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onceuponanisabel
I wanted...more from this?
I feel like it suffered a little bit from middle book syndrome, because I felt like there wasn't a good purpose? I can tell we're gearing up for something and I enjoyed the smaller "side-quest" type plotlines that happened in this book, but ultimately there wasn't much of a climax because White was so committed to the cliffhanger. I struggled a little bit to pull myself back from skimming and while I am also enjoying the ongoing mystery surrounding Guinevere's identity and past, I also wanted more revelation about that in this book.
Overall, quite a bit of filler in this book that I wish had been used more judiciously for character development or introducing new conflict, but still a decent entry in the series. I excitedly await the next installment.
I feel like it suffered a little bit from middle book syndrome, because I felt like there wasn't a good purpose? I can tell we're gearing up for something and I enjoyed the smaller "side-quest" type plotlines that happened in this book, but ultimately there wasn't much of a climax because White was so committed to the cliffhanger. I struggled a little bit to pull myself back from skimming and while I am also enjoying the ongoing mystery surrounding Guinevere's identity and past, I also wanted more revelation about that in this book.
Overall, quite a bit of filler in this book that I wish had been used more judiciously for character development or introducing new conflict, but still a decent entry in the series. I excitedly await the next installment.
The Lady's Guide was one of my favorite books of the year. It was intelligent and romantic and everything I wanted in a romance. Waspish Widows, unfortunately, did not live up to its predecessor.
This second installment in the series focused very heavily on the politics of the time, but, to be honest, not in an interesting way. The emphasis on divorce felt a little bit like small potatoes given the lack of universal suffrage, and the beekeeping ended up being too technical for the most part to be enjoyable. Part of what I loved about Lady's Guide was that the main characters got together fairly early and that the book was more about them being together, but Waspish Widows fell into ye olde romance format and I feel like it suffered. I'm still going to pick up the next book in the series, but it will be with much lower expectations.
This second installment in the series focused very heavily on the politics of the time, but, to be honest, not in an interesting way. The emphasis on divorce felt a little bit like small potatoes given the lack of universal suffrage, and the beekeeping ended up being too technical for the most part to be enjoyable. Part of what I loved about Lady's Guide was that the main characters got together fairly early and that the book was more about them being together, but Waspish Widows fell into ye olde romance format and I feel like it suffered. I'm still going to pick up the next book in the series, but it will be with much lower expectations.
I literally had to make my own family tree to try to keep track of how everyone in this story is related its getting OUT OF HAND
That being said -- there's a reason I'm still reading these, 18 books deep. I love the characters, I love the world.
That being said -- there's a reason I'm still reading these, 18 books deep. I love the characters, I love the world.
3.5 stars.
Y’all I’m very torn between 3 and 4 stars on this one, because I was deathly bored for about the first 70% of this book. It was kind of just another attempt at high fantasy that didn’t strike me as very different or especially good. The romances both felt insta-lovey and I wasn’t very invested at all. Iman’s constant flip flopping irritated me to no end. I never felt particularly attached to any of the main characters.
However.
The end of this book gave me chills, which I did not expect given how ambivalent I had been for most of the story. I liked the allegory of the story and how Adeyemi talks about the struggles of Black Americans in the authors note and how it connects to the story.
So...I probably will give the sequel a go but I’m not sure I would recommend this book to people given how much boredom I had to slog through.
Y’all I’m very torn between 3 and 4 stars on this one, because I was deathly bored for about the first 70% of this book. It was kind of just another attempt at high fantasy that didn’t strike me as very different or especially good. The romances both felt insta-lovey and I wasn’t very invested at all. Iman’s constant flip flopping irritated me to no end. I never felt particularly attached to any of the main characters.
However.
The end of this book gave me chills, which I did not expect given how ambivalent I had been for most of the story. I liked the allegory of the story and how Adeyemi talks about the struggles of Black Americans in the authors note and how it connects to the story.
So...I probably will give the sequel a go but I’m not sure I would recommend this book to people given how much boredom I had to slog through.
I requested this ARC because I've read almost all of Rebekah Weatherspoon's other books, and I think that for the most part, it's good stuff. A Cowboy to Remember, though, does not rank in the top tier of her works.
The story follows Evie Buchanon, a celebrity chef who loses her memory after an incident, and returns to the ranch she grew up on to recover out of the limelight.
The memory loss plotline really made the romance feel kind of icky to me. Evie reunites with high school crush Zach, but she can't remember why they haven't spoken in ten years. Although he and others do their best to explain the rift from their own perspectives, having Evie get involved with someone she'd already rejected but can't remember why just felt kind of uncomfortable.
There were also, frankly, too many side characters. Evie had three friends in New York who popped up, and then there was the entire Pleasant family, as well as several other people working at the ranch, and honestly, it was really hard to keep up with who they all were. The last thing I didn't like about the book was the villain. We know from the beginning who the culprit form the amnesia-inducing incident was, and she's just a ridiculous cardboard cutout of a villain who confesses the first time she's confronted about it with a gleeful villain monologue. I know that wasn't really the main focus of the book, but I wish there'd been a little more effort put into that part of the story.
For the good things: some of the side characters were really lovable, like Zach's grandmother and Evie's nurse. I enjoyed the parts of the story that involved Evie relearning her life and how to cook. Honestly, though, if you're looking for a good romance, turn to Weatherspoon's Loose Ends books instead.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
The story follows Evie Buchanon, a celebrity chef who loses her memory after an incident, and returns to the ranch she grew up on to recover out of the limelight.
The memory loss plotline really made the romance feel kind of icky to me. Evie reunites with high school crush Zach, but she can't remember why they haven't spoken in ten years. Although he and others do their best to explain the rift from their own perspectives, having Evie get involved with someone she'd already rejected but can't remember why just felt kind of uncomfortable.
There were also, frankly, too many side characters. Evie had three friends in New York who popped up, and then there was the entire Pleasant family, as well as several other people working at the ranch, and honestly, it was really hard to keep up with who they all were. The last thing I didn't like about the book was the villain. We know from the beginning who the culprit form the amnesia-inducing incident was, and she's just a ridiculous cardboard cutout of a villain who confesses the first time she's confronted about it with a gleeful villain monologue. I know that wasn't really the main focus of the book, but I wish there'd been a little more effort put into that part of the story.
For the good things: some of the side characters were really lovable, like Zach's grandmother and Evie's nurse. I enjoyed the parts of the story that involved Evie relearning her life and how to cook. Honestly, though, if you're looking for a good romance, turn to Weatherspoon's Loose Ends books instead.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
This book falls into an extremely small category: The Movie Was Better.
Crazy Rich Asians suffers from too many POVs, to much time spent listing and/or describing things, and too many unlikeable characters. I loved movie Astrid and Rachel for their courage and independence, but both were watered down versions of their movie selves in the book and I admire them less. Overall, disappointed.
Crazy Rich Asians suffers from too many POVs, to much time spent listing and/or describing things, and too many unlikeable characters. I loved movie Astrid and Rachel for their courage and independence, but both were watered down versions of their movie selves in the book and I admire them less. Overall, disappointed.
Alrighty, folks. Let's do this thing.
I really, really thought I was going to like this book. And for the first act of the story, which took place in Varenia, I did. I enjoyed the bond between Zadie and Nor, I thought that their family dynamic was interesting, and the world building of Varenia was interesting. If I was rating the book based just on that first section, it would have probably been a four star read. However, the book continued.
After Nor is sent in her sister's place to the castle, the book unfortunately took a turn for the worse, and we are introduced to the two Princes: Ceren and Talin. Both were poorly done in different ways. Nor and Talin had an instalove connection that never really developed past that, and Talin as a character didn't exist beyond that. He clearly existed only as a Prince Charming love interest with no personality of his own. Ceren, on the other hand, is the villain of the book, and Rutherford never really struck the right balance between sympathetic and evil to get the morally grey recipe exactly right. Ceren was extremely sympathetic, to the point where his cruelty felt kind of bizarre to me? I was in a constant state of confusion with him, and Talin just annoyed me.
Most of the plot was fine, but not great. However! The last ~30 pages went a little bit bonkers. I suspect this was because Rutherford was scrambling to complete a story in one book which she's stated was meant to be a duology. There was sort of an information dump of plot twists that came out of nowhere and felt extremely abrupt. This same problem led to there being several plot points that just never went anywhere. I'm sure they would have become important in the second book, but since this book was sold as a standalone, I'm assuming there won't be a second book, and I feel that some of that content should have been removed.
All in all, I can see where this book was going, and how it could have been really good. The execution just didn't do it for me.
ARC provided via NetGalley
I really, really thought I was going to like this book. And for the first act of the story, which took place in Varenia, I did. I enjoyed the bond between Zadie and Nor, I thought that their family dynamic was interesting, and the world building of Varenia was interesting. If I was rating the book based just on that first section, it would have probably been a four star read. However, the book continued.
After Nor is sent in her sister's place to the castle, the book unfortunately took a turn for the worse, and we are introduced to the two Princes: Ceren and Talin. Both were poorly done in different ways. Nor and Talin had an instalove connection that never really developed past that, and Talin as a character didn't exist beyond that. He clearly existed only as a Prince Charming love interest with no personality of his own. Ceren, on the other hand, is the villain of the book, and Rutherford never really struck the right balance between sympathetic and evil to get the morally grey recipe exactly right. Ceren was extremely sympathetic, to the point where his cruelty felt kind of bizarre to me? I was in a constant state of confusion with him, and Talin just annoyed me.
Most of the plot was fine, but not great. However! The last ~30 pages went a little bit bonkers. I suspect this was because Rutherford was scrambling to complete a story in one book which she's stated was meant to be a duology. There was sort of an information dump of plot twists that came out of nowhere and felt extremely abrupt. This same problem led to there being several plot points that just never went anywhere. I'm sure they would have become important in the second book, but since this book was sold as a standalone, I'm assuming there won't be a second book, and I feel that some of that content should have been removed.
All in all, I can see where this book was going, and how it could have been really good. The execution just didn't do it for me.
ARC provided via NetGalley
A Darker Shade of Magic is one of those books that has an excellent premise and really good characters but with plot that just absolutely crawls, and that isn't to say that it's a bad thing (sort of like The Raven Boys?). Mostly, I really liked it. There were just a few things that snagged me and I couldn't quite get over, and most of those things were the ending.
