Kari
I think maybe I get too irritated with stories where the MC is made to think they've lost their minds. Where no one believes them, especially partners, and they get increasingly more paranoid. I just get too impatient with them.
Despite that, it wasn't a bad story. I wish they explored what actually happened more than her increasing spiral downward though.
I love the way this left you feeling like you weren't sure what was real. Everything was tense and suffocating. Good stuff!
Oftentimes in cozy mysteries, the victim is someone no one likes, but I was actually sad for this one. I liked the characters and always a library story is a good time for me. I loved the setting, even outside the library. I wanted to go visit and maybe stay in one of the little cabins.
Another point in the “I should read more Viet authors” column. I enjoyed everything about this. The slow burn, the uncertainty of what exactly was happening, the relationships between Jade and her family members. The only thing that kept from being 5 stars was Florence. She never grew on me. The Ghost Bride bonus chapter was probably my favorite part of the book.
What can I say? It's an easy Nora Roberts book. There's some mystery and some romance and a little heart tugging. I remember that the story ramps up pretty good in the next book in the trilogy (which I think ends up to be a quartet because if I remember correctly she revisits Seth when he's older).
The story is a lot like the Dreams trilogy. Three sisters who aren't sisters start a business together. These brothers who aren't brothers do the same, but she's also thrown in the mystery of Seth's parentage and the possible scandal surrounding that.
Cam and Anna are fun and it's more interesting to see Cam and Seth circle around each other. Again, super fast read and pretty sweet.
I've got to say, there's something about a walking, fighting giant house that makes me happy. Especially when it's drawn so magnificently.
We're introduced to a whole new cast of characters, starting with Leon Redbeard, a fox who is destined to help Emily on her path and serve as a sort of bodyguard/sensei to her. We find the people of Kanalis are slowly turning into different sorts of animals and are oppressed by the rule of the elves.
Emily fights to keep control of her own self as the amulet's promises sound more and more tempting. Navin is left to care for their mother and command an army of misfit animals who would rather die than give into the elves.
Beautifully drawn, great pacing and with much emotion and anticipation. Kazu Kibuishi tells a sweeping story that has only really just begun.
This was an okay read. I liked the suspense of the chase. The love story was, at first, sweet and really good until she turned into Bella. Couldn't live without him, if he left her house early she was achingly lonely, etc. etc. I thought because they had spent their lives as best friends it wouldn't be so end-of-the-world-must-be-with-you type of situation, but alas, it turned into that.
But I liked the story, it reminded me a bit of a teen version of Charlaine Harris's Harper Connoly series, but Violet is much more likeable than Harper!
There was something about this book that held me back from completely enjoying it. It could be that Morris spent 4 pages describing the Mardi Gras parade route. Or the walk that Lisette and Rebecca take to Tremé that is a four mile walk and we read about every. single. mile.
It was parts like that. Unnecessarily long passages that added very little, if anything, to the story. I found myself not caring, a lot.
I started out listening to the audiobook, switched to the ebook and then went back to the audiobook. I'm glad I did listen to the audiobook though! It was a full production with several different voice actors and Netflix “commercials”. I also liked how the audio quality changed when it switched to the podcast recordings. Despite this being very Single White Female, I still spent a good portion of the book trying to figure out what was actually going on.
I can't believe so many things about this book. I can't believe they didn't know this was Poppy's sister. I knew the second she's mentioned at first in the book. Especially with the journal entries. It's not Poppy telling her story, it's someone reading her journal. I can't believe everyone didn't think ruining Poppy's art project and therefore destroying her chances at attending her college was “just a joke” and “not a big deal”. I can't believe that they all just thought someone they were terrible to wanted to treat them to a fancy trip and wanted them to be in her wedding. Ridiculous.
Flavia is the oldest 11 year old I've ever read about! The writing is very innocent, perfectly told through the eyes of a precocious, super intelligent child. It wasn't the most complex mystery, but it was honest and heartfelt and interesting.
This was depressing. And it was making me so mad! But alas, I still want to read the rest of the series.
Great book. It was different, the story twisted and complicated, but in a good way. Abby was strong and smart, Dante romantic and courageous. Does it get any better than that? It was nice to read a young adult novel where I didn't want to strangle the female lead character!
At first glance this is very similar to Y: The Last Man and while I did enjoy those, Ōoku is telling a story much more intriguing to me. I think maybe because it is written by a female we're missing those moments of annoying sexism that were pretty prevalent in Y: The Last Man. Also, in Y the decimation of the male population is much more present. Here, we're 80 years past the first case in a time when some people don't even remember when there were just as many men as women. So we're focused less on why this has happened and more so on ‘now what?'.
I really enjoy Fumi Yoshigana's art and storytelling. While this is much more serious than Antique Bakery (my only other exposure to Yoshigana's work) she still inserts small moments of humor into the panels to break up the tension. She's written something much more complicated and revealing than I expected.
The story begins with the introduction of the Redface Pox and it's devastating effects. Shorty thereafter we skip ahead 80 years and get a glimpse of life as it stands with women in power and carrying the burdens of a country reinvented. Yunoshin is a handsome man who has very little care until his mother arranges for him a fortunate marriage. Instead he offers to put himself in service to the Shogun at the Ōoku. Once there he learns quickly that living with only men has its downsides.
When the young Shogun dies a newer, more experienced and shrewd Shogun steps into her place and she has big plans for turning everything around. She is smart and no-nonsense, yet she is compassionate and caring in her dealings with the men in her employ. She has suspicions of the state of affairs in her country and she intends to get to the bottom of everything.
So you have some romance and some political intrigue all wrapped up with some gorgeous art!
There was quite a bit packed into such a tiny book. Two family members and two intertwined stories that all center around familial love and healing. Forgiveness and knowing when it's time to step away for good. Going back to Japan is on my mind at least every day. Next time, I will be visiting Jimbocho to see all the bookshops!
It's weird to think a book is really good when you absolutely hate the main character. I was a little disappointed with the ending, but otherwise, Kuang did a fantastic job of writing a despicable character.
I picked this up because TJ Klune and gay werewolves, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. There is something deeply unsettling about the age gap between Joe and Ox. So much so for me, that I couldn't shake it when I realized what was happening.
Which was a shame because the other relationships in the book were beautiful. The family that Ox discovered for himself and the non-romantic male relationships were strong and enviable. But the book did drag at times and felt much longer than it needed to be. I'm still not sure how I feel about Joe and Ox, but I would like to see what happens next.
I should start by saying I haven't yet watched the show, so when reading this I wasn't comparing the two while reading.
This was just kind of meh for me. I'm not a chess fan, but I thought this book was more about Beth, not about chess plays/moves. While we do see her grow up we don't really see her grow. The book was about 75% describing chess matches and 25% character development. Beth was such an complicated character, there was so much to explore, but Tevis never really does that. He seemed more interested in writing a chess book and not a book about a child struggling with addiction and possibly some other mental illnesses.
I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the TV show so I guess I had higher expectations for this, but even if I hadn't I still think I would have been disappointed.