blewballoon's Reviews (763)

I loved this! I really enjoyed the first book in this series Delilah Green Doesn't Care, and I was really looking forward to reading from Astrid's perspective after how that book ended. I think I may have liked this story even more. Astrid and Jordan were both compelling, interesting, and easy to root for. I loved how their romance grew from the awkward situation they started in. I love how Astrid personally grew and rediscovered herself. I was relieved at how well Astrid and Jordan communicated through most of the problems that came their way. One of the best romances I've read so far this year, I'm really looking forward to the next entry about Iris now.

This book is so good. I was captivated immediately by the prologue, I wanted to learn more about this world and how it worked. The writing is very atmospheric and immersive without being overly descriptive. I connected with and rooted for Sabriel throughout the story, she's a very competent protagonist so it's believable when she succeeds, but she's also young and inexperienced so there's constant tension as she has to understand and overcome obstacles. The supporting cast is small and doesn't have a lot of focus compared to how much introspection we get from Sabriel, but they are still likable and engaging (or horrible and terrifying in the case of the villains) and leave you wanting more. I wish I had read this as a young adult, I can see how goth teen me would have adored it, but apart from the age of the protagonist it doesn't have a lot of the negative tropes associated with YA and I enjoyed it very much as an adult reader. 

I will admit, I did space out during parts of this audiobook and I don't remember all of it, but I enjoyed the ride. There are so many reoccurring symbols and motifs, and trying to follow along and put the pieces together and catch the callbacks is fun. I loved the tone of the present-day chapters from Zachary's perspective, I got a chuckle out of those a few times.

I loved the kitchen, and I loved the later chapters from Zachary's friend's perspective as she was trying to find him.

I loved how many random cats there were. I do wish I had been able to pay more attention, but sometimes the more poetic/metaphorical parts would lose me and I'd drift for a while until I realized I was missing stuff. I basically blacked out for most of the ending, but I think I got the general idea? 😅 I probably would have enjoyed the story better if the book had been a bit more concise, but I think that might also be a detriment for other people who love it the way it is, and maybe wouldn't have fit with the tone the book was trying to convey.

This was a lot of fun! I got sucked in immediately in the first few pages. It definitely has a heavy use of the miscommunication trope, and some other things you kind of need to suspend your disbelief for, but overall I really enjoyed the story, writing, and pacing. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. 

I have never been to Nantucket island, but I live in the area and I was really interested to learn more about the history through a historical fiction with a women's perspective. Each of the 3 POV characters has a unique perspective about life on the island, and together they provided a great multidimensional lens for the events around the great fire. I enjoyed their personal stories and seeing how their lives and the lives of other islanders intertwined. I think my biggest complaint is that sometimes the writing approached issues in an overly simplistic way, or over-exposited some situations, which would make the dialogue sound a little clunky in some scenes.

The author's note at the end says this book was a place to put a lot of ideas that hadn't fit into other books, and it was written as a serial originally. In some ways I liked this, I enjoyed the creativity in creatures and settings, but in another way I also wasn't in the mood for it I think. The writing reminded me of Tress of the Emerald Sea a bit, but I think the setting was less cohesive and Summer had a bit less agency than Tress which made it harder for me to stay engaged. I think that makes sense, since Summer is a 12 year old girl while Tress is a young woman, and they are inspired by different tales (Chronicles of Narnia and Princess Bride). Overall I still really enjoyed this, but I took a lot longer to finish it than I expected. I would definitely recommend this for middle grade readers and for adults who are in the mood for a whimsical, youthful fantasy that twists some tropes around. 

If you love the idea of a story where the kids who toured Willy Wonka's factory as kids get to return as adults, then this might be for you. Replace Willy Wonka's chocolate factory with a private island owned by a famous children's book author. Replace the character flaws and fantasy punishments with real, hopeful children who are seeking love and support in the face of genuine human struggles. Replace the physics defying candy factory locations with riddles, logic games, and self growth. If you're still on board for a story that is overtly about confronting trauma and learning to move forward through your fears, then I think you'll really like this.

I will admit that I did find some of the trauma aspects  to be hammered a little too hard, and the resolutions to be a little too quick and easy.

I started listening to this on audiobook and I have no idea what's going on or who the characters are. I've never failed this spectacularly at following along. I think I'm not in the mood for regency era historical fiction at the moment. I'm gonna return the audiobook to the library and start something else. I'll come back to this later probably. 

This was pretty good. I really like Katharine Schellman's Lily Adler mysteries, and I was interested to see their take on a 1920s murder mystery. I liked most of the main characters, and the mystery investigation and 1920s setting were done well enough. I think my biggest complaint is that some of the dialogue felt a little too clunky or loaded with unnatural exposition.

I had hoped to like this more than I did. I think the story leaned more towards being satirical and humorous at the expense of character depth and nuance. A lot of the characters were kind of unpleasant, with basic personalities. I also wasn't a fan of the bit of fat shaming that happened with one of the side characters. I read this with the intention of watching the movie after, so I hope the movie has more rounded and likable characters. Edit: I did watch the movie. The movie is a bit better than the book I'd say, it makes the characters a little more likable.