Take a photo of a barcode or cover
roadtripreader's Reviews (357)
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A little Sour on Sourcery This one fell flat but not like a pancake. 2.5 rounded out
I've come to the undeniable conclusion that Rincewind is the worst tourist on the Disc. He has no interest in his surroundings andwould much prefer to be in a tavern, alone. Yeah, who could blame him? The Gods are playing chess with him again. Sadly, this adventure felt somehow lacking and I hate to say it because it's Discworld for Pratchett's sake! Rincewind is Rincewindish, he feels like a character stuck. Granted he may have PTSD from falling of the side of the disc and getting to see Great A'Tuin almost up close once and having to return THE SPELL the other time. And yet, He doesn't feel Rincewindian enough.
In the end, Discworld remains one of those worldbuilding feats so ahead of its time as to remain unique. Imaginations today have created worlds so similar to each other you'd swear you're reading a book from one series but turns out it's that world next door by a different author. So in that regard, despite not loving this book, I do respect the work that went into it.
Worldbuilding Plot/Storyline/Themes -0.5 : It started out so promising. DEATH and an old dying wizard and said wizard thinks he can pull one over on Death and even his dying declaration was cackle-inducing. I saw the tale going the way it did sure, but not in that way - hollow and not really humorous and not enough gravitas and although Pratchett is known for ingenious humor and jokes that could easily go over one's head for decades, this one felt like that Rowan Atkinson series "Man vs Bee" - some obvious humor that could be slapstick and good for one laugh but barely a snort on the reread.
Character Development/Favorite Character -0.5:
We travel to Klatch with Conina the daughter of Cohen The Barbarian and I get the sense I should really like her, but she falls short of being a character I want to invest in. I don't hate her, nor do I care one iota for her.
Rincewind, The Hat, Conina, The Luggage had the makings of a quest for the ages. It ticked all the boxes:
●The threat
●Call To arms
●The Journey
●The Conflict
●The Banter
I could go on but I just wanted to finish the tale and worse; with each page I read I'd hoped it would fill that empty feeling it was giving off. It didn't. I still love Discworld, this book just wasn't for me despite it LITERALLY having every single element I live for.
Disappointing /Curious//Ludicrous/Unique Scene: - 0.5
Most scenes with Coin. I understand that by denying the reader insight into his early childhood we're left to imagine how the staff/his father influenced and manipulated the powerful little wizard. But, it just makes him two dimensional. Which might be the point, I don't have empathy towards the child-prodigy at all. He is the "big bad" of this book but he's got tooo much power so feels like he should be the big bad of maybe the penultimate of the first 10 books. He makes and breaks worlds and things come to him at ease without effort. There is no strife. He is just the proverbial evil horror childfor the first 3 quarters of the book.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
I barely e-annotated, which is against my better nature.
"The death of all wizardry is at hand".
Rincewind looked around guiltily.
‘Why?’ he said.
"The world is going to end."
‘What, again?’
"I mean it, "said the hat sulkily. "The triumph of the Ice Giants, the Apocralypse, the Teatime of the Gods, the whole thing."
‘Can we stop it?’
The future is uncertain on that point. (Rincewind and the Archchancellor's hat)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Interesting/Unique Concepts:
●8th Son of the 8th Son of the 8th Son = Sorcerer.
●Also The Klatch continent is very clearly the Middle East, The Hassansin "Hashishim", religion dictates that paradis is a garden with hundreds of "pure women" Midas makea an appearance, bandits, pirates and general bazaars and such and such and so forth.
StoryGraph Challenge:
■1800 Books by 2025 and,
■Top 22 Male Authors
Challenge Prompt:
■150 Fantasy books by 2025
■Complete Terry Pratchett Discworld by 2024
I've come to the undeniable conclusion that Rincewind is the worst tourist on the Disc. He has no interest in his surroundings andwould much prefer to be in a tavern, alone. Yeah, who could blame him? The Gods are playing chess with him again. Sadly, this adventure felt somehow lacking and I hate to say it because it's Discworld for Pratchett's sake! Rincewind is Rincewindish, he feels like a character stuck. Granted he may have PTSD from falling of the side of the disc and getting to see Great A'Tuin almost up close once and having to return THE SPELL the other time. And yet, He doesn't feel Rincewindian enough.
In the end, Discworld remains one of those worldbuilding feats so ahead of its time as to remain unique. Imaginations today have created worlds so similar to each other you'd swear you're reading a book from one series but turns out it's that world next door by a different author. So in that regard, despite not loving this book, I do respect the work that went into it.
Worldbuilding Plot/Storyline/Themes -0.5 : It started out so promising. DEATH and an old dying wizard and said wizard thinks he can pull one over on Death and even his dying declaration was cackle-inducing. I saw the tale going the way it did sure, but not in that way - hollow and not really humorous and not enough gravitas and although Pratchett is known for ingenious humor and jokes that could easily go over one's head for decades, this one felt like that Rowan Atkinson series "Man vs Bee" - some obvious humor that could be slapstick and good for one laugh but barely a snort on the reread.
Character Development/Favorite Character -0.5:
We travel to Klatch with Conina the daughter of Cohen The Barbarian and I get the sense I should really like her, but she falls short of being a character I want to invest in. I don't hate her, nor do I care one iota for her.
Rincewind, The Hat, Conina, The Luggage had the makings of a quest for the ages. It ticked all the boxes:
●The threat
●Call To arms
●The Journey
●The Conflict
●The Banter
I could go on but I just wanted to finish the tale and worse; with each page I read I'd hoped it would fill that empty feeling it was giving off. It didn't. I still love Discworld, this book just wasn't for me despite it LITERALLY having every single element I live for.
Disappointing /Curious//Ludicrous/Unique Scene: - 0.5
Most scenes with Coin. I understand that by denying the reader insight into his early childhood we're left to imagine how the staff/his father influenced and manipulated the powerful little wizard. But, it just makes him two dimensional. Which might be the point, I don't have empathy towards the child-prodigy at all. He is the "big bad" of this book but he's got tooo much power so feels like he should be the big bad of maybe the penultimate of the first 10 books. He makes and breaks worlds and things come to him at ease without effort. There is no strife. He is just the proverbial evil horror childfor the first 3 quarters of the book.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
I barely e-annotated, which is against my better nature.
"The death of all wizardry is at hand".
Rincewind looked around guiltily.
‘Why?’ he said.
"The world is going to end."
‘What, again?’
"I mean it, "said the hat sulkily. "The triumph of the Ice Giants, the Apocralypse, the Teatime of the Gods, the whole thing."
‘Can we stop it?’
The future is uncertain on that point. (Rincewind and the Archchancellor's hat)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Interesting/Unique Concepts:
●8th Son of the 8th Son of the 8th Son = Sorcerer.
●Also The Klatch continent is very clearly the Middle East, The Hassansin "Hashishim", religion dictates that paradis is a garden with hundreds of "pure women" Midas makea an appearance, bandits, pirates and general bazaars and such and such and so forth.
StoryGraph Challenge:
■1800 Books by 2025 and,
■Top 22 Male Authors
Challenge Prompt:
■150 Fantasy books by 2025
■Complete Terry Pratchett Discworld by 2024
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
No good deed - even half hearted - goes unpunished
Depressive Horror people, that has to be a thing and if it is, this one is right up there with a handful of horrors that upon reflection just bring out the bleakness of a situation. My guy poor Phil Pendelton did not deserve that little shyte banshee-demon-offspring from hell. For all intents and purposes he was a good dude. Maybe that's why it's so damned depressing before it's horrifying. A good dude tried to be nice-ish (read: sympathetic) and look at him now, teeth falling out, looking like the last spittle from an asylum in the underworld.
Worldbuilding/Plot/Storyline/Themes:
The underlying theme is obvious but so well done it's both horrifying and depressing. Hehe kids are hell?
Character Development/Favorite Character:
I hate that little gobshyte demon spawn. My ovaries shrivelled up and receded into the size of specs of dust particles reading this novelette.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Chapter 3: Aquisition. (The entire chapter)
"Don’t,” was all the self-defense he could muster.
“Yours now,” the woman said, though her split lip made it Yoursh now, her voice the sound of a rake through dead leaves," (That horrible exchange? Curse? Whatever it was the creepiest)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
"His own childhood had been a train wreck, and rather than emerge from that endurance test better prepared for parenthood, he suspected it had probably ruined such prospects for life." (Phil on kids )
"He hadn’t needed to know her name. Hadn’t wanted to, and now that it had been given to him, it somehow made it worse. A line from a book he’d read in highschool popped into his mind: The nameless are easier to bury." (Phil before the storm )
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
That devil child
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Horror books by 2025
Depressive Horror people, that has to be a thing and if it is, this one is right up there with a handful of horrors that upon reflection just bring out the bleakness of a situation. My guy poor Phil Pendelton did not deserve that little shyte banshee-demon-offspring from hell. For all intents and purposes he was a good dude. Maybe that's why it's so damned depressing before it's horrifying. A good dude tried to be nice-ish (read: sympathetic) and look at him now, teeth falling out, looking like the last spittle from an asylum in the underworld.
Worldbuilding/Plot/Storyline/Themes:
The underlying theme is obvious but so well done it's both horrifying and depressing. Hehe kids are hell?
Character Development/Favorite Character:
I hate that little gobshyte demon spawn. My ovaries shrivelled up and receded into the size of specs of dust particles reading this novelette.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Chapter 3: Aquisition. (The entire chapter)
"Don’t,” was all the self-defense he could muster.
“Yours now,” the woman said, though her split lip made it Yoursh now, her voice the sound of a rake through dead leaves," (That horrible exchange? Curse? Whatever it was the creepiest)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
"His own childhood had been a train wreck, and rather than emerge from that endurance test better prepared for parenthood, he suspected it had probably ruined such prospects for life." (Phil on kids )
"He hadn’t needed to know her name. Hadn’t wanted to, and now that it had been given to him, it somehow made it worse. A line from a book he’d read in highschool popped into his mind: The nameless are easier to bury." (Phil before the storm )
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
That devil child
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Horror books by 2025
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It just falls short and it's not because it's a short story.
Character Development/Favorite Character: I took a disliking to the main character or maybe not disliking I just found I couldn't invest in her story which is a pity because we experience Cuba and Miami through her perspective, her memories and her diary.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Antonio and Natalie on the dance floor and later discussing their separate dutures. So much possibility and sparks. It was cute.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
“Am I that transparent?”
“No, but I have a feeling you’re a woman of science, that you don’t leave much to chance or risk.”
“Like you said, life seems risky enough—why play with fire? I like things that are constant, tangible.”
“But surely, as a woman of science, you acknowledge that there are things that are unexplainable, phenomena that exist beyond our understanding.”
“That sounds terribly romantic,” I tease.
“Does it? I confess, I may not be a gambler, but it’s hard not to see the romance in science, in life, in the things we do each day. I don’t think I could be a doctor if I wasn’t a bit enraptured by it.”
“I want to gamble,” I say, surprising myself. (Antonio and Natalie of risk-taking)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts: Sadly nothing piqued my interest
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories books by 2025
Character Development/Favorite Character: I took a disliking to the main character or maybe not disliking I just found I couldn't invest in her story which is a pity because we experience Cuba and Miami through her perspective, her memories and her diary.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Antonio and Natalie on the dance floor and later discussing their separate dutures. So much possibility and sparks. It was cute.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
“Am I that transparent?”
“No, but I have a feeling you’re a woman of science, that you don’t leave much to chance or risk.”
“Like you said, life seems risky enough—why play with fire? I like things that are constant, tangible.”
“But surely, as a woman of science, you acknowledge that there are things that are unexplainable, phenomena that exist beyond our understanding.”
“That sounds terribly romantic,” I tease.
“Does it? I confess, I may not be a gambler, but it’s hard not to see the romance in science, in life, in the things we do each day. I don’t think I could be a doctor if I wasn’t a bit enraptured by it.”
“I want to gamble,” I say, surprising myself. (Antonio and Natalie of risk-taking)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts: Sadly nothing piqued my interest
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories books by 2025
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Down down to goblintown hehe no LOTR Hobbitses are hiding in this book. But there is a Goblinhome so may 🎶down down to goblinhome🎶 would be more appropriate. Onto the most important question ever - for real, why are Goblins so utterly disastrous? I like these chunky stinky gruel-eating weirdos, but they're not terrifying, they're terrifyingly hilarious.
Okay so I don't want to alarm anyone but I feel like T. Kingfisher must have held a séance with the Late Great Terry Pratchett because Nine Goblins along with Minor Mage and A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking usually lead to me reading something from Discworld right after. You know, I can see the crossover happening right now, Rincewind somehow finds himself plonked right in the middle of the Whinin Niners Regiment of Goblins and has to use that one spell to find his way back to the disc but not before goblin war-like shenanigans.
The stumpy goblin short of it is this; I snort-laughed my way through this novella. If that isn't a sign of the funnies, don't know what is.
Worldbuilding/Plot/Themes:
Pure hilarious excellence
Character Development/Favorite Character:
Yes yes Goblins. But have you "seen" Sing-To-Trees?! Okay just bottle him up (with his cheekbones that could sharpen a sword) and put that elf on the big screen for the requisite amount of collective swooning please.
He was saved from being a young maiden’s fantasy—unless she was a very peculiar young maiden—by the fact that he was buried up to the shoulder in the unpleasant end of a heavily pregnant unicorn (Joke's on you Sings - who doesn't love a cute vet?)
Oh yeah and the Whinin' Niners (Blanchett, Nessilka, Albol, Murray, Weatherby, Thumper, Mishkin, Mushkin Gladblack and Buttercup The Goat) are adorable clutzes
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
The battle for the hill no one cared about.
"The elves down below looked like tall white foxes, all narrow pointy faces and broad pointy ears. The humans below were a more varied lot, and came in almost as many colors as goblins, from dark brown to pasty pink. No green, though. You couldn’t trust a species that didn’t come in green." That moment when Goblins realize humans are basically taller less pudgy Goblins.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
They’re all a lot taller than we are, so go for the legs. Hardly anybody has any armor on the back of their knees. We’ll try to find you a shield. Hold the shield over your head, and go for the knees.” Always go for the knees…” (Albol on The Art of War with Elves)
"The teddy-bear, so far as Nessilka could tell, was now the brains of the pair. Blanchett refused to answer any query that was not directed at the bear, and only spoke when translating for the bear. In battle, the bear rode on top of his helmet." (Nessilka on Blanchett ).
All you could do was pray. She wasn’t very good at it—her prayers tended to sound like “You! Up there! Pay attention and heaven help you if you don’t keep an eye on my boys!”—but as she had every night since becoming sergeant, Nessilka prayed. (might just start praying like Nessilka)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
●Gentrification of the Goblin territories by ever multiplying humans. Poor 4 feet talk chunky green weirdos.
●Oh yeah, Murray's Tent Jerky
Speaking of Jerky
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Fantasy books by 2025
Okay so I don't want to alarm anyone but I feel like T. Kingfisher must have held a séance with the Late Great Terry Pratchett because Nine Goblins along with Minor Mage and A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking usually lead to me reading something from Discworld right after. You know, I can see the crossover happening right now, Rincewind somehow finds himself plonked right in the middle of the Whinin Niners Regiment of Goblins and has to use that one spell to find his way back to the disc but not before goblin war-like shenanigans.
The stumpy goblin short of it is this; I snort-laughed my way through this novella. If that isn't a sign of the funnies, don't know what is.
Worldbuilding/Plot/Themes:
Pure hilarious excellence
Character Development/Favorite Character:
Yes yes Goblins. But have you "seen" Sing-To-Trees?! Okay just bottle him up (with his cheekbones that could sharpen a sword) and put that elf on the big screen for the requisite amount of collective swooning please.
He was saved from being a young maiden’s fantasy—unless she was a very peculiar young maiden—by the fact that he was buried up to the shoulder in the unpleasant end of a heavily pregnant unicorn (Joke's on you Sings - who doesn't love a cute vet?)
Oh yeah and the Whinin' Niners (Blanchett, Nessilka, Albol, Murray, Weatherby, Thumper, Mishkin, Mushkin Gladblack and Buttercup The Goat) are adorable clutzes
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
The battle for the hill no one cared about.
"The elves down below looked like tall white foxes, all narrow pointy faces and broad pointy ears. The humans below were a more varied lot, and came in almost as many colors as goblins, from dark brown to pasty pink. No green, though. You couldn’t trust a species that didn’t come in green." That moment when Goblins realize humans are basically taller less pudgy Goblins.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
They’re all a lot taller than we are, so go for the legs. Hardly anybody has any armor on the back of their knees. We’ll try to find you a shield. Hold the shield over your head, and go for the knees.” Always go for the knees…” (Albol on The Art of War with Elves)
"The teddy-bear, so far as Nessilka could tell, was now the brains of the pair. Blanchett refused to answer any query that was not directed at the bear, and only spoke when translating for the bear. In battle, the bear rode on top of his helmet." (Nessilka on Blanchett ).
All you could do was pray. She wasn’t very good at it—her prayers tended to sound like “You! Up there! Pay attention and heaven help you if you don’t keep an eye on my boys!”—but as she had every night since becoming sergeant, Nessilka prayed. (might just start praying like Nessilka)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
●Gentrification of the Goblin territories by ever multiplying humans. Poor 4 feet talk chunky green weirdos.
●Oh yeah, Murray's Tent Jerky
Speaking of Jerky
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Fantasy books by 2025
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
People have a duty to fulfill their role in society either through the workplace or the family.”
This novella was equal parts soothing, depressing, hopeful and almost terrifying.
Having lived in Korea and spent semester breaks in Japan, this book is weirdly nostalgic for me. Honestly I just want to run to Homeplus, do some shopping maybe step into a DAISO for snacks and then get home and "cook" (read:heat up) some Yangnyeom-tongdak or wait no, chamchi kimbap, takoyaki from Takobi with spicy sauce and top it off with giant mandu from the lady who down the street from my old apartment - oh yeah maybe some galbijjim😍. Convenience Store Woman as a memory tool - that tracks.
Plot/Storyline/Themes: I don't know why but this is like comfort food. It's a tale that pokes all the holes in hetero-society that have always been there. Some holes are big gashes whilst others are annoying pests that just won't piss the hell off. Keiko's story encompasses so many things: am I normal? "you should get married" /"Wait why aren't you married?"/No one's going to marry you", mental illness, norms, right down to "be the cog" , a perfect fit into society blah blah bleh.
Character Development/Favorite Character/s:
Keiko: a woman who may or may not be on the spectrum, clearly nuero atypical highly intelligent and able to reason and mimic and present her thoughts in a logical straight line has to navigate a world that has no space for her. The convenience store is the only place where she is "normal" and fits into the "machine of society". Also she has ZERO ounces of fear as evidenced by her rational chat with a stalkery, one-step-from-murderous incel prick Shiraha. Anyone else would have side-eyed that dude and high-tailed it outta the alley Seriously, the balls of steel!
Keiko approaches life in a way that I find so weirdly clever because we do the same thing to an extent we're just not aware of it in the way that someone with her disorder is - let's face it, she could have just continued to pants teachers and bash classmates heads in with a shovel but she became an anonymous yet prolific mimic. Who needs to be normal when you can be that?
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
Honestly, I thought Keiko was going to set Shiraha on fire or hit him with a shovel during their first shift together. Oh and Holy shyte that Barbecue from hell.
"unmarried Miki whispered to me: “We’re the only ones here who can’t hold our heads up high, aren’t we?”
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●"In a short-staffed convenience store, a store worker can sometimes be highly appreciated just by existing, by virtue of not rocking the boat." (Keiko on reliability )
●"Shiraha, we’re in the twenty-first century! Here in the convenience store we’re not men and women. We’re all store workers.." (Keiko on shutting down a Stone-Age monologue by an idiot)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
Keiko Furukuwa and how she sees the world.
" A convenience store is a forcibly normalized environment where foreign matter is immediately eliminated."
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Foreign/Translated Language books by 2025
This novella was equal parts soothing, depressing, hopeful and almost terrifying.
Having lived in Korea and spent semester breaks in Japan, this book is weirdly nostalgic for me. Honestly I just want to run to Homeplus, do some shopping maybe step into a DAISO for snacks and then get home and "cook" (read:heat up) some Yangnyeom-tongdak or wait no, chamchi kimbap, takoyaki from Takobi with spicy sauce and top it off with giant mandu from the lady who down the street from my old apartment - oh yeah maybe some galbijjim😍. Convenience Store Woman as a memory tool - that tracks.
Plot/Storyline/Themes: I don't know why but this is like comfort food. It's a tale that pokes all the holes in hetero-society that have always been there. Some holes are big gashes whilst others are annoying pests that just won't piss the hell off. Keiko's story encompasses so many things: am I normal? "you should get married" /"Wait why aren't you married?"/No one's going to marry you", mental illness, norms, right down to "be the cog" , a perfect fit into society blah blah bleh.
Character Development/Favorite Character/s:
Keiko: a woman who may or may not be on the spectrum, clearly nuero atypical highly intelligent and able to reason and mimic and present her thoughts in a logical straight line has to navigate a world that has no space for her. The convenience store is the only place where she is "normal" and fits into the "machine of society". Also she has ZERO ounces of fear as evidenced by her rational chat with a stalkery, one-step-from-murderous incel prick Shiraha. Anyone else would have side-eyed that dude and high-tailed it outta the alley Seriously, the balls of steel!
Keiko approaches life in a way that I find so weirdly clever because we do the same thing to an extent we're just not aware of it in the way that someone with her disorder is - let's face it, she could have just continued to pants teachers and bash classmates heads in with a shovel but she became an anonymous yet prolific mimic. Who needs to be normal when you can be that?
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
Honestly, I thought Keiko was going to set Shiraha on fire or hit him with a shovel during their first shift together. Oh and Holy shyte that Barbecue from hell.
"unmarried Miki whispered to me: “We’re the only ones here who can’t hold our heads up high, aren’t we?”
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●"In a short-staffed convenience store, a store worker can sometimes be highly appreciated just by existing, by virtue of not rocking the boat." (Keiko on reliability )
●"Shiraha, we’re in the twenty-first century! Here in the convenience store we’re not men and women. We’re all store workers.." (Keiko on shutting down a Stone-Age monologue by an idiot)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
Keiko Furukuwa and how she sees the world.
" A convenience store is a forcibly normalized environment where foreign matter is immediately eliminated."
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Foreign/Translated Language books by 2025
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
RE-READ: Under and Over Seas (Pisces theme)
Look I get it Mellony
I love the sea the same way I love lions and big bears I fear the sea - in much the same way. And yet, if presented with the choice to adapt to the merciless waters to swim below forever with a sweet angel like Pelayo - I'd do it in a heartbeart.
Probably my favorite Mer-human couple.
Gills, you say?
Webbed hands, you say?
Did you say scsles and little side-leg fins?
Sign👏me👏up👏
************************************
OLD REVIEW:
Get in losers we're commandeering the ocean to stop Slave Traders and then we're falling in love with Mermen seriously though, this was stinking cute.
Despite some heavy subject matter .. let's see: slavery, dirtbag slave trading first husband, oh and "Walking the Plank" well at least getting thrown over by said 5 pump chump dirtbag Garret - this book gave me some warm and fuzzies.
I am warming up to first person narrative these days, especially in Romantasy. Sometimes it's a bit jarring but despite that I was rooting for Mellony and I also wanted to yell at her for confronting trashbag Garret on a stormy ship in the middle of the ocean. HELLO situational awareness much?
Romance: Plot/Storyline/Themes: I am convinced Romantasy is ruining all men for me - seriously why can't they just be like Pelayo huh? Mellonyfulgria and Pelayo are sweet and spicy and all things nice. What a love story. The underlying themes are definitely abandonment and a sense of self worth that has taken one too many dings given the time and women's agency in that world.
Character Development/Favorite Character/s:
Mellony: a beautiful 26 year old (considered a spinster in that era) who has never been loved, is riddled with a weird combination of self confidence and in the same breadth doubt. The FMC is accustomed to being begrudgingly tolerated as opposed to loved - a lot of childhood trauma to unpack there.
It’s better to be alone than unwanted, and my soul feels lighter for it. (Mellony on ...life)
Pelayo: I love this kind of merfolk characterization; not just top half human, bottom half fish - his anatomy is realistic (given the fantastical nature of this creature and my suspension of disbelief) and feels all the more mesmerizing. Okay so, I realize I am objectifying this merman, what can you do, he's equal parts hot, adorable, loyal, kind, brave - you know what I love you Mellony but Imma just nip back into this book and snatch him up for myself mkay?
“I shall cherish you, Mellonyfulgria, and protect you with all my strength. My heart, my body, my spear, shall be yours alone.” (Pelayo being every bit as endearing as a merman could be).
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
Two creatures, both studying each other intenly, what's similar and what's different. Cuteness.
While I’m ogling him, he’s ogling my toes. I suppose I must’ve lost my shoes while the sea was tossing me about. The merman pokes my pinky toe, and I can’t help but curl the rest of them when he does. He grasps my foot by the ankle and lifts it a few inches. He looks at it from every angle (Mellony taking it rather well that a merman is staring at her toes)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●"Everything that passes my lips tastes like broken dreams." (Mallory on the "joys" of marriage )
●"it’s hard to be properly scared of someone when he’s sniffing your toes." (Meet cute so cute )
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts: Merfolk Magic
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025
Look I get it Mellony
I love the sea the same way I love lions and big bears I fear the sea - in much the same way. And yet, if presented with the choice to adapt to the merciless waters to swim below forever with a sweet angel like Pelayo - I'd do it in a heartbeart.
Probably my favorite Mer-human couple.
Gills, you say?
Webbed hands, you say?
Did you say scsles and little side-leg fins?
Sign👏me👏up👏
************************************
OLD REVIEW:
Get in losers we're commandeering the ocean to stop Slave Traders and then we're falling in love with Mermen seriously though, this was stinking cute.
Despite some heavy subject matter .. let's see: slavery, dirtbag slave trading first husband, oh and "Walking the Plank" well at least getting thrown over by said 5 pump chump dirtbag Garret - this book gave me some warm and fuzzies.
I am warming up to first person narrative these days, especially in Romantasy. Sometimes it's a bit jarring but despite that I was rooting for Mellony and I also wanted to yell at her for confronting trashbag Garret on a stormy ship in the middle of the ocean. HELLO situational awareness much?
Romance: Plot/Storyline/Themes: I am convinced Romantasy is ruining all men for me - seriously why can't they just be like Pelayo huh? Mellonyfulgria and Pelayo are sweet and spicy and all things nice. What a love story. The underlying themes are definitely abandonment and a sense of self worth that has taken one too many dings given the time and women's agency in that world.
Character Development/Favorite Character/s:
Mellony: a beautiful 26 year old (considered a spinster in that era) who has never been loved, is riddled with a weird combination of self confidence and in the same breadth doubt. The FMC is accustomed to being begrudgingly tolerated as opposed to loved - a lot of childhood trauma to unpack there.
It’s better to be alone than unwanted, and my soul feels lighter for it. (Mellony on ...life)
Pelayo: I love this kind of merfolk characterization; not just top half human, bottom half fish - his anatomy is realistic (given the fantastical nature of this creature and my suspension of disbelief) and feels all the more mesmerizing. Okay so, I realize I am objectifying this merman, what can you do, he's equal parts hot, adorable, loyal, kind, brave - you know what I love you Mellony but Imma just nip back into this book and snatch him up for myself mkay?
“I shall cherish you, Mellonyfulgria, and protect you with all my strength. My heart, my body, my spear, shall be yours alone.” (Pelayo being every bit as endearing as a merman could be).
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
Two creatures, both studying each other intenly, what's similar and what's different. Cuteness.
While I’m ogling him, he’s ogling my toes. I suppose I must’ve lost my shoes while the sea was tossing me about. The merman pokes my pinky toe, and I can’t help but curl the rest of them when he does. He grasps my foot by the ankle and lifts it a few inches. He looks at it from every angle (Mellony taking it rather well that a merman is staring at her toes)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●"Everything that passes my lips tastes like broken dreams." (Mallory on the "joys" of marriage )
●"it’s hard to be properly scared of someone when he’s sniffing your toes." (Meet cute so cute )
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts: Merfolk Magic
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As far as "dying girl" stories go, this is maybe the best. I like the cut of your glib, macabre energy Zinnia Gray.
If there's one thing I've come away with from reading this, well it's this: I need to have a not-so-Disney Movie marathon. All I know is I am itching to watch Maleficent and maybe Brave, a story with NO prince and no dude helping the helpless princess. *SIGH* I love Merida and that accent. But back to Aurora's story or in this case Aurora by way of Zinnia and Primrose. I loved this retelling. I loved the illustrations that first present as sweet fairytale joy but upon a second look, you realize there are heads on plates and Fae creatures dancing with glee. When you look again, the images look like blood vessels and sinewy muscles.
If you like something, like it hard, because you don't have a lot of time to waste (Zinnia on her Sleeping Beauty obsession )
What a novella!
Plot/Storyline/Themes: You know when she mentioned the set of "A Knight's Tale" All the warm and fuzzies of nostalgia came rushing back so I had to pause and watch a Heath Ledger reel. That done - this story is epic, it also reminds me of that Tumblr post on the r/curatedtumblr subreddit with the user defending Maleficent's actions. I mean she's Fae. Not inviting her to Aurora's birth was a humiliation and just rude to Faerie Folk. -Man I wish I had saved that post. I digress, this novella is the best sort of "save yourself you're the only one who knows how to do it right" kind of story.
Character Development/Favorite Character: Two girls, one cursed to sleep for almost forever and wait for some dude to kiss her awake and one dying of a rare incurable disease whose parents are waiting for some scientist to fin a cure to basically kiss her awake and into a life worthy of a young woman. The theme of taking action, giving oneself agency even though she had to go to another dimension to do it. And rewriting their own "destiny" is tackled so well in maybe the first 5 chapters.
The five stages of grief have played out in Zinnia's life, she went from hopeful, not really denial but a version of it by almost ignoring her illness, threatening to run away as a child and more. Primrose was at one point suicidal. Such delicate concepts are given a dark humorous twist through Zinnia - the Dying Girl's narration.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
I loved the birthday party scene. It felt like it was already taking place in another dimension and the buildup to the splinter prick was just pregnant with this fairytale possibility.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
●All its angles seem subtly wrong, off-putting in no way I can name. I want to
laugh at it; I want to run from it. I mentally compose a text to Charm instead:
it’s Magic Kingdom for goths. Gormenghast by Escher. (Zannia on basically the essence of this dimension )
●A few hours ago it had seemed like a perfectly fine idea to go have a little
adventure, face down a fairy, rescue a princess (and maybe, somehow,
myself), and zap back home like Bilbo strolling back into the Shire. (Zinnia on "The Quest" )
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
Prince Charming is a smug opportunist.
Harold is an annoying, albeit beautiful, prince charming - that tracks and he has absolutely nothing to do with the real story.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 genre books by 2025
If there's one thing I've come away with from reading this, well it's this: I need to have a not-so-Disney Movie marathon. All I know is I am itching to watch Maleficent and maybe Brave, a story with NO prince and no dude helping the helpless princess. *SIGH* I love Merida and that accent. But back to Aurora's story or in this case Aurora by way of Zinnia and Primrose. I loved this retelling. I loved the illustrations that first present as sweet fairytale joy but upon a second look, you realize there are heads on plates and Fae creatures dancing with glee. When you look again, the images look like blood vessels and sinewy muscles.
If you like something, like it hard, because you don't have a lot of time to waste (Zinnia on her Sleeping Beauty obsession )
What a novella!
Plot/Storyline/Themes: You know when she mentioned the set of "A Knight's Tale" All the warm and fuzzies of nostalgia came rushing back so I had to pause and watch a Heath Ledger reel. That done - this story is epic, it also reminds me of that Tumblr post on the r/curatedtumblr subreddit with the user defending Maleficent's actions. I mean she's Fae. Not inviting her to Aurora's birth was a humiliation and just rude to Faerie Folk. -Man I wish I had saved that post. I digress, this novella is the best sort of "save yourself you're the only one who knows how to do it right" kind of story.
Character Development/Favorite Character: Two girls, one cursed to sleep for almost forever and wait for some dude to kiss her awake and one dying of a rare incurable disease whose parents are waiting for some scientist to fin a cure to basically kiss her awake and into a life worthy of a young woman. The theme of taking action, giving oneself agency even though she had to go to another dimension to do it. And rewriting their own "destiny" is tackled so well in maybe the first 5 chapters.
The five stages of grief have played out in Zinnia's life, she went from hopeful, not really denial but a version of it by almost ignoring her illness, threatening to run away as a child and more. Primrose was at one point suicidal. Such delicate concepts are given a dark humorous twist through Zinnia - the Dying Girl's narration.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
I loved the birthday party scene. It felt like it was already taking place in another dimension and the buildup to the splinter prick was just pregnant with this fairytale possibility.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
●All its angles seem subtly wrong, off-putting in no way I can name. I want to
laugh at it; I want to run from it. I mentally compose a text to Charm instead:
it’s Magic Kingdom for goths. Gormenghast by Escher. (Zannia on basically the essence of this dimension )
●A few hours ago it had seemed like a perfectly fine idea to go have a little
adventure, face down a fairy, rescue a princess (and maybe, somehow,
myself), and zap back home like Bilbo strolling back into the Shire. (Zinnia on "The Quest" )
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
Prince Charming is a smug opportunist.
Harold is an annoying, albeit beautiful, prince charming - that tracks and he has absolutely nothing to do with the real story.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 genre books by 2025
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rakes are not as Rakish as they seem - pattern detected!
Hey now I have bones to pick with Milady Sofi Laporte How is this just three books? Hear me wail! One simply can't just go around writing cute books that make people cry and laugh and smile like goofballs and end it at three. I say that's a travesty.
A disclaimer: I'm not a fan of plays or stories with "ugly" disguises meant to make a beautiful MC seem hideous when in fact the "ugly" in question just looks like the average person. This is probably why I've hated the Madea-Norbet-Shallow Hal fatsuit movies. Feels cheap and easy to get a couple of laughs but underneath it all, instead of a good story it's just featherlight depthless drivel. Strangely enough, I don't hate The Ugly Duckling, Swan Princess or Mulan - fo figure.
Okay now that's off my chest. This was laugh out loud hilarious and so sweet I needn't have added sugar to my coffee at all.
I loved this book
********************************************
Romance Plot/Storyline/Themes : Oh this did not take the turn I was expecting - I mean yes I was expecting love and a cute romance but the route to that big reveal of both the scandal and the confessions of love were so unique. I loved it. This was syrupy sweet and tender and hilarious and I loved every minute of it.
Character Development/Favorite Character : Laporte has this way of creating supporting characters you root for as much as the two main characters. Where Great Aunt Mildred and Aunt Ernistina were hilarious and different shades of the same coin; Cousin Millicent in this book is a sweet old cat lady and I love her. Miles is a trash bag and you know what, I'm wondering if "Prinny" now George VI will have a bigger feature in the next book, I mean we finally got to meet the potato sack royal in this book whereas in the first book he was heavily mentioned.
Ava Sackville/Violetta Winter: Honestly I hated the dual identity in the beginning but I got over it. Much like the MMC, I much prefer Ava, I also found her reasoning for the disguise both plausible and utterly ridiculous.
Tristin Ravenscroft: Similar characterization as Adrian but darn it I love Tristan way way more and his layers are just a tad deeper than Adrian St Addington. He is loyal, sweet, devoted, but also a degenerate gambler for ... reasons
Kit: I found him flitting between vapid and loveable, weird how he reminds me of Jessica in the first book.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Tristen meeting Millicent for the first time and trying but failing to do something he had already psyched himself out to do out of desperation. I cackled.
Ava/Violetta, Tristin and Cousin Millicent trying to save kittens in a basement. That whole scene was just a laugh a minute.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
●All the cursed Sydneys with their fine aristocratic noses, blue eyes,
title, birthright, and wholesome wives. May they populate Hades with their
infernal beauty and virtuosity. (Tristin on being forced to marry )
●“The Earl of Ravenscroft,” she whispered, as if he were Beelzebub personified. (Millicent on meeting Tristin )
My father doesn’t like scandal. He doesn’t even like the whisper of a scandal. Our family name is hallowed, you see. We are to live the life of saints.” He sounded bitter. “ (Tristan on Livingstone)
If she could only hide under the table, crawl along on the floor, safely hidden by the tablecloth, and sneak out of the dining room. For one crazy moment she considered doing that. (Ava at that forsaken dinner)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts: The Opera being scandalous - time is weird, things change so much.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025
Hey now I have bones to pick with Milady Sofi Laporte How is this just three books? Hear me wail! One simply can't just go around writing cute books that make people cry and laugh and smile like goofballs and end it at three. I say that's a travesty.
A disclaimer: I'm not a fan of plays or stories with "ugly" disguises meant to make a beautiful MC seem hideous when in fact the "ugly" in question just looks like the average person. This is probably why I've hated the Madea-Norbet-Shallow Hal fatsuit movies. Feels cheap and easy to get a couple of laughs but underneath it all, instead of a good story it's just featherlight depthless drivel. Strangely enough, I don't hate The Ugly Duckling, Swan Princess or Mulan - fo figure.
Okay now that's off my chest. This was laugh out loud hilarious and so sweet I needn't have added sugar to my coffee at all.
I loved this book
********************************************
Romance Plot/Storyline/Themes : Oh this did not take the turn I was expecting - I mean yes I was expecting love and a cute romance but the route to that big reveal of both the scandal and the confessions of love were so unique. I loved it. This was syrupy sweet and tender and hilarious and I loved every minute of it.
Character Development/Favorite Character : Laporte has this way of creating supporting characters you root for as much as the two main characters. Where Great Aunt Mildred and Aunt Ernistina were hilarious and different shades of the same coin; Cousin Millicent in this book is a sweet old cat lady and I love her. Miles is a trash bag and you know what, I'm wondering if "Prinny" now George VI will have a bigger feature in the next book, I mean we finally got to meet the potato sack royal in this book whereas in the first book he was heavily mentioned.
Ava Sackville/Violetta Winter: Honestly I hated the dual identity in the beginning but I got over it. Much like the MMC, I much prefer Ava, I also found her reasoning for the disguise both plausible and utterly ridiculous.
Tristin Ravenscroft: Similar characterization as Adrian but darn it I love Tristan way way more and his layers are just a tad deeper than Adrian St Addington. He is loyal, sweet, devoted, but also a degenerate gambler for ... reasons
Kit: I found him flitting between vapid and loveable, weird how he reminds me of Jessica in the first book.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Tristen meeting Millicent for the first time and trying but failing to do something he had already psyched himself out to do out of desperation. I cackled.
Ava/Violetta, Tristin and Cousin Millicent trying to save kittens in a basement. That whole scene was just a laugh a minute.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
●All the cursed Sydneys with their fine aristocratic noses, blue eyes,
title, birthright, and wholesome wives. May they populate Hades with their
infernal beauty and virtuosity. (Tristin on being forced to marry )
●“The Earl of Ravenscroft,” she whispered, as if he were Beelzebub personified. (Millicent on meeting Tristin )
My father doesn’t like scandal. He doesn’t even like the whisper of a scandal. Our family name is hallowed, you see. We are to live the life of saints.” He sounded bitter. “ (Tristan on Livingstone)
If she could only hide under the table, crawl along on the floor, safely hidden by the tablecloth, and sneak out of the dining room. For one crazy moment she considered doing that. (Ava at that forsaken dinner)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts: The Opera being scandalous - time is weird, things change so much.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
New Letter who dis? probably some rake somewhere.
What a cute book! I read it in breaks all day and ended the last few chapters with me wandering out into the backyard, then out to the park with my dogs as they went on a sniffing, squirrel-hunting mission and I stood in place holding my Paperwhite and giggled like a fifteen year old. I love writing letters. Do people still write letters? This book made me research that question but no - electronic letters are just not the same. .
I recently read a futuristic pen pal love story in the middle of a Time War kerfuffle: How To Lose A Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone and that opened a whole new delight for me. This book just added to my interest in the archaic form of communication.
A truly welcome palate cleanser!
Romance Plot/Storyline/Themes: Pacing Perfection. The opening chapter was such a hook and yanked me out of my world and into my first Regency Romance. I love it all; the manners, the aires and all that fancy socialite bull. I mean the post scripts alone were just adorable! The Rake vs the Spinster - who knew I'd fall for this trope so much.
Characters: Aunt Ernestine and Aunt Mildred were my favorite supporting characters.
Lu: Every strike against her in regency romance would be the reason why Fae Kings would fall head over heels for her. Let's see: Sallow skin with freckles, Jet Black hair. Check, She wears khakis and caps and is a norm breaker. Check. She's cottagecore: isolated, bibliophile, who wants a cottage and chickens. Check.
●Adrian: Sexy devil. sure he has layers but I don't care about that right now. nom nom nom.
●Great Aunt Mildred A hypochondriac who loves catastrophizing and has succumbed to what she perceives to be the end of her rope. She had me snort-laughing
●Aunt Ernestina, Lady RutherfordI would like to go shopping with Aunt Ernestina, I need her to "she's all that me" too!
●Jessica Kind of forgettable but maybe because she is just another Windemere buxom blonde and so I just wrote her off anyhow.
●Favorite/Curious//Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Honestly, I cackled at every scene with Aunt Ernestina. But this one had me spitting out my drink.
●“Good Heavens, Aunt. Are you certain Jessica’s reputation won’t be
tarnished when she is seen in his company?” Under no circumstances did
she want her to dance with St Addington.
“Poppycock. He has no taste for insipid debutantes, so Jessica will be
safe. (Aunt Ernestina, Jessica and Ludmilla after a day of shopping, discussing husband-hunting prep)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
■My dear Ludmilla. This is beside the point. The point is that he died a most horrific death because he laughed while eating. At least he did not die of the black pox, like his sister (Great Aunt Mildred on the heinous act of laughing out loud )
■“Fiddlesticks. “Can a person have some tea in this house? Preferably something unlaced with laudanum or other tonics. (Aunt Ernestina after a glorious tirade )
■“Yes, our Jessica here will haul in a husband by the end of the month, easily. They will litter the carpet, the earls, and viscounts. It will be most tedious. My advice: go for nothing less than a duke.” (Aunt Ernestine on Jessica )
■He ruined perfectly respectable women and debutantes merely by looking at them. Men lost their entire fortunes to him. He won entire estates, while the poor men who
lost to him shot themselves at dawn. (Ludmilla on the scandalous Lord St. Addington)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
♧Family inheritance going to the next male in line. Kicking out the daughters of a household the next male wasn't a brother but some snot-nosed cousin. I would not have done well in this era at all
♧The Season: debutante balls, matchmaking balls, cottilions and such? Yeah... pardon me while I roll my eyes
♧Bring Back Snail Mail! Bring Back Penpals! I'll be here all day with my soapbox.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025
What a cute book! I read it in breaks all day and ended the last few chapters with me wandering out into the backyard, then out to the park with my dogs as they went on a sniffing, squirrel-hunting mission and I stood in place holding my Paperwhite and giggled like a fifteen year old. I love writing letters. Do people still write letters? This book made me research that question but no - electronic letters are just not the same. .
I recently read a futuristic pen pal love story in the middle of a Time War kerfuffle: How To Lose A Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone and that opened a whole new delight for me. This book just added to my interest in the archaic form of communication.
A truly welcome palate cleanser!
Romance Plot/Storyline/Themes: Pacing Perfection. The opening chapter was such a hook and yanked me out of my world and into my first Regency Romance. I love it all; the manners, the aires and all that fancy socialite bull. I mean the post scripts alone were just adorable! The Rake vs the Spinster - who knew I'd fall for this trope so much.
Characters: Aunt Ernestine and Aunt Mildred were my favorite supporting characters.
Lu: Every strike against her in regency romance would be the reason why Fae Kings would fall head over heels for her. Let's see: Sallow skin with freckles, Jet Black hair. Check, She wears khakis and caps and is a norm breaker. Check. She's cottagecore: isolated, bibliophile, who wants a cottage and chickens. Check.
●Adrian: Sexy devil. sure he has layers but I don't care about that right now. nom nom nom.
●Great Aunt Mildred A hypochondriac who loves catastrophizing and has succumbed to what she perceives to be the end of her rope. She had me snort-laughing
●Aunt Ernestina, Lady RutherfordI would like to go shopping with Aunt Ernestina, I need her to "she's all that me" too!
●Jessica Kind of forgettable but maybe because she is just another Windemere buxom blonde and so I just wrote her off anyhow.
●Favorite/Curious//Ludicrous/Unique Scene::
Honestly, I cackled at every scene with Aunt Ernestina. But this one had me spitting out my drink.
●“Good Heavens, Aunt. Are you certain Jessica’s reputation won’t be
tarnished when she is seen in his company?” Under no circumstances did
she want her to dance with St Addington.
“Poppycock. He has no taste for insipid debutantes, so Jessica will be
safe. (Aunt Ernestina, Jessica and Ludmilla after a day of shopping, discussing husband-hunting prep)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
■My dear Ludmilla. This is beside the point. The point is that he died a most horrific death because he laughed while eating. At least he did not die of the black pox, like his sister (Great Aunt Mildred on the heinous act of laughing out loud )
■“Fiddlesticks. “Can a person have some tea in this house? Preferably something unlaced with laudanum or other tonics. (Aunt Ernestina after a glorious tirade )
■“Yes, our Jessica here will haul in a husband by the end of the month, easily. They will litter the carpet, the earls, and viscounts. It will be most tedious. My advice: go for nothing less than a duke.” (Aunt Ernestine on Jessica )
■He ruined perfectly respectable women and debutantes merely by looking at them. Men lost their entire fortunes to him. He won entire estates, while the poor men who
lost to him shot themselves at dawn. (Ludmilla on the scandalous Lord St. Addington)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
♧Family inheritance going to the next male in line. Kicking out the daughters of a household the next male wasn't a brother but some snot-nosed cousin. I would not have done well in this era at all
♧The Season: debutante balls, matchmaking balls, cottilions and such? Yeah... pardon me while I roll my eyes
♧Bring Back Snail Mail! Bring Back Penpals! I'll be here all day with my soapbox.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unnecessary Rudeness in the Quest for the Enemies To Lovers trope. I was thrown off by how the main character went from cordial to rude a windbag in about a 5 minute span and he's English which makes it all the more weirdly unrealistic. The constant comparisons to movie stars and action movies was not it for me. James Bond is about as far from hot to me as one can get. I mean Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan probably get the DILF pass but it was tooo .... something Just say the guy is an adonis and move on.
On a positive, I do want to book a week long vacation to the island of Maui and decide for myself if Simmer down is an accurate representation of all things tropical.
Plot/Storyline/Themes.
Nikki's inner monologue felt more like a YA train of thought as opposed to the 29 year old FMC and strangled pacing. I found myself losing interest more than once but it's Maui and I wanted that near travel show experience of the island.
Characters: Nikki was a little unbearable at times. Callum won me other by chapter 6. But I refuse to picture him in that splice abomination. Honestly if I think about it Tom Hiddleston, Tom holland, Tom Ellis and even Tom Hardy would be a better splice than Zac Efron with Michael Fassbender - c'mon.
Loved the side characters: Tiva, Penelope, FInn even pretentious manbun Matteo Roderick.
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
London town! I loved the change in scenery and pace, a trip over the pond was exactly the boost this book needed.
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●Life doesn’t always care what you have planned. Sometimes it pulls the rug out from under you (Nikki on moving to Maui).
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
●Foodvloggers
●Maui Foodtruck Festival
●ChicTv
These just made me want to google food festivals near me and watch cooking shows
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025
On a positive, I do want to book a week long vacation to the island of Maui and decide for myself if Simmer down is an accurate representation of all things tropical.
Plot/Storyline/Themes.
Nikki's inner monologue felt more like a YA train of thought as opposed to the 29 year old FMC and strangled pacing. I found myself losing interest more than once but it's Maui and I wanted that near travel show experience of the island.
Characters: Nikki was a little unbearable at times. Callum won me other by chapter 6. But I refuse to picture him in that splice abomination. Honestly if I think about it Tom Hiddleston, Tom holland, Tom Ellis and even Tom Hardy would be a better splice than Zac Efron with Michael Fassbender - c'mon.
Loved the side characters: Tiva, Penelope, FInn even pretentious manbun Matteo Roderick.
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
London town! I loved the change in scenery and pace, a trip over the pond was exactly the boost this book needed.
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●Life doesn’t always care what you have planned. Sometimes it pulls the rug out from under you (Nikki on moving to Maui).
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
●Foodvloggers
●Maui Foodtruck Festival
●ChicTv
These just made me want to google food festivals near me and watch cooking shows
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Romance books by 2025