purplepenning's Reviews (1.72k)

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris

Adriana Herrera

3.75

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love

India Holton

4.0

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

This is a madcap Victorian fantasy ROMP-com that skewers academics with one hand while making professorial bird puns with the other. The shtick started to feel a little shtuck in the middle, but Holton always delivers a fun ride overall.

The Dallergut Dream Department Store

Miye Lee

hopeful lighthearted reflective

Perfect for fans of Lonely Castle in the Mirror and the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series! Intriguing and creative idea, but the writing style doesn't really suit my tastes.

A Proposal They Can't Refuse

Natalie Caña

3.25

The Lost Bookshop

Evie Woods

4.25

dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Content Warnings

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching

Kwame Mbalia

adventurous fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

The Wedding People

Alison Espach

4.25

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Content Warnings

The Spellshop

Sarah Beth Durst

4.0

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

A cozy fantasy with a prickly librarian, a sentient spider plant assistant, the nicest merhorse herder, sweet cinnamon rolls and jams, and a core of homecoming, community, and kindness.

Content Warnings

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank

Megan Bannen

3.5

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

I really want to unequivocally love these bonkers fantasy-Western-mystery-rom-coms. This one even has an adorable baby dragon! And more Duckers! And a lovely "darlin'"-drawling marshal named Frank who is friends-to-lovers GOLD. And it may also reveal a common theme that I wasn't expecting from the series: women recalibrating their lives after being downtrodden by sexist expectation. Twyla, who is 53 and VERY Midwestern-mom-coded, is at a different stage in her life than Mercy (from the previous book) was but both deal with challenging family dynamics that they've co-created/tolerated for too long. Since this one is written from just Twyla's point of view, we spend much of the book in her head, working all of that out. Which, you know, is fine... but not exactly what I was looking for in a bonkers fantasy-Western-mystery-rom-com. It was maybe laid on just a little thick for my liking. And I did miss getting Frank's point of view.

I mean, I'll still saddle up for the next equimaris ride into this universe, but I'll be hoping for more Tanrian adventures and mystery-rom-com shenanigans and a little less single-pov angst.

Content Warnings

The Hunter

Tana French

5.0

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Probably not 5 stars on its own, but I read The Searcher and The Hunter back-to-back and together they deserve top marks. Beautiful writing and deft character development in a slow-burn mystery set among a gorgeous Irish village of tight-knit, twinkling-eyed, deadly determined meddlers.

Content Warnings

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