I really feel like this book skips scenes and doesn't always make the most amount of sense, but it was so much fun? So I really want to continue in thI really feel like this book skips scenes and doesn't always make the most amount of sense, but it was so much fun? So I really want to continue in the series despite spending a good bit of time wondering if I blinked and missed... well, a lot. That said, I've already picked up book two to the series so clearly it does enough right to keep me invested.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC....more
I made it about 70% through this book before deciding that it's just not for me. I think the main draw for me of this book was the comparison to GilmoI made it about 70% through this book before deciding that it's just not for me. I think the main draw for me of this book was the comparison to Gilmore Girls, but somehow instead of being cozy and soothing for me, which was the vibe I needed, it actually kept making me anxious because the family drama had me CONVINCED everything was about to go wildly wrong and also, I don't trust anyone in this book. My reading experience of this book is obviously personal to me, but I would say that I don't feel like this book lives up to the promise of a Gilmore Girls comparison. That said, I hope if you pick it up, you enjoy it more than I did!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC, though I attempted to read this via an audiobook that I purchased myself....more
First of all, shout out to Netgalley for the e and audio ARC copies of this book! I was really excited to receive it.
Not Your Crush's Cauldron by AprFirst of all, shout out to Netgalley for the e and audio ARC copies of this book! I was really excited to receive it.
Not Your Crush's Cauldron by April Asher follows Professor Olive Maxwell who has moved in with her bestie, Bax, because she was in a pretty sketchy roommate situation and her friends/family put their foot down that she was not to stay there. She's also trying to get a pretty big grant for this project promoting inter-species relationships. This project winds up pushing her outside of her comfort zone and Bax finds his friendship with Olive being tested as he's given a new work task as a guardian angel.
Things I liked about this book: I love books with a list of things to do/accomplish. I like the idea of pushing a character out of their comfort zone and I enjoyed the way that was done in this book. I liked the friendships and sister relationships in this book and in the series as a whole.
But, here's the thing. As a lover of friends to lovers romances, I really feel like I should have connected to this romance more. And sometimes there were snippets of the dynamic that I wanted, but other times I just sort of wanted to scream. The problem is that there is an element of deception here and I struggle with deception at the best of times, but it's really difficult for me to reckon with when it's taking place with a friends to lovers romance and it specifically impacts the other character. So, all in all, although this book had a lot of great personal development and the relationships between the friends was great, I wound up not loving it as much as I wanted to. Also, though, why does Bax, an actual angel, call Olive angel as his term of endearment? That made no sense to me and I really hated it.
Anyway, if you've liked the other books in the series, I would still recommend this one, but if you haven't, definitely don't jump in here....more
The Witch is Back was a pretty quick read for me, but still one that I think had some pacing issues in the middle. It is one of the rare books where tThe Witch is Back was a pretty quick read for me, but still one that I think had some pacing issues in the middle. It is one of the rare books where the characters are keeping huge secrets from one another that didn't lead me to an immediate desire to DNF because too often I hate when characters do that. Essentially, this book follows a witch who has a terrible mother who has moved to Chicago and opened a bar where she works with a mundane and a fellow witch. She and her childhood best friend/ex-fiancé haven't spoken in YEARS when suddenly he shows up and oopsies, he needs her to marry him. Then a whole lot of mystery and shenanigans spiral from there.
The beginning was quickly paced and engaging and the end was quick. In the middle, there was a lot of good and then a lot of just... too much. There is actually just a lot of plot in this book and I'm not sure if it's that it got too inflated or if the pacing and my mood just weren't working. But ultimately, for me, I thought this book was just a little bit too long. Regardless, I enjoyed the ride and think it's quite likely that I'll pick up the next in the series as I'm hopeful that the next book will improve.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC! (I actually read this via audio from Hoopla.)...more
I cannot stop thinking about this book. Initially I gave it a four because I have some questions about the way this book is structured because it doesI cannot stop thinking about this book. Initially I gave it a four because I have some questions about the way this book is structured because it doesn't really seem to contain a full romantic ARC, so are we having a trilogy where there will be two romances that carry us the whole way through? Or was I meant to be satisfied with where we left this romantic relationship and it will be the side story of the next book? Questions like this aren't necessary for me to have the answers to, but in the initial aftermath, it did affect my rating. And then days and weeks passed and I realized that I've thought about this book basically every single day. All the time. So clearly this book is a five star.
When Nora Roberts wants you to feel the atmosphere of a place, she will absolutely make sure that you do. At first, this book starts out in Boston with Sonya finding out that her fiancé is cheating on her with her cousin. Disrespectful, that one. Anyway, she kicks him out and keeps trucking along at work, despite the fact that they work for the same company, until one day she finds out that she has inherited a house in Maine. A mansion, more specifically. Eventually, turns out the house is haunted. And from there, things just really take off. Roberts builds out a cast of characters that has me so utterly captivated and really, just, didn't ever want to stop listening. This audiobook is really well done, btw. Especially because the beginning is a little slow. But did it stop me from loving it desperately? Nope. And now I need book two. Like immediately.
Oh, and thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC and the audio copy! I am extremely grateful because otherwise I probably would have put off reading this for way too long and instead, I've devoured this book in a day....more
Objectively, I feel like this book was great. But for some reason, it just wasn't quite everything for me. That said, I think at some point, I'll re-rObjectively, I feel like this book was great. But for some reason, it just wasn't quite everything for me. That said, I think at some point, I'll re-read it because I really loved Poston's writing. ...more
You know, even though the world building is completely ridiculous in this series, I really love that it is at least internally consistently strange. IYou know, even though the world building is completely ridiculous in this series, I really love that it is at least internally consistently strange. I really enjoy the world Asher has created and I'm loving all of these characters. I can't wait to read book three in the series.
Not Your Ex's Hexes is about Rose, who spent her whole life training to be the Prima and now that she no longer has to fulfill that role, she's trying to figure out what exactly it is that she DOES want. What is it that she finds fulfilling? And the thing is, Rose doesn't know that. But I really loved watching her sort of figure that out, even if I think that thread got lost a bit toward the end. Anyway, part of the journey of figuring herself out leads to her being thrown together with Damian Adams, whom she had an explosive one night stand with as well. The two of them have great chemistry, but he is so... buttoned up, honestly, that it winds up being really fun watching him slowly come undone. There are so many hijinks in this book that the plot sort of takes over the characters at times, but in a way that was largely really enjoyable.
I liked both the audiobook and the physical format of reading this book and would recommend either option! Thanks to Netgalley for the e and audio ARCs....more
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc though I read this via an audiobook I purchased myself.
Witchful Thinking is a small town romance bThanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc though I read this via an audiobook I purchased myself.
Witchful Thinking is a small town romance between a witch and a merman who had a connection back in high school, but ultimately nothing ever came from it. Now, Alex (merman) is back in town and his parents have gifted the world-traveling, no roots to put down merman with a house. And Lucy (witch) is feeling like her stable life is a little too stable. She doesn't feel like her life is exciting enough in comparison to that of her school mates. Lucy, her sisters, and a cousin do a wish spell during which time Lucy wishes to live a more exciting life and seems to find herself incapable of saying no for a bit. Plus, she accidentally sent out a class notes update spicing up her life, just a bit.
I will begin by acknowledging that I probably read this at not the best time to read it because I am very sick and my reading comprehension may be compromised. However, ultimately, I felt like this book was good, but paced slightly awkwardly and I never fully understood Alex and his lack of desire to be tied down. It just didn't feel developed in a way that made me understand the initial reticence or how he just sort of got over it. Overall, I mostly felt like Lucy was fully developed and Alex was given a couple of personality traits but never became a full person. So I had a good time, but wasn't able to fully sink into the story or really fall in love with the characters. That said, I am definitely looking forward to returning to Freya Grove because I am intrigued by the rest of the Calloway women! ...more
So, maybe it wasn't the best idea to read Boss Witch right after reading Witch Please because it made certain character traits of Danica and Clem readSo, maybe it wasn't the best idea to read Boss Witch right after reading Witch Please because it made certain character traits of Danica and Clem read completely different and I'm still struggling with how to really interpret that. On the one hand, excellent characterization because are we not all the Main Character in our own story and therefore inclined to see things from only our perspective? On the other hand, it's really hard to read book one where Clem seems so driven and focused on... Her idea of right vs. wrong, I suppose, and she comes across as harsh and unsupportive. Then in Boss Witch she doesn't really ever seem to reckon fully with that interpretation of her actions and almost doubles down, aside from when she has this two sentence realization that maybe grandma's thoughts and indoctrination had more of an impact on her than she realized. And so in Boss Witch we see Danica being careless and thoughtless about many of her actions, which makes sense from Clem's point of view, but is sort of hard to read about because you can't then see her grow because her book is already over. And obviously, people don't end a book and go from messy to perfect, but it's just sort of disconcerting.
Also, maybe the entirety of the above paragraph is not something that is actually that important to you or to the story and I can certainly see why it wouldn't bother anyone else besides me, so let's talk about some of the other aspects of Boss Witch. So, as indicated by the set up of this book in Witch Please, a witch hunter has come to town and he's clearly going to be Clem's love interest in Boss Witch. And in fact, we pick up a little back in time from where Witch Please ends and spend about half of the book covering the period of time we saw glimpses of in Witch Please. I don't always love books that cover similar ground as the prior book in the series, so that could have been part of my issue here. But I think more than that, it's the fact that this deception paired with the fact that (at least theoretically) a witch hunter is trying to, you know, HUNT witches and a witch is falling for him, should be a little more angsty than this was? I'm not sure I can really explain how I wish that this book had handled that plot line better, but for me, it just didn't quite give me the feelings I was hoping and thought that it would.
Turning now to the audio narration because I was lucky enough to receive an advanced listening copy via Netgalley... I liked the narration for this book a lot! I think I would have been tempted to DNF actually if I hadn't been listening to it, but it was a good time and it made me accomplish a lot of chores and just kept me company on a Saturday. So I would recommend picking up the audio if you're going to read this book!
And again, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio review copy!...more
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