paige

I don't generally love historical fiction WW2 books, I think they're a bit... overdone perhaps? But maybe I liked this one because it was about witches in WW2 lol.
I appreciated the way the story unfolded, but some of the “twists” were a bit predictable. But that doesn't mean they weren't good! :)

Oh. My. God. This was SO good. Easily one of the best books I've read all year, maybe ever??? I think it will find its way into my top 10. This is what you want from high fantasy. I have briefly looked for the authors inspiration, but didn't find anything super conclusive. But I could see her drawing inspiration from the what the English did to the Irish or Israel to Palestine. Or really any other imperialist, colonizer who believes themselves to be gods chosen people.

Overall, the book was incredible. Truly, I have no notes. I will definitely be checking out some of her other books!

I might adjust the rating idk. I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. It's honestly probably more of a 3.5, but

It's not that I think TJR has written bad books previously (though I haven't read all of her works), is that I truly believe she has refined her skill and found her voice. I have enjoyed her other books, but this one... this hit different. The writing was stunning. I was captivated, I read 80% of this the first day. And the only reason I didn't finish it was bc I needed to go to sleep. The story was incredible, it was heartbreaking, it was inspiring. I saw myself as the little girl going to space camp and the Sally Ride Science Fair every year. As a woman in a male dominated field hoping to convince young girls that they too can do anything they set their mind to.
I love this book so much. It was perfect.

idk man. this just seems like a great example of why you can't trust rich people. they'll do anything to stay rich and maintain power.
also, the author was clearly a swiffer wet jet. the sweatshirt and the neighbors name can't be a coincidence.

I'm pretty sure TJ Klune could mesmerize me with his grocery list tbh.
Another excellent book from him

Fun, quick read. I did have to drink a spritz while reading though.

It's not that I don't recommend this book, it's that you could probably get what you needed off of her website instead.
Also, it's not a great look to go on and on and on for chapters about how this is very real and backed by science, but then bring up The Body Keeps the Score and Bessel van der Kolk to liken what you're doing to his work. It's not that I don't agree with the overall message that we store trauma in our body, it's the problematic views of the author outside of that. (He also misrepresented research findings, so I wouldn't call him particularly credible... Once again, maybe don't hitch your horse to that particular wagon if you want people to view you as credible.)

Also, I saw another reviewer say that they agreed with the content of the book and believed in it, but it was pushed so hard it began to feel scammy. And I fully agree with that. I feel like I'm being sold some MLM product or something. Even though I actually believe what the author is saying.

My advice? Skip this book and check out the authors website instead for the journaling and meditation information. If you want to better understand your nervous system and trauma and its complexities, please also skip The Body Keeps the Score and read literally anything else on the subject matter. (Some recommendations though: Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker, What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo, The Deepest Well by Dr Nadine Burke, My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem)

TLDR: the actual message/what she is offering is fine, but god I hated reading this book.

This was going to be a 4 star before the ending... but I can't give it 3.5 stars in Goodreads. so it's 3.5 rounded up to 4.
In truth, there wasn't really anything wrong with the ending. Other people may like it. I just didn't. I had a different ending in mind for this book, and the actual ending took me by surprise. Although, maybe this ending was the easiest way to tie everything up, I'm not sure.
But I did really like this book overall, and I would read another book by the author.

Quick read, but worthwhile.

Cozy and heart warming

I generally enjoy books by Adrienne Young, and this was no exception. It was a little bonus that it was a book about magic in Washington. But I do think it was a wild choice to give an island in the Puget sound an Irish name. Yep, we've got Whidbey, Camano, Bainbridge, and over to your left is Saoirse.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver

This book was so beautiful. It will live with me for many years I hope.

What in the cinnamon toast f*ck was this? Why does this book have such a high rating??????
Things I hated:
- main character who seems to be okay with all of the red flags happening around her
- main character calling the wife ugly
- main character being fatphobic
- the sheer predictability of this entire book.

This book and the rating are giving me trust issues tbh.

Feels good to be at a point in my astrology journey where I actually knew this info already.

Had to prepare for my visit to Norway obviously.

Confused by the people who gave this a low rating and called it boring????

I'm not totally sure how to feel about this one. It was good, but it also reminded me of Mexican gothic in some ways (hopefully that's not too much of a spoiler.) lol

Rivers Solomon is an incredibly talented writer though, and I always enjoy entering into the worlds they create.

O B S E S S E D

I didn't think I would immediately need the next book.

This was excellent. I kind of knew who the killer was early on in the book, but I think it makes it all the more realistic tbh.

This was fun and I really enjoyed it. But I had a hard time believing some of the details around the cop and lawyer.

But if you just choose to suspend your disbelief for a hot minute, it's great lol.

!!!!!! THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT

IMO not as good as the first book, but I'm grateful that this was a duology nonetheless.

This book started out strong IMO, though I suspected who killed Jess pretty early on. The killer of the others? wtf? So, the overall message here is the women should pay the price of men being perverts? Ok.

You hate to see it.