I am baffled by the love for The Midnight Library. It is charming, a little sad, A LOT sentimental. To be clear though, a life altering perspective change doesn’t “solve” clinical depression - depression isn’t just having a crappy attitude. I found the end of this novel more than a little bit problematic. Whether or not she was taking meds shouldn’t be a sign of whether or not she had found true happiness in a certain life. It kinda seemed like it really wanted to go into the cheesy “it’s a wonderful life” style fix, while in reality clinical depression doesn’t work that way and making people think it can is harmful.

A diverse group of elder women fiercely devoted to each other ✔️ sex positivity for all ages ✔️ intergenerational trust ✔️ a heist gone wrong ✔️ sex magic ✔️ a dog named after a Supreme Court justice ✔️

This book was written directly to me! Ha! Some of the prose was a little pandering and the ultimate end almost assumed, but this made me teary eyed and joyful. I immediately want to call my girlfriends to sit around, drink, and do puzzles.

I love the town and, the setting, and some of the brewing in information is fun too - but I’d guessed the murder after meeting them twice. I might pick up more of these just to return to the town, but it wasn’t the tightest little story.

Seriously vivid imagery here - a wild and descriptive adventure into mythology surrounding death. Story and character dev felt YA (which is fine, it is a YA novel).

Incredibly complex settings and vivid imagery! My only complaint would be that it felt like every chapter included multiple pages of world-building explanation. Everything in this was so detailed I’m not sure how else she could’ve done it, but a lot of it felt like reading a little textbook on the politics of the school constantly - I would’ve liked less details on the social bureaucracy and slightly more plot. That said El was a really fun main character, at times unlikable, and in other moments so heartwarmingly charming.

I’ve also fallen for her friends and Orion. Plan to pick up the next one!

Read aloud to Max (10); his review: 4.5 stars. I really like d it. This was the most emotional of all the HP books yet. I liked the part where Harry was talking to the new minister of magic and Harry said he’d love too help the ministry, but “he must not tell lies” and showed his scarred hand. Dolores Umbrage is still the worst. The half blood prince reveal was good too.

The character growth! The monsters! The cliffhanger! You’re killing me.

I love that the books in this series are quick reads and are such small power houses, but some of them (this one included) feel like they could’ve used a bit more flushing out in the middle for me to emotionally connect with the twist and/or characters. I loved Antsy and I wanted to know her better. Still, fantastic addition to the world of the Wayward Children!

I liked this one. His experiences reminded me of several instances that, through my own naivety, I found myself in as a teen in which I didn’t necessarily understand the situation, but my senses just screamed danger. Like him, thanks to privilege and sheer luck, I generally walked away without consequence. This is also about memory and brain health, with a dose of supernatural. It is a quick read and an interesting tale.

Simon and Baz in any universe please.