Lori

This was a fun read. I had no expectations going into this book but was presently surprised with it.

The idea for this book, gods choosing mortals to fight for them, was well done. I enjoyed most of the trials although there are a few trials I wished we had gotten more details on. They weren’t too repetitive but at times they lacked suspense. Near the end I couldn’t imagine how the author would fit the remaining tasks in, and they ended up doing the one thing I hate most. They had the main charter be unconscious for some of the tasks. Why! It felt lazy and annoying.

It was hard at times to remember that this was an adult book as it did read as more of a young adult story. This is mainly to do with the main charter. Things like she came off as in her late teens then in her twenties or how she could be strong one minute and week the next. I did wish there was a little more detail on her decisions as well as I wasn’t always sure why she was helping others.

The romance on the other hand was surprisingly good. It is an instant attraction romance, but they don’t get together right away. It had good tension and there were some moments that were electric to read. This is a respectful of boundaries romance that is done well.

There will be another book in the series, and I will probably give it a try.

I thought that this book would be surreal and absurd, and it is neither of those things, so that might be on me.

The book felt like it was supposed to be witty and humorous but failed to deliver on both. It was too serous and heavy, often weighting you down with long sections that didn’t add value to the story. With so many points of view it was hard to take that I found most of them drab. This was one book that I seriously considered not finishing. The book is too long and could have used a cutback of some chapters completely.

There are interesting points on media and history near the end of the book that I liked but after slogging through so many unnecessary character views it wasn’t worth it.

I really like the first book (Bless Your heart) and went into this with high expectations, and I am not sure if this book pulled off what the first did.

You still get an interesting story with lovely familial bonds in a southern backdrop. The author gives us details on the family but not the rich lore that was provided in the first book. I also found this story had less horror then the first. Yes, you do get a good amount of gore but the suspense that added to the horror of the first book is not there, and its absence is noticeable. The humor of the first is also tamped down but this is also a bit understandable as they just have a few family and community members that have died.

After all those negative points don’t feel like the book is bad. There are still beautifully written descriptions throughout the book, a dry humor used to devastating effect by the matriarchs of the family, and strong familial and sisterly bonds developed that will hook you until the end. It may be that some people were let down with this book because the author made the first one so well. I loved the first book, and I very much liked this one. I can’t wait to read the next book if there will be one.

This book took me awhile to get through since I had a few books on the go, but it was worth it. The story moves slowly and there are lot of interruptions so some people that want a straight point may not like the book.

The narrator was a great part of the book and really had a defined personality that added a spark in slower sections of the book. I found the narrator’s discussion interludes provocative and thought provoking although it was sometimes hard to tell when the narration switched form the main story to a story from the narrator.

There are so many topics tackled in this book and each one was given proper justice. This is easily what I liked best about the book. Topics are often brought up though out the book as either a discussion or a story. Both types are well-conceived with the story side showing rather than telling you, its ideas. I can’t stress enough how well done this is. There are certainly times where the author really lays down their points on you but thankfully it never feels heavy handed. Instead, we are treated to an almost lively discussion where you are free to make your own opinions.

The only things that stop me from rating this book higher is how slow it can be at times. As much as I like the narrative interludes, they could be a hard stop in the main story lasting pages that didn’t always feel worth the time.

I didn’t know much about the event that is the base this book derived from. I did end up reading a few articles on the event itself and honestly it was more interesting than the book.

It’s slow, very slow. There are quite a few characters to introduce and a few of the backstories are interesting. Very quickly the book becomes about drama and relationships. Longing glances and forbidden desires are interspersed between large blocks of people thinking. They think about why they are there, the difficulties of the road, the dwindling supplies, and gossip of fellow travelers. This I would say is almost 80% of the book.

Despite the large number of characters, different points of view, or even the simply the long length of the novel there is not a lot of character depth. Most things including descriptions of the people are surface level. This person is pretty, or this other person is mean. The backgrounds help but they still feel weightless. The desires of the people, often sexual, are the main driving force of their personalities.

Mostly the book feels like a psychological drama but there are supernatural elements that are forced in. Thoughts and discussions about ‘the hunger’ are constant so much so that you are annoyed at the characters for doing nothing about it. This element was more of an afterthought that added nothing to the story of the original event.

I had not seen the film before reading the book, but I had heard a lot of remarkable things about it. For me it is not really much of a scary story and more of a what if situation.

For a scenario that could be incredibly fear inducing this book was pretty tame. I had hoped (I don’t know if this is an appropriate word for this situation) to see the panic, devastation, confusion, grief and any number of emotions for a world where you suddenly cant look outside due to some unseen (unless you want to die) creatures. I would have been terrified! Not to mention the burden of loss you would feel for the world as we knew it along with the loss of friends and family. There was none of this. The absence of emotion in this book is impressive.

The story is not bad but when you don’t focus on the emotional side of things there is not much going on. You watch as the people in the house try to figure out to continue on, but you don’t care if they do. When you finally get to the more interesting part of the book, more then halfway in, you can easily guess what will happen. The boat ride was the most interesting part of the book and even then, it wasn’t as powerful as it should have been.

The book is ok for me but was not as intense as I thought it should be.

The beginning of this book was great with a well done southern gothic feel and an interesting premise. Then it drops down to a family drama young adult novel.

There is a lot that it is frustrating about this book like the main characters inability to take in any hint that is presented to her. She also switches from a strong character who will not take abuse to a week one that will. Why she stays at the house is the most frustrating part. It doesn’t make much sense, and it felt like the author couldn’t come up with a good excuse. We get multiple sections of the character trying to figure this detail out.

This book focuses on forgiveness, but I wished it ended with her leaving that family trapped in the house forever. There is not a single redeemable trait or action of that family. The mother’s story is the worst part of the book; I don’t want to give anything way but its nonsensical. The book also deals with racism and uses it as part of the plot but not in a satisfactory way. There is a lot left unsaid and sometimes just completely ignored.

This book started of well and had a great premise but by the end all of it felt wasted.

With such a super cute cover I had high hopes for this book. Alas, I have been taken in again. I am not saying this is a terrible book and I can even see why people could like it being that it’s lighthearted and somewhat charming. My problem with it is that there is not enough to make this a complete story in my view.

We are quickly introduced to the characters and situation, but we are not left with any time to see if we really like the characters or to gain any measure of depth of the doomed universe situation. The main focus is only on the charters we see so there is no sense of loss to me for the rest of life in the universe. I was amazed when I reached the end of the story as I honestly thought where’s the rest of it.

This feels like more of a first draft then a finished story. I would have liked to see more as it was an interesting idea.

I hate to say that I didn’t like this as much I wanted to.

I was extremely excited to hear that there was another Holly story, but this book didn’t contain much of her and what little we do get she is different. Most of her quirks are removed and she felt too controlled. This was one of the bigger disappointments in the book.

We do get other side characters back form previous instalments but sadly I didn’t care for Barbra’s storyline. It just didn’t feel necessary. You also get a new character and storyline with Kate a political activist that we don’t get nearly enough time with. This character and their political views could have been more interesting, but we only really get the surface level details.

The whole book focused on different types of women’s issues and had a mainly female focused cast. It’s not that I don’t want authors to talk about these issues or even that King has not written about these issues before. It’s just that this feel flat and Barbra’s story line is a notable example of this. Although there was nothing truly wrong with these parts, there was nothing great about them either. Nothing to stand out or really make a statement. Throughout the book there are women’s issue moments that could have been impactful, but I didn’t really feel anything for them. It’s not like King hasn’t written about these subjects before or hadn’t done well with them. There are many remarkable examples in his works, and my disappointment lies with the fact that that this should have been yet another one to add to that list.

The overall plot is good and there are some great scenes in the book but with the above-mentioned disappointments this wasn’t as good as it could have been. The two different killers and their separate motivations were interesting. I found I liked trig’s storyline a little more as it was fuller and more thought out. Its not a bad read and other may like this book more as a stand alone.

I pick this book up mostly since I was bored and between audiobooks and partly because I like horror novels.

Firstly, I will say this book is not really scarry. I was listening to this book in an almost empty office on a darkened and cool day. The perfect day for a horror story, and yet I wasn’t scared even once throughout the book. This may be because of the writing style as the author wrote the book as if it was half documentary and half story. Some of the more shocking scenes as they were supposed to be felt passive and dulled. It is an interesting story but the book switches in tone throughout. From we are running with the belief that these events are real, and this is what they said happened.

I didn’t care for this book as it felt poorly written and the subject matter didn’t seem worthy of a book.

This book starts off strong with interesting characters and a hearty competitive atmosphere between the two love interests. From there I had a tough time staying interested in this book.

One thing that made it hard to read was the internal thoughts. At times it was large blocks of thoughts and feelings while at other times it was short and jumpy. It was hard to get into a rhythm with this much inconsistency much less stay interested in the main story. The timeline is also a little hard to follow. The timeline jumps around with no connection made to help its readers.

I liked the supporting characters, and the author does well with including without making it feel like the characters were tokens or forced. The author also does well at showing a realistic sexual relationship. The rest of the relationship however was wrought with miscommunication or simply no communication. This does lead to some deception though withholding information until they could hurt each other most making it harder to root for the couple as the book went on.

This wasn’t for me.

This book is both good and not great at the same time. The writing is very well done and there is a lot to like in the story. There were parts like the bathroom scene and simply the mantra of killer “nobody cares and nobody sees” that really stuck with me. But it’s the rest of the story that I struggled with.

There are small scenes that hook you only to go on to a long and often boring sequence. There seemed to be a lot the book was trying to talk about like the effect of grief that when the ending came it was a let down. All this build up to... something, just to be told it wasn’t really about that. The ending was like pulling the rug out from under the reader leaving them miffed and wary of trusting the author.

I could see myself trying another of this authors books as there was good writing in the book but hopefully the other are better.

I was hoping this book would be better then the first one. Sadly, that was not the case.

It was a little of everything that made this book bad. The book had too much modern slang and actions that pulled you out of the story. The romance was brittle at best. It was not a true enemies-to-lovers story as the characters were mean to everyone they met. They were too unlikeable and with the lack of chemistry it showed they could barely like each other.

There was some charm in the first book to make me try this one but most of that charm is lost. There are sparks here and there but there but not enough to make me read another in this series if it continues.

I need a book about an overlooked woman in history for a reading challenge and though I would give this a try.

The first part of the book was great as it talked about the myths surrounding Laveau and the why and how that these might have come to be. As well as what might be as close to the real history as we can get. It was genuinely interesting and makes you really think about how the history of one person can become so distorted.

What bothers me about this book is that the rest of the book is about how to practice with Laveau is sprit or mind. There was too much detail in this section on setting up an alter, spell work, and practicing Laveau’s type of spirituality. Not that it’s not interesting just that it really should have been made into its own book.

The ending has a really good description on why the author is so passionate about the book. There is a lot to like in this book, but I wish more time were spent on history and culture like the first part of the book.

This is not the best murder mystery novel but if you Love the Golden Girls and are willing to look past everything else it was a fun book to read.

The writing style was not the best as the author described actions like Dorothy did this and rose did that. It was hard to get into this style of writing. Once you get past that there are things to like. The camaraderie and spirit of the show comes across in this story nicely. It was fun to hear about the St Olaf wedding traditions and get to meet more of Rose’s family although the traditions were a bit much at times.

The murder part of the book is treated like more of a pesky annoyance in the book then part of the main plot. I do enjoy cozy murder mysteries, as much as murder can be cozy, and this book will not scratch that itch. I enjoyed what little time the girls spent investigating and trying to solve the murder but the lead up to the wedding took a lot of time way from the investigation.

I would probably read another of these books simply because I like the Golden Girls but there were parts of the book I genuinely enjoyed. If you are looking for a light read and something nostalgic this can be a good book.