GENRE: Contemporary, Romance, Female Lead RATING: 2/5 *Note this book was gifted to me by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review* This was really hard to read if I am being quite honest, and if this hadn’t been a novel I was gifted on NetGalley, I would have surely stopped reading this book 20% in. There were a lot of aspects of this novel that I didn’t enjoy, and not enough that I did. Firstly, Kate, Julia and Ben are all in their 40s and seem to just be surrounded by single people and are looking to settle down (well our protagonist Kate is). I am 27 years old and i am already feeling the pressure of needing to find someone and settled down since so many of my friends are married and having kids and I am just debating if now is the time to move out of my parents house with a looming recession… How is this 43 year old not surrounded by these things? Other than the wedding mentioned at the beginning of the novel, there are no people around who she interacts with who aren’t single. Everyone is single and that really feels like someone’s early 20s rather than their early 40s. Where is the outside pressure? Your mom or auntie asking you when you’re going to “settle down” and “find someone” and “start a family” … It also feels so unrealistic and just… meh. Secondly, the novel is set in Saskatchewan which I thought would be dope to see, as someone who is from Montreal, Quebec, I was excited to maybe get a peak of what life is there, since you rarely see novels set in that part of Canada. But honestly it really felt like this could have been set anywhere, I wish that we got more of a glimpse of what living in Saskatchewan was like and maybe mentioning specific places that one may even see when visiting. Another issue I had, was while the characters were in their 40s, they all acted and spoke like they were in their late 20s and early 30s… it was just out of place to me. Like Kate has a mini crush on her barista, Jesse, and she makes comments about how he’s too young for her, because he’s 13 years younger than her… That would mean she’s 43 and he’s 30! You mean the biggest issue for you is his age, rather than the fact that he is a barista and doesn’t seem to be working towards anything of substance at that age? Like seriously I would understand if she was 33, and he was 20… but the novel doesn’t make sense this way… It really feels like this novel was originally made with 33 in mind and someone pushed the author to make it 43. I think the whole book would have been more tolerable if those were the ages. Especially because the novel was well written. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I also dislike that we have Ben’s perspective included at all in the novel. WE KNOW HE LIKES KATE even just from her perspective even though she is obviously oblivious… But i have to say… it is already frustrating that Kate is already so oblivious but like by 50% into the novel and we haven’t had even like a smidge of sexual tension or like “almost” moments between Ben and Kate… its just… this was such a let down. I am giving this novel a 2/5 solely because if the novel had been written with a different age in mind I would have rated it higher. (Probably a 3/5). If you read this, please comment and tell me what you think? Perhaps I am too harsh, maybe you can open my eyes to a different perspective.
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GENRE: CRIME, ROMANCE, FEMALE-LEAD, ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS RATING: 2/5 I have never been more disappointed in a Tessa Bailey novel than this one. I am honestly so surprised that it was published. It was overall weird. Firstly, Miles’s narration was awful. I honestly think that if you cannot embody the voice of a man, it might be best to not write in that perspective. Like - show his side to ANY dude and they’ll tell you that this was way too off, and in no way believable. “clearly interpreting my silence as irritation, with her, Taylor turns on a heel in the sand and sashays towards the far side of the cove” No matter how much RuPaul a straight man watches, there is no way he says that. Another big issue with this novel was the relationship between Taylor and her brother, it honestly felt like really gross. No sister and brother (gay or not) would ever speak to each other like that - it really felt like this book was supposed to feature the “gay bestie trope” and last minute it was removed. No matter how close me and my brother are, I will NEVER… NEVER tell my brother that I am going to buy a dildo. And I sure as hell would never tell my brother details of my sex life… Now back to Miles, there are points where he made allusions to be jealous… OF HER BROTHER and basically seeing him as a threat… like wtf… Like on p.118 Miles would make a comment how annoyed he was at Taylor getting male attention and then in the same paragraph… makes comments about how her brother seems decent and then goes back to talking about the guys who are hitting on her. Like I said very weird. Now, not only that but this novel is riddled with inconsistencies. So on page 118, Miles says that she is a suspect and that he hast to distance himself but then nothing happens really because he still in that same situation where he’s with her and then on page 121 says that she isn’t a suspect anymore because the time of death made it so their alibis were fine. He never received a call, he never left her side during those pages… but she’s suddenly not a suspect? Taylor’s character is also sort of annoying. I have friends who are elementary school teachers… and I swear not everything is about how your students related to this issue. She acts like she has no adult friends who she talks to and relates to. Not everything has to be “but my fourth grade students” or “if one of my fourth grade students acted like this I would…” I am only giving this 2/5 instead of 1/5 is because the sex scenes and the sexual tension were extremely well written. Anyways, hope this helps… you can skip this book honestly… Booktok lied. ***This book has triggers, please check them if you need before reading this novel*** GENRE: CRIME, FEMALE-LEAD RATING: 3/5 I thought this was a really interesting novel. It is a crime novel; something I don’t usually read but rather watch on television but this book did surprise me. It was well written and you can really tell that the author has worked in the industry. There is a lot of background information that I wasn’t privy too before having read the book. The only reason I am giving this a 3-star instead of a 4-star read is the narration. Obviously this was an audiobook but I found myself getting lost at times because the two narrators who each depicted one perspective (Charlie’s and Erica’s) were two women with similar voices -but different intonations… I sometimes got lost as to WHO was narrating. Perhaps that is my ADHD but I would have preferred if the chapters were read “CHAPTER 23 - Erica” In the fall, I always take the time to rewatch BONES. This was a murder-solving series that aired on FOX that aired between 2005-2017. It was one of my favourite shows, and that is why I always rewatch it. In between, rewatching this series as well as reading this book, I found myself in a crime solving little bubble and it all came together perfectly. If you are someone who enjoys crime mysteries, this is honestly a great fall read. Also, it is really cool that part of the novel is actually narrated by the author! Check it out! ***Note this book was gifted to me on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*** ***This book has triggers, please check them if you need before reading this novel*** GENRE: Historical Fiction, Greek Mythology, Retelling RATING: 4/5 I absolutely love Circe, and that is something I never thought I would say after having watched Game of Thrones! (yes cringe joke, but back to the review) I really liked this read a lot, especially because Circe although she is a Goddess, is very relatable to me, as someone who was always told to keep quiet and was very much ignored. There is so much in here that really just made me smile like turning men who r-word into pigs, as well as they tie-in to Song of Achilles (as within the original myth, Circe meets Odysseus post Trojan war). I also love how we see her progress as a character and see her own worth and strength as the book progresses. If you are someone who isn't afraid of a long story without a clear-cut plot, as this story very much follows the Greek style of not really having a specific climax and ending... If you are someone who loves Greek myths or historical fiction... If you love witches... then this is a read for you. SPOILER WARNING BELOW When Circe is pregnant, I found it interesting that none of her magic worked to help with her pain, that regardless of Goddess or human, child birth is hard and that if one experiences, they are just as powerful as Gods like Zeus. This was evident through the use of language to describe the pain. ex: dropped from the sky like a thunderbolt --- she literally uses Zeus's weapon to describe her pain and she overcomes without her magic regardless. There is also a moment in the novel where Athena threatens Circe, and the last thing she says is "You do not know what I can do" It gave me chills. So badass. |
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