work on Julie was the most relatable part. I can’t stress on that enough. It happens with me, all the time, no matter how hard I try to be more assertive.

The unrelatable part was that, at the end things were resolved.. because it is fiction. Doesn’t happen that way in real life.

Truth is, if I were to write just about the shit that happened in 2025 alone, it will be an epic. But I don’t want to write it because I’m afraid it will find its way to me even if I publish under a pen name. Currently, I’m channelling my frustration into writing a new series under a new pen name. Once I’m out of ideas fictional stories, I will write about my own shitty work life. The odds of that happening (running out of ideas for fictional stories) are less than none because I come up with at least three new ideas every day.

That been said, I have a detailed account of shitty things happening at work, and will be an easier project to finish. So, never say never, I guess?

5. Roomate Luck

Liked the Fern character. Julie was lucky to have such a good and supportive  roommate. Again, doesn’t happen in real life. Recently my tenant had a scarring experience (yes, that means my own other-tenant. The other girl turned out to be a smoking, cursing, addict kinda person) who thrived on drama and bullying others. That’s the story for some other time. Or not. Who knows? 

Some Highlights and Notes

• 5%
  Sameness
  Shabana Mukhtar: like the word. Reminds me of “you’ve lost your muchness”.
• 7%
  That blog was supposed to be my ticket out of here. But the twenty bucks I make each month barely pays the cost to maintain the site.
  Shabana Mukhtar: #relatable
• 9%
  I think she’d allowed herself a total of two tears,
  Shabana Mukhtar: Funny. This book is funny and so easy to read, like a flow.
• 10%
  I’d heard of people making a living off of blogging, and I really thought my idea was sound.
  Shabana Mukhtar: As did I, my friend. And I did make money until I reprioritized things in life.
• 15%
  This office would be a lot more bearable if it had cubicles. Then I wouldn’t have to look at her scowl all day long.
  Shabana Mukhtar: Her long rant about coworker is so relatable. Painfully so.
• 20%
  “Maybe in a few months they’ll stop hurting.”
  Shabana Mukhtar: We all live under that illusion, don’t we?
• 24%
  “I really need you to be a team player right now.”
  Shabana Mukhtar: So all bosses have the exact same vocabulary?
• 25%
  instead of seeking revenge, I have something better to look forward to.
  Shabana Mukhtar: That’s the spirit. I’m motivated by the same spirit these days and churning out stories after stories.
• 26%
  I guess it’s okay for her to grill me about my love life, but when it comes to hers, it’s off-limits.
  Shabana Mukhtar: Good line, somehow find it funny.
• 35%
  So far, she’s averaging almost two hours of wasted time.
  Shabana Mukhtar: Haha
• 37%
  F**k it.
  Shabana Mukhtar: Yikes. Swear word. It was so clean until now.
• 41%
  I’ve never been much of a hand holder, but with him, it’s different. I can’t quite explain it. It’s like we’re communicating with each other without having to say anything. Our hands are doing the talking for us. My hand is saying, “I’m really into you and I’d like to see where this relationship goes.” His is saying, “Let’s make out.”
  Shabana Mukhtar: I find it funny even if it’s supposed to be hot.
• 48%
  light-blue dress slim-fitting dress shirt,
  Shabana Mukhtar
• 50%
  There’s money in there now, and I must protect it.
  Shabana Mukhtar: Is she going to lose that money?
• 57%
  I was hired to do a job—my job—not someone else’s.
  Shabana Mukhtar: I wish I could say that to my managers.
• 76%
  What’s the point in speaking? He’s not going to listen to what I have to say anyway.
  Shabana Mukhtar: Yep, sis, you know your boss.
• 86%
  My feelings won’t be hurt.
  Shabana Mukhtar: I wish I could say the same when I was getting feedback: personal or professional.

Final Thoughts

Anywho, liked the story. It had a shorter arc, not too many conflicts. This was another unplanned December 2025 read. I have four planned books to finish now, and I have a strong feeling I would have to park aside at least two of them.

---