I needed that? I just got this book due to the amount of people talking, vlogging, tiktokking and whatnot about it. So I was like I'll give it a try, while I haven't read the Notebook yet (or seen the movie... I might need to now). Even though the topic(s) are quite sad, it is just a feelgood vibe.

This book caught me a bit off-guard because it starts just so normal and mundane. In the end we got freaky, like HP Lovecraft level freaky. They even refer to him at some point. Could not get a good grip on the chapter placements, seemed very random. Also 14 is a weird title, even tho that door is a thing it is not the biggest thing in this book. I liked the impasse at like 75% of the book where you feel it all comes to a halt, it pulls you back to an every day mundane life feeling, it makes it feel more real.

I really enjoyed the start and it made me curious where the story would lead, but in the end the main focus was around a topic that is of little interest to me. I can believe that for a lot of people this can pull the right strings, I even think this a book that if read in a later phase of life it can make a whole different impact. The cover synopsis is right tho, it is hard to see what is good or bad.

Classic King book. It's like someone pitched him the killer for hired story and asked what does Hollywood just not get? And then king wrote exactly that. It's a good tale, i didn't care much for the military part but some things are necessary. And the end is just a lot of playing around, which was funny but a bit eh.

Do you books that do like a setup where you have a lot of questions? Yeah well this book does that. And instead of delving into answers, you first get a whole load of nothing. Its a tad frustrating. If I hadn't had the time to read it at the pace I did, I might have left it behind.

But of course there are answers later on, and that justifies it a bit. It goes from ordinary people to wishing on stars and miracles happening.

That said, please keep ancestral tree by hand to keep track of all the characters in the beginning.

I knew the story from the movie (love Alan Rickman) and I have wanted to read the book for a while but never was in the right mood. Now seemed as good a time as any and it was a nice read. Disturbing, but nice. I do wonder the psychological basis for creating this specific character, in the right environment Jean Baptist would still be a man to fear. Adding the nose just gives it a goal.

Spoiler

One small issue I did have was that the lack of his own scent disturbed him so much. I mean, didn't he want to not smell a human? Ergo it would have been troublesome to smell himself in the middle of nowhere.

I have to agree with most, i wanted Ursula her story. This book seems like a filler to get some lines together for future stories. I also prefer it if the story mainly takes place before the fairytale that we know, at times half the chapters was just word for word from the movies. i know those by heart, i was looking for something new

Maybe I'm too cinical but i just don't feel this story is believable. All of this can happen, that's not the issue, but the way the kids deal with it? Nah.

I am a bit shallow but I think that is perfectly fine when it comes to books.

I was just browsing when I came across this new book and it said Dolly Parton and Patterson and I decided that was all the information I needed. I am not a big country music fan, so that part scared me a bit, but I adore Dolly Parton as a person. Like if we ever need an earth ambassador, please send her. She is great, kind, loving, warm.

And it was a lovely read. Just enough thrill to stay interesting and enough spectacle to make you dream of a life you might want to have. The main character is a bit of a pickle to get into because we don't get to know a whole lot about her. You just have to accept that she has her reasons. When she makes wishes though, she dreams big. Although I might have picked a different wish if I had 5. Still unsure as to how she never got kidnapped at some of the points in the story, but that is up to the writer.

Side note, book also has a Dolly Parton album of the same name.

Not every story as good as the other, and some have aged a bit. But still the detective soothes me.