writingpen

This book was maybe maybe 1.5 stars. I am too annoyed to round up. If you picked up this book because it has a neat cover, run away. Run away! The entire meat of the review will be spoilered because I am too annoyed too pussy foot and avoid spoilers.
I picked up this book because a) The cover was very cool. b) I wanted to read something different from what I read recently. C) I liked the idea of a fictional true crime writer. For various reasons I no longer consume most true crime. Boy howdy do I have some regrets. I started to get annoyed at about the 50% point but I was convinced the book would get good again like towards the beginning. I was WRONG.Weird things this book did in no particular order:Described scenes in fake medieval because of one metaphor about a knight protecting his castle.Had entire knight and castle portion in another font with no explanation. From what I can tell in other reviews no one else knows why this section was included eitherLied about the fake true crime, *inconsistently*Had the big reveal about the narrator having a screw loose in the last chapter with very little lead up.Included random sections from the other fake true crime book the MC wrote.Gave an entire summary of a letter a victims mother wrote complete with the MC's responses.Implied to MC is *so conflicted* they aren't sure if they can publish their terrible book. This had some lead up but very boring pay off. Why does he care so much about random homeless men?? I need answers this book has denied me.Seriously dude, do you need an intervention??? Did your writers group vote you off the island??

I loved the way this book handled true crime, trauma, and family relationships. And one main twists really threw me initially. I devoured this book. I think the main reason I didn't give it five stars was the sentient house consuming the mother/subsuming the protag's mother. Maybe I didn't realize fully what kind of horror book it was going in? For some reason that particular twist felt almost goofy to me. That being said, that particular twist was kinda inherent to the book, and I enjoyed the book quit a bit. I think Gailey just needs to keep writing, eventually her endings will get as good as the rest of the book. ( also I get more books that way.)

Is this the most amazing book ever written? No, probably not. Is the prose an amazing symphony? Not really. Was I immediately hooked and over come with the need to finish this book? Why yes, yes I was. I could not put this book down. I was completely engrossed by the action and the ticking clock element. I've been barely been able to read for months and I finished in a day. Go in with the appropriate expectations and you will enjoy yourself. I, for instance, am I big fan of the movie Speed. This scratched an itch for me and I was willing to ignore some of the sillier parts of the story.

Okay,so I know a large faction of fantasy fans practically worship this series...However, I just don't see it. I liked this book but I didn't get that natural high you sometimes get when you've just read a really good book. For instance Rand is supposed to be the most important of the trio. Yet personally I much prefer Perrin. Over all a good book I just don't understand the hype.

I will fully admit this book wasn't necessarily shock and awe but it was very satisfying. The character motivations make sense and no one is inexplicable evil. The only real exception to to this is the cop subplot. I get the dude is upset the way he handles it cartoonish. The author lays decent ground work for character decisions and the consequences of those decisions. I feel like author has known someone similar to Reb at some point. Aside from the above spoiler, the main “problem” I had was the romance. It's not a romantic by any means but part of the plot is teen romance in the past. It just weird and vaguely off? The book wraps up decently, but I wouldn't choose this book if romantic thrillers are your preferred niche.
Essentially, if your looking for super thrilling out of this world book, maybe not? If you a decent mystery of what truly happened, this will fulfill that.

For me this probably more like a 3.5 but I rounded up. I'm writing this review a few weeks after finishing the book, and looking back the book just isn't super memorable. Dual timelines are a trend that has taken over the genre and the “twist” is one I've seen several times before at this point. I didn't see it coming necessarily, Though I knew why the narrators friend was being mean to her. , but it just didn't shock and awe me. It was fun enjoyable read but I don't know that I'll seek this author out.

A fun little murder mystery romp. The protagonist has a distinct voice and the realities of nursing homes is dealt with in a fairly respectful way. It loved the how glass blowing intersected in the story. I also just felt like certain with ending just didn't end in a satisfactory way. I felt like we needed an epilogue or something to lie up loose ends for the secondary plot.

I waffled what to rate this book for awhile because I was very torn. I enjoyed the narrators voice and I loved the concept when I picked the book up. Unfortunately, I felt there were areas this book just did not deliver. For instance: A major plot point of this book is the blog ( not a spoiler since that's mentioned in the official plot description.) And I feel like we don't get enough of the blog. I understand romance authors don't want to write 500 page tomes, but there ways to make this work. She could have written the blogs then had the book narrate what she left out/ how it was exaggerated. I didn't count how many blogs we actually see, but it wasn't enough for how crucial it was to the plot. Also, I called the final twist from like 5 miles away. I also would have preferred if : she had been on better terms with at least one of the brides. One wedding going super well would have been at better contrast.

I read this book because I enjoy Meyer, but I am definitely no longer a member of the target audience.
Good things:
-All the little bits of culture scattered throughout.
-The feeling of community. I believed it when characters liked each other.
-Which fairy tale was chosen. It was one of my faves as a kid.
-The storytelling used as a vehicle.
Bad things:
-The pacing. I didn't realize there was a sequel planned when I started reading it. I felt cheated towards the end because the story within a story didn't have a satisfying ending.

I really enjoyed the podcast format and how it was handled. The way it made sure to mention respecting the families of the deceased was nice a touch. I also liked the multi-mystery. The one thing that probably kept it from 5 stars, was the ending not being as satisfying as I wanted. Bonus points for having a character named Rachel who doesn't need to be rescued.

It's probably more like 3.5 but it's better than most stuff I rate 3 stars so I rounded up. I enjoyed the murder plot and the characters. It balanced the mystery with realities of a different lifestyle. The characters felt fleshed out and none of the named characters felt like place holders. My main complaints is it just didn't push certain plot points far enough. For instance, we see the digital world that the locked in have access to, but it feels more like a surface glance. Given the main character is locked in, this is kind of disappointing.

Thankfully for my enjoyment of this book, I did not know it was marketed as a romance. It's in there and certain parts of the story would weird if it was not, but that is not the driving force of this novel. It's about growing up and deciding what kind of life you want. It also a strong theme in regards to who raises you vs. who your biological parent is. ( Elinor's designated adults are better than Terciel's. Just saying.) I didn't do stats on this book or anything, but you will most likely end the book feeling like you know Elinor better than you Terciel. Her chapters feel more open and you can see her making choices more clearly. I should emphasize: I have complaints but overall I enjoyed this book in large part because I enjoy this series. I know it is prequel but I would advise new readers to at least read the original trilogy first.
What I liked:
I love the Abhorsen house every time it shows up.
I appreciate seeing Mogget through the ages and how the different Abhorsens treat him
There were fun easter eggs connected to other book, I noticed Clariel the most because I had read it recently.
All the references to literature/ plays
What I didn't like:
What romance there is, feels like its at 10% too fast because the book spends too much time doing other stuff. Which is weird, given the book title.
I always want them to spend more time in death or use the bells more. If I wrote fanfic the frustrations this book caused me would be a great jumping off point.
I really wish a different villian had been chosen. Between that and fact that this is a prequel, some of tension just wasn't there.

This book was mostly okay. The twists weren't all that exciting and the world building was middling at best. The biggest annoyance for me, was the writing style/prose. It felt very YA but not in a good way. The character felt too innocent for what they had been through. I would mainly reccomend for Brooks fans. Or if the the idea of discovering your history+ magic is appealing to you.

I really enjoyed this book overall, but it felt slightly disjointed. I love bone dog, but the sequence where she creates him feels almost like a completely different story. Both areas of the story were well written, but I'm not certain how well they fit together.

Probably more like 3.5 stars but I couldn't bring myself to round up. ( disclosure: I read this book b/c someone talked about it on Twitter.)
This book is a fascinating look into one of the few trends I participated in as a child. Though I was not collecting them. My sister and I just wanted the cats. I knew the Beanie bubble was a thing but I didn't realize the extent. Or how obsessive Ty was about the appearance of his creations. That being said, this book just didn't feel cohesive. There were sections that made sense, like the McDonald's saga, but overall the structure just left me confused. I would have appreciated a timeline. Instead, the book starts at the midway point, goes to the beginning and then the end.
Good things:
* The pure insanity of Ty.
* Quotes from people directly involved.
Cats are responsible for everything! For the most part, the book doesn't openly mock people for collecting.
* The cover gets more hilarious the further you go.
Areas for improvement:
Faith's manuscript. I want more of it. A more focused timeline.
* An interview with someone on the manufactory side of things.
The book has pictures, but didn't include several I thought it should have. I feel like I still have several unanswered questions.

This probably more like 4.5 stars because of one the stupider twists but I'm rounding up because it's better than some of the other stuff I've read lately.
Things done well:
The post partum experience. While I've never had a baby, I could tell the author was starting from a realistic well researched place. I liked that the character actually *liked her baby. It would have been very easy to write a party girl book.
* Characters behaved consistently and knew their worth.
* The rich peoples choices were hilarious.
The bad
* One of the final twists made sense...but felt forced. Like that final flourish where the author wants to make the book seem really messed up. It just fell flat for me.
* You really mean to tell me no one ever rented out tools to find the the secret compartment?? A house that expensive, you can afford an expert.

I enjoyed the experience of reading this book. I did not enjoy thinking about afterward. It's one of those books you get super invested in and finish pretty quickly. It was a good length so I didn't feel like it dragged too much.
Why I liked it:
-There's a decent variety of characters who felt distinct. It would have been fairly easily to write it so 50% of the characters were just depressed with no nuance. Instead, I got to enjoy each characters journey.
- Kitty! That's not a spoiler because it's on the cover. At least that's my excuse.
-It avoided the pitfalls of 13 reasons why. A. Everyone is an adult. B. several characters question their decision, which reflects research done on suicide. C) Through emails and texts we get to see the people on the buses loved ones trying to reach out.
- I enjoy this format of book where it's through journal entries, recordings etc.
What I didn't like
-Mark's backstory. It all being a trick is one of my least favorite tropes. I would have preferred a narrative where he chickened out etc.
-The way the women were handled. I didn't notice it as much when I was reading because I was in the moment. My post read think caused me to have some questions. Tl;DR If sexism super bothers you, you will like this book less than I did. Women leave the bus because of men. Not including Theo (NB, so I'm not assigning them a gender) Only one woman is on the bus at the end. At one point, there was 4. The women leave because a man interfered with their plan (causing them to be kicked off.) or a man cured their depression/problems with his penis. Men only left the bus because they were kicked off/abandoned (3) or died in transit (2). I understand the narrative need to get people off the bus. I even liked it. The gender split of how that happened rubbed me the wrong way a little bit.

This is a very cute entry witchy romance. It is very similar to Ex Hex in terms of set up, but it plays out differently. Personally I prefer this version. There is lady team ups and REVENGE. The main reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is A) some of characters didn't feel fleshed out to me and B) some of the plot points just felt too convenient and pat to me. The: “Well of course that's going to happen so we can have a happy ending.” affect. I'm all for HEA, the way this one was reached just didn't fully land for me. It's a very fun cute ready that I absolutely burned through.
Read this if:
-You want more queer romance that's bi-friendly
-You enjoy small towns
-Witches are your jam.
- You enjoy multi-part competitions
Do not read:
-If the revenge aspect is way more important to you than the romance part. Revenge plotting does happen but this book definitely leans into romance territory.
-If soft magic is going to annoy you
- If you've just read Ex Hex. They are similar and you will spend the entire time comparing. Luckily, while I have read Ex Hex it was several months ago
Enjoy and be merry!

This is the only book I've read in this series, but that didn't create a significant obstacle. The book was funny, silly and emotional. The classic rom com misunderstanding was funny. Plus, it made me weirdly curious about russian food.

One of the better books of this genre I've read lately. It's not a perfect book, I think the prose/ writing style could have been a little more polished. That being said, I would definitely recommend this book to a crime fan. The motivations make sense and for the most part the teenagers actually act like teenagers instead of perfect little robots. The crime reveal actually feels satisfying and doesn't end with that, “ This one person is hella psycho!” twist that I've come to hate. I prefer motivations that feel tethered to at least some reality. If you want to see people who think they're immune to consequences if they just ask nice suffer, read this book.