Though this was still a fun read, it was my least favorite of the series. The outrageousness got out of hand at the sacrifice of real character development and arcs. I wanted more details to make the  Indonesian setting come alive. I also was hoping we'd get to see more of Meddy and Nathan's relationship dynamic besides passing ships during "high-stakes" cheesy moments. 

I liked returning to this world! There were some really nice moments here and interesting cultural exploration. It was still silly to the point of being ridiculous with many of the plot points, but it was fun anyway. 

This was a sweet romance about a Chicago doctor who inherits an apartment from his estranged uncle and falls in love with a girl in another unit. I did feel like Will and Nora were both unrealistically tied to the past and only know people in previous generations: Nora has one friend her age, and Will has zero. The writing style was thoughtful and tender without being wordy. I wish we got to know more about Nonna. I also didn't think the insta-love was necessary. Still, I enjoyed this read.

I really enjoyed this sweet Regency romance featuring a daughter, grieving the loss of her mother, who accepts an invitation to her mom's childhood friend's estate only to become involved with both the inheriting son and the younger son. Odekirk brings up several compelling themes, including marriages of convenience, fraternal comparison, and the nature of memory. There were moments, including chess games, that felt reminiscent of Regency staples like Edenbrooke. However, the fake dating and brother love triangle tropes I didn't find matched the setting especially well (it felt more appropriate for a YA Summer I Turned Pretty, which doesn't fit as well with Regency characters in their 20s).

This was a fun clean enemies-to-lovers romance with some Lady Whistledown feel. His aunt was the best character to me; I was disappointed that her family did not get as much attention and the sisters in particular just accepted the interesting excuses Charlotte provided for her meetings with Anthony. There were a few plot pieces you just had to accept, and some cheesy moments, but this was overall a delight. I liked historical details like the Palladian architecture on the country house.

This book looks/seems like a light YA but actually centered on heavier themes such as familial grief, parental responsibility, and drug addiction/overdose. I was surprised by how intense the characters' struggles were. I wanted more time spent on the setting beyond gimmicks and less detailed descriptions of underage drinking and hooking up. Olivia was a complicated character - she'd been through so much that I wanted to like her, but it was more like pity, and her entitlement was also pretty extreme even for a teenager. The science research fair sub-plot felt underdeveloped with a convenient conclusion. I still enjoyed this read, even though it didn't match my expectations; I feel like I'd probably like a different book by this author more.

This somewhat modern reimagining of Little Women was fascinating, yet it didn't quite hit the mark for me. The writing style was hauntingly beautiful, compelling and emotionally resonant, but the plot and character arcs were somewhat disappointing to me. None of the sisters felt like ordinary real people, while William was way too ordinary - driven by the plot's inertia rather than being a really active character.

This was a clean contemporary romance about a documentary maker who goes out of her comfort zone to save her job and ends up finding love from her Coast Guard rescuer instead. There were a lot of plot points and character details that felt unrealistic; this was part of the fun and charm to a point, but it got to be too much for me. One part that surprised me was that I normally could take or leave animal characters but George Bailey was aptly named and actually played an important role. However, I felt like none of the characters' growth arcs (if they grew) worked fully. 

It's fascinating to follow an unnamed character and relate with her. Undoubtedly, du Maurier is the master of balancing beauty with horror in descriptions - the dread dripped from this setting. However, the characters are often static.

I still regularly return to this series, but the ending does not even come close to answering everything I want (I wanted WAY more with Megan's powers, alternate realities, Larcener, etc.). Still, I did appreciate that Sanderson wasn't afraid to let there be real stakes and sacrifice.