Super cute, with the best analogy about life in the form of matches. IYKYK
An entertaining, easy read...but very reminiscent of a lot of o3 - 3.5 Stars
Super cute, with the best analogy about life in the form of matches. IYKYK
An entertaining, easy read...but very reminiscent of a lot of other books in this genre. A good time, but nothing life-changing or anything. Which is perfectly fine. I liked it and will read from this author again....more
I really enjoyed this. Whether it's because it was that good or because I'm just a sucker for this kind of trope and very into Romantasy agai4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this. Whether it's because it was that good or because I'm just a sucker for this kind of trope and very into Romantasy again right now is anyone's guess.
Some things weren't as fleshed out as they could have been...The relationship in general. But they had great chemistry and that's always a win for me. I also thought the ending was lackluster. And I actually didn't care for...how things turned out?
But I really enjoyed this overall. The pacing was great. I was entertained for sure....more
This was my second Jojo Moyes books, and much like my first read by her, I really enjoyed her writing. She is very talented and writes3.5 - 3.75 Stars
This was my second Jojo Moyes books, and much like my first read by her, I really enjoyed her writing. She is very talented and writes great characters. The pages fly. But again, like the other book I’ve read by her (and rated similarly) this just didn’t hit enough to be a true 4/5 star.
I still really enjoyed it though.
I loved Bill, Gene, and Jensen. And the play scene was specifically memorable. I also liked Celie’s character arc. I think I wanted more from Lila’s. Not that her’s wasn’t decent. Something just felt missing for me.
Favorite quote: “Because it’s only hurt people who hurt people.”...more
I really enjoy this author’s writing. This is my third read from her and they have all been solid 4+ stars so far. She writes very nuanc4 - 4.25 Stars
I really enjoy this author’s writing. This is my third read from her and they have all been solid 4+ stars so far. She writes very nuanced, layered familial dynamics against great settings. And that was true here as well.
I loved the town of Potsdam and the community of characters. I also really liked the way that the story unfolded. I don’t care for books that start in the present and flashback to the past, forcing you to make your way back to the present the entire way. But this bounced back and forth at a good clip so the reader never felt stuck in either timeline.
I loved Kyle and Casey’s relationship. Wyatt was such a great character. And the kids were all great too. Solid read all around. Some grief trigger warnings though for those who might be sensitive to that at the time of reading....more
This was a little messy and VERY predictable…but I don’t even care. I’m in a 2010ish-esque romantasy phase like non other and I seem to 3.75 - 4 Stars
This was a little messy and VERY predictable…but I don’t even care. I’m in a 2010ish-esque romantasy phase like non other and I seem to be having fun with them ALL lately.
The world - while admittedly a little messy - was decent. And I am always a sucker for magic. I still don’t know why Rune never seemed to get any better at it, etc. But whatever. I loved her and Gideon. Could have had a little stronger relationship building throughout the two books…but they had great chemistry. And when that hits in a book for me, it’s everything. ...more
I love train wreck characters, so this book’s blurb was like a siren’s song when I saw it as a December Book of the Month offering. I also wa4.5 Stars
I love train wreck characters, so this book’s blurb was like a siren’s song when I saw it as a December Book of the Month offering. I also was very interested in reading the POV of someone a year into their sobriety journey.
I felt a kinship with Emma and enjoyed reading about her experiences with her parents and the general effects of enmeshing yourself with another person. What that can look like and how it can affect your identity, especially as an adolescent. I also LOVED Ben.
I have a few very minor quibbles (thus the less than 5-star) but I really enjoyed this. I just love stories about childhood and family trauma, drama, and any and all the accompanying -amas....more
I like it well enough. It leaned a little more YA than I prefer and the world and character-building wasn’t the strongest. The clarity and r3ish Stars
I like it well enough. It leaned a little more YA than I prefer and the world and character-building wasn’t the strongest. The clarity and robustness of the magic system was also a little weak. But it was fine for what it was. I felt no urgency to finish this. In fact, it sat dormant on my nightstand for a week or so when I two-thirds inn, which says a lot.
I may or may not continue with the series. We shall see.
***Future Val: I am continuing with the series. Just have to wait for my next BOTM box....more
I loved last year's The Last Love Note by this author and was excited to pick this up when I saw it as one of my Book of the Month offerings. L3 Stars
I loved last year's The Last Love Note by this author and was excited to pick this up when I saw it as one of my Book of the Month offerings. Like that one, this one also involved a deceased spouse.
This one tried to tackle a lot of other topics as well. And while I appreciated the effort at the nuanced approach it seems the author was going for...it felt poorly executed in my opinion. Most of the "secrets" and and answers that were finally revealed in the end didn't seem worth the build-up. And again, I appreciated the topics and the efforts at nuance...but the ending payoff didn't fulfill the promise of the building tension.
That said, please remember that three stars means that I DID like it. In fact, I read it in one sitting and was very engaged by the story. I just didn't love it, that's all. I can totally see this hitting for other people. And I do seem to be a bit of an outlier based on some of the other earlier reviews that I've glanced at.
I will definitely read the author's next book....more
This is my second Laura Dave book and I just love the way she writes. Her prose, her pacing, and the painfully bittersweet tone of the two bo4.5 Stars
This is my second Laura Dave book and I just love the way she writes. Her prose, her pacing, and the painfully bittersweet tone of the two books I've read by her so far...chef's kiss.
I read this in one sitting as I couldn't put it down. And not because it was fast-paced or fraught with activity...quite the opposite. It was very slow moving. In fact, I figured out the most of the hidden secrets before the end, but I didn't even care. Dave's writing just lands for me. The way her characters experience and come to grips with relationships, grief, and the human condition in general.
"'Will my being gone knock it out of him?' She shrugs. 'The parts I don't recognize.'
I nod. That's what we are often fighting against, isn't it? The parts in someone we don't recognize. The parts we are trying to reconcile."
I have not been into YA the last few years. In fact, if you've read any of my yearly updates from last year and this 3.5 Stars
Talk about a surprise...
I have not been into YA the last few years. In fact, if you've read any of my yearly updates from last year and this year (ongoing), you will know that I've been on a drawn-out quest to get my physical tbr down. Much of which has ultimately involved un-hauling quite a bit of unread YA fantasy series. It just doesn't spark my interest like it used to.
That said, when picking my Book of the Month selection last month, nothing really looked all that appealing...but I really wanted some of the add-ons, so I said screw it and picked this book in order to get my box.
And before you say this isn't technically YA, I'm aware of that. But it is definitely YA-ish in a lot of ways. And given what I said above about not really caring for YA fantasy anymore, no one is more surprised than me at how much I actually ended up enjoying this.
Was it a bit of an amalgamation rip-off of some epic fantasy series? Yes. Did the drinking of "Shade" remind me of the metals of Mistborn? Absolutely. Did the world and guilds setup remind me of so many other series? 100%
But what can you do. Not every book can reinvent the wheel.
The characters were flat and the world-building wasn't all that great. But I enjoyed Ransom and Seraphine's chemistry. And I just had fun. I'll probably read book two when it comes out. ...more
Likes: The overall tone of the story. It had that haunting quality that I love and it kept the ex3 Stars
I thought this was good, but I didn't love it.
Likes: The overall tone of the story. It had that haunting quality that I love and it kept the expectation pedal down on the impending answers to come. I also loved the time period and the setting.
Mehs: The writing was a little more all over the place than I prefer...A lot of filler and pages/descriptions that did nothing to move a scene, character, or the story itself forward. There were also POVs seemingly out of the blue that felt unnecessary. And I felt connected to exactly zero of them.
And don't even get me started on Jacob. His whole character and arc felt gratuitous. What he brought to the ending could have been accomplished in a much more realistic, nuanced way through another character or method that didn't feel so out of place.
Dislikes: The ending. So many loose ends. I love a good open ending, but this left me unsatisfied all around. So much could have been done with it. So much detail and pages of character arcs and efforts that went exactly nowhere.
Oh well, as I said. I think I'm an outlier on this one....more
Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️
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