morganthebee's reviews
452 reviews

Woooooo, Here We Go Again was an emotional roller coaster. Which is, I suppose, to be expected of a book about two former friends/current rivals/teachers, Logan and Rosemary, taking their mentor and father figure Joe on a final cross-country road trip, his "death trip," over summer break before he passes away. It's irreverent, dramatic, hilarious, introspective, and devastating by turns. When I say that I was quite literally laughing out loud one minute and bawling my eyes out the next it wouldn't be an exaggeration. Cochrun tackles a lot of heavy topics in this book (death, mental health, and abandonment among them) with a depth and deftness that's surprising given how hilarious it is.

I know some people may not like Logan and Rosemary's characters, but as someone whose ADHD manifests as kind of a combination of their traits I found myself identifying with both of them at different points, and I enjoyed their banter more and more as the book went on. I do wish they were a bit better at communicating, but then the book wouldn't have had some of its funnier moments. I loved Joe so much, and how Cochrun embraces how hard (and gross) the process of dying can be rather than romanticizing it, while at the same time showing us how going through such an experience can lead to self discovery and an appreciation for what we have right in front of us. Well done.

Murder by Multiples is a cozy murder mystery set in a small coastal town in post-WWI England. Our mystery solvers are an inspector from Scotland Yard and a married couple, Merry Thatch and her husband, Alec nee Alice.

The main characters are great, and there are a lot of side characters who are well developed. I enjoyed the mystery and it wasn’t obvious at all who it was until the very end, which was great. My biggest complaint, and what dropped the rating for me, was the repeated incorrect usage of apostrophes in plural, singular possessive, and plural possessive last names. It was driving me NUTS.

When Summer Meets Autumn is a sweet, low-angst story about a scholar/college professor (Summer) who meets a Hollywood starlet (Autumn) after she takes a bet with her roommate and becomes a seat-filler at an awards show, where they're seated next to each other. It's a bit of a slow burn, but it's a nice burn and I really loved how naturally the relationship between the two developed. Summer and Autumn are both adorable and their connection and communication is wonderful, and the side characters are nice, if not fully developed. 

 

I had two issues, I think, with the story. The first was that there are some time skips that felt a little odd, and I personally would have liked to see a longer, more fleshed out book with less fast forwarding. Second was that Autumn's asexuality, while an important enough factor to be mentioned in the blurb, is barely addressed in the story outside of a couple of brief mentions. I would have liked to read more about that and how Autumn specifically identified within it, since asexuality is so rarely addressed in books and it seems to have the largest variety of interpretations and boundaries. I do recognize, though, that I'm not asexual, so perhaps it's just my curiosity that has me wanting to know more where others might not. 

 

I received a free ARC from BookSirens, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

I think I've been low-key in love with all three Rivers sisters since the first Three Rivers book. I loved Emily's no-nonsense personality in Passing Through, and Trish's humor and the way she came into her own in Turning Back, but while I loved Clover I felt like she was the sister I knew the least about. Being the youngest and off at college for much of the first two books we didn't get to know her as well, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Chasing Stars. I needn't have worried.

This final installment, like the others, is told in first person. It's a bit of a rarity in romance novels, but when it's done well it's my favorite perspective, and this is tremendously well done. The way Katia Rose handles the internal thoughts of both Clover and Neavh is so realistic, and the dialogue feels incredible natural, which allowed me as a reader to feel fully enmeshed and invested in the story without.

While I came to adore both Clover and Neavh and their relationship, I think part of where this story shines is in the secondary characters. We already know most of them from the previous stories so they're able to just step out and be without needing additional development or backstory, particularly Neavh's cousin David, AKA town bar owner Scooter. I really loved seeing more of him and what a caring and loving person he is. I also appreciated that some things and side relationships were left unresolved, which is often how life is, but the characters were able to learn and grow from them.

The Three Rivers books just got better and better with each story, and I found the ending so satisfying. All we need now is a wedding (or three)!

I received a free ARC from StoryOrigin, but my review is unbiased.

First off, I think the idea of remixed classics is really interesting. Telling the story of Treasure Island through a new lens, that has some grounding in actual East Asian history, was so much fun! I loved all the characters, even the baddies, and the story was great, with some nice twists and turns and even some tears. The relationship between Xiang and Anh, two fierce badass girls who long for adventure and go after it despite the risks, was fabulous. 

This is a YA book, so if you're looking for sapphic romance you'll find it without the steam, but this book is ultimately about the adventure. It did start off a little slowly, but I think that was necessary to develop the characters and relationships, and it really shines in the last third or so.