Graham has an engaging voice and has real insight into the movie industry, but sometimes the flow of these essays was disjointed with abrupt transitions - I would've liked a central anchoring focus. I didn't like how she kept talking about needing to hurry to get this to her publisher.

This was a solid continuation of The Witcher. The episodic construction felt more unified than the last collection because there was a focus on destiny here; Geralt finally found Ciri. I felt like Dandelion/Jaskier got to shine more here too. It was nice that we didn't have to have long brutal descriptions of violence; it was there, but usually just off-page, so the world was believable without us having to wade through all the blood.

This romance novel about pickleball had a cute premise and some scenes that delivered, but the overall impact didn't quite land for me. The best part was the female friendship between the protagonist Meg and her best friend Annie, which felt mainly realistic (up until the denouement and epilogue with the too-nicely-wrapped-up everything's perfect vibe). The worst part was the ridiculous twin reveal, which was such a lazy "plot twist" - it was crazy that all the characters blithely went along with the concept that a twin would appropriate his twin's name for a very dumb reason. I think that my experience overall was more frustration or disappointment than enjoyment of this one.

This book takes twin tropes to an offensive level. The narration is all "tell," no "show," from a past tense voice, which was quickly wearying. No character is realistic except maybe the boys, Jimmy and Matt, but there is so much here that is so messed up. Both the parents feel flat and caricatured to the extreme. The twin relationship is not even close to being accurate. I will not be continuing with the series.

This was a light, predictable romance about a baker moving from the big city to a small town, with some nice atmospheric details of Vermont living. However, the main character, Olivia, was extremely selfish and repeatedly ran away when situations became inconvenient for her, yet all the characters loved her anyway. She kept dying her hair different colors, abandoning her best friend, etc., but somehow every boy wanted her constantly. I did not understand why no one brought up the fact that late 30's characters were acting like they were 19. 

I love the framing device of Ancestry DNA showing the truth of all the generations. I would've loved more time there. In general I felt like none of the characters or plotlines quite got justice, and there were so many reveals that they started to not impact as much. I really wanted more with Molly, Evan, and Caden especially, and what did get page time for them was often disappointingly repetitive.

This is a thoughtful look at the generation gap and how clear communication with an intent to collaborate and have a mentorship model can solve a lot of the problems in schools, businesses, and homes from adult-child interactions. I wished more examples were focused on younger children; it didn't feel like this did the 10 to 25 gap justice, and mainly focused on older teenagers heading to college or work.

An entertaining and informative look at Regency Britain and how understanding it is relevant today. I particularly enjoyed the details about food, lodging, travel, and entertainment. Many of these topics I had basic knowledge of from reading Austen and watching period dramas, but it's satisfying to dig into specifics with Mortimer's expertise.

I felt like the setup and certain scenes were amazingly powerful, but the overall arc didn't quite capture the full story - we don't get closure on what will happen with the mom's house, for example. I wanted to see more of the dynamic with the actual siblings versus hearing about that relationship from spouses. Martin especially did not feel like a fleshed-out character. I also wanted the children to have more presence.

This book has an amazing mood, tone, atmosphere, and emotion - the older sister longing for recognition and love, living for her family, felt very real. The music was a great element, done well without being overdone. However, the actual plot is extremely illogical, the characters don't really have arcs of change, and the "ending" has no resolution. We don't actually get the mysteries solved.