The time and setting were done perfectly. The writing was truly outstanding in getting us in the protagonisist pov. In her under-developed mind, that naturally makes a short-sighted sense of things, you still root for her and her quest. You understand the feelings of each character even when you don't agree with them.

This was the softer story I needed following The Hunger Games. It was a heartfelt story that had me running to it every time I was forced to do other things. Even if my suspicions were confirmed, the journey to get there was well worth the trip.

Another brutal visit to Panem. These books always have me blowing through them. This one explains why Haymitch is the way he is when we first meet him. I pictured a young Woody Harrelson (from Cheers) until I couldn‘t anymore as I got further in the story, and in my mind, he aged instantly.

I loved this story and the themes that weaved through. Even as I guessed a few of the links and the stories possibilities, her wonderful writing kept this story vivid and drawing me back to my kobo each time I had to do something other than than reading. This one will have me gushing for a while.

The writing was so precise it put you in place the entire time. Discomfort, anxiousness, overwhelm, all of it felt alongside the protagonist. The concept was very intriguing, but so damn scary if you allow yourself to think about it a bit further. Like the moment of denial at the cusp of a catastrophe. You need to be in high spirits not to be too affected by the story. That speaks to the writing.

While I read this in two shirt sittings from the edge of my seat, the ending was not a satisfying one. There are many points of view all in one chapter, and somehow, you aren't ever lost as to whose part it is you are reading.

At the end of every story, I asked "and?", "so?" They were character driven and mostly mundane. The writing kept me plowing through but there were a few stories I read diagonally.

Marie Benedict is an auto-buy author for me. This one wasn't my favorite of hers, but I think it would hit it out of the park for readers of mysteries like Agatha Christie, who is one of the characters in this book. I like how it is based on a real cold case. The feminist angles appeal to me as much as the treatment of women as disposable angers me.

The second book of the duology keeps you on the edge of the seat the first book set you upon. Both books had me audibly gasping in public. It was so tense my Fitbit asked me how I was feeling more than once. I will read anything from this author.

This was a love story for the middle agers. I loved it because I understood the characters on the deepest level even if our life troubles weren't the same at all. I went through every emotion and felt I was there with these new Palm Springs found family. The story was able to compete with this view and win my attention. The last line of the book made it to my commonplace book.

I am bailing on this, at least for now. Stories told in the second person need to satisfy a very specific mood for me. I can see what the author is trying to do and how epic a love story it could be, but it isn't hitting the spot. Plus, the "Alice" pov suggests a direction I don't care to go when trying to settle into a love story.

This eye-opening, devastating book is incredibly well written. It would be unbearable otherwise. It leaves you with a hole you must fill with a love story or something silly. The dark underbelly of paradise is never a comfortable place to be. I disliked the main characters and understood the complexity in their ideals, paths, and choices. The ending is predictable only in that heartbreaking way it has to turn out.

Well, that was an aptly titled whirlwind. I liked it but I didn't love it. The protagonist irritated me at times, especially in the choices she made, which made for very transparent avenues the author used to get to the next point.

I was really excited to read this, but, like the reviews have indicated, not so much witchcraft vibes. I am putting this book aside for now as well. I am officially in a book slump after all my anticipated new year releases have been 3 stars at best and quite a few I can't get into. Sad.

I haven't been able to muster much enthusiasm or interest in the main character, so even if the premise lured me in, I am not pulled in enough to continue this journey. At least not at the moment. I started this book a week ago, and then frantically started another. I may be in a reading slump. This is a dnf, at least for now.

This is a very light pick for me. It had all the promise, and the humanity of the characters was second to none, but it isn't a 5 star for me.

Usually an Alice Feeney novel grabs me from page 1. This one took me at least 60 pages to get into it. But when I did, I was in. It was a mind meld for sure and I there were a lot of moving parts that were still a puzzle to solve at the end.

This story was immersive. The characters are so loveable, the setting rich. It is very light on the magical realism, and it ties in so well with pharmacology. I enjoyed the themes of the book and especially how lightly they came across.

This review is a conflicted one. I hate to admit I didn't love this one. The plot was good, but I wasn't picking up what was being laid down for me as a reader. I hear the audiobook may have filled in that gap, which makes complete sense because I think this book would be fantastic on screen. It is still a pick vs so-so.

This was an interesting cross genre book. Historical fantasy is new to me. The writing makes me want to read her series. It is a pick, but I'm still not 100% certain I loved the ending.

I don't know how a climate dystopian can be achingly beautiful in symbolism, but this one is. I loved the short story about trees and the idea that they would tell their own story while the humans destroy the world.

I think the best way to sum up my impression is to say I admire the themes and morals the author was trying to convey, but I don't love how she conveyed them.

What an entertaining story with likable characters! It was an easy read that had me chuckling out loud quite a few times. Though it felt formulaic and pushy with character motivations, leaving me no room to imagine my way through it.

This is a relatable and quiet pick. The exact kind of raw introspect I craved at the end of the year. I picked it up without having remembered the setting in my hometown of Ottawa for some of it, so that provided extra fondness. It is a short read with much to learn about maple syrup and the human condition.

What a wild ride that was! And exactly what I needed when I needed it most. The writing was poignant and snicker or pause to take in the beauty. I loved the characters and will read more from this author. It was as magical as it promised.

With so many twisted turns, some seemed quickly patched holes because they weren't fleshed out and others were unsatisfying. It took a while to pull me in, but it kept me entertained while it constantly misdirected me. I have mixed feelings about the ending, but I would still describe it as a good 3.5 star read.

I savored this one. I enjoyed the peripheral story lines and how the characters intersected independently with the royal family. The will they/won't they stressed me out throughout. I am too impatient for that kind of thing, so I tend to power through so I can get to the best part.

This one is hard to explain. All of it was well written, made sense, and was highly relatable. But there were some chapters that dragged on. I loved the last few chapters and would have loved more exploration of those topics.

This was a book I had started and put away during a reading a reading slump. I picked this up yesterday and read it in one sitting. I liked the underlying soulmate themes being like puzzle pieces that nobody else can quite fit. I like how the author jumps in time from winter to winter without losing readers.

I read this one before Garden Spells simply due to my mood, the weather, and the fact that it was on sale. This family was loveable, and their story was so comforting. It is truly a light, feel-good read.

While I didn't cry, my heart ached the entire time I read this, which wasn't longer than 2 days because I was quickly immersed.The passage of time is swift but never confusing. The setting is rich, and the characters are vast, but the ones that are most vibrant are Joe and Norma. What a story!

This was another fantastic story by Heather Marshall. I can't wait till her next one. The pain felt endless, I felt like i read this with shoulders hunched over. There was a thread that didn't seem looped, and it is driving me crazy.

This story sucks you in quickly and spits you out at the end of the wild ride. The characters are distinctly different, and their backstories are well defined. I guessed a few things and thought I figured out more but was turned around a few times and surprised till the very end.

I took more than a week to read this and not because of its length. It just didn't pull me in or call to me to while away my free hours. Besides the pacing being off, I saw what the author was trying to do but didn't feel anything through it for any of the characters. I liked them and saw their connections but personally didn't feel connected to them.

It took me a while to get into this story, but I am happy I stuck with it. I had a hard time placing myself in the scenes that seemed like one event placed after another. It was the historical timeline and characters that hooked me and got me to care about the present-day ones. This is still a pick.

I don't usually read standalone books from the same author back to back, but sticking on theme for October, I did it. Her magical systems are tied to nature here as well but in a different way. It was atmospheric and enchanting. Iris had a similar stubbornness as Clara truthfully, but the love interests from book to book were very different.

I love the allegory of seasonal magic in this book! The way she linked specific magic to human qualities was awe-inspiring. It can make a reader release their sorrowful, desperate hold on every seasonal change. It was such a transformative story, and I can't wait to read her other books.

I picked this back up, and at first, it was slow going. I read it with a friend, which got me through. Once the action started, I went full steam ahead and finished it that day. I like the themes and the oddly matched cast of characters.

This book's magic system wasn't completely explained until the protagonist was in battle towards the end, and the pacing felt uneven. It gets a pick for the enchanting characters and cottage core vibe plus it cured me of my reading slump.

With lines like this, The Honey Witch is successfully rescuing me from my reading funk.

"...What is so wrong about being a bitch? It is the closest a girl can be to a wolf."

This third story of the trilogy focuses on Ellowyn, who is a likeabley prickly character. While the plot of this book got them to the finish line in an entertaining way, I found that it was quite formulaic and that it really hammered the reader on the head with themes. Also, there is a 4th book planned that I will likely read to not leave the series unfinished. This is a 3 maybe 3.5 star.

This book felt like a present to my generation. It was at once glorious and heartbreaking. It made so much sense now to see what stardom does to people and their relationships. It reflects what the media feeds fans' insatiable appetite to know everything about those we admire. How quick someone can change. I loved the ending!

Usually, I shy away from books when I am personally dealing with similar themes to the characters because we often read to escape. This book makes the reader face their thoughts of inheritance, kinship, flawed parents and their impact, and death/grief. The characters were nuanced, the relationships complex, and the story, so specifically human, it can apply to everyone and anyone.

This was engrossing but too difficult for me to read while grieving. I will pick it up again. I wish there was another button for this exact situation.

This book became too emotionally heavy to read in this world with everything I had going on personally. I'll pick it up again.

I started this so I could follow along online with @harkthesnark book club, but I'm a mood reader, and I couldn't get into this at all at the moment. I'll pick it up again some other time.

What a relief to finally sink my teeth into a new Liane Moriarty book. I loved this story. It had such great lines that I'd read over twice for sheer delight. The plot and theme kept me engrossed and, of course, thinking... would I want to know when and how I die? Still undecided, but these characters and all the different ways they grappled with the aftermath were each a study in entertaining psychology.

All the most intense emotions from beginning to end. You are feeling everything as you read word after word after word. It was a hard read, though, subject matter wise. I was captivated in the feelings. Every single one of them.

I feel like the messaging was finally made clear in the second last chapter, but it was a long, repetitive journey. There were some chuckles for sure along the way, but there were also too many instances where the character did something too outlandish to believe, even under the groundhog day type loop. I was surprised I finished it. The last chapter being in a different pov was weird, too.

I love historical fiction that covers something different than war. The dual timeline worked so well in braiding the themes from one era to another, which is kind of depressing when you think of how slow societal ideals change. The historical timeline had old English writing with modern dialogue, which was both a relief for me but admittedly took me out of the story at times. I never liked Shakespear and really enjoyed this read.