Alex Blackwood, reeling from a volatile break-up desperately needs to come up with a way to prove to her now-ex that she is capable of being loyal. Molly Parker has (basically) followed her crush out to college, where she has high hopes of finally getting noticed by her. Helping Molly get the girl may be just the thing Alex needs to get her ex back, but the thing is, they hadn't exactly gotten off on the right foot...

This book was honestly highly enjoyable, which is why it is a 4.5/5.

The characters were quite easy to care for and their struggles apart from relationship things were well written and easy to understand. While I cannot, for the life of me, understand why Molly would follow a crush (who she has never spoken to!) out to college, the book does give explanation for it. The side characters, while not really appearing that often were still distinct and likeable.

Both of the characters' quests for independence were interesting. I think everyone will be able to relate to some aspect of this part of the story, whether from Alex or Molly's side. It was nice to see varied and complex family dynamics.

Alex and Molly were really cute together -- their relationship was brilliantly written and well developed. I really wouldn't say that this was hate to love, it's more of ... dislike/annoyance to love, which is honestly also good. I really enjoyed seeing the girls grow together and come to understand each other better,

The book was well written and well paced -- when the conflict came, I have to admit, it did make my heart twist. I really enjoyed each step of Alex's plan, and they were all distinct from each other.

Overall, this book was great fun! Although I would get frustrated at times whenever a character would be a little too idealistic, that was only a teeny-tiny deterrence to my overall enjoyment of the book. 

 Melanie is dying. It is something she has always known about herself, which is why she accepts her father's seemingly simply overprotective ways. Harry is a boy who has it all -- good looks, money, popularity -- except for the fact that his girlfriend has a terminal heart condition. Despite that, Harry and Mel's love for each other could not be stronger....or could it? As strange, deadly things them on a journey together, their bond will be put to the test.

Okay, look. I know my faux-blurb isn't the best but the less you know, the more fun it will be. Also, this is a companion novel to Middlegame and although you do not need to read it to enjoy Seasonal Fears, it will be more enjoyable if you do so.

First of all, let me just say -- there is a lot of explaining going on here. I'd say at least 30% of the book is just events and concepts being explained and then re-explained to the characters, a lot of the time by the same person. Of course, the writing was amazing, so the explanations weren't really anywhere close to unbearable but they were noticeable.

Harry and Mel (as characters) were good characters to follow -- I mean that as in they weren't annoying. Their behaviour was always solidly based within who we saw them as and their reactions never seemed unreasonable. We follow Harry more than we follow Mel, which is a bit of a pity because I found her a little more interesting but Harry is complex and well-written enough to also be a worthwhile investment of narration.

Harry and Mel (as a couple) were wonderful, their relationship was well written and believable. The fact that they're together is not a spoiler but anything else would ruin the fun for you, so.

Now, plot. Well-paced and simple to follow as long as you understand the terminology, and like I said, great pains were taken to make sure that you do understand how this world functions. I don't know if the build-up was quite worth the pay off at the end, some plot lines were resolved quite quickly when we had expected them to take longer but nothing felt rushed.

Middlegame characters do make some reappearances here, which I found delightful. This book takes place about six months from when Middlegame ends and the actions of the characters are shown to have had impact.

Atmospherically, I do not think that Seasonal Fears quite compares to it's predecessor -- it feels... a bit more comical at times? Or maybe a little more light.

Overall, a highly enjoyable read! Great characters, fascinating world, brilliant writing. Some plot lines where resolved a little too fast when compared to the buildup we had had and there was just a dash too much explaining, but those are all minor things to me. 

 After drunkenly sending out his drafted emails of almost-kiss confessions, Wren Roland finds himself in a complex situation when the most painful of the recipients replies to his email. Now he has to add that emotional pain to his struggles with keeping a drive-in movie theater afloat, as well as the difficulties of figuring out his identity and what lies in wait in the future for him. Thus, when he gets a chance to possible get the reclusive director's permission to premier a movie that never did get to be seen, he jumps at the opportunity.

A real mixed bag! Or maybe an experience? You'll see as I explain.

First off: for some reason I thought this was going to be YA? Maybe because of the vaguely Laura Jean-esque plot description and also "summer job". It is not! Pleasantly so, in fact.

Wren. Wren, Wren, Wren. I feel like he would interrupt me every other sentence. A very, very emotion driven character for someone who thinks he is stone cold rational and logical. Very passionate and *ahem* "plucky" (that is how he is described by others, accurately). Now I'm going to do something I deem a bit unfair in order to describe him: imaging you put Simon (Simon Vs The Homosapien's Agenda) and Elliot (In Other Lands) and put them in a blender.. What I'm trying to say is that he nearly killed me with second hand embarrassment at times and made me exasperated at some unnecessarily mean moments. Wren's character journey was actually a major redeeming factor for the book -- the more he delved into who he really was, the more I liked him. By the end, I was fully rooting for him. Let me tell you, it was a real rollercoaster, following him as the main character.

Derick and Wren's romance was a major sliver lining the entire book -- they had a great rapport and you could see that they had that...warmth? affection? I can't quite explain it but it was very believable and sweet in a non-sickening way. I enjoyed Derick's consistency of character and the fact that he was willing to give Wren space when he needed it, I think that element was flawlessly executed.

Now, the writing and plot...it's a bit more complicated here.

First of all, the writing was killing me at first, It's got current slang and such, which I'm sure will endear some readers to the book but I am Not A Fan of pop culture blending into books, I think it will make the book difficult to read in the future. As with Wren, once I got used to it, it was fine. If you held me at gun point and made me read a book full of slang and references in the text, I would probably read this book. That's a good thing.

Second of all, the plot. Imagine a Casey McQuiston book (that is very high praise, by the way) but just...slightly off balance. The character development, romance and plot did not mix together completely which made for a mildly lumpy porridge -- delicious but you're going to choke a bit. Here, I would say that the first two elements were well blended and developed, but the plot lagged a bit. However, I cannot complain about it, it was definitely entertaining.

Overall, despite what it may seem like from the review, I thoroughly enjoyed this! The second 50% fully makes up for any annoyance I felt in the first half, all is forgiven. Wren's journey of self discovery is certainly worth any grievances, in my opinion.
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Pre-review: it grows on you.

 

Edi and Rowan's relationship seems to be going well -- they just got engaged! That is what she thinks, anyway, until he suggests that they take a break to date other people. Hurt and confused, Edi turns to her friends for support and comfort. Eventually she meets Winifred, who serves as a catalyst for Edi to reconsider her relationship with Rowan and whether she still wants to go through with the engagement.

Fun fact! This book is severely misadvertised. It makes it seem like this book is a cute rom-com focused on Edi and Winifred, when in fact it is focused on the collapse of Rowan and Edi's incredibly relationship. So please do not go into this book expecting an f/f romance -- it is more focused on Edi and her friend group. Frankly, my rating would be at least a star less if I rated it according to what I expected, but I have decided to judge this story as it is.

Like I said, Winifred is a pretty minor character within this story and Edi's relationship to her serves as a catalyst for self development. It was very confusing as to why Edi stayed with Rowan for the length of time she did, but the collapse was well developed.

The plot progression was quite standard -- this book was a very easy and rather fun read. The writing, however, is very British and a lot of the slang and phrasings were a dash confusing. I saw somewhere that there had been a transphobic comment in the book -- this had been changed in the final edition, thankfully.

Overall, the book was an easy read but didn't do anything new. If you go in expecting a story about a decaying relationship with a sapphic relationship serving as self development for the main character, it's a pretty okay book. 

 Ruby, an eighteen-year-old avenging murderess, encounters a threat within the corrupted City Hall that even she may not have what it takes to face. Meanwhile, a secretive, anxious shapeshifting forensic scientist attempts to get the attention of a doctor who may be able to help him get control over his power.

I cannot say that I particularly enjoyed this book simply because I could not get invested in the action. We were never shown why we should care even though occasionally we were told why we should.

Plot-wise, I would say this books was fast paced; there was always something happening and the stakes were being upped continuously, which could be a bad thing or a good thing depending on what you care for more in your books. I generally prefer more character-focused books, so that is why this might not have quite landed for me.

Speaking of the characters. Ruby and Guy were ... decent? I mean, they weren't particularly interesting or especially annoying. Honestly, they were great for carrying the plot, but do not hold up under inspection.

Their romance was quite abrupt but I am willing to be lenient due to their powers and stressful circumstances and such. Apart from that, they were pretty cute together, we just didn't spend much time focused on that.

We were given the exact amount of information we needed for the story to work within the world and nothing more. I did enjoy the look within corrupted Chicago in the 1920s -- the prohibition was discussed and so were the social customs of the time, which was sufficient to establish the time period.

The use of 20s slang didn't really go that well, at times it felt rather clunky and unsubtle, which ended up taking me out of the story at times. However, Ruby and Guy's voices were quite distinct from one another, which was nice to see.

Overall, this book just wasn't for me but I could see it being the perfect read for someone else.