Jenn

It started out as a cool story with creepy, supernatural vibes, but sometime after the 40% mark, it felt like it fell apart a bit and nothing made sense. Even at the end, there wasn’t a real explanation or clear idea of what happened.

I think I'm just solidifying myself as a fan of sports romance. There's just something about a story with a woman succeeding in a male-dominated space that I very much relate to, and the banter with the guys that is so familiar to me.

F1 is not a sport that I follow, but there are elements of it that I am familiar with, having grown up with a dad who loves NASCAR and racing. For people who are not as plugged into the racing circuit, this book has the feels of the Tom Cruise movie, "Days of Thunder," including having a curly, redheaded female lead (although from the UK, so not a complete copy of Nicole Kidman).

There are elements of found family, not being able to trust the press, friendship, forgiveness, PTSD, and navigating between your emotional life and your professional life. The blurb on the back makes you think that this is a second-chance romance, but the reality was more like an unrequited first infatuation - there are still past feelings to be dealt with, but not the betrayal and heartbreak that so often comes with the second chance trope.

I loved this story! It combined two of my favorites: romance and aviation. I liked that it had a lot of details about the process of getting a private pilot's license within a complex world where the FMC had to struggle with misogyny (which is everywhere and can be subtle and unnoticed, as she shows), her mistaken perceptions of past events, the real struggles of everyday people who have to make the hard choices between health and home when financial resources are limited, and her own moral dilemmas.

I love that this cookbook reads with just the same personality and humor as Jessica's videos as ApplesauceandADHD on FB, IG, TikTok, etc. The recipes sound delicious and actually do-able without spending an entire day in the kitchen trying to master complicated recipes. I'm excited to try some of these in my own kitchen (and wondering if I can make some no-bake bars before I go to bed tonight)!

I got this book because my fiancé used to be one of the skippers, and I thought it would be a good memory of that time for him, and a good introduction to that part of his life for me. This was a pretty comprehensive book, with a lot of interviews from various people who were involved with the ride. It was good to have so many different perspectives, but at the same time it was a little repetitive when people had the same memories or experiences. That doesn't detract at all from the depth of research this project obviously shows. I would recommend it to anyone who has a love for the Jaws Ride or want to learn more about what it takes to put on a theme park ride.

This was a crazy ride! Talk about blurring the lines between fiction and reality. It was such a meta tale, with elements from Colleen's real life experiences bleeding over to the main character, Petra's, to Petra's character, Reya. Fast-paced, thrilling, and with a bit of danger, this was a great book to devour. I read it with my eyes wide from all the audacity. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this story. There were some slow parts in the beginning and the way the world and the magic system works is still a bit fuzzy, even after finishing the book. Part of it is that the main character isn't fully read in on how things work - she only has what she has been told by her corrupt government, where any suspicion of anything less than complete faith in the government is seen as heresy and treason and comes with a death sentence they call Mercy.

Isola has a lot of grit and fire to her and I like that she isn't immediately swoony over the male main character. She is loyal to her friends and displays a good relationship with her parents, who are divorced, her stepmother, and her step-siblings.

I think this book is going to be a duology, and I'd like to re-read it before the next book is released. I was excited to pick this book up on its release day.

I would say that this book was a solid 4 stars until the first timeline break in the narrative. The pacing was great and I was invested in the case. Once the timeline changes, I felt like I was having to start over with my relationship to the characters and the pacing slowed down quite a bit. We lingered more on the interpersonal relationships between characters in the town and I was almost ready to give up. However, I kept reading through and the last quarter of the book picked up and I was again invested in the characters and eager to see what happened next.

I am not a huge mystery/thriller reader to begin with, so take my review with a grain of salt. Also, I prefer fast-paced narratives, and the ideal mystery/thriller reader may really like to linger in a really immersive, atmospheric setting.

The writing was good, and while I had a bit of a suspicion of the final bad guy, the way it played out was not something I was anticipating at all.

This was a very atmospheric and absorbing story that drew you in line by line like Chloe was drawn into Clara's life. The way in which this story is told was very well done, bringing the reader into their privileged, pampered world where gaslighting is artfully weaved around bald-faced admissions of wrongdoing, but then twisted to undermine their subtle horror. And just when you reach the end and it feels that the world is righting itself, one final twist....

This was a pretty cute YA romance. I liked that there wasn't *really* too much that was flawed with either of Emma's love interests. They were a little timid, nervous, arrogant, and said the wrong things, but I think it read really true for their age and general sheltered states. I think, given enough time, everyone involved could have gained some emotional maturity and turned out to be a good partner.

There's no spice in this book.

This was a cute story. It went from conflict to resolution pretty fast, but what can you expect from a short story? I liked the banter and how they slowly warmed up to each other because they were able to engage in a way that removed their painful history from the equation.

This was a good story! Part "The Little Mermaid," part pirate adventure. It reminded me a lot of a novel a friend has written (not yet published). I loved all the twists and turns and how Celeste struggled with duty vs her inner morality, what made someone part of your family, and her own sense of self-worth in a setting where she rarely has all the information that would be helpful to know.