Ash
If you are looking for a coherent review of this book...this isn't the one. I'm so mad. My heart hurts and I'm so mad. I knew it was sad, but I prepared for the wrong loss. I finished this on Christmas and WEEEEPED!! ON CHRISTMAS!! I had to explain the whole premise to my husband while blubbering and he hugged me until I calmed down. This book is excellent. It's honestly so beautiful and I would torture myself by reading it again. I loved it so much. The first part of the book is obviously my favorite part. I love Max. If you feel like crying, go read it now. I'm still mad though. Too many emotions.
The synopsis held so much promise, but the storytelling left me wanting. Like a wagyu steak prepared by a vegan. (Spoken as a pescetarian...) After reading Kindred by Octavia Butler and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi this year, this one just fell flat in comparison. Jumping from point of view to point of view was disorienting. I had to take notes to keep names straight because they weren't characterized distinctly enough to tell apart. It felt like it was being dictated by someone without a vested interest in what was happening. Just informational almost as if written for a grade. To be clear, it isn't a bad book, I just did not appreciate the writing style. I can't give high ratings for representation alone. I did love the part when Maggie showed support for Samuel and Isaiah and agreed with the shadows that they were meant for a different time where they could be together.
Merry Christmas!! But to be honest, I struggled with the first 3/4 of this book. I'm too much of a scrooge to appreciate Becky's impulsive decisions and her distant relationship with logic. I think if I had read any of the prior Shopaholic books, I would maybe have been more endeared to her. It took until almost the end to feel the sprygge. I think there were a few elements that could have been edited out. The bauble, the ex and his rude gf, the hipster parents and their beef with their bestie, the emo vegan sister, the “hamper,” the billiards club and portmanteau, the costume, the statues, and the gingerbread houses were just a lot. I will say that it was memorable because of how ridiculous everything was. I liked it overall, but I don't think I ever need to read another Shopaholic book.
I don't think I listened to the right advice to start this series with the prequel. It took a long time to read through because I kept falling asleep. I'm certain that it had less to do with the content than with the context and would have enjoyed it more if I knew more about the characters going in. I already have Throne of Glass lined up. I'm excited to see what Celaena does.
It took me a minute to get into this book. The characters being over the top clichés was questionable at first, but the consistency of it ended up making everything more enjoyable. It was cute. First time I've read a romance with a male lead being diabetic. I liked that representation. This next bit is just because I'm picky, but I wish the spice could have been built up more organically. The overtly sexual thoughts in the first scene didn't leave a whole lot of room to build. The reason enemies to lovers is so popular is because of the subtleties. Anyway. It was good christmasy read.
My absolute least favorite thing to read about is infidelity. However, Brit Bennett could write about all of my least favorite subjects and I would enjoy it. Cheating for any reason makes me feel estranged from a character so I don't know how Bennett did it, but I loved these characters regardless. The only thing that left me wanting, slightly, was the presence of “the mothers.” I wanted them to come in more frequently. When they did come in, if felt disconnected from the story because it was so infrequent. I wanted the church lady gossip and their wild assumptions the whole way. Other than that, this book was fantastic.
I liked this one. Though Dex is a little too similar to Mitch in personality. Kind of weird that Lulu married her cousin who just has different hair. I liked that Daniel was called out again because he is the worst male lead in the whole series. I liked Lulu's skepticism turned obsession with tarot and I hope the next one follows Summer. Though I feel like we were being set up so that it is April's daugher Caitlin since she is an adult now...I'm kind of annoyed at the art on the cover for this one. This is not the couple we read about. Why does Dex have a beard and where is his kilt, and why is Lulu a bright ginger when her hair is strawberry blonde and she should have been depicted in her forest green faire garb. Make your artists read the book please. Can we get a novella with extra spicy scenes titled “Well Bedded” because that would be great. Only one scene per book is rude.
Absolutely not. Every once in a while I read a book that enrages me. Not in solidarity with the characters, but because the actual writing. As a whole the writing in this book seemed juvenile beyond the point that should be acceptable, even for the YA genre. The fmc came across as petulant and annoying more so than strong and fierce. The mmc seemed to have no personality whatsoever. I kept searching for the romance because there was a lot of push between the characters, but not a lot of pull? The gang politics weren't consistent or fleshed out in any meaningful way. The gore was gratuitous. And of all the things to add to Romeo and Juliet, the author went with BUGS!! The only love story in the world that I will accept bugs being remotely involved is with Nezumi and Shion. For all the hype this book has gotten on every platform, I expected more.
I accidentally predicted the whole plot early on, but it was still an enjoyable read. I feel like Drew could have been edited out of the story and it would have been just as good. His investigation into Joey and May could have had more suspense and we found out about Joey too soon. I hate moms like Ruby. It kept me interested the whole way through even though this isn't my favorite genre.
This is the exact type of Christmas romance I was looking for. I loved Stella and Aiden. The Grumpy x Sunshine trope is just so good when it's the girl who is grumpy and the guy who is sunshine. I loved this book. I love how careful Tessa Bailey is about consent and boundaries. It makes it so much more enjoyable.
I devoured this one. I loved Esme, Lizzie, Ditte, Gareth, Mabel, and Esme's dad. All of the characters basically. I loved the whole concept of collecting words that were discarded or disregarded because of who used them. I swooned with the proposal and cried when Esme received the notice from the elderly soldier. I'm a sucker for fiction set during the suffragist time period and I loved that the author pointed out that it only benefitted the well off women by way of Lizzie. The only criticism I have is that the voice of Esme remained the same from childhood through to her death. She gained a difference of opinion and had more understanding of world, but her thoughts were formed the same throughout. I get that she had a huge vocabulary for her age as a child, but I would have enjoyed it more if it felt like I was growing with Esme while reading. It's a small criticism compared to all of the things that I loved about this book.
The saddest books always seem to be based on historical facts. This book was well written and it read like a mystery. There were several TW moments that I almost skimmed through. I feel like I'm in the minority, but I preferred reading from Avery's POV than Rill's/May's. Other than Avery's inner dialogue about how she's just not into her fiancé, the search and moments with Trent were good. Rill's/May's POV was hard for me. Adoption is a touchy subject. Many of the reasons people have for wanting children in general weirds me out. Children are not commodities or items to be purchased to boost status. Georgia Tann was a monster, yes, but she wasn't alone in the way she treated children. People are still trafficking children under the guise of adoption and fostering, but I digress... I loved Judy and May's sister days and that they were able to be together at the end. I liked that even though I was sad during a lot of this book, the intrigue and resolution didn't let the sadness cloud my overall feelings.
This book frustrated me. Or maybe it's just that it gave me an overwhelming feeling of futility. It highlighted some of the reasons I do not want to be a mom. I loved the romance aspect when it was good and they were having flirty moments passing flowers. I know that it's supposed to be melancholy because that makes the goodness that much sweeter, but I feel the same way about this book as I feel about The Life of Pi. I don't want to feel sad and frustrated for most of the ride. To be sure, it is beautifully written and the story itself is good, I just didn't feel good reading it. Victoria's choices make sense because of the trauma and instability she endured as a child, but I still hated these choices. I don't know how to feel about this one.
When I started this book, I was so sure that I was going to be bored to some degree as classics are not my favorite, but I loved Anne with an e. Her babbling reminded me so much of how I was as a kid. So many questions, incessant talking about everything, though I didn't use large words, declare everything in terms of romantic and unromantic, and wasn't half as charming, but I related nevertheless. The importance of puffed sleeves reminded me so strongly of my burning desire for flared bellbottom pants at the age of 9. I loved Matthew's instant attachment to her, I loved Marilla's slow burn love for her. I just loved this book and I wish I had read it sooner.
Umm...Meh. My thoughts vacillated between internal eye rolls every time Cate was described as not being like the other girls to appreciating that she wasn't debasing herself because of her previous interest in Joe as a celebrity. I wasn't a fan of Joe. He was dumb and his playboy behavior magically stopping because he met perfect Cate was dumb. I hate that Berry ended up confessing to Joe. I wish the author would have let her just be Joe's friend. I wish I would have realized that this was a Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr. fanfic before picking it up. I liked Curtis? I didn't like much else though. A regretful read, honestly.
Some of my favorite books involve or allude to the story of Baba Yaga. I love that there are arguments about the etymology of Baba Yaga because her story can then be weaved into so many different Eastern European histories. I loved when Thistlefoot was narrating. I loved Bellatine and her embering. Isaac was whatever. The language used in his dialogue was more 1920's than current day which was very confusing when just after he calls Winnie “Doll,” the story will mention cell phones or something. I loved Winnie and Bellatine together. The Longshadow Man was terrifying. I really liked this interpretation.
If 13 Reasons Why and Gossip Girl had a less violent and much gayer baby. As with most YA main characters though, I found Chloe petulant and self-obsessed. Of course I wanted her to end up with Shara who was equally self-obsessed, but I would have cared more about this book as a whole if it was just about Smith and Rory. I liked the scavenger hunt aspect. Georgia deserved better throughout this whole book. I think this would make a great mini-series. It was just ok for me.
All I kept thinking about was that the author was watching Practical Magic and the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell documentary while writing and came up with this revenge feminist anti fanfic. This book reminded me of Lessons in Chemistry in the way of pointed feminism. The allusion to Carrie with the period stigma and Jo's intense flow was one thing, but that being the baseline for her super-powered menopause? It was obnoxious. Nessa and Franklin were cute. I might have enjoyed it better if it were just Nessa and Harriett. The pot smoking witch and the pious ghost whisperer would have been plenty. I liked Harriett and her brashness. The scene where she steals Celeste from her husband was the best part of this book. I genuinely thought this was going to be a book about a witch going to war with the HOA and I was excited. The actual book missed the mark for me though.
The reason I keep going back to O'Leary's books is because she makes me fall in love with her characters. Not just the male lead, but all characters involved. My favorite story to follow was Jane's and I'll admit, it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize Joseph was the same guy. I didn't read the full synopsis before going in. The way each character saw him and their different relationships with him made it seem like different guys.
My least favorite romance tropes are miscommunication and cheating. This book rode the lines so closely that it was hard for me to root for the couple. I liked the way they connected through grief and art. I liked that she used such specific items from her trauma in her pieces. I liked Feyi's character as a whole. I was decidedly not as big of a fan of the age gap or that she couldn't shut it down with Nasir as soon as she realized she was not going to be into him in that way. If there's going to be an age gap of more than 10 years, I need the older one to be immortal or something to get over it. The most annoying scene was when Milan, a past fling, called Feyi to tell her he is super supportive of her not only connecting with his friend after him, but specifically about her hooking up with his friend's dad because his friend isn't deep enough for her.