Michelle
This was the right book at the right time. Although it contained a lot of tragedy, ultimately it was a story of hope, which fit what I needed at that moment.
I loved Grace. I empathized with Grace. I spent a lot of time wondering what I would do in Grace's shoes, both as a woman of her time, and as a woman of my time.
A lot of the book is about what makes a house a home. The same space can be heaven or hell based on with whom you share that space. Beauty or squalor.
Ultimately, Grace realizes her life is her own, full of possibilities.
I really liked this. I see a lot of people are disappointed that the book marketed as a romantic mystery was a romantic mystery and not a thriller. Welp. :)
I was invested, and a couple of the twists really took me by surprise.
Was it instalove? For sure, but it had to be to make much of the book work. We have a woman who falls in love in a week, and then knows something is wrong when he cuts off contact. Everyone is quick to believe she's just deluded, and she has to even doubt her own beliefs. If this were a guy she'd been with forever, that would be a very different dynamic.
I don't read romance novels nearly as much as I used to. This is a major understatement, actually. They used to be 90% of the books I read, and now I am very eclectic. So, when I read one, I think my expectations are at another level. I think the mystery element really made this for me.
This book was recommended to me through a service I subscribe to. TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations. I quite like the service, and the thoughtful recommendations I've received so far. They're not paying me, I pay them. :)
I was recommended this book because I like true crime, but I prefer it through a feminist lens, and with a huge dose of empathy. This met those preferences.
Here, we meet several female murderers. Poison by far being their favorite method. We explore how being a woman molded their choices, played into the media narratives, made people in some cases less likely to suspect them, and in other cases quick to call them witches.
To some extent, the writing felt a bit clunky, but the author also has this really wicked and dark sense of humor that would pop up and make me laugh.
I enjoyed recapping the stories for my husband, both to keep him in line, and to amuse him. “So, there's this scroll marked confession, and the guy who finds it thinks it's just between the corpse and his God, so he chucks it into the fire. THEN he finds all this poison, and I bet he regretted chucking the scroll into the fire.”
This was a pretty slow read for me until the last 10 pages, and then I instantly wanted to read the next book. I knew there was a point to all the duller stuff, and there was, but I still would have liked some more fun deductive details throughout and a little more liveliness.
Enjoyed the descriptions of food. :)
Rooting for Livy!
The whole Moriarty angle is only of moderate interest to me.
Simply told evocative story about hope, freedom, and hoping for freedom. Sometimes children's books pack the biggest punch in getting to the heart of what matters. We all count the days toward when we can relax, but it's nothing less than humbling to imagine if that time off was your only connection to home, family, freedom, language, and connection to what was taken from you, what you were taken from.
Hi, I won a Kindle copy of this in a Goodreads Giveaweay
I didn't take this book too seriously for the first 2/3rds. I read along, enjoying, thinking. “Okay, what bonkers thing is going to happen next,” and then another bonkers thing would happen. I found it very VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic in tone, a bit more soap operaesque, meant to be engaging, but not literary or deep.
Mercy, the main character, is pretty simple in doing what it takes to survive. There are no scenes where she thinks or analyzes. The writing heavily favors telling over showing. I think the story would have had a whole different tone and a different level of engagement for me if Mercy would have been more proactive, instead of waiting for the bad thing to happen before making her next move.
The last portion of the book, however, seemed deeper, started to make me care and engage more, as the book felt like it had a theme, a message, and Mercy seemed to experience growth. One of the things I would say about the series that began with Flowers in the Attic is that Cathy never really matured from the child she was in the very beginning, never really operated as an adult. Mercy was similar for most of the book, and then she took steps to become more.
And so toward the end, I though, okay, it's about sisterhood, not just the biological kind, but the female relationships we choose for ourselves – wow, I like that. But everything that came before only lightly hinted at that. If this book at been operating at this level, both in terms of the sisterhood angle and in terms of feminist commentary on the men she encounters – whew!
4 stars because I always liked this book, and it would be 4 stars even if that last portion didn't become more layered, because it was entertaining. I LOVED Flowers in the Attic, after all. However, that last portion indicates to me that Jenna Cosgrove has more going on than I thought, and that it's quite likely I will love future books from her.
Also, love tattoos, so...
Cute and funny. Short, so doesn't explore all the aspects of the premise. I saw another review that says this hits the moral hard, but ... that's expected in a MG story, and with this plot. In order to become unstuck, you have to learn a lesson, figure out why you're stuck, experience growth, and it's probably going to come down to letting go of your ego and becoming a more altruistic human. I don't think the author emphasized that too much, though, considering the main audience for this might be very new to this theme. Adults understand the Groundhog's Day of it all, but a child might not, and so it's a new concept.
The voice actors were pretty good, especially as many of them had to “age up.” Even the main character had to mentally age up, even if he physically did not.
There's a bully character who actually, um, gets over it who I'd like to know more about. What happened?
This is the story of Emira and Alix. Emira is a 25-year-old black woman figuring out the path she wants to pursue in life. Alix is a white woman in her early thirties, well-to-do, mother of two, and adrift in her own way. Emira babysits Alix's daughters, and is particularly smitten with the older the the two, a toddler named Briar.
Alix, at first glance is a kind, somewhat progressive woman, but she has brings her issues to her relationship with Emira. Alix takes pride in having multiple PoC at the dinner table, because of what it says about her. She becomes obsessed with and dotes on Emira for much the same reason. She is kinda like a lot of white liberal women, and this story explores how insidious this all is, and how people pass these behaviors down to their children even without being aware of it – because these women also write their own narratives and buy into their own manufactured version.
I find it interesting, and valid, how Emira was not a “go-getter,” taking life in stride and avoiding confrontations. I think it's a less explored POV. She doesn't know what she wants to do, but she knows that no one else should decide for her either.
Because Emira is so low key, events that in another novel would be bigger explosions tend to operate more subtly. She sees and does what she needs to see and do in her own time, and at her own pace.
I appreciated very much the last scene that makes clear a dynamic that was hiding in plain site in terms of Emira, Briar, and Alix. Alix, for all her pretense of enlightenment, is not that far from a plantation owner's wife, absolving guilt and responsibility by treating “the help” very well, and wondering why she isn't better appreciated.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway, but my opinions are my own. Stop me, ladies, if you've heard this before...A man meets a woman briefly, and feels entitled to her love. A man meets a woman briefly, projects on her a personality that is nothing like she is in actuality, and then gets angry when he finds out she is her own person, with thoughts, ambitions, and dreams of her own.. A man meets a woman and doesn't take no for an answer. A woman expresses concern over the behavior of a man to another man, and the man she confides in doesn't take her seriously. The Doll Factory is about the way when capture women, mold them to their fantasies and desires, assumes of them some fantasy, expects of them not to be fully fleshed out humans. It's set in the Victorian era, and makes me think of [b:The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper 37570548 The Five The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Hallie Rubenhold https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519263139l/37570548.SY75.jpg 59148767]. Those real women have also been objectified, simplified, and discarded. They too felt the constraints of polite society, and limited choices. Highly recommended. It was fun to look of the artwork mentioned throughout the book, and I could have kept going and researching, easily Googled and Wiki'd for weeks.I do have to mention there's a lot of animal cruelty in the book, which is a tough thing for me, but I believed it served a purpose, and I did skim the a few paragraphs.
Maddy goes to spend the summer at her grandmother's, who lives in the bayou, and in doing so she finds out who she really is, what makes her special, and where she belongs. There's friendship, magic, community, and an oil spill. The oil spill's damage is lessened through magic, if only these things could be handled that way in real life. Still, this story makes clear on a middle grade level all that is at stake when a part of the environment is lost, the lives, jobs, and communities effected.
I've found out in recent weeks about Mami Wata, and she appears in this story. Turns out, not all mermaids look like Ariel, and they never did.
I think one of the most important messages we can impart on children is to not worry about the people who find them odd, but to know there is a place for them in the world, they just need to find it.
I really loved this story so much I was able to really overlook plot holes and details that involved a massive suspension of disbelief. Other reviewers have covered in more depth the absurdity of two people designing and operating a vast virtual world as a part-time thing. And that in a virtual world with hundreds of thousands of people, the main character has an uncanny knack of interacting with people who she will interact with in the virtual world, or vice versa. And in an area with an indame amount of people, always spot essentially a needle in a haystack. There's more, but it's not where I want to dwell. My recommendation asks that you very willingly suspend your disbelief.
I love these characters, and I love the Slay world – both the VR world of Slay, and the “real world” the story is set so much more than the Oasis of Ready Player One. Imagine a book where it's taken for granted women can be fierce gamers, and developers, with no not like other girls BS, tokenism, or fetishization. Because clearly Ernest Cline couldn't, and didn't, imagine this world. Ugh. And Brittney Morris was much more respectful to the LGBQIA+ community. I want to go there while knowing I have no business there.
I think Britney Morris also raised some interesting issues and discussions, and flawlessly portrayed white person privilege. People who are targeted, imo, deserve safe places, and shouldn't have to defend this idea.
I wish we had had more of Kiera post her identity being revealed. I kinda hope we encounter her again.
There's one plot point I don't feel is my place to discuss, and so please see Own Voices reviewers regarding the reveal of the “villain” and all the implications. I read it, took it in, but I don't find it appropriate to weigh in, certainly not as to the implications. I will say, implications aside, the identity falls under the need for a willing suspension of belief.
I won my copy in a Goodreads Giveaway.
Although I'm a bit older than the target demographic, and don't have kids, I loved this book and can't wait to donate it to my Little Free Library in order to start it on the next leg of it's journey. I enjoyed it so much, I'm a little tempted to keep it.
The stories of the various princesses are simple and moving, perfect for bedtime. The illustrations accompany the text beautifully.
I appreciated the message that a princesses can be proactive and active, but that the author didn't forget to honor the introverts and storytellers. Natasha Farrant also made clear a princess doesn't have to technically be royalty. Most of the princesses are surrounded by love, but some feel like outsiders, and have to find their own place, or fight to be understood.
While the stories take place in many different cultures, which I love, none of the stories are so steeped in their cultures as to not feel universal. They present a wonderful opportunity for exploration of different places and times. I think it would be cool to have a story be the key to talking about diverse cultures and expectations for girls and women.
I teared up a bit at the ending, and during the tale of a princess and her pet crocodile. Being me, I'm a sucker for encouraging kindness toward animals by promoting empathy.
I would love to see this become a standard on bookshelves everywhere. While boys might balk, I think they will also find a lot to related to in these stories.
???Symbolism gives folks hope. But I???ve come to learn that symbolism is a threat to actual change???it???s a chance for those in power to say, ???Look how far you have come??? rather than admitting, ???Look how long we???ve stopped you from getting here.???
Beautiful cover. Beautiful truthful story told in a heartfelt way. The audiobook is read by the author. I loved hearing about George's supportive family.
“...the thing about hate is you can't throw it on someone else without getting a little bit on yourself.???
I've connected with other books around the topic more, and felt the characters and plot were a bit clunky or not fully fleshed out. Gorgeous cover! Please prioritize own voice reviewers over my thoughts.
I applaud the author for writing this. I think the most pertinent parks were released before the book was released. Not a whole lot of modern day anecdotes since she is not in his inner circle, she barely ever mattered to him, and she is the daughter of the brother he couldn't be bothered to mourn.
What this does well is explain what exactly caused all the damage to Donald Trump's psyche, what turned what started out as presumably a perfectly good human, and turned him into an utterly morally bankrupt, intellectually bereft, destroyer of ... things.
You can definitely see the through-line between being taught that love, kindness, and admitting failure are forbidden and what we have now. We also learn that according to the Trumps, airline pilot is equivalent to bus driver. Considering that time Trump climbed up into the truck cab, and seemed giddy and playful, we all would be much better off with bus driver being seen as a worthy endeavor.
If Mary Trump is a quarter as stable as she seems to be, coming from that family, there's hope for us all.
I liked this. It wasn't a 5 star for me because the ratio of seriousness of lightness, and the very easy resolution of issues, didn't quite hit the target for me. And that's a really personal thing, and I in no way find it a personal failing of the author. I just wanted more with her brother's illness, the obstacles to not fall away so quickly.
I'd almost compare it to the Schitt's Creek world, in that it was meant to take place in a town without homophobia. Here, there was some bigotry, some homophobia, but very little. There was almost this feeling that all Liz ever had to do was try harder to be popular, athletic, unique, and voila – that her worries were not quite real. I mean, I can't fault the author for wanting it to be a better world, but it seemed like there was one bad person, and once she was dealt with... Just like I understand Dan Levy wanting to make his world one of inclusion, I can't begrudge this for Leah Johnson.
But in the end, I gave in and was moved by the fairy tale ending Liz never expected to receive.
Near perfect read. I like and respect the premise – the nods to other books, including mashups of “literature” and horror. I liked what the book had to say about the human instinct to ignore the things we want to keep at a distance. And I liked what the book had to say about women not being taken seriously. Bahni Turpin! I listened to the audiobook, and I'm so glad I did. If I listed my favorite audiobooks of all time, no narrator would show up more than Bahni Turpin. I just love her work, and she blew me away yet again.A deal with the devil. I kept on thinking about the Audre Lorde quote about how the master???s tools will never dismantle the master???s house. The white women at the center of the story are invested in not rocking the boat, in not challenging their husbands, in justifying the status quo. White women, then and today, come by a lot of their privilege through the white men with whom they align, and these women find out just how precarious it all is. Early on, we're told a story about the vampire which shows his modus operandi – target black people, appeal to the greed and ego of white men. The main character, Patricia, tries to appeal to her friends, telling them he's harming black children. They try very hard not to believe, wanting to choose ignorance, especially since their husbands are in business with him. Patricia fairly early on makes the association that those kids could be her kids, and you save children when in peril. Why, yes, there's foreshadowing then. I had sympathy for some of the women, I also wanted to smack them, and their willfull ignorance. These women were rarely overtly racist, but they happily lived in their segregated neighborhood, chatting about gated communities, oblivious to what's happening down the road from them. Arguably the most heroic person is a black woman who looks after the main character's mother in law, and she I would have loved more of her perspective. She also calls the ladies on their B.S.This story is the road to these women removing their blinders, which might be a bit of a familiar feeling to some people these days. You could definitely read it through the lens of BLM, and a theme of which lives matter, and to what degree. Not that the author is overt, or directly invokes it. A quick Google search indicates he is not publicly political. SSDGM by a Vampire The women are fans of true crime, and that just might be what saves them. The excerpts and discussions are murderino approved! Blah Blah Blah The vampire, and just about every man in this story is a big old mansplainer. The vampire mansplained until the last moment. Some “people” cannot be killed enough. The men also kinda ruined the book club for a bit. Being a woman with important information, and being gaslighted and not heard is a pretty classic (and relatable) horror trope. He has his father's eyes. One of the classic authors of satirical horror was a man named Ira Levin, and I have to think Grady Hendrix, who is a student of the genre [b:Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction 33670466 Paperbacks from Hell The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504436657l/33670466.SX50.jpg 54542087] had him in mind, particularly [b:Rosemary's Baby 228296 Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1) Ira Levin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878603l/228296.SY75.jpg 883024] and [b:The Stepford Wives 52350 The Stepford Wives Ira Levin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554371721l/52350.SY75.jpg 1534281]. The Levin books and this one have oodles in common, particularly husbands who will sell out their family for success, and wives who are belittled while living the saying that you are not paranoid if people really are out to get you. You CAN judge a Grady Hendrix book by it's cover. He has the best covers these days. I cannot decide which version of My Best Friend's Exorcism I prefer, but I think it's the VHS looking one.[bc:My Best Friend's Exorcism 41015038 My Best Friend's Exorcism Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533059241l/41015038.SY75.jpg 46065002][bc:My Best Friend's Exorcism 26118005 My Best Friend's Exorcism Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456208235l/26118005.SX50.jpg 46065002]Genius. Meanwhile, this cover is –Chef's kiss– Women's fiction, literary fiction, horror, maybe even Twilight. Compare:[bc:The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires 54333381 The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593499474l/54333381.SX50.jpg 68534292][bc:Commonwealth 28214365 Commonwealth Ann Patchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483278132l/28214365.SY75.jpg 48242398][bc:Twilight 41865 Twilight (Twilight, #1) Stephenie Meyer https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1361039443l/41865.SY75.jpg 3212258][bc:Bite Me 8570832 Bite Me Christopher Moore https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442548654l/8570832.SY75.jpg 6752024]Here's a secret I usually also end up becoming a bit chocked up ready books by this author. The stories are camp, and satire, and funny, but there's also a real heart there that comes shining through at unexpected moments. What else? I hate when pets die horribly in horror, and this author HAS DONE THAT BEFORE in a way that – no pun intended – haunts me, so when I saw there was a dog in this one... See, I am traditionally so worried about the pet that any time they're on the page I'm so freaked out that my enjoyment of the story is diminished. In case you are like me, and would prefer to know going in... The book takes place over several years, and the dog does eventually die, and it IS sad, but Ragtag does not die a sad horror story death. Close, but...Oh, the son is obsessed with Nazis, and Patricia never pursues that, which to me is just part of the theme of not wanting to deal with the hard stuff. Also, I am not saying this would automatically make him evil, considering what I read, but it fascinates me that she never pursues this. Major Spoiler And nothing comes of it. I suppose it was just there for the reading to track and worry about.
What is my dumb butt going to say that is adequate? Very powerful, and still timely. Heartbreaking. We are still holding girls up to impossible beauty standards, making them feel inherently ugly because of the color of their skin. There's still too much judgement, and not enough love. We're all being nicked and cut by casual and deliberate cruelties. We're still inflicting our pain on others.
I finished this, went to sleep, and woke up almost too sad to get out of bed. My heart is broken for Pecola, for all the Pecolas.
Terrific read. Told in free verse – I think, not up on poetry terms – and the story really flows. The language is lovely. The heart is apparent. I would say you forget the poetry, but that's not it. The poetry feels natural, and keeps the story moving, gets to the core of what the author seeks to get across.
This really worked for me, particularly the stand-in for Harley Quinn. We know the tropes that make women expendable in comics, in fiction, and perhaps in life. These stories give these women their voices, compassion, the respect of seeing them as more than an appendage, or an incentive to Be a Better Man.
Also, Grimdark is the best substitute for the name Batman!
I liked the ending the best, no spoilers, where these forgotten and tossed aside women in the most inclusive way invited in another women into their circle.
TW: non-explicit sexual abuse of minors.
I was suggested this book by my bibliologist at MyTBR – in this case TBR stands for tailored book recommendations. I thought it would be fun to tell someone all about my book preferences and see what they would recommend ... and it totally was.
One of the things I wanted was books with strong female characters, thrillers and mysteries, historical stuff.
This Sherlock Holmes retelling for me. I loved the Victorian setting. I've read histories of the time, biographies of Queen Victoria, and recently read The Five about the women murdered by Jack the Ripper. The Five revealed in depth the overwhelmingly odds stacked against a woman in that time if she didn't have the protection of a man or respectability.
This is clearly the place and time where A Study is set, and Charlotte definitely deals with that reality. The tone is fairly light, and I of course didn't worry that Charlotte would come to real harm, but I enjoyed how it echoed the truth of the time.
The mystery was pretty good. I don't think it was the main reason I enjoyed the story, which for me would be the characters and setting. Without spoiling anything, I appreciated how it dealt with sensitive matters of import as opposed to having the motive be frivolous and unrelatable. What would you kill for is always an interesting question. What I'm saying is I liked the resolution, but the journey was more fine than fascinating.
One of the main characters is an Inspector Treadles. I am very interested in where his story goes, and how he evolves. He is a great blend of progressive and a man of his time, with limiting beliefs about women, and their agency. I want to know how continued contact with an intelligent, independent woman shapes him – and his marriage – going forward.
I also love Charlotte's sister, Livy, and her confidante Mrs. Watson. Livy is every bit as interesting as Charlotte, and more trapped in her life than Charlotte, which I don't imagine will continue for too long. I want to see what her future holds.
I like what Mrs. Watson brings to the table, and the tools and insights she offers.
Charlotte herself is of course perceptive, but not without blind spots of flaws. She is cool-headed, but also capable of love, and capable of compassion that can lead her into making mistakes. I love that she loves fashion, and how that and her angelic appearance allows for people to underestimate her. I think she wears the clothes she does for her own enjoyment, and I think her efforts to keep it at 1 and 1/2 chins, or whatever, is based on what she and she alone likes to see in the mirror. I am a fan of stories that don't claim that the only women who can be heroes are ones that fully emulate traditionally masculine ideals.
It was a little challenging keeping the characters straight, since I feel I should come up with a criticism. That is the thing that bothered me the most.
I won this a good while ago in a Goodreads raffle.
The author is quite talented in exploring grief, violence, abuse and toxic masculinity.
Warning: Every single story, except maybe one, has animal death, or animal torture, or detailed descriptions of butchering. I used to work at an animal shelter in Detroit, complete with a cruelty department, so the story about shooting wild dogs in Detroit was kinda darkly absurd for me.
Many of the stories contain people beating on each other for sport, or to get out their rage.
There are no happy endings.
I don't feel, as much as I admire the author's talent, that I would read another book by him.Relentless depictions of animals being shot, set on fire, tortured, and hopeless, abused, and abusing humans, are not a good cocktail for me.