I loved that this book explored social media addiction and the damage it can do. It reads like a Hallmark movie with the hip NYC influencer moving to I loved that this book explored social media addiction and the damage it can do. It reads like a Hallmark movie with the hip NYC influencer moving to a small town in Montana after a major downfall in her career/life. The setting was gorgeous and the characters were all so fun. There is a romance but it’s subtle and more the background story than the main. Also, how cute is this cover? ...more
This book took forever to get through, but it was worth it in the end. I laughed A LOT. I cried a little. Lydia and Joyce were so messed up from theirThis book took forever to get through, but it was worth it in the end. I laughed A LOT. I cried a little. Lydia and Joyce were so messed up from their childhood that I kept forgetting they weren’t teens/early twenties. They behaved like children and were so immature. Both of them honestly annoyed me, but once the backstory started flowing, I felt so bad for them.
I loved Alan. He played such a small role in the story but seemed to be a major influence Lydia and Joyce’s lives, even though they only knew him for a week.
I wanted more things tied up in the end, and I was left with more questions than answers, but overall it was a really good book. ...more
Okay so I read this entire book in a day. Coming in at a little over 200 pages, THE NIGHT ALWAYS COMES packs a huge punch. It was gripping and tense aOkay so I read this entire book in a day. Coming in at a little over 200 pages, THE NIGHT ALWAYS COMES packs a huge punch. It was gripping and tense and begs the question “what is the American dream?”
I am still working on my full review because there’s a lot to unpack and process. I was rooting for Lynette, who worked so hard to have so little and was gaslighted and taken advantage of at every turn.
What are we working toward? Are people who aren’t born with a leg up destined to be stuck in the same rut forever? And how far will we go to ensure stability? These are just some of the questions this book tackles. ...more
It took me a little bit to get into METROPOLIS, but once it got going I couldn’t stop turning the pages! Told through a few different characters havinIt took me a little bit to get into METROPOLIS, but once it got going I couldn’t stop turning the pages! Told through a few different characters having to do with the Metropolis Storage facility, this is a story of intersecting lives with a touch of mystery.
Some of the characters were hard to like and some were just so lovable. I liked getting their different viewpoints of each scenario that played out. There was some mystery as well, which added to the intrigue and it’s what kept me hooked.
There are a lot of social issues presented in the book, such as homelessness, deportation/ICE, and the advantages/disadvantages between social classes. It was so interesting to see how each character used their unit in the building and how they came to be there.
Serge is a character who will hold a special place in my heart. The reader doesn’t get to know him as much as you’d like, yet his story is the most intriguing and mysterious. I was a little teary-eyed for him by the end.
Ultimately this is one that’ll stick with you because there is a lot to digest and reflect on when you’ve finished....more
“Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”
WOW. What a phenomenal debut. This “Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”
WOW. What a phenomenal debut. This one hit me hard with so many emotions. I was left a bit breathless by the end.
First of all, there is an Octopus POV that was so refreshing and unique. I absolutely loved having Marcellus’s remarkably bright perspective and while I loved all of the characters, he was my favorite. He reminded me of that escaping octopus, Hank, from Finding Dory.
The close-knit small town setting was described perfectly with a sweet cast of characters. At first I was unsure how they’d all tie together but everything came full circle in the end.
As the reader, you know something that the other characters don’t, which made me want to binge read so that I could see their reactions. And as the secrets were revealed, it was so emotional and satisfying.
Marcellus and Tova had the sweetest friendship. The book is so beautifully written, and the relationships in the story pulled at my heartstrings.
This is definitely one I’d recommend. There’s a little something here for everyone....more
This just didn’t work for me at all. When Maddy stumbled upon the dying boy, I thought the book was going to be about trying to find his murderer, andThis just didn’t work for me at all. When Maddy stumbled upon the dying boy, I thought the book was going to be about trying to find his murderer, and while it was part of the story, his parents just made things weird. I didn’t understand why they kept insisting on getting to know Shane through Maddy when she told them many times she had never even met him. They were oddly fixated on her and trying to help her and I guess I was just left wondering what the point of the whole book was. The author did a great job of humanizing the homeless population, but the writing wasn’t great and the story was choppy.
While we got to know Maddy, the rest of the characters were very flat. We only saw them at the surface level. I feel there was a lot of potential here for a unique book on the homeless community, but it fell flat and never really got there for me....more
This was a cute book with a friends-to-lovers romance that had me cackling at times. I’ve never been a bridesmaid and I was a very relaxed bride, so tThis was a cute book with a friends-to-lovers romance that had me cackling at times. I’ve never been a bridesmaid and I was a very relaxed bride, so these women had me like WTF the whole time. It was honestly so frustrating to see Lily sit back and take a lot of the crap she did. The only bride that wasn’t completely awful was Madison.
I loved Lily. She was a great friend but I just wanted her to stand up for herself! Her blog posts had me dying laughing.
I wasn’t a huge fan of how some of the ending played out and how Lily was portrayed but after reading other reviews, I seem to be in the minority there....more
**spoiler alert** Oof. Okay. So, this one did not work for me.
The first few chapters had me intrigued, but it was all downhill from there. I think the**spoiler alert** Oof. Okay. So, this one did not work for me.
The first few chapters had me intrigued, but it was all downhill from there. I think there was just too much going on. If it had stuck to the fairy tale theme, I predict I would have ended up really enjoying this one. Unfortunately, the direction it took only resulted in confusion and some major eye rolls from me.
I honestly enjoyed Michael the best of all the characters. I liked the stories he told and the bits of his past that were revealed to the reader. In contrast, Heather completely annoyed me. She constantly made stupid decisions; she was clearly in danger and it irked me so bad that she wouldn’t tell anyone what was going on. There’s a serial killer on the loose, Heather. You could literally be murdered. And why on earth didn’t she confront Diane who stole her story out from under her and ruined her chances with Ben? ALSO - she literally stabbed a co-worker with a pen and all she got was fired?
I totally guessed that Michael was Heather’s father, which was actually a pretty cool twist but that was ruined pretty quickly by the twin reveal. It was SO cheesy to me that Lyle just kept screaming “I AM THE WOLF” over and over. I imagined a scary movie for kids - like Goosebumps or something. The ending was totally rushed and over the top, it killed any shred of interest I ever had while reading this book.
I also thought it was way too coincidental that Michael killed his mother (sister? mother? I was very confused by the incest reveal) and freed himself from the abuse only to be found/rescued by the creepy old man next door who ended up turning him into a killer. Come on!
Then we have the detective plot hole. Heather attempted to text him when she found out Nikki had been taken, so I kind of assumed that the message would go through and he’d show up and help save the day. But alas, we just never heard from him again. Kind of weird since he was a major player in the book, then after his last conversation with Heather at his apartment he was just gone from the book. Were we supposed to just forget he ever existed? He and Heather had a romance going on. What the heck!
Anyway, there wasn’t much to redeem this book for me. Unfortunately this was a case of the bad outweighing the good. I wish there had been more of the cult/commune and the fairy tales....more
I struggled to write this review because I’m finding it tough to put into words how I felt about this book. To be honest, I think my expectations wereI struggled to write this review because I’m finding it tough to put into words how I felt about this book. To be honest, I think my expectations were too high.
I went into this book thinking it was a survival story, and it was, but at the most basic level. The reader is told that Dave and Bella are surviving in their cave in the mountains, but we aren’t really shown much of the how. They hunt and fish but it just doesn’t give much detail as to their way of life up there. I think that part of the story had a lot of missed potential.
The parallel story about the Natives didn’t sit well with me. I felt that they were meant to be perceived as savages. And while their story brought a deeper level of survival, I didn’t understand why it was even included in the book. Bella “sees” these people and knows their stories, but how? Why? Does she see them in her dreams? Is it just something that pops into her mind while she’s out exploring? What did she learn from it? I kept waiting for the past and present to somehow connect to one another but they were literally just two separate books. No mention as to what Bella was meant to learn from this or why she specifically was the one to see them. It really should have been Dave seeing these visions (?). I mean, S’tka was brutally raped - why is Bella seeing this?
The dialogue was… odd. After about 100 times of seeing Dave call Bella “baby” I was cringing hard. Nadene’s death was totally glossed over. She died, Bella and Dave were sad so they just went off to the woods? They never talked about her. It was just really unrealistic. I understand that Dave had PTSD and some other issues from his service days, but he was failing his daughter big time.
Overall, this book just didn’t work for me. I rounded up to three stars because it was fast-paced and I was intrigued at first, but I feel the book just didn’t live up to its full potential....more
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