writingpen

This book was maybe maybe 1.5 stars. I am too annoyed to round up. If you picked up this book because it has a neat cover, run away. Run away! The entire meat of the review will be spoilered because I am too annoyed too pussy foot and avoid spoilers.
I picked up this book because a) The cover was very cool. b) I wanted to read something different from what I read recently. C) I liked the idea of a fictional true crime writer. For various reasons I no longer consume most true crime. Boy howdy do I have some regrets. I started to get annoyed at about the 50% point but I was convinced the book would get good again like towards the beginning. I was WRONG.Weird things this book did in no particular order:Described scenes in fake medieval because of one metaphor about a knight protecting his castle.Had entire knight and castle portion in another font with no explanation. From what I can tell in other reviews no one else knows why this section was included eitherLied about the fake true crime, *inconsistently*Had the big reveal about the narrator having a screw loose in the last chapter with very little lead up.Included random sections from the other fake true crime book the MC wrote.Gave an entire summary of a letter a victims mother wrote complete with the MC's responses.Implied to MC is *so conflicted* they aren't sure if they can publish their terrible book. This had some lead up but very boring pay off. Why does he care so much about random homeless men?? I need answers this book has denied me.Seriously dude, do you need an intervention??? Did your writers group vote you off the island??

I enjoyed this Mercy Thompson entry, but it's definitely not my favorite. This series shines through it's side characters and this book was focused more closely on the central gang. Also, I was hoping for a more interesting Sherwood Post back story. Overall, I don't regret reading it. It some truly fun scenes and I always like when Zee gets to shine.

(I will admit I finished book 3 before I remembered reviews. woopsie.)
This book was good but also sort of frustrating. Certain reveals took too long and felt like Tarman was moving at approximately the speed of molasses. I know the point of the book is the journey, but yeesh. It's possible the journey dragged more for me in this book because of the focus on people's sex lives. I'm not a prude necessarily, it just felt kinda weird. If I was trapped in a canoe and had to hunt to feed myself, whether or sex is forbidden would not be my top priority. Also, why all the focus on how the young people don't truly understand love yet? It's repeated multiple time. The thing that really confused me, is how Hobb forshadowed the gay like crazy ( I saw it coming way before the reveal, I'm not exactly the queen of analytical reading.) but the character took forever to actually admit on the page. But then it's implied it is basically an open secret in Bingtown. I'm just very confused about this aspect of the story now. I feel like I need a top down analysis of homophobia in Bingtown now. Is it just frowned upon? Are you shunned? I NEED answers.

This book is probably more like 3.5 but I am rounding up because it was better than book 2.
Things I liked:
Tarman!
The dragons coming into themselves.
The conflict between Alise goals and the keeper's goals
I love to hate Hest but I wish this storyline had progressed a little faster
The traders making a bargaining mistake
Things I did not:
Why...why do we need to hear about the adolescent sexual squabbles? Is this going somewhere?
Selden's storyline could have been more cohesive but it feels kind of shoved in.

As always, Robin Hobb makes me care about the characters and get invested in their journey. I would say my main complain is how slow the books moves. I assumed they would get further on the their journey in Bk1, and they did not.

I finished this book in one day! I could not stop turning the pages. The were twists and turns and the prose was weirdly compelling. I will definitely be looking up the sequel. I liked the way the character rationalizes actions and consciously has to consider her moral code. I think I mainly have two complaints: The MC is way too willing to switch sides/ allegiances. To the point where switching allegiances is no longer shocking. I also felt like Nita's personality/ passions could have been slightly more expanded. I felt like she had her dissections and Disney music and not much else. If she had shown more interest in food like is teased in the beginning or had mentioned she enjoyed singing with the Disney music etc. she would have felt little but more well rounded.

An incredibly fun page turner that had lots of features I enjoy. These include: Little pieces of news media etc. at the start of every chapter, kilts, a focus on friendship and a bad guy who makes sense. Without getting too spoilery, basically the bad guy has motivations and plans that makes sense. He isn't just cackling evil and screwing over Kenna for no reason. I also appreciated that the book acknowledged large scale consequences of people randomly turning into animals rather than microfocusing only on Kenna. #TeamLion.
Over all I enjoyed the overall plot and I feel like hints were well placed. I plan to use this book for one of my reddit bingo squares and I'll probably end up buying at least one of sequels the next time I have some fun money.

Not a bad book, just a little more heavily romance focused than I expected when I picked the book up.

I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but this is a delightful read. I loved the art.

This book is maybe 2.5 stars for me. It has really interesting art, which I liked. And I could tell alot of effort was put into lore. However, the overall story just does not hang together well. The timeline is all over the place and I couldn't keep track of who was where. It almost felt the narrator had dementia and was trying to tell a descendent their life story. Overall: I'm glad I gave this book a chance, it's very unique! But I doubt I'll pick up anything else by this author unless it recommended to me.

Weird, creepy, and appeals to my childhood obsession with Dollhouses.

How could I resist a baking book?? This book does a lot of things right. I was obsessed with gay bar. My favorite thing though is how the unreliable narrator is handled. I didn't feel lied to. It was more like the narrator was lying to herself because she was wrapped up in infatuation. One star removed since the ending feels a bit too convenient and pat.

I loved the different perspectives and the “translation” issues.

This book is hilarious.

A very cute and fun story. The prose is very easy to read and keeps you turning pages. I loved Adalla's sub-plot and had to stop myself from verbally cheering her on during the halfway point. The society structure was fun interesting and well thought out. Though I wish that I could have gotten a diagram or something better outlining out the family structure worked. My biggest complaints stem from the book leaning a little hard on some tropes, especially in the romance department. Plus, the ending almost felt too tidy/convenient. Putting all that aside, this was a genuinely fun read if you enjoy coming of age outer space stories.

This book was mostly okay. The twists weren't all that exciting and the world building was middling at best. The biggest annoyance for me, was the writing style/prose. It felt very YA but not in a good way. The character felt too innocent for what they had been through. I would mainly reccomend for Brooks fans. Or if the the idea of discovering your history+ magic is appealing to you.

A fun book with teen bonding. I like the ease of different social groups interacting with each other. I always feel like media depictions make it seem like there is razor wire between different kinds of kids, which is not terribly accurate. I mean yes, there are friend groups, but not to the extent alot of movies/books want to believe. The willingness of people to talk to each other and friends calling each other on nonsense was refreshing. Some of the romance elements didn't fully land for me ( I don't enjoy obsession), but I don't regret reading it. I can see it being 5 stars for someone who is closer in age to the target audience.

I will fully admit this book wasn't necessarily shock and awe but it was very satisfying. The character motivations make sense and no one is inexplicable evil. The only real exception to to this is the cop subplot. I get the dude is upset the way he handles it cartoonish. The author lays decent ground work for character decisions and the consequences of those decisions. I feel like author has known someone similar to Reb at some point. Aside from the above spoiler, the main “problem” I had was the romance. It's not a romantic by any means but part of the plot is teen romance in the past. It just weird and vaguely off? The book wraps up decently, but I wouldn't choose this book if romantic thrillers are your preferred niche.
Essentially, if your looking for super thrilling out of this world book, maybe not? If you a decent mystery of what truly happened, this will fulfill that.

This is a very cute entry witchy romance. It is very similar to Ex Hex in terms of set up, but it plays out differently. Personally I prefer this version. There is lady team ups and REVENGE. The main reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is A) some of characters didn't feel fleshed out to me and B) some of the plot points just felt too convenient and pat to me. The: “Well of course that's going to happen so we can have a happy ending.” affect. I'm all for HEA, the way this one was reached just didn't fully land for me. It's a very fun cute ready that I absolutely burned through.
Read this if:
-You want more queer romance that's bi-friendly
-You enjoy small towns
-Witches are your jam.
- You enjoy multi-part competitions
Do not read:
-If the revenge aspect is way more important to you than the romance part. Revenge plotting does happen but this book definitely leans into romance territory.
-If soft magic is going to annoy you
- If you've just read Ex Hex. They are similar and you will spend the entire time comparing. Luckily, while I have read Ex Hex it was several months ago
Enjoy and be merry!

I was initially interested this author because she occasionally says interesting things on twitter and I liked the plot description. Overall, I enjoyed the prose style and the world building. The main character had well expressed emotions and she genuinely felt like a young woman and not a mary sue. The being said, I enjoyed specific scenes and moments more than the overall plot arc. Sometimes the characters arcs and motivations felt a little bumpy or inconsistent. I'm willing to read another book by this author, but would probably read reviews first.
Edit: After looking at other reviews, I agree that the pacing could have been better. It's a relatively short book, but it feels a bit hurry up and wait sometimes.

Is this the most amazing book ever written? No, probably not. Is the prose an amazing symphony? Not really. Was I immediately hooked and over come with the need to finish this book? Why yes, yes I was. I could not put this book down. I was completely engrossed by the action and the ticking clock element. I've been barely been able to read for months and I finished in a day. Go in with the appropriate expectations and you will enjoy yourself. I, for instance, am I big fan of the movie Speed. This scratched an itch for me and I was willing to ignore some of the sillier parts of the story.

I really enjoyed the podcast format and how it was handled. The way it made sure to mention respecting the families of the deceased was nice a touch. I also liked the multi-mystery. The one thing that probably kept it from 5 stars, was the ending not being as satisfying as I wanted. Bonus points for having a character named Rachel who doesn't need to be rescued.

A nice fluffy delight. It deals with things like friendship, reciprocity and sexuality. I also like the way it handles trauma. You don't recover in one day from spending your life in fear. The plot was sometimes slightly convoluted, but overall a good read. I would recommend it for someone who wants something cute they don't have to spend absurd amounts of time overanalyzing.

This probably more like 4.5 stars because of one the stupider twists but I'm rounding up because it's better than some of the other stuff I've read lately.
Things done well:
The post partum experience. While I've never had a baby, I could tell the author was starting from a realistic well researched place. I liked that the character actually *liked her baby. It would have been very easy to write a party girl book.
* Characters behaved consistently and knew their worth.
* The rich peoples choices were hilarious.
The bad
* One of the final twists made sense...but felt forced. Like that final flourish where the author wants to make the book seem really messed up. It just fell flat for me.
* You really mean to tell me no one ever rented out tools to find the the secret compartment?? A house that expensive, you can afford an expert.

I read this book because I enjoy Meyer, but I am definitely no longer a member of the target audience.
Good things:
-All the little bits of culture scattered throughout.
-The feeling of community. I believed it when characters liked each other.
-Which fairy tale was chosen. It was one of my faves as a kid.
-The storytelling used as a vehicle.
Bad things:
-The pacing. I didn't realize there was a sequel planned when I started reading it. I felt cheated towards the end because the story within a story didn't have a satisfying ending.