Jenn
Very very slow until the last 25%. The ending was good and I’m excited to jump into the next book which makes me look back on the-almost-dnfed-it 75% with appreciation. Kind of like when you white knuckle a workout and then feel glad you did it only once it’s over.
There was some great character development in Celeana, but every other character seemed flattened to make room. Characters I loved feel like strangers now. The pacing was off too, some really short bursts of excitement and plot movement, followed by several long chapters of something else entirely and not interesting.
It sounds like I hated this book. I didn’t, it just didn’t grab me like the others. Hope the next one picks it up.
I think this is a book you need to be in the mood for to enjoy. I seem to be in that particular mood (curious looking for curiosity?), so I kind of loved it.
I'm pretty sure the main character is on the spectrum and whether or not this is an accurate portrayal of an autistic person's internal monologue, it made me feel so much empathy for her and how difficult society can be when you don't understand the “rules.” And to be fair, a lot of society's rules make absolutely no sense literally anyway.
I see this as is a character study (with some societal critique) and I really enjoy the growth the main character experiences, even in such a confined space of a sub 200 page book taking place primarily in a convenience store.
This is a translated book, and the prose was not what I was expecting. It was very simple and tell not show, which annoyed me at first but I got over. The narrator's internal monologue and reactions are strange and don't seem to meet the moment, but it might be a cultural difference.
This is a cozy little book that is about estranged family relationships, grief, and how we deal with it. It's broken into two parts, the first is more about books and the bookstore, the second focuses more on the relationships.
Pairs well with tea.
4.5. Nearly perfect, it lagged enough in the middle that I put it down for a week, but it fully redeemed itself in the end. This is my first Blake Crouch book and I'll be reading the others. It's a surprising mix of heavy science (no idea how real or accurate it is but it was believable and not eyeroll-y), thriller, and also super emotional with some beautiful writing. It definitely made me think and feel. So good!
I think this is my second book by Tana and I liked it much better than the first. Solid, interesting plot, lovely writing and descriptions, she's a great writer and I enjoyed it.
HOWEVER. It loses a couple stars for the awful Antoinette. The MC was so extremely unlikeable, paranoid, annoying, and... kind of bad at her job? All while bragging about how bad ass she is. Pass on her, her partner saved this book for me. I get wanting to have an edgy flawed MC, but for me she was just mean and whiny.
Meh. The premise sounded interesting- a serial killer couple! But unfortunately it fell pretty flat for me. I know it's first person, but even so it was very “tell” no “show.” It was also super drawn out in non important ways, and things that felt like it should have been a bigger revelation were a sentence and never revisited. I did finish it though, and pretty quickly, so 2.5 stars.
Oh this was a good one. I was in the mood for a mystery/thriller and this delivered. The premise was “fun” being a true crime documentary and it made for a quick pace and urgent storytelling. There were lots of twists and a few of them I didn't see coming and was actually shocked by them. It was a very fun ride!
I read this book because BookTok said it was “vibes” and no plot and I wanted to know what that meant. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
To me, it's a character study and I loved it. Stuff happens and there is a plot, but it's a close up, intimate study of two people and how their relationship impacts their circle of friends and family.
A lot of reviews complained that it was a bunch of unlikeable people, but I found them unlikeable in ways that we all are and by the end I actually loved them all. Everyone grew or changed and that feels very human to me. Except Quentin, he really was the worst.
The prose was occasionally a little cringey and extra, and I thought the self harm parts were in poor taste and ick, but somehow I couldn't help loving it anyway.
I read this book in 3 sittings over a day and a half if that gives you any idea on pacing and the one-more-chapter-what-happens-next element.
Assassins, trials, duels, some mystical otherworldlyness, female friendship, an optional side quest of a love triangle... it just hit the spot.
I will say, as much as I liked Celeana, she was a little too young, too overly talented at very random things, and weirdly oblivious to people sneaking up on her- for an assassin!- and it took me out of the story sometimes.
Still super fun and definitely a reading rut buster.
Loved the first part, I thought it was setting the stage for something really fun. It got such good reviews I pushed through, but after the first handful of chapters I had no idea what was going on, why the characters were acting the way they were, and kept thinking I missed something. I'm a bit jealous of those that loved it, I wanted to!
2.5 stars
There's something brewing throughout this book and it explodes at the end. It's not what you think when you read it. It starts out puppy dog and ends.... Weird.
Overall I SO enjoyed the story. I would have not done what the author did in the second half -it's not bad, just kind of funky- but it's not my story so he can obviously do whatever he wants.
A word to the wise: if you read this you WILL want to bake again like it's spring 2020 and you WILL eat a lot of bread- make sure it's good. Enjoy!
This was so good! All the things that bugged me from the first book are resolved in this one. The characters have more depth, Fayre grows a ton, and the world feels richer. Several scenes are so well written, I feel like I watched them, not read them. Absolutely loved it, can't wait to read the next.
Loved it. It was a fun world to explore with a familiar beauty and the beast plot. Crushed this book in less than two days, it was fun to be swept up like that.
I docked a star because I did find it a little too neat and perfect. At one point I was like “oh so this is literally just the story of Beauty and the Beast but the beast is hot the whole time and we get to read about them boning, k” I also don't understand how the heroine can be so crafty and smart and also SO DUMB at the same time. A little cruel on the authors part because it's clearly just to add some fake friction and our clever girl deserves better. I enjoy character studies and world building but I feel like something must have happened in the editing process because it's all mystery and intrigue for a few hundred pages and then a single character tells all in a single monologue. Also somehow the phrase “my bowels turned watery” shows up 3 times and it's just way too vivid and awkward to use more than once.
So a little bit disappointing but I still had so much fun and can't wait to read the next!
A beautiful story. I loved every page of it and I think I'll miss the characters and the place where they all live. The author built such a rich and magical environment and characters you actually care about. It also spans a wide range of topics: family, death, grief, mental illness, wealth and poverty, but most of all love. I'm not really sure how the author fit it all in!
I'm not sure how I came across this book, and I somehow missed that this was by the same author who wrote The Pisces. I feel bad giving it two stars because I think I'm just not her audience.
There's some interesting themes around eating disorders, self hate/acceptance, parent/child relationships that were explored among other things, but parts of it was just so gross it kept me at a distance and I couldn't really enjoy it.
That said, I'm so glad the writer is who she is and writes what she wants how she wants to write it. She doesn't shy away and that's admirable.
