Andrea Ward
I am so excited seeing Lisbeth and Felicia together!! There was the right amount of world expansion. We see wizards from different countries vying for a bigger sliver of power. And then there is drama with Eli and his brother. And we get to see their hometown come together and protect each other. There was so much good in this book!!
Coziness all throughout! I loved the character of Lou and her grandma. I loved the characters that were added to her life along the way. The ghosts are well done and a good investigation tool. I like that she had found a way to not let the public know she was talking to them. The other family issues were wrapped up pretty quickly and harshly, but it also made sense. So I am torn about my feelings on that part of the book. The solution was not my favorite, but I enjoyed the other parts so much that the solution didn't drag down my enjoyment. The romance is almost like a love triangle and I don't love those, but the author did try to avoid that. So Lou is confused about her love life, which could bring some good character growth.
The horror is very real in this one and that makes it a painful book to read, but it is important to know the real facts that this story is based on. There is a slow build to the final battle scene. The slow build was sometimes a little too slow. The ending was nice to have, but a little too easy after the battle. I would have liked a little bit of time dealing with things before there was a happy ending.
I debate between a 3 and a 3.5. I liked the characters and the time I spent with them. The story moved slowly and sometimes that bothered me, but at other times it was good. There is so much going back and forth in time also. Again I sometimes liked it and sometimes didn't. The ending was not a surprise by the time we got there, but I was surprised that I was so torn about the characters by the end. So I mostly enjoyed reading it, but sometimes it was way too slow.
I love a horror with a slow creeping monster that stays just out of sight. I always love a good investigation. Salem's Lot definitely had both of those things. There were a ton of characters, but I mostly kept them straight. I appreciated the way that ending played out. There was a logic to it. Some of the harsh and awful town members seemed typical of books written at this time period. I didn't like it, but I did expect it.
Overall enjoyable, but not the most horrifying King I have read.
I am always interested in a cursed movie book, so I picked this one up. We get lots of backstage scenes. We get to see the scene of the death that occurs backstage. But the primary parts of the books are getting to know the people involved. The mother trying to save her child is a trope that I am skeptical of, but it is done well here. I recognized the out of place suspicious character pretty quickly, but didn't know how they fit in with the curse and the movie. So there were still secrets to be uncovered by the end of the book. There were plenty of people to be suspicious of throughout the story and that kept me guessing. The romance with the mom was frustrating and made me roll my eyes more than once. Overall pretty good thriller with lots of questionable characters.
Wonderful Wintery Holiday
Decorating a huge pine tree and celebrating as a town sounds like a lovely winter holiday. But the beautiful special tree was stolen! Vera Vixen is out to find the tree and fix the holiday.
I loved the forest setting and creatures. The solution was a little too obvious and not my favorite trope. But the town coming together to celebrate and Joe making pies was a good ending!
The events they went to were cute. The way their relationship developed was a good pace. Their secrets were appropriate for teenagers as they seemed huge, but were maybe just big-ish. The movie and the inn were cute additions. The third act break up made sense and wasn't overblown. The blog posts and books were great. Overall great YA romance with a smidgen of Christmas.
I liked the way Anna and Liam's relationship developed. There were a couple moments where I laughed out loud. I appreciate the portrayal of Liam's dad and the effect he had on people. It really was stressful, but it certainly made the book about more than just their romance. They had to grow and reckon with their own faults and past. Part of the third act break up was a little silly in comparison with the stressors of each of their dads. Overall I liked the romance with deeper character work involved.
I am a sucker for a found family and the small details that really make the world of the book come alive. This book had that in spades! I love the way that kids were taught and they way that they looked at their “home” - the Museum of Natural History. Nonie's “powers” were just the slightest touch, which I thought was well done. Their journey to the new safe area was interesting and I liked the different kinds of challenges faces and people that they found along the way.
My only complaint is that the character of Keller was a little uncomfortable because he felt too tropey, but some of that was resolved by the end.
Overall this was an interesting post apocalyptic found family journey book.
I have debated for a while about how to write this review. I ended up DNFing, but I don't want to give a star rating that would hurt the book. The horror started right away. The setting was Latine in all the very best ways. I sometimes got lost in whose perspective we were in and the time period we were in. I also think I might not have been in the right mindset when I was reading it. I think reading it physically would've been an easier read. I definitely want to come back to this book and try again sometime.
I have mostly avoided Romantasy books, but there was something about this one that made me want to try it and I'm so glad I did. I liked the layers of story and character. I listened to it as an audiobook and it was great to hear the different characters. I was never confused about who was speaking in the different chapters. I did watch a spoiler review before I read it, so that may have contributed to the ease of my following the plot.
It was not a perfect read. A couple complaints- 1. The descriptions were beautiful lush purple prose and then the dialogue was very basic. 2. I didn't like the way the epilogue and the last few characters were done. 3. The chapter of Rekk Zharos POV felt unnecessary. The information could have been given without his POV.
As the first official Romantasy I have read, this was pretty good.
Oh my heart! This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and heartwarming just like so many other books in this series. I am constantly impressed by the way that McGuire creates new and compelling world that fit these characters so perfectly. I now want to go back and reread the first few books, so I can relive all the other scenes with Nadya. This is definitely one of my favorites.
Ellie Brannigan does a fabulous job of making McGrath Castle feel just like home! As soon as I started reading, I was reminded of reading the first one. The sense of place in this series is fabulous. When reading a wedding cozy or an extremely rich people cozy, bridezillas and awful behavior from the main woman is to be expected. However, Brannigan went against type and gave us a demanding, but fair bride who wanted to have a fabulous wedding. There were plenty of other people behaving badly to keep me entertained. Then when all the secrets starting being revealed, my jaw was on the floor. This was a fun light read with a strong sense of place and some fabulous characters.
I love a story with an adventure under water. That was my favorite part of this. I was a little confused about how it all worked before the ship went down . The characters were a bit one note, but the action pushed forward quickly enough that it wasn't too distracting. Overall good thriller under the water.
I love the character of Rita! The narrator most definitely influenced my love for her. The structure with the back and forth nature of it was an interesting way to weave the story together. I didn't love every plot point, but they all worked together for the story. If you want to read a slightly paranormal mystery novel with a compelling sleuth, pick up this one.
