littleredmacks's reviews
508 reviews

I enjoyed this one but I am starting to learn that a collection of short stories may just not be for me. There are always stories that I love so incredibly much and I feel like it just sets me up to be disappointed in the next one because I want more of the one before. 
Overall it was still a really great collection of stories. Maybe my next collection I'll space out and read a short story a month or something. 

Are we even surprised at my rating given the author? This short story (emphasis on short) had such a fleshed out world for something as short as it was. Polk's talent for crafting worlds that feels so lived in and fleshed out that I'm not sure I'd even care how dynamic the characters are. 

That being said, the characters and their journey still left an impression. I adored our main character and her motivations for befriending the love interest. And this one, like most of the C.L. Polk stories I've read has tragedy that feels so indicative of the real world that it never fails to make my heart hurt. 

Can I just start by saying that I aspire to be a teacher like Ms. Clayton? 

I need to sit down and work out all my thoughts to this book because it was so good and there is so much to unpack. This is one book I want to reread and annotate as I listened to the audiobook this time (which was amazing).

Every character was well thought out and dynamic. 

I loved that Odd Spirits required its characters to have good communication before they were able to complete the magical tasks before them. Bad communication can ruin so many things and I love that the plot was almost forcing them into good communication. 

I was especially excited when I realized this was a prequel to Evocation and cannot wait to dive into that one. It just moved up the list on my TBR. 

Now, I will say that I found myself confused about the timeline/setting. Given they were already married there were moments where it felt like they didn't know each other as well as I would have expected. At first, I thought this might have been intentional, reflecting a time when people may have rushed into marriage despite truly knowing their partner. That theory held up pretty well until someone had a smart phone. Though, given this is a prequel that came out AFTER the original work, I can also see how we were likely to have the world from that first story. 

Overall, the writing style I've some to know from S. T. Gibson is still there and I still love it. The characters were compelling and I can't wait to read Evocation (because I clearly need some world context).

I feel like this was a fun story and a great way to get more Loki in my life. However, I do wish we had tackled this with more of a depth and nuance given the topics that were tackled. 

The world in this book was beautifully crafted, and the lore and fairytales woven into the narrative were captivating. I found myself more intrigued by the legends and backstory than the actual barely there plot itself. 

While I can appreciate the sapphic romance and the broader themes of antisemitism explored in this book, the characters, especially Lorelei, felt incredibly flat. Lorelei came across as a two dimensional character who seemed to be nothing but anger. While I understand that she had a lot to be angry about, nobody is that one dimensional. Even in her inner monologue, when she describes Sylvie, there's a sense of bitterness ('like of course she's effortlessly beautiful') and it become quite repetitive. I was hoping for moments of vulnerability, joy or passion, but instead the entire story felt clouded by her anger, especially as the book is told from her POV. 

I was more than halfway through the story and still didn't feel any real connection between Sylvie adn Lorelei and was completely uninvested in the aforementioned barely there plot. The expedition was lackluster and considering there was so much depth to the backstory I found myself disappointed in what I was being given. 

Ultimately, I switched from the physical book to strictly audio just to finish the story. While the world building and writing style were so well done, the lack of emotional depth and connection left me disappointed in this story. I felt like I couldn't even properly appreciate it when the two FMCs get together. 

I didn't realize this was a spin off novella, but honestly, I don't think you need to have read the original work to understand this one. Although, I felt as though this story was missing some crucial elements so maybe I'm wrong.

The premise was interesting, a cursed population and a girl trying to save them with science instead of magic. I still couldn't help but feeling like the character development was lacking, especially in regards to the romance. I struggled to understand why the MMC fell for the FMC. The chemistry felt rushed and there wasn't enough build up between them to feel authentic. 

On the other hand, it was a quick read and I did like the representation of women in STEM. I'd have liked way less focus on the romance and more on this side of the story, especially considering her sister was sick and that's why she's working on a cure. I feel like it has potential but was trying to juggle too much for a novella. 

The Perfect Marriage started off strong with a rollercoaster of twists that had me intrigued, but unfortunately, the excitement quickly wore off as I started to pick apart the plot. While the mystery kept me engaged for a while, there were several issues that ultimately left me disappointed.

The biggest flaw was the wife's death. If she was stabbed 37 times, how did her husband not notice the blood when he left? This was a major plot hole for me, and it just didn’t make sense. Had she been killed by overdose or some other method, I could have accepted it, but with that level of violence, the blood should have been impossible to overlook. And had he left BEFORE she was killed, I could even overlook that, but it was stated he left AFTER she was killed. The fact that this wasn’t addressed more clearly left me frustrated and confused.

Then there’s Scott, who was supposedly suspended but somehow kept working and then was suspended again. The inconsistency in his storyline made no sense, and it really threw me off. I couldn’t wrap my head around how that was supposed to work.

I also had a hard time with the wife’s perspective. Her representation of her husband made me immediately suspicious, and I thought she might be involved in the crime. But then her POV was written in a way that misled the reader—making me second-guess everything and feel like I had been lied to. When the big reveal came, I was left feeling misled and disappointed. It just didn’t feel satisfying or well-executed.

Overall, The Perfect Marriage had potential, but it ultimately fell flat. The plot holes, inconsistencies, and misleading writing really hurt the overall experience, and by the end, I couldn’t help but feel let down. I had high hopes, but this one just didn’t deliver for me.