writingpen
Probably more like 3.5 stars but I couldn't bring myself to round up. ( disclosure: I read this book b/c someone talked about it on Twitter.)
This book is a fascinating look into one of the few trends I participated in as a child. Though I was not collecting them. My sister and I just wanted the cats. I knew the Beanie bubble was a thing but I didn't realize the extent. Or how obsessive Ty was about the appearance of his creations. That being said, this book just didn't feel cohesive. There were sections that made sense, like the McDonald's saga, but overall the structure just left me confused. I would have appreciated a timeline. Instead, the book starts at the midway point, goes to the beginning and then the end.
Good things:
* The pure insanity of Ty.
* Quotes from people directly involved.
Cats are responsible for everything! For the most part, the book doesn't openly mock people for collecting.
* The cover gets more hilarious the further you go.
Areas for improvement:
Faith's manuscript. I want more of it. A more focused timeline.
* An interview with someone on the manufactory side of things.
The book has pictures, but didn't include several I thought it should have. I feel like I still have several unanswered questions.
This is a preliminary review. I read it for a book club that will discuss later in the month. Maybe the discussion will affect my opinion?
I went into this book excited because I read another book by this author in 2021 and was obsessed with it. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite meet my expectations. The prose was very smooth and kept me turning pages. It never felt particularly draggy/slow. The magic system mostly made sense. The beginning of the book was very intense and probably one of the best parts. And there were several scenes when there were big reveals etc. that I enjoyed. I loved the wooden balls of death. Those scenes kept me on the edge of my seat, metaphorically. Having this adapted in an animated style could be very cool. Unfortunately, this book also had several weaknesses.
The biggest issue for me was probably how the tropes were handled. I know tropes exist for a reason, but these never felt particularly creative or subverted. I may be slightly biased because one of the main tropes used is one of my least favorites. I also wish that some of the characters had gotten a little more characterization. This book could have easily been 20 pages or so longer and let us get to know the characters better so we were more invested.
That was amazing. I will simply list things that were awesome
- The passage of time felt smooth and natural. I never felt confused.
- Acknowledging that interacting with your ex can be awkward without turning them into the enemy
-Holy crap Anden!
-The subtle plot threads that pay off chefs kiss
-I never felt like the pages were wasted. Lee fully justifies the book length.
-Family priorities shifting over time.
-Was that a Hamilton reference?
- I love Jaya, so much.
This is a book that could have been more. It had a lot of hints of greatness but an inability to commit. Maybe the author isn't fully confident with action scenes ? That being said, the prose is readable and it's not a doorstop. It's nice quick read, just not sure how well I'll remember the plot 6 months from now.
I loved the way this book handled true crime, trauma, and family relationships. And one main twists really threw me initially. I devoured this book. I think the main reason I didn't give it five stars was the sentient house consuming the mother/subsuming the protag's mother. Maybe I didn't realize fully what kind of horror book it was going in? For some reason that particular twist felt almost goofy to me. That being said, that particular twist was kinda inherent to the book, and I enjoyed the book quit a bit. I think Gailey just needs to keep writing, eventually her endings will get as good as the rest of the book. ( also I get more books that way.)
Thankfully for my enjoyment of this book, I did not know it was marketed as a romance. It's in there and certain parts of the story would weird if it was not, but that is not the driving force of this novel. It's about growing up and deciding what kind of life you want. It also a strong theme in regards to who raises you vs. who your biological parent is. ( Elinor's designated adults are better than Terciel's. Just saying.) I didn't do stats on this book or anything, but you will most likely end the book feeling like you know Elinor better than you Terciel. Her chapters feel more open and you can see her making choices more clearly. I should emphasize: I have complaints but overall I enjoyed this book in large part because I enjoy this series. I know it is prequel but I would advise new readers to at least read the original trilogy first.
What I liked:
I love the Abhorsen house every time it shows up.
I appreciate seeing Mogget through the ages and how the different Abhorsens treat him
There were fun easter eggs connected to other book, I noticed Clariel the most because I had read it recently.
All the references to literature/ plays
What I didn't like:
What romance there is, feels like its at 10% too fast because the book spends too much time doing other stuff. Which is weird, given the book title.
I always want them to spend more time in death or use the bells more. If I wrote fanfic the frustrations this book caused me would be a great jumping off point.
I really wish a different villian had been chosen. Between that and fact that this is a prequel, some of tension just wasn't there.
This book probably rounds up to 3.5 stars for me. There were parts that I really enjoyed. Especially the setup/ beginning. Sleeping Beauty has always been one of my favorite princesses. As with the author's other books, I enjoy the prose style. Also, the interior art is cute. The ending could have been better but I didn't hate it. The main issue I had was the midpoint. The fantastical just didn't land for me? The phone working in the fantastical land and actually sending &receiving text messages just felt nonsensical to me. I know it was a novella, but the worldbuilding for the fantastical part of the story just felt a little more sloppy/unfinished than I prefer.
This is a fairly cute read and I enjoyed the pictures that were included in the book. The pacing is decent and I never felt like it was dragging on. The Gamer Grandpa was a good setup. That being said, this book suffered from a few issues. 1. Everything just feels...too convenient. That's not me knocking on how romance novels work in general. 2. Since the shop owners they were stopping to visit were at least somewhat known quantities, the percentage of them being jerks felt higher than it should have been.
For you if:
If you enjoy romance and d0n't mind mid-range sexual content. It never felt X-rated to me.
Like roadtrip stories
Enjoy characters being immersed in nerd world/ courting through card games.
Found family/ family supporting each other
Youtubers/ influencers
Queer representation
Not for you:
If you dislike melodrama
If you want everything to be realistic
If homophobia being in the book somewhere is a problem for you.
If you are anxious about paying for college/ what to do after college and don't want more anxiety in your reading.
I picked this book for a reading challenge after I saw it on one of those book lists. I went in with really high expectations and was pumped to start reading it. Unfortunately, this book just didn't hit the spot for me. The prose was odd, though that may be because it's translated? Also, the book constantly felt like it was supposed to be a funny book but the comedy felt very hit or miss. And the author kept trying to add a mysterious subplot with a different kind of font that read like a sheep becoming a pagan. I would say the book had a decent beginning and end but the middle was a bit of a slog. This book could have been shorter and still done everything it was trying to.
Disclaimer: I am a long time Cabot fan.
I was super pumped for this book and reserved from the library the first moment I got. And I'll admit I read it pretty quickly. Like always, Cabot's prose style is extremely readable and turns pages. Elements like the book within the book were fun. I also enjoyed both the variety of author personalities and the fact that none of the characters were perfect 1:1 for actual famous authors. The author/ fan interactions also felt cute and real. Also, I will admit that I enjoyed the cat puns.
The (non)- spoiler bad.
- The central “conflict” never felt fully explained. Every time it came up, it felt like the characters were saying “Well, you have to understand....” without ever actually resolving the issue.
- The Harry Potter mention. I totally respect people who love Harry Potter, it was a part of their childhood etc. That being said, indirectly promoting Harry Potter in a published work is just unnecessary at this point. Some of your readers have been traumatized/hurt by J.K Rowlings very public views and at this point HP references take me out of the story. If you must mention a book of the genre, use Circle of Magic etc. ( This is not related to me subtracting stars, but I felt I should mention it. Some people may not want to read this book because of this mention.)
- The main character has like...way too little respect for other people's privacy. It felt invasive and gross.
Potential spoilers beyond this point!
I'm sorry, but this romance plot is completely non-sensical. He said something mean about an author who was also plagiarized *which was completely unneeded*. He could mentioned how badly their writing styles mesh because they write in wildly different genres. Therefore plagiarizing both is just weird. And then she *wildly* overreacts. Refusing to even attend the same convention? Really?? I get not wanting to socialize with him/ not wanting to be on the same panel. Totally reasonable. But she acts like he led a campaign against her or something. It makes the character come across super melodramatic and less likeable compared to the rest of the book. And then! She tries to flesh out a characters background using his personal life. Like, using someone as a vague inspiration is one thing. Diving into his super private business because apparently you can't create your own tragic back story for a character is another. It just felt *super gross.* True, he wrote an entire book that was loosely inspired her, because he thought she was hot. In comparison, it still felt less squicky. Points returned for : no stupid lying, hilarious mentions of their relationship in the press, emails being at the end of the book, excerpts from authors book, and nods to previous Little Bridge characters.
Personally, I really enjoyed this book. Though that may have something to do with the baking the main character does. Give me all the cake... I enjoyed it more than a certain other book with a similar concept. I appreciated that dual timeline didn't have some weird twist where the narrator is outright lying or its someone else. That being said, I can definitely see why it wasn't the right book for some people. The pacing was occasionally odd the main character doesn't take enough responsibility for her present day actions. The whole secret drawer thing, where she never feels bad about stealing someone's cellphone rubbed me the wrong way. Similarly, she constantly blames her mother for her drug problems even though she hasn't lived with her mother for years. In addition, while I enjoyed the lead up to the ending I'm not sure it stuck the landing. It felt like the author wanted as many twists as possible, which meant the final twist didn't feel as genuine.
Tl;DR: I enjoyed the prose but the pacing means you might not feel as invested at the midpoint. The finale is good, but the final final scene just doesn't get 5/5 from me.
I waffled what to rate this book for awhile because I was very torn. I enjoyed the narrators voice and I loved the concept when I picked the book up. Unfortunately, I felt there were areas this book just did not deliver. For instance: A major plot point of this book is the blog ( not a spoiler since that's mentioned in the official plot description.) And I feel like we don't get enough of the blog. I understand romance authors don't want to write 500 page tomes, but there ways to make this work. She could have written the blogs then had the book narrate what she left out/ how it was exaggerated. I didn't count how many blogs we actually see, but it wasn't enough for how crucial it was to the plot. Also, I called the final twist from like 5 miles away. I also would have preferred if : she had been on better terms with at least one of the brides. One wedding going super well would have been at better contrast.
I'm withholding my final review, because I read it for a book club and the meeting could potentially change my opinion.
Initial thoughts:
I love the unique art style and how it reflects the narrators perception of the world. The recreation of famous artwork was super fun. Unfortunately, this comic suffers slightly in the plot department. The ending felt slightly abrupt and I felt like there were too many loose ends/cliffhangers at the end of volume one, given its length. That being said, I am willing to read the second volume when it is published.
This was very cute.
Things I liked:
-Misunderstandings that actually make sense
-The baked goods
- I liked that they knew who was on the other end of twitter account early on. It allowed for a more competitive spirit and they didn't have to forgive each other for as much stuff. Also, it makes sense that it would come up in conversation.
-Weazel!
Things that weren't so great:
-Some of the side characters had motivations that I just didn't get. It felt like the author wanted a particular set up to happen, but didn't build a strong enough foundation.
- Some of the decisions the parents were made were kinda crappy, but it gets swept under the rug at the end.
- Some parts of the ending just felt to0...sweet? tidy? The delivery app getting a chat service and games is just weird. I get why the character would want it but it pulled out the story a little bit with the perfectness. True neutral:This book has *alot* of pop culture references. And I got them! But I'm in my late 20's and theoretically, not the target audience. I'm not sure if current high schoolers will enjoy these as much. (To be clear, I'm making fun of current teenagers. I'm just not sure they're watching Mean Girls *and* Gossip Girl. I get that some media is forever, but still. )
I want preface this review by saying I really wanted to like this book. It had an interesting concept and an imperfect protagonist. I also appreciated that the focus was on sewing and the character was allowed succeed without becoming Buffy. Also the cover art is swoon.
Unfortunately, this book had a lot of problems. I'm hoping the sequels solve at least some of them. These problems include:
* Not thinking through the politics enough. If you are going to make politics a central theme they need to be fleshed out and believable in terms of human nature.
* Certain aspects of romance felt like they went to0 fast and the protag caught damsel syndrome when I wanted her to be awesome instead. She flip flops on things that are supposedly significant to her.
* The magic system was okay but as one reviewer mentioned, one particular person gaining powers was just...annoying.
It's possible this would five stars if I hadn't also read The Hollow Places, recently. (Go read that one!) The set up of two the books is similar which caused me ( I swear this was involuntary) to make some direct comparisons. On to the actual review!
I used to watch the show Hoarders and if you enjoy that show you will get out of the mundane elements of this book. The main character helps to unhoard her grandmothers house and then spooky things happen. I unfortunately, do not read horror very often so I didn't know the White People were an established horror thing the author was referencing. If you truly want to enjoy this story I would at least google a summary of the original story. Since I didn't have that background I went into the book unprepped and that led to me not enjoying the magic part as much. As a fantasy reader I am used to all the world building and I was left unsatisfied with the amount of information I was given. Even the magic people seemed like they didn't fully know what was going on. I enjoyed the read, but if forced to recommend a book by this author I would choose The Hollow Places.
A fun little murder mystery romp. The protagonist has a distinct voice and the realities of nursing homes is dealt with in a fairly respectful way. It loved the how glass blowing intersected in the story. I also just felt like certain with ending just didn't end in a satisfactory way. I felt like we needed an epilogue or something to lie up loose ends for the secondary plot.
As many other have noted, Daisy is annoyingly quirky. Also, the author really needed to rethink the age gap given their past. ( 4 year ago gap is fine with adults. duh. Him being “aware” of her when she turned 16 is uhhh....real special. There were some moments I enjoyed (yay, swords!) and prose was an easy read. That being said, this is one HEA I don't need to revisit.
Just a short review, because other people have said what I wanted to say, in a more eloquent way. I love the vibes and am addicted to stories that involve folks traveling around in wagons. The first reveal moment is fricking hilarious.
The good:
The vibes!
The main character being consistently naïve and not becoming insta cool 20 pages in.
Parts of the world building.
The bad:
The world building needed to a little further. I was left feeling like I was holding a chain that had missing links.
The romance the main has...just feels sort of forced. It may have worked in a full length novel, a sequel novella, or if this novella had a time skip. As it is, it just feels like the author was super into these character & was shouting now kiss! while clapping her hands maniacally. tl;dr the romance timeline was off.
The ending was a bit disappointing to me because I felt like it overlooked certain issues. Sending the main character out to be a librarian when in theory she's on the run, just seems like a bad idea. It would make more sense for her chill with the resistance for a few months and get training first. Let the heat die off. Instead, we seem to have forgotten that may even be an issue. Forgetting how your book started when it's a novella is just a weird mistake.
For me this probably more like a 3.5 but I rounded up. I'm writing this review a few weeks after finishing the book, and looking back the book just isn't super memorable. Dual timelines are a trend that has taken over the genre and the “twist” is one I've seen several times before at this point. I didn't see it coming necessarily, Though I knew why the narrators friend was being mean to her. , but it just didn't shock and awe me. It was fun enjoyable read but I don't know that I'll seek this author out.