As someone who grew up in a different faith, I had an idea of what this book might be like. I was wrong. Allie is sweet and sassy and earnest in her journey of faith. I loved learning about Circassian culture. I could relate to some of her family situations.

Negative: the dialogue. It's stilted and awkward.

I think non Muslims would benefit from reading this book. Allie shares her struggles and is knowledgeable about her white-passing privilege.

While Uncomfortable Labels was insightful, I didn't find it particularly enticing to read. Since Dale is a journalist and well known in her field, I was hoping that the book would be more of a narrative memoir. That said, I am thankful for Dale's vulnerability in sharing her story.

I hoped that this book would be better than Spin the Dawn, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The premise and world promised adventure and intrigue, but I struggled to imagine the world presented. The characters did not seem to have personalities, which made it hard to care about the plot.

The romance, as with Spin the Dawn, was very insta-love. Maia and Edan don't seem to have much in common beyond loving each other. Beyond that, Maia does not make big choices. I wanted more from her. I wanted more consequences in the very thin plot. Again, the magic system and mythos are underdeveloped.

Great premise, but unfortunately does not live up to it.

2.5 Stars. TW for rape, trauma, ptsd
Why does this book have such high reviews? It’s saccharine, predictable, and preachy. I wasn’t expecting great literature but this is so dull. I don’t read WWII fiction because I find it voyeuristic. This wasn’t too bad in that regard. there is an element of misery p*rn with Miriam’s story.

This book is a little more raunchy that I usually go for, but I'm so glad I ended up reading the rest of it. The real focus of the book isn't the widows' erotic stories, but rather the friendships they build. Its a book of women building each other up, connecting with your community, with some funny and sexy stories.

Why does no one talk about how terrible this book is? Y’all, I tried, but Stalking Jack the Ripper isn’t for me. I know so many bookstagrammers love it, which is why I wanted to read it.But it’s bad. It’s objectively bad.I know some of the anachronisms were “intentional,” but if Maniscalo was going for alternate history, she should have gone all in with her world building. The characters felt like stock characters,including your fave, Thomas Cresswell. If you can deal with poor writing, glaring anachronisms, and 21st century attitudes from 19th century characters ... then you might find this gory YA mystery-romance interesting.

I think I misunderstood the premise of this book. I was hoping this book would guide me in my food shopping habits. Most of the book consists of harmful aspects of different food industries, with bits about how to be a conscious grocery shopper. There were some helpful tidbits, but overall I felt like this book was inaccessible to the average reader and shopper.

This book was fun, but I felt that it was a bit disjointed. I wish more of it focused on Loki's adolescence in Asgard. I felt that there could have been more attention on the relationship between Amora and Loki, especially in the London section. I loved Theo as a character, but he felt random to the story in my opinion.