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.

I thought I would love this fable of butterflies and moths, pictures, and memories. I hoped it would be like Night Circus, but it never grabbed me and pulled me in. The main character was annoying, and so was the author writing out his full name at least once per page. This is really disappointing because the plot showed promise. I liked the fabled parts at the beginning of each part.

A steamy camp romance with likable protagonists, friends, and romantic interests. Ali Brady books are always entertaining and leave you in a gushy mood, and this is no different. It reminded me of the Summer of Songbirds from KWH, the plot quite similar. I was not a camp kid, but I feel like I would enjoy an adult camp.

The writing was filled with perfect metaphors. The characters were uniquely developed, and the plot was beyond intricate. The Agatha Christie-esque twists got a bit too slippery and went on a bit too long for me. But, the overarching themes, purposeful pacing, and rich writing were exquisite. I can't quite believe the author took on this great challenge for his debut novel. Nailed it.

The underlying themes in comparing everyday toxic human behaviors in the magical world were on point. I like the mirrored approach to real life in this genre. The characters were better formed, or maybe Rebekah annoyed me less than Emerson did. Though the protagonists goals, needs, and "misbeliefs" were repeated too much for my liking. I prefer the more subtle approach.

This story detailed the human experience perfectly, in the raw and uncomfortable to the laugh out loud moments. I loved the protagonist, and even if the author gave Lila redeeming qualities and a somewhat explanatory back story, I still lost patience with her and found her utterly ridiculous.It kept me engrossed the entire time.

I loved the themes of the book and the humanness of the protagonists' feelings as well as their mirrored experience. The murky middle was indeed laggy, but I cared about the characters and the heart rending message enough to persevere, and I am glad I did.

That is truly a scary story for any aspiring writer. I really liked the excerpts of the book within the book and how it factored in. Even if I guessed accurately, the story managed to sway me into going in new directions along with the protagonist. It was another fast and engaging read by this author.

This book had all the right fixings, but it didn't pull me in as much as I'd hoped. It had the setting, the friendship trope, and it centered around books and writing. But something that I can't explain was missing. I enjoyed the plot, and though the characters were all different enough, I didn't bond with any of them. I think if I read it on a beach vacation, it would boost my rating a bit more.

I was hooked in by the prologue and immediately invested in the large cast of characters.Kate Quinn writes books that makes writers feel they can not write themselves and readers like it was just a great story until you read the author's note and see all the moving parts that she magically weaved in. The time period, the themes, the character arcs, and the plot are all ingredients for the perfect book. Plus, there are recipes.

I have mixed feelings about the main character but love her love interest and her friends. Most of the book was a 3 star, but the ending boosted it up. The repetition throughout was annoying. I find that to be a popular literary device in fantasy/witchy stories, and it isn't my favorite. I feel like the author doesn't trust the reader to understand without repetition. I will read the next book.

I started this one on the plane to go on vacation but barely picked it up again throughout due to time commitments and the lack of intrigue in the story or any of the characters. I stuck with it because I figured the good stuff was coming, and it did, all at the end. This is the kind of book that will slide you into a reading slump just because, meh. My reading spot won my attention on this one.

I had been looking forward to this book for quite a while and devoured it in two sittings within 24 hours. A great family saga exploring 3 generations of the mother-daughter relationship, with mystery, a deep love story, and a new romance.

This one is hard to rate, or explain why I am rating it like I am, even to myself. On the one hand, the characters bother me. Even the nickname of the protagonist bothers me. Their banter annoys me. But then there is the relatable humanness during menopause that makes me forgive it all.

This book is a must because it makes the reader stare down the idea and origin of division among beliefs and how they are tearing society apart. It is hard to hold opinions, to share them, to question them when you hold them up to the light.

I made it to 60ish pages before removing this book from my e-reader. I didn't connect with the protagonist, and I think it was because of the way the author attempted interiority and foreshadowing, and the book written in the 1st person read like an annoying person constnatly vague booking for attention.

I am not familiar with Greek mythology, so this book was a learning curve, which means it took a week to read it. I loved the themes that poked through without being too obvious. The writing was fantastic.

This was truly an entertaining read with levels of multitude. Her stories are romances for the every day woman which makes each character so relatable. This is another winner from this author that proves her status as an auto-buy author for me.

A truly funny book with plenty of spice. I had to actually put it down right at the typical 3rd act breakup point for a couple of agonizing hours but devoured it once I was finally reunited. Another winner from them.

I picked this read because it was the opposite genre of the book I dnf'd. I am on page 60, and I have already lost count of how many times I have laughed out loud! Not a surprise from this powerful duo, but it is a delight.

First off, I pictured the author as the younger protagonist for this one. I don't do that often, but this one was strong. Then, at a time, when both stories' actions were coming to their climax, I wasn't drawn in like I should have been. This was between a Pick and a SoSo, but the very end made me lean toward Pick.