stitchesandstationery's Reviews (306)

I have never not loved a Beatriz Williams book. I love the way she is able to tell a suspenseful historical fiction story, and I love the depth her characters can achieve. I'm also always a fan of split timelines in historical fiction novels, and appreciated that we were following the same characters in both timelines in this one. This one has a slow burn mystery, but moves you through the other plot points quickly. It wasn't a "I can't put this down" mystery, but it was still a "I need to know what happens next" mystery.

Body. Representation. Matters.

There's just...something so refreshing about this. I'm reading about a woman with a body like mine. Turns out I didn't know how great it was to be able to read about your own body when things get steams 😅

In addition, this book was funny, witty, covered some hard-hitting personal topics. It was full of nerdy pop culture in all the best ways, and it was a true joy to read.

This was another beautifully near-perfect book from Andy Weir. One of my all time favorite comfort reads is The Martian, and Weir continues to please with each new book. This one felt far more "technical" than his previous two works, but still retained the same signature humor. 

Hear me out: I wasn't sold in the beginning. And it took a hot minute for me to BE sold. JLA's method of world building is more tell than show which, while effective, isn't my favorite. I also felt like we just drove straight into a banter with Hawke and Poppy without any buildup or reasoning? It felt out of character for Poppy because we didn't know her yet? Also, the reveal took SO LONG. With that being said, once we had the reveal I...still wasn't sold. I'm reading to read the next one, so I'm sorta there? But because it took so long, and because so much felt so unbelievable about Poppy and Hawke's relationship, it was almost a miss for me?

(excuse me, if it tastes like honeydew something is probably wrong, okay?)

Don't come for me, but I've never read Jane Eyre. I almost wonder if I would have liked this more if I had? The tone was...weird. Some parts felt like I was reading a contemporary romance, but Eddie made me uncomfy from the get-go. I don't know, it ticked most of my thriller boxes, but it wasn't my favorite.

This book was set up to be my kind of perfection. Drama, someone is dead and we don't know why/how, etc. It missed the mark just a bit for me, but overall I enjoyed it and felt strong soapy vibes from it. Also, where can I find a book club with themed snacks??

It was good, but it wasn't necessarily great? The narrator stressed me out, so not only was she being gaslit, but so were we? I don't know, I get that it was the 90's but why in THE WORLD would you get in a car with a stranger just months after your bestie was murdered..?? By a serial killer they still haven't caught??

As a thriller, it did it's job. I didn't want to put it down, I shouldn't have read it before bed, all that good stuff. But I also feel like I want a thriller that still tells a good and believable story?

I was prepared for this book to be a bit more hard-hitting than it actually ended up being, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. As someone who works in the aviation industry, it was interesting to read about the technical aspects of the crash from someone who is not.

I teared up once, didn't end up crying like I had expected, but I did end up very attached to Edward and Shay. Watching them grow together, and watching Edward attempt to navigate this new world and this new life was definitely moving. Perhaps the emotional impact of this book would have hit harder if I had actually read it in a timely manner or fewer sittings. Oh well.

I preferred this one to the first one. Perhaps it's because I was more acquainted with Faerie by this point, or perhaps my expectations had been checked and I wasn't expecting some grand romance between Jude and Cardan? Whatever the reason, I liked this one more. Cardan continued to surprise me, and honestly, so did Jude.