catherineisa's Reviews (1.27k)

Thank you to Netgalley for the Arc.


 

A charming story with engaging art and interesting characters. The Spellbeasts and some of the action scenes were very nicely illustrated, with the story progressing in an intriguing manner. The magical aspects of the story were fresh and laid out well. The creatures were very cool! As well as the backgrounds in the settings being very immersive, especially the library itself.

Would be very interested in reading another volume.

 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Despite an interesting setting and some interesting characters, I found myself mostly underwhelmed and sometimes bored reading this book. The premise is interesting, but for me this book didn't work. It started with an interesting hook with Iris' partners death and how she deals but most things that came after felt a bit sluggish

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Hated the prologue and was very grateful when the chapters after weren’t written in the same manner. The book cover is very cool, pulling me in from the jump just seeing it on the book page. Overall some very interesting character dynamics and although the characters (especially Kelli) aren’t perfect or even most times sympathetic, I found myself very curious what they would do next and how they’d get on as the story progressed. Although sometimes I did find the main character a bit annoying….

The main character's relationship with a serial killer is an interesting plot thread made even more interesting when it is revealed her father was also put in jail for a murder (Although it turns out to not be so cut and dry). One moment though, felt a little like “stop trying to make Fetch happen” and it was so distracting, when the main character shortens boyfriend to Boyf, No. As well as referencing recent media like The Bear or Gilmore Girls. Some of the authors descriptions and comments are quite nice though. 

Laughed a little when the main character's partner says celebrities she shared a birthday with and she mentions a serial killer she shares a birthday with. Not funny but also very funny. 

Interesting debut. Might check out the next books from this author.  

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Overall I didn't find myself invested in really any of the characters or the plot. There was an odd number of chapters for how many pages the book has.....82 chapters and an epilogue. I wanted to root for the characters but they all seemed kind of flat to me. Daisy is kind of annoying the way she deals with things, even though I should feel bad for her. The plot felt like a mishmash of whatever. Overall disappointed. Also kind of distracting that the dogs name was Johnny. 


Pretty cover though, very nice colors. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! 

For fans who want to learn everything they can about Swifts writing, who want to delve into her lyrics and poetry and examine it from every angle! This book feels like a good jumping off point for new fans and a nice analytical read for Swifties who have been listening for a while. 

The formatting is really nice and I like how much effort the author has obviously put into the book. It feels like a passion project and the handwritten font feels like we've just been given a journal of the authors thoughts. The fonts and illustrations all feel like they belong and the "English Literature (Taylor's Version) is a nice touch. 

I do wish the color of the annotations matched the eras. Staying purple throughout is a bit of a missed opportunity. I have my own ideas about the lyrics but comparing and contrasting with what the author presents was really nice and the experience was enjoyable. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Very cute story with interesting art and lovely characters! I loved the focus on food/books in the art and how detailed all of the small items were. It really added a lot to the story to have all of the little things be equally important. The characters interactions were really sweet (tense in some areas) and I found myself rooting for them very easily as the story progressed. 

The style flipping from really cute to realistic was also really nice and I loved the similarities and differences highlighted between the characters. 

 Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! 

The art is really dynamic, such a nice style that adds depth. There are a lot of little details that also add to the experience of reading the manga. I loved the attention given to backgrounds, food and drinks and other such items. The bonds between the characters is also quite nice and how they each see the world, especially the main character going out of his way to help people and how they interact. The style was really effective in both the previous life flashes and the current daily storyline. 

The blurbs at the end of some of the chapters about the food items featured in that chapter was really interesting and it is a bit of a shame there weren't more of those. I am definitely looking forward to any forthcoming volumes!