nigmatillium

As much as I like Barbara Elsborg's novels, this one didn't quite hit the spot. There was less anxiety than I was expecting (I might just be used to it at this point, don't know) and I didn't fall for the characters like I usually do.

Tyler is the typical Barbara Elsborg character: he has a dark past, he is struggling and only needs a little bit of love. I liked him, I don't blame him for his choices, and while reading I hoped things will turn out well for him.

I liked Haris at first too, he seemed like the perfect guy for Tyler and I was actually glad things didn't evolve between Tyler and Jeremy. But then Haris started acting like a moron and I started liking him less and less. He was such a prat I don't think I can forgive him. I also don't trust he's not going to make the same mistakes again. These are just some vague examples of why I didn't like Haris, there are a few more things that I'm not going to list.

I thought Wilson was really great, the best sidekick anyone could ever ask for. He was funny, I didn't get the impression he had a lot of fucks to give, and he also liked dogs. I definitely liked him more than I liked Haris.

Moving along to whatever went down, Barbara Elsborg managed once again to construct a catchy plot, to keep her readers glued to the book, wanting to find out what's going to happen next and who is plotting what. (I hope it's not just me.) From that point of view, I enjoyed the story a lot, but there were also parts I would have liked explored. After I finished the book I checked to see if there is a sequel, I feel like there are quite some things left to be said about Tyler and Haris's relationship, they (meaning Haris) still have work to do.

Overall the novel is okay. Not my favourite Barbara Elsborg, but I'm definitely not upset about it either.

I really tried to read this book and I thought I will, but I dropped it somewhere in chapter 11, that's almost 50% of the novel. I think that is the longest I read a book before dropping it.

The first thing that kind of bothered me was Micah's eyes. There's nothing wrong with them, but I got the colour the first five or so times I read 'baby blues'. That description didn't work for me because I imagined one solid, unsettling block of blue as his eye colour. At some point I replaced it in my mind with 'bright blue'.

Then, when it came to the main characters' relationship, I would have wanted more show and less tell. I find this is a major pet peeve of mine when it comes to books. Adding that to the way they talked about things, while neither of them actually knew what to do, missed the spot completely. They sounded like someone pretending to know what they talk about while in reality having not the faintest clue. I didn't feel for one second confident in their relationship, I didn't feel anything of what was said they were feeling, so when something happened to make one of them angry or happy I was genuinely surprised. I didn't know how it happened.

And finally, what actually made me drop the book, is the way their relationship started and, I guess, will evolve. What a lot of BDSM novels have in common is this matchmaking, where the friend(s) of the Dom (always the friends of the Dom) act as matchmakers between him and the sub. This happens so often and I really wanted them to gravitate towards each other naturally. Actually, when the characters were first introduced I didn't think they will start something.

If I would have managed to read the whole book I was already thinking of rating it two stars, maybe something would have happened to make me rise that rating, but I really wasn't expecting that. Now that I dropped it I can only rate it half a star. However, I think the book can be enjoyed, I'm sure other readers will like it way more than I did.

Some books go great with a drink, and in this case that drink is a nice glass of wine. I wasn't in the mood for wine, but reading this I couldn't help it, I had to get a glass if only just to know it's there.

I had this short story on hold for a while now and I kind of lost my interest for it. I have this habit of getting books then getting other books and reading the newest I get instead of going through them in an orderly fashion. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Anyway, A Vintage Affair proved to be a great novella and I enjoyed reading it. Right now, as I'm thinking about it, I really love what Josh Lanyon did there, from start to finish. The plot was constructed beautifully, nothing was left to chance, and I had fun trying to figure out who was the bad guy there.

I liked both Austin and Jeff, and I liked how things evolved between them, although at times I felt sad and just a tiny bit deceived—I think that's the word I'm looking for. I probably could relate to Austin a bit better, but I also liked Jeff's sort of naïveté. He was very in touch with some things while completely oblivious on certain matters.

At first I wanted more insight on the mystery part of the story, but as I kept reading I didn't mind the focus of the book so that kind of solved itself. Then there was a scene in particular that I was expecting to bother me, but it didn't and that was surprising. I think it didn't bother me because I already knew (guessed) the outcome. Or part of it.

I liked the setting, I liked the characters, I enjoyed the story, but I will also say that I would have liked a bit more details overall. Actually, well, I think what I'm truly saying is that I would have liked for the story to be longer. I have some questions about Cormac and I would have said I wanted to know what's next for Austin and Jeff, but when there's a will, there's a Coda, as Josh Lanyon spoils us readers.

I'm a John Grisham fan, ever since I first read A Time to Kill at a very impressionable age so every review of mine on any of John Grisham's books is biased.

What a book! I'm not entirely sure how to review it, though. I definitely enjoyed it, there's a lot of drama and as far as that goes the book does great. When it comes to how accurate all the legal terms and work and anything else law related goes, I have no clue nor do I care very much, I don't go into any fiction book expecting to study something.

As usual, I liked the lawyer, Robbie Flak in this case. I wouldn't describe him as the good guy, but definitely not the bad guy either, he's just very real. I find that John Grisham's characters tend to feel like real people in general and that's one reason why I like his books so much. There's no pretending that this guy is the best, or that one is a complete monster, they are all people with qualities, flaws, and histories. Oh, how I like the histories. Even characters that are not at all relevant to the plot have at least a bit of background. It makes me wonder how does the planning of a book by John Grisham looks like. He says he doesn't like doing research, but he must spend a lot on planning things out.

I can't pick a favourite character, though. I liked Keith, he was maybe one of the best persons in the book. There are quite a lot of characters I didn't like, I would actively avoid being associated with them in any way, but I'm not going to name them. I will say, though, that I found some of these characters' expectations hilarious in a baffling way.

While the novel was entertaining and kept me glued to it, wanting to know what's going to happen next and hoping for the best, it was also very sad. The anticipation and the emotions really got me and I might or might not have shed a few tears. What is more chilling, though, is that the case is inspired by several real cases. Several real cases. Incredible.

I'm not going to go into the themes of the book, they are some of the usual ones in most of John Grisham's books—wrongful conviction, race disparity—and they are also a long conversation.

When I started reading this book I thought I would love it, but the more I read the more I didn't feel as strongly about it. It was still good, but as I advanced on the story, it lost its spark.

First, things that I really liked.

The first few chapters were so funny and I liked Jon. The main characters are over 40, quite a rare thing to read, and I loved it. I also loved how they weren't what you think of when you think of a 40 year old characters, they weren't grey and grumpy and super grown-up. They were regular people, they were capable of feeling things the same a teenager could. And speaking of, Jon and Rick's first 'date' was so cute, but also hot. I had a lot of fun reading that part, L.A. Witt managed to put on paper exactly what goes on on a first date: the emotions, the uncertainty, the flow of the conversation. I haven't been on a first date since I don't know when, but what went on in there is exactly it.

I liked how their relationship progressed. They clicked instantly and the way it was described felt so natural. They were still two adults and they acted accordingly which, again, I liked very much. Well, overall I liked a lot reading about actual adults acting like adults.

I also liked Jon's workplace vibe, that is an environment I would like working in. Well, without the crazy, unrealistic demands. Also, I liked how you could actually see how open and casual the team were with each other, but at the same time didn't neglect their job. While making fun of each other their projects were being worked on with great attention. And I liked that they were genuinely friends.

Before I go on with the things I didn't like, I have to mention one that's in-between. I liked how there was a distinction between the Dom persona and the regular person, actual employee. It was a treat because I don't think I ever read a book where the Dom isn't always just a bit Dom, no matter the setting, but there were instances where I wished the Dom persona will get out. Yes, it did happen a few times, but it was quite tame. Here I'm leaning more towards the liked area than not liked because I really did enjoy this bedroom versus out in the open persona.

Second, things I didn't really like.

The book kept the same tone from start to finish, but also took a dive. The tone is not a bad thing, but I needed a few more ups and downs. I don't know how to explain this so I hope what I'm going to say next will shed some light. And that's about the repetitions. There were a few ideas, idioms, and words that were repeated over and over again. They made sense, but you can use one of those so many times before they lose their value. After using one of them five times, the sixth time you can't get the same impact and that's a shame because they had great potential. Some were used too soon, others weren't used at the right time.

Reading the first few chapters there was something that kind of pulled me out of story. I was expecting there to be some cracking bones and sore muscles given that the characters were over 40, but when it finally happened, bones were cracking and joints hurt what felt like every paragraph. I was expecting that mention, it wouldn't have been right without it, but when it finally happened I felt attacked.

The biggest thing that confused me and made me stop reading so I could do some looking up, was the mention of wax play. I was excited for them to try that out, but when it actually happened it was made to sound like it's very painful. Now, I don't have any experience with wax play hence why I had to look it up, but the whole deal didn't sit well with me. I did accidentally pour wax from a candle on my hand before and it wasn't as painful as the book made it sound. To that we add the fact that the wax I accidentally poured on myself was regular candle wax which has a higher melting point than the one used in BDSM play, so the sensation of burn/pain is nowhere near regular wax. From what I could find, most of the articles didn't even mention the word 'pain' and the one I did find mentioning it said that there's only light to no pain depending on the wax you are using. So what was that all about? Like I said, I was excited about that scene, and yes, there is risk of injury is you don't use the right kind of wax (meaning regular candle wax), but the big deal about the pain ruined it for me.

I'm at a loss what to rate this book. The BDSM part of it was definitely on the lighter side and while I would have liked things to be more intense, both characters did say they enjoy vanilla. Throughout the book it was obvious the D/s dynamic was not actually a life style for them, but a way to spice things up, while at the same time Jon's supposed experience didn't quite come through. Slightly disappointing, but I was warned about the vanilla so I can't really complain. That being said, I think a two stars rating is fit for the overall feeling I got from the story.

Random stuff for the first three paragraphs.

I watched the film made after this book and all I could think after watching it was 'the book has to be so much better' and I had this impulse to put the book I am currently reading on hold and read this one. So I logged into my online library account and started listening to it. And I was right, the book is so much better.

Now, I listened to it at something like 1.75x speed because I both wanted to get back to my other book and also just wanted the confirmation that Never Let Me Go is as good as I guessed it would be. And, well, third, because when I already know what's going to happen in a book I can't read it like I would without knowing anything at all (I am the type of reader who doesn't even check out the synopsis, I go by author and genre alone, sometimes only genre).

I previously only read two other books by Kazuo Ishiguro and I liked both of them. I had also planned to read some more of his books so this was a perfect opportunity.

I enjoyed the book, I think it's amazing how one can come up with an idea like this, but also how unsurprising it feels. Would humans do something like this? Definitely, I have no doubt that if they could, some of them would jump at the chance.

Kathy's story is both heartbreaking and not. What happens is unfair, certainly, but she's resigned. Maybe resigned is not the right word, she simply doesn't know anything else. She was brought up into a certain reality, it's been ingrained into her, and the others, that this is what they are supposed to do. Which is not incorrect, technically, but it is also not right.

I understand why none of them rise any serious questions, why they don't try and escape, but at the same time I'm wondering why not a single one of them tried to escape, out of all the students. There sure should have been someone to at least try it. But if someone did, would Kathy hear of it? And the truth is we don't know how well thought and controlled the whole programme is.

I'm not surprised at the lack of 'is it ethical or not' discussion. Again, Kathy, and the others, simply don't know enough to ask these questions. And since they don't know, who was in the right here? Miss Emily or Miss Lucy? Which way would have been better?

There are so many questions left after reading the book, and it also made such an impression on me, it sneaked into my dreams at night. Never Let Me Go sure is a thought provoking book and that makes it a great book to me.

Dropped it somewhere in the middle of chapter 15.

I have several issues with this novel. For the most part it was amusing enough to keep reading, but a lot of the plot didn't make sense. Reading other reviews I'm glad I didn't bother finishing it because there seem to be more questions than answers to the very end. There are also a lot of repetitive gags, at some point the whole knock on the door routine in some crucial moment gets old. And really annoying. There's just so many times I can stand it. The last one (that I read because I am pretty sure there were more) pissed me off so much!

But let's go back to the beginning.

Everything is peaceful, no wars for don't know how many hundreds of years, the kings and queen are supposed to participate in a festival of sorts. Although there are times of peace and the kingdoms are in good relations, everyone is so freaking jumpy, ready to draw their weapons and aim them at anyone, regardless of title. And speaking of titles, there are no kings in this novel. There is nothing in their behaviour and their companions' behaviour to indicate you are in the presence of a king. They don't have the respect a king has, they could more accurately be described as some young adults (I'd say teens, but they are about 25yo) who go on an adventure of some kind.

This is more like a bunch of kids playing pretend.

The centre... thing, a.k. because I don't know how to spell it, roams with magic apparently, yet no one else uses magic otherwise. It didn't make a lot of sense to me.

Crow and Tacho are instantly attracted to each other, so much that they can barely contain it, and yet they did a surprisingly good job at keeping their hands to themselves. I would have understood if it would have all started gradually, but no, it was already close to unbearable from the start. There are so many inconsistencies with these two I honestly don't know how I managed to read as much as I did.

Okay, okay, here's what I did like: Crow being absolutely furious at how much he liked Tacho. That was great, shame it only lasted as long as one interaction and that was basically the only funny bit in the book. Everything else is a mess and the plot is at best questionable.

Even before I started reading the sequel of 'Aftermath' I had a feeling I would drop it. I managed to read three chapters, but this book really missed the spot.

There are no flashbacks and I thought that would be a good thing, but instead I got even more tell, not show.

I have mixed feelings about Chase being friends with Austin and Cam. While I'm glad they became friends, the friendship felt forced.

What I also didn't like in these three chapters were Remy's supposedly addiction to drugs (not actually an addiction because he only did drugs on weekends...) and how Chase's first reaction, when seeing a tired, clearly troubled Remy on the run in only his underwear, was to drool over him instead of helping him.

I also didn't like how Chase's employee was portrayed (forgot her name). Both her and Remy were objectified and I really didn't enjoy reading that. I can read objectifying but context is very important, here it really wasn't appropriate or relevant.

I thought I might pick up this book again because the pairing, the idea of the pairing, seemed interesting, but I don't think I will find anything I can enjoy so much as to justify what I didn't like.

I really don't know how to write a review to this book so I'll just make a list of what I liked and what I didn't like.

Liked

• The main characters. I liked their personalities, I unironically liked Cam's swearing and also Austin's growth.

• The relationship between the main characters. I liked how things evolved between them.

• I loved that Austin took matters into his own hands.

Disliked

• The flashbacks. In the first half of the book all the flashbacks followed the same pattern and I feared that would be the case for the entire story, but to my relief, later they read smoother.

• The flashbacks, part two. Also in the first half of the book, due to the nature of how the flashbacks were introduced, I would have preferred them to not be chronologically.

• The flashbacks, part three. There were just too many flashbacks, no room left to properly tell about Austin and Cam.

• Austin's ex. I didn't like her, but I also don't approve of Austin's actions. They both were awful to each other.

• More tell than show.

I really, really tried, but I cannot properly read this book. I thought of all the reasons why I should read this, some of which are: it's short / it's something new to me / I really want to see how Florence will deal with it—all to no avail. The most interesting part for me was the bit about Marjorie, Edward's mother. I was way more interested in what happened to her than the plot of the book.

I was still curious about the outcome so I jumped pages and read small parts, but I struggled with half a book for days. I did reach the last page, more or less, and for that reason I mark it as read and not dropped. It still remains that I really couldn't get into the story, relate to any of the characters, or enjoy the book even a little.

I am completely judging a book by its cover. I postponed reading this book for so long simply because I don't like the cover. I don't like the models (they definitely don't fit with my image of the main characters after having read the book) and I don't like the colour scheme either. But I did read it, and I loved it.

I liked Dallin (interesting name, first time I come across it), he took no shit and he was hilarious when dealing with awful customers. That boy does not know how to back off—and very good for him! William was frustrating sometimes, I completely get Dallin's point of view, but I absolutely loved him. He's frustrating in an endearing way. I didn't even know that was possible. I also think William should get an official diagnosis of some sorts, because it looks to me like he's on the spectrum. I might be wrong, but from my limited knowledge, he sure seems like it.

I really liked the way their relationship developed. It was a bumpy road and I understood both of them, the way they acted and how they managed things. Maybe they didn't always make the best choices and maybe they overreacted sometimes, but once they got to talking, the talking was good.

So the characters were great, and the plot was really good. I sometimes find myself thinking about something I want to read in a book and I think about it maybe for a few days, maybe for months before finding a book featuring the exact thing I was thinking about. Anyway, this time I was thinking about the whole eye contact thing in BDSM novels. Usually the Doms enforce this not making eye contact rule when in role and I really wanted something that didn't have that. It seems so odd for someone to not look in their partner's eyes, especially when there's love involved. So this is it, this is the first BDSM novel so far where the Dom explicitly said they don't enforce the no eye contact rule. Of course, there were other novels where the Doms were not as strict, but none that actually said it. I was so glad, 'Two Steps Back' instantly got a step up. Cover? Pffft, who cares?

Maybe there is room for improvement here and there, but the novel kept me interested from start to finish and I really liked the characters. And, really, I think I said this before, but I'm going to say it again, Lyn Gala is a great, versatile writer.

I was a little sceptical about this book, didn't think I would like it. I mean, it's a John Grisham book and the main character is not a lawyer? None of the side characters either? I wasn't convinced I should read it, but I thought it might be an interesting change. And, oh, it was!

Skipping Christmas sounds like a great thing to do, I was cheering for Luther and Nora, what a terrific idea! Spending the holidays away from the madness, relaxing, enjoying yourself, it sounded so good. What followed was a really funny story, I enjoyed it and I had a blast reading it. Like usual when it comes to John Grisham (leaving aside that this is not a legal thriller) I liked how real Luther and Nora's relationship felt. How natural the conversations flew, how they felt like actual people. John Grisham manages to have actual people in his books and I don't know how he does it. Now, after reading some of the other reviews, I agree the main characters and the side characters weren't the best kind of people, that's not my point, good or bad, they felt real.

About the plot, yeah, improvements could be made here and there, but I think the book reached its goal, meaning to point out the wasteful spending during the holidays. I really liked that. I see why other readers might not like this story and I actually tend to agree with the negative comments, but ultimately I enjoyed it. I mean, I don't go into reading a Christmas story without expecting a bunch of clichés, but they can be written well or not, and this one's really good. And funny.

[Audiobook narrated by Simon Stanhope, from the 1856 version of the text, narration which does not include the frame story.]

What a short, anxiety inducing story. I would have liked it to be more intense, but I liked the premise. I liked how everything leading to the intrigue was so reasonable. I can find no fault in the main character's actions following his winning, he did everything right. I also liked the conclusion, it made sense. What I'm saying is this short story is very well written and it's really good.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but there are parts I didn't quite like. But before I get into that, this is my first E. M. Lindsey book so I was unfamiliar with the writing style. No one ever mentions it (or I don't see any of the reviews that do), but most books are written in past tense, are they not? Here we have both past tense and present tense and while I really don't like the mixing of the two because it's usually done very badly, this time it actually made sense. However, because I kept going from present tense to past tense and vice-versa the book felt slower paced than it actually was. The story felt like dragging at times.

About the story itself, I half worried that this might be the first book of a series because I got invested into it and I would have wanted to read the sequel despite not being a fan of the writing (also, the book needs some editing). It's not so much that I liked the story, but it was something new to me. Meaning the sugar daddy plot. I think I read something that had a similar situation before, but not quite.

I think I liked the main characters, but I couldn't quite connect with them. I think that's part because of the verb tenses. I don't know, the writing style sure made me put in more effort than necessary while reading this. The more time passes between me reading the book and writing this review (which is one day) the less I like it. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something off. There was some angst, but the story read too calm, too smooth sailing, too obvious. Even the conflict was so overused I was resigned while reading it, but also a bit disappointed.

What I did appreciate in this book was that the main characters actually stuck to what they decided for a while and not cave in after a few weeks like usually happens. That was weirdly refreshing. The whole period wasn't detailed, but I don't imagine there's much to write about so maybe it's for the best. But I do have a bit of mixed feelings about it. On one hand, if in this format I felt the book was dragging, then that would have slowed things even more. On the other hand it might have added to the angst.

I'm not sure I want to try another E. M. Lindsey book, but at the same time I would have read if there would have been a sequel to this one. I might have also dropped it, though. As happy as this story tried to be, it makes me feel the opposite. It gave me a very short lasting high and now I feel almost bitter. 'Heartbeat Repeating' is sadly not a book that makes me feel good things after reading it.

I really want to rate this one five stars, but I can't. I loved Devan and Jonty just as much as I did in 'The Making of Jonty Bloom', they were great together, and I really like the way they trust each other, how they talk to each other and, in 'Jonty's Christmas', how they don't get huffy and upset when the other tries to help by talking to people.

I also liked how Barbara Elsborg made them feel less like a fixer, something that I think most of the books I read with this kind of behaviour got wrong. Actually, I encounter in Barbara Elsborg's books a lot of things that really bother me in others and that is only proof that Barbara Elborg writes so well. It's very important the way things are displayed. The characters don't come across as something they are not, as they push when they should take a step back.

That being said, I still wasn't crazy about it. I appreciated people not instantly agreeing with what was being said to them, but thinking about it and reaching their own conclusions. Sometimes you really do need someone from outside to point out what's wrong, but I find that when that happens, it rarely produces an effect so quickly. People just won't get it and agree with the outsider so fast, it takes more than just a couple of hours and usually more than just one person talking to them about whatever the issue is.

I'm not sure how I feel about Devan's family. His father was okay, his mother was mean with no reason (and I really dislike that she only changed her attitude when she found out about Jonty's childhood), Ellen was fake with showing kindness to Jonty when everyone was present then badmouthing him by his back, Venice was mostly absent, Griff sucked, but I guess it's good he finally got to see how wrong he was, and I'm worried, warry, hmm about Cato. I want to like Cato, but I'm afraid he's going to be too similar to Jonty, have a too similar sense of humour and that's something only Jonty can make work. I guess I'll see once I read 'Reinventing Cato'.

About Denny, I like that Jonty reconnected with her and I hope to get a peek into their relationship. She seemed genuine, actually wanting to know her brother and I'm happy Jonty has at least one family member getting to know him and care about him the way he deserves. I really want it to work out.

But before that, I believe we have to take a trip to Russia, so off we go.

[Audiobook, but I have no clue who it was narrated by because there was no name mentioned in the narration or the description.]

I was quite excited when I saw mystery under the book's genre, but the story was underwhelming. At first I was curious, excited about who the stranger was and what business he had in the village, maybe with the villagers or the village itself. Don't know where I got the idea this was also a horror so I was making up all kinds of scenarios, more or less.

The plot is pretty simple, straight forward, it's easy to figure out what was going on and that's why Anna annoyed me. She really was so dumb. A few times I wondered why she did things the way she did them. She didn't have a plan or the faintest idea of what was going on, she didn't formulate a single thought on the matter. At some point she was referred to as a 'clever girl' in the book, but she was so far from clever I almost couldn't believe it.

The climax was rushed, but I can't say I didn't like it. I don't think that part was as obvious as the rest of the plot. And it goes without saying that Dave was a douche (I'm referring to what he said to Anna, not the other stuff).

I can't help but be curious about the characters, though. I would have liked some background on Dave and more details on his craft. A sort of origin story so to say.

I did like the writing and narration, so there's that. I'm sure the book was great when it was published—as it should be—but for me right now it didn't work out. Still a good little read.

I like Trevor Noah. I randomly watched him a while ago and I thought he was really funny, so I watched some more and I really liked him, but I can't say I'm a fan. I don't follow him and I just found out he's hosting a show after I started reading this book. It's also unusual for me to read this book, I attempted reading memoirs before, but I couldn't get into them, so when I saw this book and thought 'yeah, I want to read that' it was uncharacteristic.

I was expecting, based on Trevor Noah's stand-up, to enjoy this book, but I was not expecting to find things I can relate to. I'm from the other side of the world so being able to relate to some aspects of life in South Africa was quite a surprise.

I liked the narration a lot, I didn't feel at any point that it was being made light of the situations or dramatising them, but simply relating things as they happened. I liked the format a lot too, various things that were properly told about later in the book were mentioned in earlier chapters, before we got the whole picture. I read this book the same way I would listen to someone tell me about their life and I think that was the intended way for this autobiography to be read.

I could go ahead and write about the things I liked, the ones I related to, the ones that made me sad, but then I would do this book no justice. 'Born a Crime' is an experience and I feel like finding out about what's in it by reading a review rather than picking up the book and reading it yourself takes away from how good reading it actually is.

The audiobook, narrated by Trevor Noah himself, is getting a lot of praise too and I agree. I listened to a bit of it and the narration is great, it also helps with unfamiliar words and names that I wouldn't know how to pronounce.

'Born a Crime' is a fantastic book and so worth picking up. Apart from Trevor Noah's life story (which, in a way, is a more his mother's story) we also get a good history lesson.

After all I really can't continue with this series. I only read the first chapter of this book and it was enough for me. Well, I didn't technically finish reading the whole chapter.

Here's my three issues—the first one contains mild spoilers from the second book.

01. '[...]two of their best friends had just gotten engaged.' This refers to Apollo and Dylan who got engaged at the end of the second book. Okay, but when on earth were they best friends? In the second book all of them were actually in the same space... twice. Dylan more, but not because they were friends who wanted to spend time together, but because they just happened to be in the same place, and then because Ben needed to throw his latest conquest at someone. Dylan, Ben, and Maddox are not even friends, let alone best friends. Apollo, yes, he's their friend, but then again, there's no 'best' there.

02. I'm looking at 300+ pages of denial. What's worse is that this has been going on for a very long time and while I'm glad the reader isn't put through all of that, that's just too much. I understand denial, but when it goes for 10+ years it's just ridiculous, especially when they live together.

03. I didn't like Ben at all in the second book so I don't want to read about him. Like I really don't want to read about him.

Seeing how I'm dropping the third book I'm just going to drop the whole series. One of the books features Dustin, Dylan's brother, and I really don't want to read about him either. I don't think I know any of the characters from the other books and if I did come across them before, yikes, pretty forgettable. I'm not put off Annabeth Albert, though, I enjoyed the writing on all of the books I read from this author, it's just that Out of Uniform is the same plot recycled again and again and it seems that once, twice if I really push it, is all I can go through.

I dropped this book at around... two chapters in, if I remember correctly. I forgot the names of the main characters instantly so I'm going to refer to them as The Taxidermist and The Bully.

At first, this book made me really, really sad. I was so upset for The Taxidermist, he was relentlessly bullied, he literally ran for his life, he was terrified about what his bullies might do to him if they catch him. And they did catch him. I was honestly so upset and so sad for him.

Then I got angry. After a life altering injury, The Bully told to The Taxidermist's parents that he was his friend while he was in the hospital in a coma. When he woke up, instead of calling him out on his bullshit, The Taxidermist asks the bully to blow him once a week (I think it was once a week) and at this point I forgot about my sadness and I was enraged. What kind of logic is that? The Bully should have been called out on it at least, not rewarded for almost killing someone!

After I talked about it with a friend who did read it, and I also checked out some reviews, it was clear to me that the toxicity levels in this book were way too high for me.

So there, I cannot read this. No, thank you.

This seems like an interesting book and I'd like to read it, I would, but there are no quotation marks for the dialogue and I'm not about to guess when a character stops talking for all of the 230 pages. I love myself more than that.

I dropped this book so hard. I was not even half-way through the first chapter when I knew this is just a no from me. The first three paragraphs made me wonder why they are there. I don't think I ever read a weaker start of a novel ever, and also one that made me instantly dislike the main character. Cal is a narcissistic brat, he gives off strong vibes of Gary Stu and that just ain't for me. I need real characters, thank you very much.

I found it strange how this amazing journalist (who is a teenager, mind you) is so dedicated and so good at this job he doesn't even seem to like. He reports on the kind of news that makes him 'secretly want to vomit in a bucket than talk about it anymore'. Well, why are you doing it then? Find other subjects, it's not like he had a boss breathing down his neck and telling him what to talk about, he had the freedom to talk about whatever. Later he has a 'dilemma'. Quote: Do I want to report on things people care about? Yes. Do I want more followers and viewers? Also yes. What's the dilemma there? You have two questions with two affirmative answers, no 'but', no 'or', no 'why'. Cal does not know what a dilemma is (also, we encounter a contradiction here). This whole part makes no sense to me. It's okay to not like the subject you are talking about (or writing about like I do right now) and still do it because of your own reasons. Pray tell, where is a dilemma there?

Apart from Cal's amazing talents, his way of making news so that the 'real ones' get pushed back and he single-handedly makes so that people lose elections, he is also toxic. Here's this quote: The irony of him 'loving' my posts when he couldn't even commit to 'liking' me. Oh MY G! This makes me so angry. That's not how it works, you brat! People can love your content and not feel any kind of attraction to you. No one has to like you just because it makes 'rage burn inside you' if they don't. There is no irony here, you are just being a piece of entitled shit. Holy f!

The second half of the chapter made me see Cal in a kinder light, but not better. He has a tough situation at home, parents shouting and fighting, not paying attention to their kid, okay, yeah, he has some troubles. The end of the chapter made me say 'what?' out loud. I don't get what Cal's aversion towards the Mars mission is, why his dad potentially going on it bothers him so much and, you know what? I don't want to find out. I've seen enough of Cal to know I don't want to deal with him. (Reading the synopsis I am made to believe Cal doesn't want his dad on the mission because he'd be pushed into the spotlight of media. You know, the exact thing he does to others. Now that, Cal, is irony.)

I didn't even reach the other main character, but that's fine, I'm not interested.

Right from the start, this book didn't quite catch me. My reason for dropping this happens somewhere right at the beginning of the book so I didn't read more than two chapters. I'm not sure I did finish the second chapter.

What did it—or not—for me and Family of Lies, are the following events: Sebastian and some of his siblings drugged their father and their other siblings by putting something in their soup, then went to search for an item in their father's office upstairs. It was mentioned that it wasn't until a few hours later (might have been around 5-7h) that they went back downstairs in the kitchen and, upon seeing one of his siblings with their head in the bowl of soup, Sebastian carefully lifted their head so they wouldn't drown. I don't know how to break it to you, bud, but a few hours passed out with your whole face in soup...

Plus the writing style was really hard to follow, it jumped from one thing to another and it made me so confused about what was going on while being painfully obvious at the same time. I don't even know how it managed to do that.

I knew this book was not going to work out for me when I came across Noah'd. What is that?

But no, that was not the only reason I dropped it. I did not like the writing, the dialogue was weird (I have no idea who talks like that ever) and I didn't like Noah very much (I think he was supposed to be nerdy and quirky, but instead he was all kinds of cringe). I was so confused about his mother too, I didn't understand why she would advertise herself while apparently keeping her job a secret, and I got pretty strong abusive and/or neglectful vibes from her without even actually having her on page.

I was so looking forward to this book, just the title is enough to spark my interest, but unfortunately it didn't work for me. I only reached chapter three, but allow me to say why it didn't work out.

First, the Prologue (I actually don't know if it was called that and I don't feel like checking) went to such an obvious conclusion. I can't tell if that was necessary or not since I dropped the book, but it did make me sad and also made me wonder why do that.

Second, the dialogue was so unnatural, so tedious, especially when Frank recalled one of his former cases. Who says it like that?

Third, do schoolboys not get crushes? The 'schoolgirl with a crush' comment really bothered me. I dislike it so much when these type of expressions are used, what does that mean? That boys don't get crushes? That if they do they are somehow inferior because only schoolgirls gets crushes? Grow up!

Fourth, Aaron has no common sense. He's literally a suspect in a murder case and he's throwing himself at the lead detective in the most forward and rude way. But wait! After carefully planning to 'accidentally' bump into said detective in such detail, down to the amount of coffee that's being spilled on the same detective's coat, he realises how ridiculous he's being. Just like that, in less time than it takes one to snap their fingers. It came out of nowhere and he back-paddled so fast. This man looked Frank up, stalked him online until he found out where he usually gets coffee, then he went all the way to the coffee shop Frank frequents and stalked him in real life just so he would 'accidentally' bump into him. Then nothing. It makes no sense whatsoever.

Fifth, after Frank's gut feeling tells him there's something off with Aaron, that he's hiding something and that he's suspicious as fuck, right after Aaron says 'oops, sorry' he all of a sudden likes the guy. Get some self respect, Frank!

Those are five reasons why I don't continue reading this book and all that in less than three chapters.

All of the books in this series had been intense, a lot of things happening, but 'Waiting for Ru' had the most surprises. For one, while it gave me a lot of anxiety, it was the least eventful. I mean, no one got stabbed.

Ru was great and I felt so sorry for him to be met with hostility and bullying and I was worried things will escalate to a very dangerous situation. While things were bad, they could have gotten so much worse and I'm glad they didn't. I was worried for Ru and couldn't help but worry about Bela as well. But Bela's so smart, she was a real help.

It's been a while since I read 'Give Yourself Away' so it took until Jasim told Ru what he'd done that I realised who he was. That was the biggest surprise, I did not expect any of the characters to have any connection to anyone outside the Unfinished Business series. I didn't have any strong feelings about Jasim while reading 'Give Yourself Away', but I did like him a bit, so I'm glad to find out more about him, as unexpected as that might have been.

I liked Leigh and Newt a lot too and I'm curious about them as well. Not so much as how they met as about how they are now. I'm sure established couples have a lot coming at them too. And they seemed so lovely, both as friends to Jasim and Ru, but as a couple as well.

I'm still surprised at how calm this book was compared to the others in the series. Was it really? Or am I just getting used to having the main characters go through misery and pain?

There's surely good things coming for Ru and Jasim and I'm glad they found each other. They have some catching up to do, a lot of firsts coming up for both of them.