Thank you Minotaur and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

If you're looking for an atmospheric Scandinavian Noir to pick up in the middle of hot and humid Midwest summer, look no further. However, I found myself disappointed in how the plot came together and how the characters started connecting dots. The friendship group did not make sense and I think that a little background on how they became friends would've gone a long way in helping plot build into a more 'thrilling' conclusion.

Another note on the ending, it seemed very formulaic as the story started wrapping up and then there was barely a conclusion. I feel like the reader almost gets to choose an ending here. Was that deliberate? 

I do think this will make a good movie if it gets optioned.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, but I just can’t do it. 

8% equates to two chapters, both of which felt like I was reading a textbook. I even tried the audiobook because hello, Julia Whelan can usually save anything, but it just wasn’t working for me. 

After everyone raved about The Plot, I was so excited to try this one out. Sadly, the first two chapters felt like an info dump on characters that seem quite dull. Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in with being very stressed, but it’s already been hard for me to want to get to 8%, so I’ll put myself first here and DNF. 

I’ve also seen this compared to The Goldfinch and I’d like a formal apology on that. 

Thank you Avon, NetGalley, and Libro.FM for the eARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review. 

I had a really good time reading this one and enjoyed the banter between Sewanee and Brock. I also enjoyed the little glimpse into the creation of audiobooks and their narrators. 

I think this one may lean a little bit more towards women's fiction than romance as we follow Sewanee battle what she wants to do with her career moves as well as tries to tackle family issues for much of the book. It's not that the romance took a back seat, but that these plot points were big plot movers when it came to developing the romance. 

TW: On the topic of family issues, it is worth mentioning the following trigger warning:  family member with progressing dementia.  This was a surprise to me and I had to take a step away from it to get my bearings as someone who has lost several family members to dementia. 

This that made this four stars instead of five: the use of dementia as a way to 'motivate' Sewanee and the friendship was a bit lack luster and could've used a bit more building than just the two of them building their careers off each other. The main friendship almost seemed toxic. 

All in all, I highly recommend this one and definitely recommend on audio as Julia narrates it herself.

Cute, NYC romance with a unique meet cute. I was going to give this a solid 3 stars until chapter 28. Now I’m leaning towards a 2.5.

While I can see why people may live this one, I’m just trying to figure out if there was actually any chemistry between the characters. 

The side characters and side plot didn’t really add much and the time jumps were a bit confusing. 

Also, did the male MC have a personality or was he just cardboard in a Gucci suit?

This is a mess and it’s truly over the place. The opening chapter/prologue and the next chapter didn’t even match writing style. 

Beyond that, each POV has been insufferable so far and I’d rather gauge my eyes out than read a POV of an anti-vaxx celebrity. I’ve had enough Jenny McCarthy thank you very much. 

Atmospheric, but predictable. A good respite from the high temps and humidity of Indiana summer, but not thrilling enough to leave me ‘breathless’. 

I was a bit apprehensive going into this one after loving Dark Matter and being a bit disappointed in Recursion. 

Luckily, Blake Crouch did not disappoint!! This was amazing and I may have loved it more than Dark Matter? Yet to be determined

This read like a thriller for most of the book and the plot was just the perfect amount of easy to understand science fiction. 

Somehow Crouch is able to get to the bottom of humanity and the struggles we face between species survival, research ethics, evolution, and the environment. 

I can’t share a small teaser for the plot here in fear of spoilers so just consider this: Is it ethical to use experimental research to ensure the survival of  Homo sapiens? 

I gave this one three stars because Marcellus really did save this one for me. I do wish he had more page time because he was way more interesting than Cameron and I expected he’d be on the page more by the way everyone was raving about Marcellus. It was also nice to see Tova be independent at her age when others her age didn’t understand. 

Things that would’ve increased my enjoyment: more Tova (backstory and with Ethan), less Cameron, more Marcellus, and even a POV at the end from the new character. 

I personally don’t see why everyone is loving this and I even considered DNFing this a few times. Luckily, the audiobook saved it for me (and saved the rating) so I could finish it up while working. 

I agree with a few other reviewers that I would love to see this author write something completely from the POV of an octopus in the wild. I’d definitely pick that up.

I would also say when it comes to anthropomorphic animals in 2022 releases, Marcellus exceeds Six Thirty.

All in all, a found family book that could’ve used a tight edit.