Katie
I liked this but it did feel like reading Ghibli, to the book's benefit and detriment. The plot felt a bit haphazard, where there weren't enough threads connecting the different beats. Not every plot needs to have clear transitions but some of the developments felt arbitrary. The antagonist was quite weak as well. If you like lots of detailed worldbuilding, don't read this. This is mostly vibes and romance. However, large portions felt very ethereal and creative, and I did enjoy the romance.
3.75/4 stars
I normally am suspicious of these type of mysteries, but a booktuber I follow loves this series so I gave it a shot and listened to it from the library. I enjoyed this quite a bit, but some of the plotting seemed to get off track at times in a way that didn't seem intentional? And ultimately, the climax was not nearly thrilling enough.
2.5 stars
I hiked part of the AT in 2024, so the premise and beginning really captured me. Even as the search for the missing woman developed, I kept with it. However the revelation of what actually happened, as well as the tie-in of the elderly lady, felt awkward and arbitrary. There was no real discussion of mental health issues. There was a shoe-horned message about mother/daughter relationships. But it really took a dive into the garbage so anything worthwhile this book had to say fell on deaf ears.
Solid 3 stars.
This was an interesting concept, but I'm not sure how well executed it was. Certainly, the gargoyle got to be annoying. As did the repeated usage of “gossamer.” The beginning dragged quite a bit, the end felt rushed and a touch too contrived. The romance was probably the most believable aspect, and I did enjoy the sections with each of the omens. Otherwise, I wasn't that invested.
1.5 stars
This was pretty aggressively hyped as an amazing romance set amidst a twisty time travel backdrop, but I hardly got any of that.
I too have the same complaint that everyone has: it was repetitive. Unfortunately for me, that was the least of my issues with this book.
The first few chapters sucked me in, not the best but I wrote it off as getting things going issues. Owen was fine, his relationships were fine, it all vibed. But once we start moving along, it all falls apart.
The romance was completely unbelievable. It's a great example of being told to believe something versus being shown the evidence that would convince you. I didn't buy it for a minute. So anything in the plot hinging on that fell flat.
The time travel itself was wonky - it felt like the author was laughing at us when Owen makes a comment suggesting he feels this way too and the antagonist says “it's really fucking complicated.” Like yeah no shit, but without any grounding, your time travel has no tension or stakes to it. I need at least one rule or something in order to make me feel like there are limits and therefore that things can go a “wrong” way. The last few chapters in particular are just bonkers in terms of sudden convenient turns that fix everything.
Some of the minor characters are great but of course you see too little of them. Hen was precious and reminded me of Maximus from Tangled.
It felt like a pretty interesting idea that was poorly executed. I think this author is just not for me, as I read Starling House and had a lot of the same general issues.
Not sure what to think about this. It was highly lauded when it was first released, but I don't understand why. Some of the early portions were interesting enough, but ultimately it was far too disjointed for me to really connect with the characters or, at times, even understand what was happening. There was a pretty weak climax that seemed to not have any real tension either. Idk.
