Lori

This was not a bad book but felt like one of many magical self-healing books.

It was an interesting idea, and the writing was well done but the book fell flat for me. Not bad but not anything new. There are some good parts like the food eating contest but each section for retrieving a new orb felt like a repetitive task. Slowly the orb acquisitions start to slightly blend together. As soon as you find out what orb will be looked at next you know it will not be the one for her.

There are many non-subtle hints that there is something more going on and that our main character will become the center of it all. Part way though this book I couldn’t help but think this could have made a great horror story. When the big reveal happens, there are no surprises and of course all the items she has acquired comes in handy.

Its not bad and there is good writing within this story, but it wasn’t as good as some of the similar books I have read lately.

I kept thinking about the stories from the first book (Before the Coffee Gets Cold) and decided to pick this one up.

As I was reading this book, I kept wishing I hadn’t picked it up. The repetition of the rules is too much, and the stories aren’t as good as the first. The stories in tis one wasn’t bad, but they don’t hold the same quality or impact I felt form the first. I think I am done with this series for now.

This was a book club pick, and it was ok in the end.

What stops this book from being good is that the characters make such stupid decisions to the point of making every situation worse. It could have been a better book as the reimagining of so many characters is well done. I also liked that it was placed in a more modern setting.

This was supposed to be a dark romance but its really about people with daddy issues getting together with some BDSM type (but not really) thing going on. Its much softer than I thought it was going to be with the description of how dark and tormented the main male lead is.

This book was good, but I felt like it brought up a lot of serious subjects that it failed to discuss.

The book starts of well and has a good cozy feel to it but not much happens. Then in the second half of the book it went into more serious matters and had too many plot points. This is where the book doesn’t do was well as the author glosses over the darker subjects and sweeps some story lines under the rug. There was so much left untouched that I was surprised when the book ended that there wasn’t more.

There are a lot of parts that I liked in the book but there wasn’t much balance with them. It goes from to mundane then to too serious. With a better balance this would have been a great story, as is it was ok.

This one was darker then the last in the series and a bit better. Again, the reimagining of the characters is well done and this time its in a fantasy setting.

There was more to like in this book but again you had characters making the most stupid decisions. The male lead in this one was at least better at following though with some of his darker personality but not by much. The female lead was supposed to be some bad ass who will take down the crown, but what we got instead was a weak girl who couldn’t keep up. Verry disappointing.

There as some good moments in this book that made me like it a little better then the last but not by much.

This may be my favorite of the series, but I sadly must report that it contains the least amount of smut in the series.

The writing in this one seemed to be better the last few books. The plot made sense, the characters were better written, and I didn’t mind the relationship. What didn’t work for me was the romance went from incredibly slow burn to it’s happened. Then wasn’t much of a connection between enemies to lovers. As well this author doesn’t seem to write strong female characters very well. They all feel so passive. Which in this case is a crime as the female lead was reimagined from a character that had a much stronger will.

This was more enjoyable to read then the others possibly because of its simplicity. Some of the other stories had crazy and often stupid actions that made it hard to get into. On the other hand, this story is pretty vanilla for a dark romance.

It was nice to see a female villain, but it was like the author couldn’t decide to go all bad or have some good. This wishy-washiness was what held the story back for me. If she’s truly bad then let her be bad, if she’s not then the author either shouldn’t had gone so hard on the terrible acts though out the book or created a better redemption arc. Since neither is chosen, we are left with a mess of character developments.

I will say the smut part of the book was better then the last few along with a better written chemistry between the leads. There is more to like in this book, but the gun scene just reminded me of a similar scene in The Stand. Although with completely different vibes.

It does seem like the author has gotten a bit better with each book. We’ll see.

I had heard good things about this book and decided to pick it up and it was not exactly what I thought it would be.

Much of the book was funnier than I was expecting. The small-town drama was fun to hear about, especially in the interviews. The was a good amount of wit and snark to keep me entertained. On the other hand, the main character could at times be too snarky that she became annoying.

The book for me was mostly positive as it was an interesting and enjoyable read but the mystery was not that great. The amnesia plot point was not done well enough in this story and was quite the drag at the end of the book. It pulled you out of the intrigue when the main character doesn’t try anything to get her memories back but then they just come back so conveniently. As well something I didn’t like and that truly felt out of place was the romance in the book. This wasn’t needed and was annoying to read.

I wasn’t happy with the end. Conveniently regaining her memories, everyone trying to cover things up to help but making it worse, and that everyone believed a person with an obviously washy story over their own daughter/spouse.

This was an enjoyable read but not a good mystery. I would be interested to see what else the author has written.

I need to start seriously asking why I am continuing to read this series. I would say this is the worst book of the series. Having read the book this was based on, this was just a terrible version of it. I have to admit I never thought there would be a dark romance reimagining of the book in the first place.

Most of the story takes place from the priest’s point of view and he is an awfully written character. There is nothing to really like about him. Most of the book is him calling himself a monster then punishing himself in a really descriptive way. As well as wanting to kill the female lead for reasons that are not explained very well. Part way though the story he then changes his mind about killing her. There is nothing romantic about the way this character is written, and he mostly just stalks her.

The female lead is tepid at best. She lacks personality, is helpless though most of the book, and I simply don’t like her. The smut that we are here for is little to none and boring. There is nothing to recommend in this book.

It started off good and the story was set up quickly but from there the story and romance were all over the place. Parts of the romance are done well but with such a messy plot its hard to get into.

This author can’t write good female leads. The female is someone who is supposed to be independent and strong, but she folds so quickly under every character in this book. As well she seems so blind to everything around her. This may be because the author needed this plot device to make sense of the “twists” that she has added.

Even with a messy plot and another disappointing female lead this wasn’t the worst book. For myself I would say this is in the top three books in this series. Which really doesn’t say much about the series.

My first thought was that I was reading the wrong book. I really thought I was reading Aladdin, which this book sort of is. It was such a jump from the first story (Howl’s Moving Castle) that I could not think of how they would connect. They do connect but it’s not revealed till close to the end of the story.

This story on its own I didn’t find as magical or endearing as the first. It not that it’s a bad story, it’s quite good. Its just missing that spark from the first book. I wish that the book was from the point of view the princesses as they were more interesting. They were funny, strong willed, and capable. Sort of what made Sophie so great in the first book.

This is still a good book to read and one that you could recommend to kids. Hopefully, the next book brings back that spark.

This was a nice book to listen to as it’s fairly light and has an uplifting feel to it.

I will say that it is a slow book, sometimes too slow. The book brings up a lot of good discussions but has them in a way that can sometimes be to long or over reinforce the ideas. I was in just the right mood for this book when I was listening to it but when I think about the book it leads me to thinking about other healing fiction that I have read. There is something missing to add that extra wow factor to.

It’s a good book but not a strong one at the same time. But if you are looking for a healing fiction book and something to slow down with, this is a good book to read.

I really liked the stories in this book although it might have been a bad idea to listen to the book at work as one of the stories had me in tears.

When I think about the about book the individual stories really stand out to me. They are interesting and had well done endings. On the flip side it’s everything else that is a little hard to take. The repetition of the rules, the café staff that lack standout personalities, and the blocky dialog.

I did get though this book and liked the stories, but the repetition of information and weak dialog would make me hesitant to read this again. Which is sad as the idea of the book and the individual stories were great.

This was not as good as the last book.

The main cast of characters is pushed aside for a story focused on Zaphod. This could have been interesting but in this book the author turned Zaphod into a petulant man-child. I did miss the other characters as they were better to follow along with. At least we get some Marvin.

This book had no plot, and I know that this series is supposed to be a bit unpredictable, but this one was so pointless. It felt like a filler book in the series. The wit and silliness of the first book is dampened in this one. There are elements of the original book that are still enjoyable but not enough.

Its not so bad that I wanted to put it down, but I just wanted to get though it. Hopefully, the next book is better.

This book was a good read but wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

I thought this book would be about her medical education, but the book mainly focuses on life during the time period and on female relationships. That isn’t a bad thing, but it was her medical journey that had interested me in the description. The focus on the female journey and relationships was very well done and really is what made this book so good. The strength, bonding, and trauma of all the women in the book came though to build most of the story.

The writing was well done and was good at pulling me into the story, but I did find that the author spent a lot of time describing elements of the time period more then the story. It was nice at first to get these descriptions and really helped set the scene. After a while though these long descriptions took away from the storyline.

It was worth the read and will be a book that I could recommend to others. I think I would like to try another book by this author. I really did like the writing and the relationship driven plot.

This was a great read. Now that we have gone though all the set up in the last book, we really get to enjoy the story this time round.

The authors are great at creating engaging characters. The main cast are all interesting on their own but there are stand outside characters. Millier was fantastic in the first book and now we have a great line up of Avasarala, Bobbie, and Prax. This line up is used to great advantage as now we get multiple POVs.

With so many POVs the grasp of each character having defined personalities is commendable. You don’t feel frustrated with the switching POVs instead they are used to advance the story while maintaining a steady stream of information.

The expanse of the world and characters is perfectly done. There is a great balancing act though out this book in order to provide readers with information about the universe and progressing the story.

I can not wait for the next book.

This book starts out well. You are quickly taken into this weird and colourful community.

There was something so captivating about the messed-up community members, dark subject matters, and the weird girl atmosphere that just works. The book is not a laugh out loud one but was still pretty funny. As the book goes on the situation with, the main character gets more messed up and I could not help but want to see this though with her.

The last part of the book is where it starts to drop a little. The things that first made the book great start to get annoying and at this point I genuinely wanted things to end between the main character and Big Swiss. Both become harder to like. The ending isn’t bad but it’s a little over the top and somehow slightly underwhelming.

The book was entertaining and at the end I feel mostly positive about it.

I hated this book.

The story is mostly told as a recapping of events by unreliable narrators. This removed all emotional connections with the main characters. Being told what these characters have done does not provide enough insight to be able to empathize with them. That and the fact that they all are callous people who make intentionally stupid decisions to hurt others.

This was so hard to get though. Love was not a great enough power to make anything these characters did forgivable.

The first book wasn’t bad, so I wanted to try this one. I hate to say that I don’t like a King book, but I don’t like this one.

What sticks out to me the most is how slow it is. This book could have been cut in half, and I would still say it’s to long. It takes a third of the book to start getting into the main part of the story. The narration is another thing that felt wrong. The sweeping the reader along through key holes and over hills was interesting as first then jarring. It kept pulling me out of the story with these almost fourth wall breaks as things got darker.

The last book was a touch of King multiverse, but this one just shoved the tower down your throat. It was too much King as much as that hurts to say and yet not enough. The best parts of King like the lifelike characters and heart that King can give to even simple stories is missing from this. Instead, we get to much dark tower multiverse that it pulls away from he stories.

I would not recommend reading this one.

Some of the charm of the first book is missing from this one. This book still gives a nice sense of community and magic. The mystery and side characters were also interesting. What pulls this book down is the love triangle.

We are forced to spend way too much time on the love triangle. Steve is just the worst as well. Calling the main character by a nick name she hates. Showing up at her house and forcing a date. Worst still is how clearly better Declan being. This man has so much patience and a great ability to take things as they come.

There didn’t seem to be enough time to focus on the mystery, her spellbook club, or even the new mysterious detective. All this became second to the triangle of annoyance. All that made the first book so good took a back seat.

The book is not the worst, but it could have been better. I am hoping the next book will redeem the series.

This book was better in the last but had a few storylines going on.

There is a bit of a jump from the last book to this one. The ending of the last had our main character deciding she didn’t want a romantic relationship with Steve then in this this book she is in a steady relationship with Declan. Although I am happy that Declan was the chosen one, this book had the main character spending a lot of time with Steve.

I am not a fan of love triangles, and I was hoping this would be done. Instead, we got Steve hitting on Katie even though she has made it clear that she only wants a friendship and Katie being a bad girlfriend to Declan. The book does have Katie recognize that she hasn’t treated Declan right and does fix this. I do hope the next book gives Declan a bigger role.

The main storyline is good. I did find this book had a lot of side stories tied together and some of them didn’t have enough of a resolution at the end. It was a little slow at first, but I liked the introduction to Katie’s Mother and their family reconciliation. Each book in this series has the main character grow in magic, friendships, and relationships. This has made the series so enjoyable to read.

I am looking forward to reading the next book.

This is another classic that was a disappointment. I couldn’t care about anything in the book.

Most of the contrasts made in the book are simple and often played as an unfunny joke. I can’t tell if this is because the book is older and might have been received better at that time. The Jewish character was one of the hardest to read. I know older books have a casual racism to them, but this was really a hammer to the head.

Oliver himself is lifeless, which makes the idea that all these random people become obsessed with him hard to take. I found him too passive in the story. There is not enough personality to help you root for him.

The ending wasn’t bad, as it closed off all the storylines quite well. This is not a classic book that I would recommend.

It’s a cute story but not as good as the others. There was less of a connection between the two main leads.

The author still does an excellent job of setting up the community and light cozy feel that her other books have had. You get a nice update on previous couples and a good nudge about the next couple. This has been a great lighthearted series which makes this entry a letdown. I liked the side characters more then the main ones as they had more life to them.

The personalities and romance of the two main characters is weak. They feel rushed together, and by the end I thought they need more time to work on themselves. Its not a terrible relationship but there is not enough romance it’s more lust.

It’s not a bad story and there is a lot to like. Hopefully, the next book is better.

I both liked and didn’t care for this book. The way the book is written with the perspective of the dead girl in the afterlife is creative. What I don’t like is the actual writing.

The descriptions are weird and off-putting. The author often describes movements in a way that makes no sense. At the same time, the author doesn’t give enough details on this in between place. It was a fascinating part of the book that is overlooked.

With such a clever idea for the book and a strong start the book lacks personal connections to keep you embroiled with each character’s struggle. This is hard to take as the intricacies of surviving the loss of a loved one is the main focus of the book. If we got more information on each character’s feelings that would have helped develop a better connection to them. This is not to say the author doesn’t get across how this has affected each person, but we are told in a way that takes the empathy out of it.

What puts this book into the territory of not liking it was the ending. The resolution of many arcs is done terribly. Each felt worse then the last. Also, the sex scene was utterly wrong. Taking over the body of a lesbian to have sex with a boy you dated for a week isn’t right. Why is that the thing that lets he move on!

For the most part the story is good. But better descriptions and more focus on feelings would have made this a better book.

I mainly wanted to read this to finally get the part of Holly Gibney’s story that I had missed. I am happy I did as If its bleed was the best story in the collection.

Mr. Harrigan's Phone – reminded a bit of the beginning to Fairy Tale. Young boy helping out an old man down the road. For the first part of the story, I forgot what I was reading as I was more then happy to read along about this friendship. It does take some time to get to the cell phone part that the story is named for. From there its good but rushed.

The Life of Chuck – Was weird but engaging. An apocalyptic slice of life.

If It Bleeds – Was the best story. This may be because I have read the other books with Holly and the gang in them and have loved them ever since. The idea of this creature and how it feeds was well done. Though out the investigation you get to build up a creep factor long before meeting the thing. It was well paced and kept you interested.

Rat – This is my second favorite story in this collection. The build up is slow but intense. The process of writing a novel is interesting along with the motivations behind it. The beginning is the best part. After making a deal with the rat the story loses its intensity. The ending is of but not a strong as some of the others in this book.