Kristie
The universe conspired against me reading this book (the first one I ordered got lost in the mail), none of my libraries own it. I should have listened, as this was not for me.
I went in prepared to be horrified and ended up....bored? It took me a week to get though all 127pgs. What was killing me was the lack of detail- what state is the world in that a show like this could actually get made (in which “they” have permission to really kill contestants)? Who are they to have so much control? Why is no one speaking up? What the hell is going on here?
Instead, the book is quite philosophical. And we only really meet two characters, which makes it difficult for the reader to sympathize with everyone going through this. Most characters are defined by their prisoner number, and maybe one small detail (i.e. he used to teach). There are constant comparisons to the concentration camps of the second World War and I guess the reader is just supposed to be so knowledgeable of that no other descriptions are needed?
I have to admit, I only hung in there to see how she was going to end it. That ended up being my favorite part.
Disappointing. I think the author could have gotten her grand ideas across in a different setting with a different situation.
Had to read this one for book club or I would have DNF'd it right away. I kept holding out hope that it might redeem itself, and it did not. I should note that I never pick up the 9th book in a series and just start reading, but I needed a Valentines Day themed book so I took a chance.
If I could ignore the loose writing, the dumb character names (literally Dolly Jolly), and the quirk of the main character (accidentally blurting out the wrong word when she is stressed out), I cannot ignore gems like this:
“Dolly was a big woman. Somehow it was surprising to see how feminine her decorating taste was.”
Carl is very concerned with people's appearances. Lee's employees are the “hairnet ladies”. Glad to see they are valued. I mean, how hard would it be to at least describe them as chocolatiers?
On top of a very easy to solve mystery we have way too many family characters, and townies. None of whom have anything to do with anything. They are like clutter in an already sloppy story.
Also, a side note, it bothered me how poorly written the relationship between Lee and Joe was. Perhaps they are more lovey-dovey in the first 8 books? Here were two people who barely seemed to stand each other,and who spent the entire book keeping secrets from each other.
In a way, I'm glad. It's sometimes so much more fun to talk about a book you disliked in book club.
Listen. Smarter people than me have written really excellent, high-brow reviews of this. I'm not even going to try. TMIW is showing up on a lot of recommended horror lists and I just want to get my feelings down in this review while they are fresh. I went into this cold, knowing nothing, and I think it might be a little dangerous to do that with this title.
This book is filled with hate. Real, horrifying hate. The words come at the reader like razor-sharp knives. The fascists of England hate, the characters seem to hate themselves and each other, and the house, Albion, hates, hates, hates.
Even though the words were not aimed at me directly I winced with the hit of all of them.
That said, I really respected TMIW. It's unlike anything I have ever read before, and I was very, very interested. There are some chilling moments that I will probably never shake from my brain and the parts with Albion are literally terrifying. I listened to this on audio and the narrator had me curled into a fetal position listening to certain parts. And I am not someone who is easy to scare. I think it's because Rumfitt explores something I'm comfortable with but shows us what it looks like when twisted through hateful eyes. In short, I'm scared that real people think like this. I'm aware that it's true, I just never had to “live” in it.
Does it belong on horror lists? Maybe. I think that may be a disservice. I happen to be a big fan of literary horror, but it may have a hard time finding the right readers. It's very much literary horror, and it is way too understated to say it is a “haunted house” story. There are many layers here.
Okay, I'm pretty sure this page turner just yanked me out of my reading slump. Reviewers have called it silly, but I was totally onboard and could not read fast enough. I really cared about Penny and I was dying to find out what was really happening.
This was the perfect winter read for me, in my chair with a hot cup of coffee, a blanket on my legs, a cat on my lap. The pacing was incredible.
I'm sure this is a case of it's me, not the book as many, many readers love this series. Or, it could be like the Death on Tap series (which I LOVE) but I didn't love it until it really got going in the second book and has just gotten better and better and better.
That said, I didn't dislike this, I just was so blah about it I kept putting it down to read other things.
In the end I just sat down and finished it, and I was glad I did. I do plan to revisit the series at some point, I just have so many others to try as well.
More like 3 and 1/2 stars.
Favorite bit: “I pictured those signs in factories: no accidents in X number of days. We could get one. NO BOOKSHOP BREAK-INS: 0 DAYS. NO WITNESSING OF MURDERS: 1 day.”
What I LOVED: the setting, the bookshop, Agatha, the gondolas, the idea of the family dynamic.
Honestly, I would read another book in this series. The things that annoyed me about this one might iron themselves out as the writer grows as a storyteller. I think a strong editor would have made a world of difference here. We have some very choppy, fragmented writing. The first paragraph on pg 71 is a perfect example. Ellie is also a problem. At 33 she seems to have no sense of personhood. She defers to her sister constantly, she's going into the family business (which is fine) with zero ideas of how to make the shop her own as anything except a hideaway, and she's like the shell of a person. That said, Meg and Rosie are also missing personalities and unique qualities. Mrs. Ridge is better formed.
Also, there are a TON of characters. I'm so glad I didn't attempt this in audio format. There are a lot of people to meet and to keep straight. This is neither a complaint or a compliment, just an observation. There is also a highly annoying celebrity book influencer in town. It's very clear which real life “influencer” the author is indicating (if you are unsure, the clue on pg 227 is a nod to someone's behavior when she was pulled over for drunk driving).
That said, I'd return to this series.
I have read every book in this series and some of them are fantastic and some of them are “meh”. This one falls someone in between. We meet Antsy, who runs away from home (at the age of 7). I'll try to stay spoiler-free. The story tries to cover a lot of ground in a few short pages and the end result is the reader is left unsatisfied on pretty much all accounts. Are we about to deep-dive into parental gaslighting (as the trigger warning in the front of the book suggests), are we taking on the topic of what it means to lose time, are we talking about colonizing empires and their effect on native lands-even when they are just there to shop (or study, a la Star Trek)?????
We get a sort-of cameo from two regulars in the series and a set up ending to the book that assures us that Antsy will probably return in the Wayward Children world eventually (a safe bet, as most characters return).
I'm always glad to return to this series, but I really prefer ones that are set at the school instead of these side stories.
I've been on the hunt to find more books like Legends and Lattes and this was recommended by BookRiot. This is more of a cozy mystery with fantasy elements, but I really enjoyed how light-hearted it was. The pacing was also really perfect.
Zoe (a couple hundred year old alchemist) has decided to settle down in a “haunted house” near Portland. While unpacking she finds a gargoyle has hitched a ride with her stuff and he needs help. On day two, her contractor is found dead on her front porch. Now there are two mysteries to solve.
This really had its super charming moments and I enjoyed the ride. Have already ordered the 2nd book in the series.
I loved this. Go in cold, if you can. The less you know about the story, the more shocking it will be when it reveals itself to you!!!
Mackenzie is dealing with some heavy stuff: she lost her grandmother and her sister in a short period and she's trying to find her place in the world. Now this: she's having some pretty horrific dreams and, somehow, she's bringing stuff out of the dreams with her when she wakes up!!!
It's time for Mackenzie to go home. The juxtaposition of Mackenzie's family (full of strong females, tight-knit, very supportive) with this big bad (that I shall not mention) that tortures her in her dreams is amazing.
I loved every minute of this story and the ending is perfect. The pacing on this novel is perfect, the characters are very well developed and some of the scenes are never going to leave me. It was darn near perfect. I can't believe it is a debut.
Phoebe Walsh is obsessed with serial killers and she's (mostly) convinced the guy who lives next door to her father's house is one. She and her estranged brother are working together to get their deceased father's house in good enough shape to sell. Phoebe is facing a lot bad memories from her childhood, finishing her dissertation, and avoiding the guy next door. None of these things are going well.
I really enjoyed this. It made me laugh out loud several times, the plot moved along at a good clip and I really, truly loved how Thompson laid out the relationship with Phoebe and Sam.
What I want to read in a novel like this is growth, growth, growth and Phoebe does grow in this story. Not a spoiler, but Phoebe has relationship issues with EVERYONE, not just hotties next door. Parts of this story were messy and charming and realistic. Relationships can be repaired. It just takes work. What a nice message.
I don't know how I missed this one when I was a kid, but I did. I'm actually glad I did. This was.....not his best work. I actually enjoyed the story behind why he wrote this book more than I did the “stories” the kids tell. Some of them are just really out there in a cringy way.
I thought I might check out the Netflix series, and I wanted to read the book first.
I know Adams is a big favorite of a lot of booktubers who cover cozies, so I went into this with pretty high expectations and almost DNF'd about 30% in.
The bad: I'm immune to “southern charm” and all of the characters are just walking stereotypes who do exactly what you expect.
Grown women still dealing with mean girl issues.
Ella Mae is really immature.
It's pretty damned sexist toward men.
The good: There is a scene in which all of the LaFaye women go out to dinner and all of their personalities are highlighted and it felt like something special was coming.
I think the device of cooking feelings into pie is pretty great, even though I've run into it in other books.
The reason behind the murders is real (I couldn't believe it and looked it up). There Adams did her research. I spent a good bit researching that and learning some stuff. I'm trying to stay spoiler-free here.
The final quarter of the book kind of exposed where I hope the series is going: more Practical Magic and less boring. Set up books can be like that, and then hit their stride in the second one. I'm hoping that's the case here. I'd be open to reading the 2nd one in the series, or a different series from Adams.
First book of the year! And it was damned near perfect.
The best way to describe this is as Night Circus's younger, gritter sister. I highly recommend going in cold. I knew almost nothing when I started it and the description on the back doesn't really prepare you for what is about to happen.
Everything takes place over one night, Saturnalia, in Philly in the not-tot-distant future where the world have been ravaged by climate change. This is a beautiful mix of the ancient and the modern. Rituals and old gods meets capitalism. It really helped that I have been to the places the action takes place in. Laurel Hill Cemetery, whoot whoot!
Expect: tarot cards, sacrifices, costumes, grand parties, alchemy, secret societies and a whole bunch of robes.
That said, it was nearly perfect. I had an issue with the fact that Nina spent so much time in the Saturn Club but seems to know so little about magic. And the ending was going to fizz out no matter what -the tension was TOO high, the sun was going down and I think any ending would have been a let down. Nina stays true to her character the entire book, though, and I greatly appreciated that.
The world has heated up so much that rich are creating floating cities and settlements as far north as they can. We have 3 POVs here: Rose, a sex worker doing a stint at a northern camp in exchange for something she desperately needs, Grant, a teacher from Boston trying to escape his past, and White Alice, a collective of research assistants running a camp even further north.
I LOVED this. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I loved Rose and White Alice and would have stayed with them another 500 pages. This is not my first cli-fy or eco-horror novel, but Camp Zero is one hell of a ride. LOVED this.
This has been on my TBR for a long time. I just want to start by saying I don't read classics while looking through a modern lens but this is a case of expecting one thing and getting something completely different.
What I expected: In between the Great Wars, four women rent a castle by the sea in Italy and spend a month discovering truths about themselves.
What I actually got: Bored out of my mind and a plot that goes no where until the men show up.
If a reader is looking to experience life in an Italian castle, forget it. All of the action takes place in a garden and about 4 rooms. This could have been set anywhere. Also the staff are thieves because no one gave them a menu to prepare so they source the items themselves (locally) and spent a small fortune. Thieves!
For a hot second I thought it was going to get interesting with some magical realism. Lottie develops the ability to “see into” other characters and Lady Caroline has some super power in which her beauty stuns people into not noticing she is an asshole. But no, that didn't go anywhere.
I should have put the book down when they decided to invite the husbands. Yes, the WHOLE reason they left England to come to Italy was to get away from their husbands. They are there, what? a week and they are writing to them.
Sigh.
This was obviously not for me.
I ended up enjoying the hell out of this, despite the absolute need for willing suspension of disbelief that a government agency would recruit an 18-year-old (and teach her to make meth so she would be able to recognize the process) without a parent being informed. Honestly, I could have done without the meth storyline entirely.
What I LOVED was the interaction between community members, Auntie and the holidays and pow wows. I found learning about the culture so powerful- maybe that is why the plot with the meth seems so trivial in comparison.
Boulley's voice is incredible.
Again, just want to state for the record that I HATE that Reece Witherspoon has slapped her book club sticker on the cover. I almost didn't read it just because of that.
This was rather exciting-for the most part. We have shipwrecks, a mutiny, shark attacks, bear attacks, exciting fights and escapes. It would be hard to be bored with the first half of this novel. And then, after a major character dies, Arthur's voice suddenly goes away and it becomes more of a nature diary listing (mostly) bird life. I found this section to be quite a chore and then the action picked back up when they reached the island.
I love this line from the introduction (written by Jeffrey Meyers), “His Narrative starts as a juvenile adventure and ends as a horror story.” That's pretty spot on.
The abrupt ending must be why no one has made a Pym movie.
This one is going on my special shelf where I home [b:Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century 38212124 Nomadland Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century Jessica Bruder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601494098l/38212124.SY75.jpg 55079091] and [b:Possum Living: How to Live Well without a Job and With (Almost) No Money 40611195 Possum Living How to Live Well without a Job and With (Almost) No Money Novella Carpenter https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530555352l/40611195.SY75.jpg 63082791]. I loved all of these...essays? reports? about three families in America finding their own way to get it done. I have a new personal hero in Olivia Hubert. I'm putting this down, knowing I will return to it in the future, but this time I am struck by the idea (and I'm guilty of misinterpreting this too) simple living is NOT simple. It's easy to turn on a tap to get water, eat dinner out of a paper wrapper, and wipe up a spill with a paper towel. This authentic, simple living requires a great deal of hard work. I appreciate the families that shared their stories here, and Sundeen for pulling it all together.
This is a case of not getting what you expected.
I read the prologue and was charmed! It seemed a fairy tale-ish story about sisters (one who behaves, the other who doesn't) and a warning about a monster in a tunnel. Was this going to be a tale about whip-smart women facing down evil and coming out on top?
No, not at all.
There is so much violence in this book, and not much bothers me (I read a ton of horror), but this was so violent, including the first big act that sets off the chain that makes up this tale. Forget likeable, every one in this story is just in survivor mode: surviving poverty, surviving violent relationships, surviving an oppressive existence that is juxtaposed against an island paradise setting filled with privileged tourists.
Sadly, I couldn't really see who any of the characters were because their personalities and dreams are eclipsed by what happens to them. I found Wilma to be the most interesting character. Where was she finding the strength to carry on?
This is not an easy read. There is nothing charming about it. Like any good book, I'll probably be thinking about it for a long time. And there is a great deal to discuss here, I can see book clubs really chewing it up, if they can handle the violence.
Was it enjoyable to read? No. Is it an important book with a story that needs to be told? Possibly, if it is realistic. I'm concerned it leans toward poverty porn and being violent for the sake of being violent.
I never go out of my way to read poetry, but I needed a really short audio book to listen to today while I waited for my next one to become available.
This was awesome. I always appreciate it when the author reads their own work (if they have a nice voice). I loved the poems that were autobiographical in feel, especially those about her family and their relationships. I'd love to read a memoir!
I've been dreading writing this review since page 50, when I realized I really did not like this book. But I hung in there hoping for....landmarks, maybe?
Some background, I'm going to Pittsburgh in June and wanted to read something that took place historically in Pittsburgh. I was put off by the cover, but ordered it in anyway. Just note that I love historical fiction, know a bit about Andrew Carnegie, and what I wanted was a sense of what it was like to be alive, in Pittsburgh, at that point in time.
At it's center, this book is an extremely lame romance novel. It tries to touch on too many things: the immigrant experience, Reconstruction, the different levels of the upper elite in the big cities and the idea that investing in the ground floor of a company is smart business. All of these things are introduced, but they are NOT explored and therefore it fails on every subject.
All I learned from this novel was that Pittsburgh was sooty. This novel could have taken place ANYWHERE. Andrew Carnegie is totally without character, cowering to his mother's whims. We meet some of his business partners, briefly, but not Frick? We meet Clara's cousins in Pittsburgh and I thought for sure! We are getting to the strike now! But, nah.
The Homestead strike is briefly mentioned in the epilogue.
Just so disappointing. Also, I started counting the number of times Benedict reports Clara is mending and darning stockings. Answer=way too many.
I'm a little surprised my library has this as a book club darling.