Ryan

I'd never heard of this book until recently, but I was hooked by the weird combination of murdering and mindfulness.

It's a pretty humorous book, and I surprisingly learned a thing or two about mindfulness along the way.

I found it just a touch hard to follow toward the end, but honestly that could be my fault more than the author's since I had a hard time keeping up with the different characters by then.

All in all a unique plot and not like something I've read before. I'd definitely recommend anyone looking for something quirky to give it a go!

Pretty good book. I was laughing at some funny things at the very beginning, but as time went on I found myself starting to get a touch bored by the book here and there. It was overall a fascinating one to read though and I still enjoyed it quite a bit, so I still would recommend it.

This book had so much potential, but just could not live up to the interesting plot. While I get that worldbuilding needs to be done, I felt the book got too sidetracked in the first half with it. By the time we started getting into the meat of it into the final three-quarters, I just wanted it to be over.

The dialogue is OK, and I found the author uses many of the same turns of phrase for different characters, resulting in no one character sounding any different.

Strewn about are also some small grammatical errors. Things like words being repeated twice, words that are missing, and quotes that aren't closed off appropriately.

The plot itself was interesting and there were some pieces I did enjoy, but I just think this book needed some more TLC from either the author or a closer eye from the editor. It has so much potential, but it's just not there.

Wasn't my favorite book. Felt a little to philosophical for me and I felt like the points being made were already ones I'd discovered myself and hadn't added much new to the discourse.

There's some funny dialogue and there is some imaginative scenery setting, and even the plot itself is entertaining enough, but the philosophy of it all really weighs it down for me.

A charming little story about smart appliances in a smart home watching over the senior man and woman living inside it. As appliances, they don't quite understand concepts like "beauty" or metaphors, but they are trying and slowly do learn about them over the course of the book.

Edie, the wife, becomes ill, and life for everyone becomes upended - even for the appliances - as they navigate through this challenge.

Some authors have a way of building tension slowly throughout the entirety of a book, and Glenn Dixon did this wonderfully in this one. The whole time I was reading I was both excited and apprehensive as to what would happen next, becoming attached to both the human characters and appliances in the process.

This book has some simple but beautiful prose, some nice musical imagery as there is some piano playing involved, and an interesting idea at the heart of it all. The ending was beautiful and really tied it all together too, bringing me to tears in the process (I have been picking tearjerkers as of late, apparently).

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and highly highly recommend.

I was originally going to give this book a 2.5 stars or maybe a 3, but it really picked up in the last quarter of the book.

The books suffers from a bit of bloat, making some of the humor get tiresome. For the good first half I couldn't help thinking what was the point of it all... But it was interesting enough that I wanted to see it through, so here we are.

I wish the author delved more into Ryan's thoughts and really explored them more as things feel a bit surface level and basic at times. There was also a lot of ground covered in the book with two main factions, I ended up feeling lost for a bit of the book.

But at the end it somehow ties it all up decently enough that I'd be willing to give the next book a chance.

So is it worth reading? Maybe, maybe not. If you really dislike the humor, I'd say no, but if it's at least tolerable, then maybe. There are some legitimately funny bits, but at other points the jokes don't land the best.

Overall not a half bad book, just has a reaaaaally slow buildup.

Wow. I picked up this book for the eye-catching title and plot and was blown away by what I read.

I expected it to be a little funny, a little scary, but somehow the author also does a great job of exploring childhood traumas and how children work through them (or don't in the case of Ivan, one of the main characters).

I cried a little at the end and felt like I got punched in the gut, but in a good way. Would definitely recommend.

Just a phenomenal book that's made even better by a fantastic audiobook narrator. I found the science to be a bit distracting from the plot at times, but I'm sure some others who read it were able to appreciate it.

I enjoyed the way we slowly are fed bits and pieces about the main character and, by the time I learned everything about him, I was completely hooked! Great book and would highly recommend - especially the audiobook.

Just as good as the first, if not just a touch better. Without as much need for scene-setting, we jump into the action a bit faster which is nicer. Somehow the stakes continue to be raised, and I'm curious to see what happens next!

Great book! I found it a touch hard to follow at first, but quickly got the hang of it as time went on. Following Lindon's journey as been great and it's refreshing having a character who doesn't have a convenient and super strong power that saves the day every day. Everything feels earned by the main character here and I like how the author set up things for the next book. Excited to read the next one!

I really wish I liked this one more. I really do. It has all the things on paper. A cozy element. An interesting sci-fi plot. Food!

But for some reason it just fell flat for me. I didn't feel like I could connect with the characters and it felt like there were too many California-specific references that I felt kind of left out while reading it.

It still was interesting to read and it was a quick read, but I doubt it's something I'd read again.

I almost stopped reading this around page 50-60 just since I felt like the author got a little too in the weeds with scene setting and not enough with moving the story along. I also felt like the relationship between characters was a bit varied. Some friendships felt a little forced for the story, and others felt a bit more natural. The action in the book was tight though and that kept me on the edge of my seat once it finally started.

The author also does a great job of raising the stakes every chapter and I'm grateful I pushed through the first part of the book.

Overall it's worth your time, but you might find the first couple chapters a little hard to get through.

Pretty fun manga. Feel like the pacing is just a touch slower than I'd like, but otherwise a fun one with an interesting concept. Curious to see where it goes from the first volume.

No one in this book is particularly likeable, but they all have such clear motivations for why they do what they do that it doesn't matter.

I loved every minute of this book and couldn't wait to read what happened next. It was like watching a train crash in slow motion and I couldn't look away.

I'm not usually one for mystery books, but had heard so much about this one that I wanted to give it a shot.

Honestly was a bit slow in the first half, but the second half more than makes up for it. I enjoyed how many loose ends were created and tied up in the very end, and there were some funny bits here and there. The slowness may also be typical of mystery novels, but again I don't read them all too much.

Each of the characters are well fleshed out and there's some memorable people in here. There's quite a few though so sometimes I had trouble keeping track.

This was a book I had a hard time getting into at first, but once I was in it I was hooked.

Overall I'd give it 3.75 stars out of 5

Pretty interesting premise so far. Curious to see where it goes!

A cute enough little tale of two friends who dig eating ramen and curry. It feels a little all over the place in the first 2/3, but somehow ties it all together in the end. They seem to be just friends, but I'm curious to see if any romance element will be added in future volumes.

Found this comic book while on a trip in Chicago and it looked so fun I had to grab it. Inside was a fun little story that had me chuckling in surprise in spots.

Loved the illustrations and vibe of it as a whole and would recommend if you're looking for something super quick to read through in an hour or so.

This book is one hell of a ride, right from the very start. It was written as if you were reading back transcripts and, while I was skeptical at first, it works out incredibly well.

There's tons of action, some mystery, and even a pinch of comedy pinched in for good measure.

It's a short and quick read, so give it a shot - I don't think you could go wrong with it!

Overall enjoyed this book, but at times I found it too be just slightly too "quirky". I don't know how to describe it, but the relationship and characters just felt a little over the top. It wasn't bad, but I found it to be a little distracting. The main characters relationship felt fairly decent despite the quirkiness, but the budding romance between the Diarn and Lord felt forced and I didn't pick up on them pining for each other until the characters noticed it.

I also felt like the other didn't take full advantage of switching the POV between Kianthe and Reyna each chapter. It was decent, but I wish they'd gone more into the thoughts of each character and made it more clear why they were switching perspective as a result.

While I have some gripes, the book overall was fun and did keep my attention the whole time, so it was pretty good. It's no Legends and Lattes, but it'll do in a pinch or if you're looking for a light read.

A cute story with a great audiobook narrator. The dialogue was probably my absolute favorite part of this book and the narrator did a great job bringing the book to life. I also felt like the author did a pretty good job navigating the thought processes of the two main characters.

I felt like I got a little distracted sometimes with descriptions of things in the story and what exactly was going on, but it didn't detract too much from the story overall.

It's an endearing story about learning to work past prejudices from previous generations so that two characters can fall in love and I love every moment of it!

Just a touch slow in the middle for me but I really liked this book. It's a great message about working with the talents you have, even if it's not much.

For me, it's one of those books where you finish the last page and feel like you just need to sit for a minute or two and absorb the lessons imbued within - about how adults aren't what they seem, how groups of people can be desperate in times of need, and again working with limited resources.

Really enjoyed and would give it a recommendation.

A light-hearted novel that broaches some touchy subjects - War, Death, Prejudice - in a humorous but serious manner. I really enjoyed this book and the author's ability to tell such a concise but interesting story in such a short span of time. I felt myself get lost in the weeds a little bit here and there, but overall really enjoyed this one.

This book starts off pretty interesting, but I found myself getting a little bored in the middle. It does pick up again toward the end though! I wanted to get more info from the ending, but I also felt like they author chose to finish the story at a good spot.

This book started off so strong, but unfortunately it just wasn't my cup of tea. I had a lot of thoughts so I wanted to categorize them into likes and dislikes.

Likes:

• The skeleton of the story is interesting enough and did keep my attention throughout it as we follow along with Sam, our main character.
• Approaches alcoholism in an interesting way, weaving in magical realism as Sam struggles throughout the book.
• The words are pretty and things are described nicely; One chapter in particular is great - a scene with Gina and Sam dancing in a bar - toward the middle of the book. It covered so much ground and summarized what was happening up to this point very well. I feel like this is where the book should have started (which leads to the Big issue and the one leading off my dislikes with this book:

Dislikes:

• Yes, I did say the descriptions were pretty, but there's simply TOO MANY words. The book takes too much time scene setting and not enough time moving the plot forward. As a result I felt like I kept hearing the same couple of things but in slightly different variations. I wanted to know what happened next, but I felt like we kept getting caught up in describing the same forest over and over again.

• The dialogue is BAD, especially with Sam and Steven, her spouse. You're telling me a couple who has known each other for ten years talks like they barely know each other??? I think it was meant to show how they've drifted apart, but it does not work well in this case and I think there was a better way to get this point across. The dialogue with other characters is just OK, bordering on being cheesy and cliché at points.

Other notes:

• Sam is not much of a likable character and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to like her or not. I'm not entirely sure if this is a bad or good thing to be honest with you, and maybe that was the authors' intention. If so, I applaud them. If not, then I'm not so sure that's a good thing!
• For audiobook fans, the narrator Kira Fixx is WONDERFUL. They do a great job reading the text and it feels like poetry at times. I will definitely have to check out more books narrated by them (hopefully I like the next one I read better.)

I hate rating this book so low since I can tell there's so much hard work that went into this, but my biggest gripe is that it's way too wordy. I feel like with more editing of this book and more paring down of the work, it could be something amazing. I almost feel like it would even work better as a movie or miniseries on TV.

Is it worth reading? Maybe? If you're really into very long-winded descriptions, it may be for you. Or if you're simply looking for a great narrator and want to hear them talk for hours, I guess it could be a good one too.