KayTo

Incredibly fast reading with surprise phrases and an overall feel of a cozy BBC small village murder mystery (Marlowe Murder Club? But I haven't read any of that, only watched...).

A few small editing issues, and one larger issue with the ultimate crime specifics, but overall, fun.

I hate-bought this book* and am SO GLAD I did! What a damn delight.

As the author's mom said, no one writes like her. A behind-the-prose plot that creeps up on you in the middle of general descriptive bits. Humor and despair in the face of 2025-2026 North America realities. A bit of magic, honestly.

Not quite the magical realism of Oyeyemi, but the writing reminded me of that same wit/general style. Wry, really funny phrasing, fantastic social commentary, absurdity. Cannot recommend enough!

*was in an independent bookstore and grabbed this based on the cover alone after I overheard the following exchange:

Douche Customer: <snaps pics>

Shop Owner: Do you have questions?

DC: Nah, I just want to remember these so I can get them on Amazon later.

So glad I saved this one for last! Another realistic world (or I guess maybe the same one as the other water world?). Always love Hazelwood's writing, and this world was rich, with solid characters. (And ha, love the human evolution...)

I had super high hopes based on the premise, but I probably should have tempered them when I read that it was a "return to your small town to find yourself" book. Sigh.

Having grown up and moved away from my own [actually small] town, I can, without a doubt, say yes, you revert to your teenage self when you return for visits, and no, you absolutely would not suddenly start questioning if you actually belonged there if you had, at any point in the last decade, found happiness - or even just NOT UNHAPPINESS - elsewhere. And the cruelty of toying with someone you used to be close to in a what-if way... sigh.

I get it - the whole book is full of transitions (direct or metaphorical). And thank fuck the ending (plot-wise) landed. (The fixation on the physics, sure....)

I'm just not a Herrera fan, I think. Her grammar is pretty bad (there's an anti-kink!), and I really am not a fan of her characters. I also questioned faaaar too much here, but really - tall ass trees in that short of time? A single volcano ruined the entire world for humans, but then all the animals from "before" were able to make a comeback? And a character who repeatedly reminds us she was suppressing her libido for 29 years is like, oh here, I know exactly how to wank in this very specific way? Eh. Nope.

I really enjoyed this overall - fun, imaginative, and surprising character depth for a novella.

Alas, the version I read was the first print one, and there were a ton of errors with the editing. (Not sure if it's been updated since?)

Setting side the obvious fact that they could have removed the major obstacle by dealing with it right away.... I enjoyed this one well enough. I especially liked the thought exercise of all the time threads. (Sigh, let me slip into the one where 2016 turned out differently....)

Oh, not my thing, premise or prose. This was my first - and very likely last - monster romance. I am just too skeptical (barbs? The size? But no damage or UTI????). And in this case, the tech part was also just supposed to be accepted as always charged and working - even the most generous scifi worlds seem to require power sources...

I am not the target audience for an entire novella about the entire meaning of life being procreation. (But hey, if a kink of yours is creampies....)

Also, literally had no clue this set of books was interconnected (this is the 3rd I read).

I really enjoyed this weaving of mythology and magic, and the old switcheroo is always a fun one. Definitely tense reading, and lots of opportunities to rethink perceptions, how the stories we're told and education we're given (formal or no) affect everything, and also a bit about being inherantly good or bad.

Be warned - this is only part one. No clue if this will be a duo or trilogy, but either way, part two will be a wait.

Removed 1/2 a star because of the overall icky premise of Stockholm syndrome turning out okay. But aside from that, I really enjoyed the novella. Another grim take on humanity splintering and what happens when one small group has all the power.

I enjoyed this well enough - a bit like a love letter to romance, while also being an FU to naysayers (if only that would work). I did like the philosophical dad (I normally don't go for those characters). Emma was a bit... over the top at times (I guess we all are?). And I don't think Charlie grovelled enough at the end for putting her through that shit.

I'm not really a memoir gal, and I usually steer away from first-person nonfiction, but despite all odds*... I really enjoyed this. The writing was so readable (even if it took me more than a week to read the book), and the tone was immensely Midwestern. He kept saying he isn't educated about music history, but man, the connections he draws throughout beg to differ.

It also explains the voice of Bloodshot, which I literally never realized was his goddamn voice. The random stories shared were all top notch. And where he could have leaned into the truly awful (a few artists had really bad shit; some staffers weren't the least lascivious or most honest people around; the double-demise of the original label), his attitude of, "Welp, you just keep going" was heartwarming instead of tell-all. (He'd probably hate being called "heartwarming".)

Overall, such a fantastic (as in, great, but also as in, how the hell did they pull it off for so long, especially since there had been such deep, hidden issues for so long?!) story or time capsule of a quietly but immensely important label and its artists.

*Okay, full disclosure - some odds were on the "she'll enjoy it" side -- I worked for Bloodshot as an intern, then as the hourly person paid to get their back catalog uploaded to the swath of streaming services. But I never got to know Rob because he was doing it all from the only single-person office room [conveniently across the hall from the single shared bathroom], and my impression of him was shy, smart, sarcastic, and way more interested in literally any other aspect of the business than the metadata and file conversions required by each digital library.

Based on the few direct references to streaming, yup, I wasn't wrong.

A fine collection - always some hit or miss pieces for me. This was no exception to that, but I expect that going in. No standouts for me this time (though "Presenting" was a joy to read!).

Fully liked this one again (no weird issues with one of the mains). I can't say I enjoyed the use of "sweatheart" (whyyyyyy use a pet name thing???), but otherwise, solid.

I checked this out from the library simply because it was available and I'd seen it so hyped. Turns out I really really loved the writing. Yeah, a bit ridiculous, and yes, maybe some people who have had suicidal ideations would think this is a blase take, but... I thought it was pretty great. All it took was less than a week in a different place to allow multiple characters to come to terms with aspects of themselves that they'd been afraid to confront. I love that simplicity - and truly, the wit was just so great.

Because I'm human, I'm comparing this to Lovelight Farms, and I shouldn't be... but since I am, it's just shy of being as lovely of a read for me. I think it was Evie's influencer gig, and Beckett's "honey" (jarring, everytime). But if I hadn't read the first book, this would have almost certainly been a solid 5 stars!

Super accessible writing - not even trying to be "period". And a bunch of "suspend your knowledge of prior plot points here, please". Oh well. It was fine, fun enough, but not great. Won't read more from her.

Aww, not as much fun with the fonts, but the love of language s still there. Fake hating? Amazing. Just wish the very last chapter didn't have an unnecessary addition to the HEA - but I don't remember if the other two couples did, and that wasn't discussed, so yay?

[Just my eternal gripe about the damn 1+1=3]

I haven't read other reviews, though I am guessing some negative ones take umbrage with the depiction of multiple personalities as something chosen and controlled... But setting aside that, I loved this just like every other Oyeyemi book. She suspends reality while writing in a way that is just laced with the humor and irritation of reality, and truly, her brain is just so beautiful. I will always preorder her books.

I kept thinking, "how the heck is he going to stick this landing?" And he DID.

Loved the epic meandering storytelling (not sure how Landry put it exactly). Loved all the allusions to other things (MZD's other works, but also art and literature and mythology). Loved how everyone had a very specific death, and yeah, to encounter all those by the end of the book, it's like, okay, death is unique but also mundane.

Only one death was contradicted (that I noticed, because it happened within the same 2-page spread, which made me think, shit, was that intentional to show she was an unreliable narrator after all?). Only one big issue - Kalin never having a happy ending outside of his family. That's sad to me.

Otherwise, I'm so glad I took my time (but also so glad to be back to book monogamy!!).

Awww, this was such a great, mostly wholesome read. No depression, but a manipulatively abusive relationship (more palatable? Whatever that says about me...). Same humor as all Dade books, and all the characters were perfect.

Oh my god, what a fantastic impulse buy! So great - funny, a nod to Christmas absurdities, and a great example of sticking up for yourself in the face of family obligation/guilt.

Enjoyable - same puzzle-y goodness, which is my thing. The level of irrationality in these characters, though, was a LOT to handle.

Twisty and fun, just like the other Hawthorne books. Yay for the “what next” from others' perspectives!