I really liked the kids, his girl-dad vibe, and the western setting.
But the FMC is incredibly shallow and childish. I get thatDNF a few chapters in.
I really liked the kids, his girl-dad vibe, and the western setting.
But the FMC is incredibly shallow and childish. I get that stereotypical NY girl will change, but it is a LOT very early on without seeing pretty much anything that is interesting or redeeming about her--her internal digs at people, including repeatedly thinking how gross her friend's pregnancy is, aren't even funny. Plus she's engaged to the biggest douchebag on the planet! Which says a lot about her. And when I took at a look at the synopsis for book two, wondering if this protagonist just wasn't for me and maybe I should try another one, something huge and serious happens to one of the other characters, very much beyond the scale of what I'd expect even with the trigger warnings at the beginning. It's too heavy for a contemporary romance for my taste, especially as I have no confidence it would be handled well based on how the FMC is written.
Also, 400+ pages for a romance...ugh. Almost always a bad idea....more
DNF after about an hour. Probably too meta for me to be reading a book about an author going into a downward spiral over a negative review.
But anywayDNF after about an hour. Probably too meta for me to be reading a book about an author going into a downward spiral over a negative review.
But anyway, the MC is flappy and overreacts to everything, the parts with her novel are really bad and take up far too much time, and this is another teller vs shower.
The only way this is even remotely interesting is if the twist is that it turns out the author realizes that she is the ridiculously unhinged stalker at the end. But I’m not holding my breath.
Audio Notes: Not a huge fan of the narrator, either. Very similar to Karissa Vacker—pleasant voice, but too stylized and intrusive in the offbeat delivery....more
DNF around 50% in. If you liked Will Dean’s The Last One or the last Christina Henry book, you’ll probably enjoy this. I, for one, do not enjoy when tDNF around 50% in. If you liked Will Dean’s The Last One or the last Christina Henry book, you’ll probably enjoy this. I, for one, do not enjoy when there is a genre switch of this particular kind.
Audio Notes: I actually did like the writing, though, as well as the author’s narration of her own book. (Rarely done well, even when there is an acting background, as there is with this author.) I’ll definitely check out her other thrillers, because the build up was well done—I just really dislike this kind of reveal. Leaving unrated....more
DNF around 28%. It's not awful, but I've just read a million better versions of this grumpy boss story. Some of the humor is kind of cute, but a lot oDNF around 28%. It's not awful, but I've just read a million better versions of this grumpy boss story. Some of the humor is kind of cute, but a lot of it also isn't quite as clever as it's meant to be, and I find the weird lofty aristocracy ties intrusive and annoying. Plus his feelings are revealed way too soon with far too little substance. Meh....more
DNF around 33%. The story is finally starting to go somewhere, but I’m just so underwhelmed by the writing (prose, dialogue, and plotting) thus far anDNF around 33%. The story is finally starting to go somewhere, but I’m just so underwhelmed by the writing (prose, dialogue, and plotting) thus far and can’t summon up enough interest to keep going. There’s a weird disconnect between the realistic parts (which involve disappearing kids and feels very adult thriller-like) and the fantasy parts. The latter isn’t really developed at the point where I stopped, but the disconnect is between the somewhat grim realism of the search for missing kids vs the sections with a “humorous” third party narrator who breaks the third wall to speak directly to the reader. I h a t e d these snarky sections, which were meant to be funny, but only irritated me.
The characters and relationships (sisters, parent/kid, friends) all seem really simplistic, too, and it’s loaded with telling rather than showing you history and feelings and personality.
This fantasy held no magic for me.
Audio Notes: I usually like Jorjeana Marie’s voice work, but I think it’s much more suited to younger characters. What sounds disarming and endearing in a 5-year-old or 14-year-old comes across as annoying and occasionally whiny and shrill in an adult woman—and the character sounds very, very young. Like I had to remind myself that yes, this character could drive a car and reach the foot pedals....more
* an annoying recited list of characters, as if it were a play, along with "descriptive" notes and designated pronouns * a not-great voStarts out with:
* an annoying recited list of characters, as if it were a play, along with "descriptive" notes and designated pronouns * a not-great voicing of a young girl narrated by an adult woman "My name is Kiki, I'm a good girl and very smart for my age, and that's why I have to do homework sometimes, which is not fun."
I don't think this is supposed to be a mystery, but she is one of several personalities presumably narrating the story. That set-up is interesting, except that I really disliked the simplistic way it was written and voiced. I have a feeling that the portrayal of mental illness is going to irritate me as well.
I was so excited to read this, because I was in Scotland last summer and absolutely loved Isle of Skye! It’s other worldly beautiful, and we visited wI was so excited to read this, because I was in Scotland last summer and absolutely loved Isle of Skye! It’s other worldly beautiful, and we visited whisky distilleries and ate oysters while we gazed dreamily at the sea and wondered why we didn’t wake up and do all that everyday.
So I’m really bummed that this book, set in a whisky distillery on Skye, just isn’t working for me. I don’t love the exposition-heavy, somewhat scattered writing style, I can feel the framework of the trilogy snapping into place, the h/H feel pretty typical, movie star/rock star/whatever characters are not my thing, there are way too many mentions of Julia Roberts, I hate the nickname “Princess” and how it is always, always egregiously overused in books, she refers to a gross prank she pulled in the past that I hate, she overreacts in a Rachel-and-Monica-fogged-Danny kind of way, and neither the rom-com hijinks nor the attempts to give angsty back story ring particularly true. The whole thing just feels a bit forced and a bit overly referential, as there are a ton of pop culture echoes in the dialogue and zany scenarios.
I wish there was more immersion in the setting as well. And call me delusional, but so much of this felt very American to me, too, though maybe that’s a by-product of a ton of contemporary romance language and sitcom shenanigans.
Skimmed ahead—the second half does seem better, and the sex seems surprisingly not bad—but it’s not enough to save this for me. So disappointed.
I tried, I really did. I’m looking at 2 days left on a 14 day loan and because of the high ratings, I’ve stopped and started the audiobook so many timI tried, I really did. I’m looking at 2 days left on a 14 day loan and because of the high ratings, I’ve stopped and started the audiobook so many times, but I’m calling it at 6 hours in. After all this time, I still have zero interest in anybody or anything that’s happening and it’s so incredibly slow without doing a damned thing with that time.
Riverhead is usually a reliable literary fiction imprint for me, but not this time—the writing and characters and mystery are completely unengaging. This is the second Penguin book I’ve been disappointed in recently, which gives me all the agita.
Audio Notes: Saskia Maarleveld is one of my favorite narrators, but even she seems uninspired by the story....more
Listened to 90 minutes and can't muster up much interest. Some of it is also written like romantic suspense, but it's not really romantic nor suspenseListened to 90 minutes and can't muster up much interest. Some of it is also written like romantic suspense, but it's not really romantic nor suspenseful--nor is it thrilling. (view spoiler)[Thanks to a friend's spoiler-tagged review, I'm aware she does not end up with him, but the fact remains their initial interactions felt very much like a romance novel. It's the blatant obviousness of the inner dialogue, physical cues, and conversations--at least with These Silent Woods, you were well into the story before all the romance focus happens. And obviously, I am not against romance or romantic suspense at all, but the right tone/balance has to be established and sustained. I don't like things which are a mish mash of a bunch of things with none of them done particularly well. (hide spoiler)] I guess the writing is decent, but it's also slooooooow. And it's writing for the sake of writing.
Had lukewarm feelings about the other book by this author I read last year (another one marketed as a thriller that really wasn't), so I think this is just not the author for me....more
The thing is, when you write a “literary mystery,” the literary part needs to be top notch. And the meandering tangents indulged in by the many uninteThe thing is, when you write a “literary mystery,” the literary part needs to be top notch. And the meandering tangents indulged in by the many uninteresting characters here and the painfully pedestrian details do not suffice.
DNF around 36%. I like Mara Wilson, but I also couldn’t take listening to any more of someone saying a long strings of “ats” for @s in relating a social media interaction. ...more
Wendy Darling
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