Personal rating: 3 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 3.56 Content Rating: PG-13 Trigger warnings: Racism, homophobia, brief mentions of abuse, recovering alcoholic and some relapse. Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen... Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy's funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don't understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that's almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend's memory. All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. (goodreads.com) Covering the cover: (Since I always like to talk about book covers, I decided to add a small dedicated section to it… it’s my blog, I do what I want.) There are actually two lovely covers for this book. Click here to see the other one. I like how much yellow is in the other design because yellow is a prominently featured color in this book, but I feel like the blue cover has a more “Iowan” vibe. Review: I have more positive feelings for this book than negative, but I’m not sure that I would say I liked it. It fascinated me at times, and I certainly read through it much faster than I was expecting for such a slow book, but I’m left feeling a touch disappointed in it. I think my biggest complaint with it was that it was far too long. I think about 100 pages could have been cut, honestly. There was a point when it felt like things were beginning to really wrap up, with just a few loose ends, but then… it didn’t. It just kept going. And going. And goooooing. The last 50 or so pages were good, I just think they could have happened much sooner. It was like the author realized too late into the story where she wanted things to go, but didn’t go back and tidy up the plotlines to get there. There was also a secondary romance plot that cropped up out of the blue. I wasn’t mad about it, exactly, but it was odd. And it detoured so far away from the main character, Sara, that I almost forgot she had problems of her own and that she was even in the story for a few chapters. All of that said, I can’t really claim that I disliked the book either. I think I really enjoyed reading it. It was cozy and borderline goofy. The characters of the small town were fun and reliably themselves, with small surprises here and there. I’ve read a few reviews of people saying they didn’t like the cast of small town characters and thought that they were flat and bland. I don’t think they were bland, I just think that their interesting features might have been too subtle. I think they played off of each other well and each had a distinct personality. In some ways, their interactions reminded me a little bit of the show Derry Girls; they all give off the appearance that they hate each other, but they actually couldn’t get along without one another. They’re all constantly annoyed with everyone, but would be deeply hurt if anyone left the group. The humor in The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is not as good as Derry Girls, so don’t expect to like this if you like that show, or vice versa. Some of the character interactions just remind me of it. The “book about books” feature of this story was fun. I’m a sucker for a small town bookshop story. Especially a bookshop in a town full of people who don’t like to read, but slowly come to enjoy it, or if not reading, they enjoy the bookshop itself. I was just talking to my friend the other day about how independent bookshops are such wonderful places. They always feel so safe. The shop in this story, and Sara as the shopkeeper, gave off that feeling of safety as well. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining that there are too many spoilers for other books within this book. I didn’t feel that way, personally. I feel that most of the books that are mentioned are so well known that most bookish people will know about the spoilers already. But, if you’re worried about accidentally learning a plot that you didn’t want to know, the author provides a convenient list in the back of all the books that are mentioned. It was funny to me that this book was set in small town Iowa in a county near where I live. The town of Broken Wheel does not exist, but there are rumors that it’s supposed to be West Branch. If it is, I don’t feel that it is a particularly accurate portrayal. Not that I know very much about West Branch, but I know there is a library. There are a bajillion tiny, run down towns in Iowa that I think fit the vibe of Broken Wheel so maybe it’s a conglomeration of a few of them. I think the author did a good job of capturing the feeling of rural Iowa in regards to the town set up. I could picture the kind of roads and the cornfields. The singular bar and questionable diner. The mainstreet lined with historic buildings that really could be so much more if only people had the money to make them into functioning businesses. There were a few aspects that I felt could have been more accurate. There probably should have been a Dollar General store as well as one random fast food joint like McDonalds. Maybe a Casey’s gas station, but that might be too classy for Broken Wheel… perhaps if they were closer to I80. Anyway, that’s probably enough rambling out of me. Soon this review will be as long as the book if I’m not careful. I’m still not sure whether I liked The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, but I don’t regret reading it (mostly because I was reading it for a book club I’m leading at work). I liked the writing and I agree with a review that I saw that said Katrina Bivald would make a good romance author. I would like to see her write an actual romance without the genre of “literary fiction” weighing it down. Since I’m not sure if I liked it, I don’t know that I can recommend it, but if you are in the mood for a long, rambling book about books and about Iowa, then this might be for you. Maybe? If you’ve read it, or plan to read it, or DNF’d it, let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear your thoughts! Well, I’m off to curl up with a good book! Thanks for reading this review! Hope to see you in the next one! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25573977-the-readers-of-broken-wheel-recommend
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Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 4.1 Stars Content Rating: R (for sexual scenes and language) Trigger Warnings: Dead parent, mentions of murder, brief mentions of child abuse, emotionally manipulative ex-boyfriend. Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead. When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father. For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it. Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is. Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories. (goodreads.com) I was astounded to find that I’ve actually read a book by this author before! Ashley Poston also wrote Geekerella, which is a fun, nerdy YA book that I wholeheartedly enjoyed back in 2018. I didn’t find this out until after I read this book, which was kind of nice because that means the book is good even without predetermined positive feelings for the author! Before we get into the review, let’s get this out of the way: Yes, this book had sexual scenes and sexual jokes. The jokes were sprinkled throughout, but not alarmingly abundant (just enough to let you know that this book is for grown ups). I was actually pleasantly surprised that the actual *spicy* scenes in the book were not as numerous as I thought they’d be. There were really only two major ones that I can recall and one of them was sort of fade-to-black. There was no important information in these scenes so they could just be skimmed through. Okay, that aside, I really did enjoy this novel! It went much deeper into exploring grief than I was expecting from a fluffy romance. It talked about family struggles, healing, honoring those who have passed, and enjoying life. Way more than I signed up for when I was told this was a fun romance about a ghost and an author, but I was okay with that. Speaking of ghosts… you may be wondering how this book can possibly have a happy ending if one of the main characters is dead. Well, I’m certainly not going to tell you. That would be a big ole spoiler. Just take my word for it, things work out. As far as the characters go, I liked ‘em all. Well, except for the ones the reader isn’t supposed to like. Florence, the MC, is a bit jaded, but still knows how to joke around. Her family is fun and felt realistic to me. The only character that I didn’t find particularly believable was Ben, the male lead. Don’t get me wrong, he was a likable character and I enjoyed reading about him. But something about him just did not feel realistic. He was honestly too good to be true. I’m not complaining about it, since this is a romance novel and I guess that’s kind of the point (I haven’t read enough adult romance novels to know if other male love interests are as “perfect” as Ben, and in all the YA romance novels I generally hate the boy characters). Like I said, I thought his character was great, just maybe a smidge too perfect. He almost didn’t feel human. But I guess he was a ghost, so that works out. The setting of a small town was lovely. The story takes place in spring, but since I’m more than ready for autumn, I imagined it to be during the fall, which was kind of fun. All together very cozy regardless of what season you read it in. Florence’s interactions with the ghosts of the town were generally sweet, or at least interesting. I almost wish the book had covered more of her being able to speak to ghosts. However, it was also really cool because it kept mentioning how Florence, with the help of a ghost, had solved a murder when she was a kid. It almost felt like this story was showing you what happens to the protagonist of a YA paranormal murder mystery book after she grows up. I don’t know that I’d recommend this book to everyone (particularly if you’re already struggling with grief or if you don’t like romance), but I read it very quickly and enjoyed it quite a bit more than I was expecting. Thanks for reading, I’m off to wander through a graveyard (for real, does anyone want to go walking through a cemetery with me?). Until next time! Cover image source: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58885776-the-dead-romantics Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 3.96 Stars Content Rating: Strong PG-13 (for alcohol consumption, language, and “fade to black” sexual content) When Japanese-American Izumi Tanaka learned her father was the Crown Prince of Japan, she became a princess overnight. Now, she’s overcome conniving cousins, salacious press, and an imperial scandal to finally find a place she belongs. She has a perfect bodyguard turned boyfriend. Her stinky dog, Tamagotchi, is living with her in Tokyo. Her parents have even rekindled their college romance and are engaged. A royal wedding is on the horizon! Izumi’s life is a Tokyo dream come true. Only... Her parents’ engagement hits a brick wall. The Imperial Household Council refuses to approve the marriage citing concerns about Izumi and her mother’s lack of pedigree. And on top of it all, her bodyguard turned boyfriend makes a shocking decision about their relationship. At the threat of everything falling apart, Izumi vows to do whatever it takes to help win over the council. Which means upping her newly acquired princess game. But at what cost? Izumi will do anything to help her parents achieve their happily ever after, but what if playing the perfect princess means sacrificing her own? Will she find a way to forge her own path and follow her heart? (goodreads.com) This is the sequel for Tokyo Ever After, which you may recall I read and reviewed last year. You can read that review here if you would like. Oh my goodness, this was such a fun read! The book I finished before this one (which I may or may not review, I haven’t decided yet) was such a long and arduous read with so much world-building jargon, that it was nice to read a fun, fluffy story. If I would have had the time, I probably could have read the entirety of this book in one afternoon. It’s a very quick and easy read, which was very much appreciated after the week I’ve had. This book takes off pretty close to where the first one left off, hopping right into the summer following Izumi’s graduation at the end of Tokyo Ever After. Right off the bat, it seems like things are going well. Her parents are engaged, she’s starting to get the hang of being a princess (minus a few blunders), and she and her boyfriend, Akio, are super duper in love. It’s great. Until it isn’t. Dun, dun DUUUUUNNNN. This is a minor spoiler, but it basically says it in the description anyway so I’m not going to worry too much about it: Akio breaks up with Izumi! He says it’s for the best because everyone, including the Imperial Household Council, thinks that he is not the right fit for a princess (since he’s a commoner, y’know, that old spiel). And then he runs off to flight school after throwing into effect one of my least favorite contemporary-romance-sequel tropes: The Unnecessary Break Up.
I don’t know why, but it seems like there are a ton of contemporary romances with sequels that involve the main couple splitting up for really stupid reasons. It particularly annoys me when the reason for the break up is something that they already resolved in the first book. So, I was super shocked, annoyed, and heartbroken when Akio pulled a “I’ve gotta go my own way” à la High School Musical 2. I’ll be honest, I briefly considered quitting the book right there, so annoyed was I. However, I decided that I liked Izumi and the whole princess storyline enough on its own to keep reading even after Akio abandoned ship. And I’m so glad I did because, gosh darn it, it was still such a fun read without that surly, brooding bodyguard boyfriend. In fact, after another character is introduced, it might have been even more fun without Akio! So, ha! Take that, you self-sacrificing galoot! The other character that was introduced is named Eriku and good golly, he was probably my favorite character for most of the book. He is introduced as, first Izumi’s tutor and then… she and he decide to fake-date to make both of their families happy and appeal to the Imperial Household Council. And the shenanigans they get up to are absolutely adorable. There were also some fantastic and fun gal pal bonding scenes in this book, both with Izumi’s old friends, and some unlikely new ones. One of the things I’ve found so entertaining with this duology, as well as with The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, is reading about people with remarkable wealth just doing super expensive things. In real life, absurdly rich people are… controversial and sometimes not the most ethical people in the world. I feel like watching real wealthy people do things like go to amazing theme parks, spend exorbitant amounts of money on clothes, or clear out a restaurant for private use, only sparks envy, annoyance, or self-righteousness. Reading about a fictional character experiencing those things, and sort of “going along for the ride” with those characters is so much more fun and guilt-free since it’s all made up anyway. On the whole, I was so happy with this book and all of the drama, fluff, and adventures in it. There was one thing that irritated me to the point of removing a star from what would have been a five star rating, but it’s a spoiler, so I will only discuss it in the spoiler section below. Basically, though, I’m in love with this series and the characters and I could probably read thirty more books about Izumi and not get bored. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fluffy romance (that isn’t very steamy), The Princess Diaries, or a bit of Japanese culture (again, I cannot attest to the accuracy of the cultural depictions in this book, but the author did say she did her research). If you would like to read my mini rant in the spoiler section, click the “Read More” button below. Thanks! Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Rating at time of review: 3.77 Stars Content Rating: PG-13 (for language) Chronic overachiever Prudence Barnett is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her. Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to mean gossips, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner. Quint is annoyingly cute and impressively noble, especially when it comes to his work with the rescue center for local sea animals. When Pru resigns herself to working at the rescue center for extra credit, she begins to uncover truths about baby otters, environmental upheaval, and romantic crossed signals—not necessarily in that order. Her newfound karmic insights reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed, love and hate . . . and fate. (goodreads.com) If you have read my reviews for very long, you are probably aware that Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors of all time. If you were not aware of that fact, just know that I am automatically suspicious of anyone who dislikes the Lunar Chronicles. Librarian diplomacy forces me to say that you are free to like what you like and dislike what you dislike, but I don’t know if we can ever really be friends if you actively dislike the Lunar Chronicles. Moving on. Since Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors, you may have two questions for me. 1. Corrie, why the heck did it take you so long to read this book that was released two years ago? 2. Corrie, why are you even bothering to review this since it’s a Marissa Meyer book and you obviously love it? To answer question one: Well, you know what, the past two years have been just a smidge wack-a-doodle and my reading habits, like everything else, have changed a bit. Also, even though I love this author, I don’t typically read contemporary romance, which may have somewhat deterred me when looking at this book. To answer question two: Hold your horses antsy pants, I promise this review is going to be more than me just gushing over a book I liked… though I can’t promise that there won’t be any fangirling at all. This is a Marissa Meyer book we’re talking about. When I started reading this book I was actually extremely disappointed. Shocking the entire world, including myself, I was not immediately drawn in. I think part of the problem was that I started reading in the winter and this is very much a summer book. The other major problem was that I could not stand the main character, Prudence. *dramatic gasp here* She is still probably my least favorite Marissa Meyer MC, but I did like her better by the end of the book. However, after several attempts at reading the first few chapters and not getting into it when I read this book in the winter. I decided to peace out and try again in the summertime. When I returned to Instant Karma in the warm opening days of this summer, I found it much more to my liking. There are some books that can be read no matter the weather, but I’ve found that with summer books, for me, it has to be summer when I’m reading them (otherwise I get extra sad when I look out the window and see Midwest winter slapping me in the face). I was still constantly annoyed with Prudence even if I was enjoying the book more. Her self-righteousness was so frustrating. I know she was supposed to be like that, because that was part of her character development arc, but goodness gracious she was irritating at the beginning. She was still sort of annoying at the end of the story, but it felt more manageable as a reader and she definitely had more redeeming qualities. Plus, it was nice that she wasn’t just a copy and paste of Meyer’s other characters, as some authors tend to do. Once I hit chapter 16 (they’re fairly short chapters) I was fully sucked into the book. I needed to know what was going to happen to the marine animal rescue center and what business tactics Prudence would try to save all of the adorable sea lions. Also, the romance in this book was so cute it made me want to scream for joy. Seriously though, is it any wonder I don’t want to get married when my expectations for relationships come from Marissa Meyer books? She has set the bar too high. No mortal man can compare. No romantic gestures will ever live up to the sweetness of fictional ones. I literally hugged the book when… well I can’t say what happened exactly because it’s a spoiler, but just know that it involved a Beatles song and it was freaking adorable. It was also semi-educational! Lots of interesting things about marine animals! And, though I am not a fan of the ocean, it did kind of make me want to go snorkeling. Not enough to actually do it, but the book made it sound nice. There was also a good message about environmental awareness which I appreciated. I’m a little disappointed that I live in a landlocked state and can’t organize a beach cleanup event. Maybe a river bank clean up event? Or maybe I’ll just keep picking up trash on my walk to work. It doesn’t really have the same flare, but it’ll have to do. Like most contemporary romances, there wasn’t really any intense sort of plot beyond saving the rescue center, but it was still a fun fluffy read. Very different from Marissa Meyer’s other books which all have intense, high stakes plotlines. This book featured just a dash of magic. Hardly enough to really be considered magic, but it was still there. Prudence is able to apply karma to people she sees doing wrong things. For instance, she sees a toddler smash someone else’s sandcastle and then THE TODDLER IS OBLITERATED BY COSMIC FORCES WHEN A HORRIFYING… beachball… FLIES FROM THE HEAVENS AND… bops him in the face. The “instant karma” that she deals out does create a few dilemmas and a bit of excitement, but you hardly even notice that she has the ability while reading. I almost forgot to mention it in this review, honestly. A fun plot device, but not actually a big part of the emotion of the story. While I started off disappointed and alarmed that I might not like a book written by one of the queens of YA writing, I ended up in a fit of happy giggles. My cat truly must think I am delusional when she sees me stare at paper for hours on end, laughing and yelling for no apparent reason. Bless that sweet kitty for putting up with me. If you are in the mood for a summer romance featuring adorable sea lions (definitely look at pictures of sea lions while reading this book) and just a pinch of magic, then this may be the book for you! It definitely got me out of my reading slump so expect more reviews soonish! Now, you must excuse me because I’m off to drool over the fact that Marissa Meyer has another book coming out this year (it’s called Cursed and it’s the sequel to Gilded, which I will be reading later this year, maybe even this summer yet, we’ll see). Thanks for reading! GIFs from giphy.com
Cover from goodreads.com Personal Rating: 3.5 stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 3.3 stars Content rating: PG-13 (for language, a bit of intense smooching, and dangerous actions) Annabelle’s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she’s writing a new novel—and Annabelle is the heroine. It turns out, Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her. But Annabelle doesn’t want to live a life where everything she does is already plotted out. Will she find a way to write her own story—or will Lucy Keating have the last word? (goodreads.com) This was an odd, but enjoyable book. I picked it up to read between books in a series that I’m reading right now. I just wanted something light and fairly contemporary to read in short bursts since the books in the series I’m reading are ones that you really have to sit down and focus on. This book has short chapters and there isn’t much to keep track of in the way of plot so it would have made a good “short bursts” read, except for the fact that it was nearly impossible to only read one chapter at a time. Even though I am not much of a contemporary-romance reader (although I’m not 100% sure this can be considered contemporary) this book really sucked me in and if I read one chapter then I immediately had to read another. The chapters are short and move the story along quickly. Despite not even liking the characters all that much, I ended up staying up way past my bedtime (on a work night!) to finish reading it. I don’t think I physically could have put it down at that point. And my cat did her best to make me stop reading to no avail. So, no it was not the best book I’ve ever read, but by golly it was enjoyable. The characters annoyed me most of the time, especially the MC, Annabelle, but I still really wanted to know what happened to everyone. One thing that kind of bothered me was the fact that the author made herself one of the characters, but kind of not, but also yes. Like, the author of this book is Lucy Keating, right? And then, in the story of the book, Annabelle meets an author called Lucy Keating who turns out to be sort of the antagonist god-like character in the story. And the facts given about Lucy Keating in the book are not true of IRL Lucy Keating as far as I can find (Book Keating has written many more books than IRL Keating). Obviously I do not know IRL Keating personally, but I feel like Book Keating could have just been an author character with a different name. It got very confusing to try and figure out if the fourth wall was being broken or simply bent a smidge. The romance in the story was cute if kinda meh. I wasn’t sure about how the love triangle was resolved, but I am no expert on matters like these and I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t tell you much about it. I did enjoy the writing tips sprinkled throughout the book. It was kind of fun because it gave you advice on writing a story while being about a girl struggling to “write her own story”. It felt similar to If Cats Disappeared from the World—a sci-fi that’s not really a sci-fi because it’s actually talking about something deeper, using the fantastical to speak about the everyday human experience. In this case, it was about how Annabelle usually had every moment of her life spelled out by schedules and planners and how it’s like she’s writing out her life and then someone actually starts writing her life and she has to figure out how to break free of that. So, it doesn’t focus on the crazy aspect of having an author control your actions so much as it is about breaking free of your set ways and being willing to make your own choices. And romance. It focused a lot on romance, which was not really anything like If Cats Disappeared from the World. If you are looking for a cute love triangle romance with some self-reflection stuff thrown in and just a taste of sci-fi/fantasy to top it all off, then this might be the book for you! As I’m not sure it is necessarily a “good” book, but I had fun reading it and I hope you do too if you decide to pick it up. Now, I’d better get back to corralling my own misbehaving fictitious characters (they’ve really gotten out of hand lately…). Thanks for reading, see you next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30653879-literally Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 4.04 Content Rating: PG-13 (for language and alcohol consumption) Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity… and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after? (goodreads.com) I want to preface this by saying that I’ve never been to Japan, nor have I studied much about Japan or the Japanese Imperial Family, so I’ll withhold comments about whether this is realistic or not. I mean, the whole idea of being a secret princess is pretty unrealistic, but my goodness it is fun to read about. I have heard others say that the cultural aspects are not entirely realistic (though the author does say she fact checked a few things with her Japanese friends), but since I don’t have any base knowledge I’m not going to be passing judgement on that aspect of the book. Moving on. Basically, the premise of this book is pretty much the same as The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, but not told in diary format and an Asian princess instead of a European one. Still in first person, but not written as a diary. I’ve never read The Princess Diaries (though now I sort of want to), but I did watch both movies (they are masterpieces and you can’t convince me otherwise, I mean, Stan Lee makes a cameo in the second one so how can you not love it, also Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Chris Pine… need I say more?). I’ve always loved the idea of finding out that you are royalty. Even though I went through a tomboy-not-like-other-girls-phase from preschool through most of highschool and claimed that I was uninterested in “girly” things, I have always loved, loved, loved a good princess story. I mean, being royalty sounds very cool despite the fact that I would probably run a country into the ground. Yeah, I’m not so good at politics. So if I were a princess, it would hopefully be of a figurehead monarchy. Since I adore princess stories, it was not difficult for me to fall in love with this one. Izumi, while a little annoying, was a fun character and I liked her and her friend group’s shenanigans. Also, there was a romance, which was very cheesy and totally insta-lovey, but still cute. And, of course, there was royal intrigue, fancy dresses, conniving cousins, etiquette lessons, tabloids, and all of the fun that comes with a book like this. This is exactly the light summer read that I needed and I am thrilled to hear that there will be a sequel sometime next year. Not so thrilled that I have to wait a whole year because I need to know what happens next. It wasn’t a cliffhanger ending, but it did feel somewhat abrupt and I want more as soon as possible. Thanks for reading this review! TTFN, I need to dust off my tiara. Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860605-tokyo-ever-after Personal Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.8 Stars Content Rating: Strong PG-13 Rowena Duncan is a thoroughly modern girl with big plans for her summer—until she catches her boyfriend making out with another girl. Heartbroken, she applies to an out-of-town job posting and finds herself somewhere she never expected: the Renaissance Faire. As a face-painter doubling as a serving wench, Ro is thrown headfirst into a vibrant community of artists and performers. She feels like a fish out of water until Will, a quick-witted whip cracker, takes her under his wing. Then there’s Christian, a blue-eyed stunt jouster who makes Ro weak in the knees. Soon, it’s not just her gown that’s tripping her up. Trading in the internet and electricity for stars and campfires was supposed to make life simpler, but Ro is finding that love is the ultimate complication. Can she let the past make way for her future? (goodreads.com) This is one of the books on my O.W.L.s TBR for this year and also a book that I thought sounded cute after I found it tucked back in the shelves of the library where I worked. The main reason I thought it sounded cute was the Renaissance Faire because. Though I’ve only ever been to a small local one, I love the Renaissance Faire. Seriously, if you’ve never been to one but you love history, or magic, or dressing up, or watching jousting, or eating food, you need to get yourself to the nearest Ren Faire as quickly as you can… provided we don’t all have to be quarantined for the rest of forever and ever. Anyway, I knew this book was a cheesy teen romance going into it, but I was still annoyed by the amount of smooching going on. And maybe it’s because I’ve never experienced any romance myself, but the amount of time the main character, Ro, spends thinking about boys seems unrealistic. Sure, she did spend a good deal of time thinking about her future career, how much she enjoyed art, and how neat the faire was, but I wish that there had been much less kissy-kissy-smooch-bleh stuff and more oh-my-gosh-it’s-the-Ren-Faire stuff. Or even more art stuff. Or thinking about what she wants to major in when she goes to college. I truly enjoyed those parts of the books—not that the romance wasn’t cute too, but there was just so much of it. To the surprise of no one, I loved the setting of the book. King Geoffrey’s Faire sounds like an exciting and joyful place that is on a much grander scale than the Ren Faire I’m used to. Of course, it would not be hard for such an event to be grander than my local “Renaissance Festival and Gathering o’ Celts”, which I’ve learned is rather small as far as this type of event goes. Anyway… I’d better not start talking about faires in general or we could be here all day. But King Geoffrey’s Faire was a really fun setting and I wish that the book had a map in it so I could get a better visual image of the grounds. Everything sounds so bright, colorful, and full of the unique magic of Ren Faires. Rowena “Ro” Duncan is the main character of this book and she has just split with her boyfriend because he cheated on her. That is the event that sparks her summer of working at King Geoffrey’s as a face painter. I enjoyed Ro’s journey through the summer and the rise of confidence that she has… even if it is totally overshadowed by her romantic adventures. I liked learning about her love of art and how she liked making kids at the faire happy. She was a little bit of a basic character, but still mostly relatable (though I can’t say I relate to accepting drinks from strangers at a mysterious bonfire in the woods). Then we have Suze, who is one of Ro’s good friends at the faire. Suze was supposed to be super likeable and a fun person and I think the author really pulled that off well. Suze, despite how flirty and suggestive she was, seems like a fun person to be friends with. She also helped Ro find her confidence, which was great. Christian is the “super hot” knight who works at the faire and who Ro becomes instantly infatuated with. He’s flirty and a smooth talker and not my favorite, but that’s all I’ll say about him. Will is fun. He’s Ro’s other faire bestie and he’s fun and sweet. Another genuinely likeable character who seemed very human. I’ve noticed that the author of this book did a very good job of fleshing out most of the center characters and making them fairly realistic and it was fun to read about them as if they were people I actually knew and can hang out with. I’m not sure if the reason I enjoyed this book so much was just because it was set in a Renaissance Faire and I wish I could have been in the book, or if it was actually a great book. There were plenty of things I disliked about it, like underage drinking and all these presumably college age dudes flirting with a highschool girl, but the fun happy parts generally outweighed the questionable parts. I don’t recommend this book to anyone who dislikes too much romance in their books, but if you don’t mind that or you enjoy it and you like Renaissance faires and festivals then this might be the story for you. Thanks for reading, I’m off to dust of my adventuring boots and my cloak! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17375024-my-faire-lady Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Rating (pre-release): 4.41 Stars Content Rating: Light R (for language) Trigger Warnings: Abusive parents, suicide is discussed and one of the character has panic attacks frequently. Jubilee has it all together. She’s an elite cellist, and when she’s not working in her stepmom’s indie comic shop, she’s prepping for the biggest audition of her life. Ridley is barely holding it together. His parents own the biggest comic-store chain in the country, and Ridley can’t stop disappointing them—that is, when they’re even paying attention. They meet one fateful night at a comic convention prom, and the two can’t help falling for each other. Too bad their parents are at each other’s throats every chance they get, making a relationship between them nearly impossible…unless they manage to keep it a secret. Then again, the feud between their families may be the least of their problems. As Ridley’s anxiety spirals, Jubilee tries to help but finds her focus torn between her fast-approaching audition and their intensifying relationship. What if love can’t conquer all? What if each of them needs more than the other can give? (goodreads.com) Before we get into this review, I want to mention that I won an ARC copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. So, thank you very much to Goodreads and whoever set up this giveaway! With that out of the way, I am wondering where to start with this review. I have so much I want to say about this book, but I can’t say everything on my mind because of spoilers. I think the thing I want to start off saying is that this book is so much more than your typical contemporary teen romance. Although to be fair, I don’t read a ton of contemporary teen romances so I might not be the best judge of that. But I think I can say that this is so much more than a romantic retelling of Romeo and Juliet. And maybe I’m just saying that because I love comic books and superheroes and this book makes many references to characters that I love, but it also deals with mental health issues, issues of abusive parents, and issues of identity. It touches on what makes healthy relationships and where relationships can go wrong. And yeah, it does have a couple of comic loving geeks in it and some sweet-sappy romance in it, but it’s also way more than that. I think I gave you too much information at once. Maybe I should have waited a little longer after reading it to write this, but I have so many thoughts on this book and I need to write them down while they are still fresh. Anyway, Verona Comics, as you might have figured out, is loosely based off of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (I don’t know why I put down “William Shakespeare’s”, we all know who wrote that stinking play). A boy who is the son of the guy who runs a giant comic book publishing company meets a girl who is the stepdaughter of a woman who runs an indie comic book store and they have feelings for each other, how could their families ever allow it?! Like I said, it is loosely based off of the whole star-crossed-lovers mess by Bill. The two MCs have the same first initials as Juliet and Romeo, and there are a few characters that I can see fitting as characters like the Nurse and Friar Laurence, and there are some similar plot points, but it is definitely its own story (thank goodness for that). Not that I don’t absolutely love the classic tragic play about two teenagers becoming infatuated with each other, causing a slew of deaths, and ultimately deciding that they cannot live if they can’t be together, but I don’t love it. It’s not my jam, but no offense to you if you love it, you can like what you like. I personally prefer this book, Verona Comics, about two teenagers falling in love and learning how to deal with depression and anxiety in both unhealthy and healthy ways and also learning how to love themselves along the way and making a ton of comic references. Okay, with that out of the way, let’s talk characters. First we have Jubilee. The synopsis of this book sort of made me think that Jubilee was going to be your average overachiever character who talks about “oh my gosh, I must be perfect or I will die and my whole life is focused on academics”, which she is occasionally. However, she is also open to trying to get out of her perfectionist bubble and living life a little, which I like. It makes her less robotic than I was expecting. And, unlike other characters who tend to be perfectionists, she doesn’t completely give up on her dreams. I also like how, even when she is rebelling a bit, she still respects her two moms and doesn’t go full on obnoxious brat. She could be an irritating character at some points, but she still felt authentic and relatable. Then there is Ridley. This poor boy needs all of the hugs. All of them. He is, in a nutshell, a mess. His parents are disgusting, he has no friends, he has to handle falling behind in school, and on top of everything else he also has depression and anxiety. As I said, he needs hugs and warm cookies. Now, maybe I read the synopsis wrong, but when it said he keeps disappointing his parents I was very much picturing a “bad boy” character who gets into trouble for fun and to get attention. I did not realize that by “disappointing his parents” the book meant his parents are stupid poopy brains who treat their son like dirt because of his mental health and the fact that he’s bisexual. Can someone please transport me into this book so that I can personally slap Ridley’s parents in the face? They deserve it because they make their son feel so terrible and when he tries to get help they make him feel worse and I would really like to punch them. Thank you. I may have derailed for a minute there. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, characters. The rest of the characters of this book are exciting, fun, fairly diverse, occasionally unrealistic, possibly have a tendency to lean toward the trope-y at times, but as a whole pretty likeable. Except, of course, Ridley’s parents. Now, I could probably say more about this book, but it is past my bedtime and I don’t want to spoil things for you if you decide to read it. So today we shall leave it at that. If you are interested in reading Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan its expected release date is April 21st, 2020. Well, I’m off to my local comic book store to browse (not really because they aren’t open this late), thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51901322-verona-comics?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=4wOMyeNgjW&rank=1 Personal Rating: 2.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.73 Stars Content Rating: PG-13 The face on the milk carton looks like an ordinary little girl: hair in tight pigtails, a dress with a narrow white collar, a three-year-old who was kidnapped more than twelve years ago from a shopping mall in New Jersey. As fifteen-year-old Janie Johnson stares at the milk carton, she feels overcome with shock. She knows that little girl is she. But how could it be true? Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, until she begins to piece together clues that don't make sense. Why are there no pictures of Janie before she was four? Her parents have always said they didn't have a camera. Now that explanation sounds feeble. Something is terribly wrong, and Janie is afraid to find out what happened more than twelve years ago. (goodreads.com) Sometimes I wonder why I keep reading books by Caroline B. Cooney. As you may recall, I read and reviewed her book Driver’s Ed and I wasn’t really a fan. I’ve also read her book, Twenty Pageants Later, which I liked but not enough to review, and another one of her books, The Stranger, which was a peculiar book. After reading The Stranger, I decided that Ms. Cooney’s books weren’t really worth my time and I decided not to read any more of them. I was through with them! Finito! But… then I found a beat up, ratty old copy of The Face on the Milk Carton and I had a friend who’d read it and said it was good and I knew that the copy would be recycled and torn up if no one took it and, and, and… I took it home and read it. To be fair, it really held my interest and I was hooked enough that I couldn’t put it down because I really wanted to find out what happened. However, I can’t say that I was on the edge of my seat. I was expecting this to be a bit more thrilling than it was. Sadly, while the premise was fantastic and the course the plot eventually took was interesting, it was so angsty! I’m fine with a little angst, normally, but throughout the whole book Janie was just so emotional. Okay, okay, she has good reason to be, but when the whole book is just chapters and chapters of teenagers and their feelings, it gets old fast. The angst is the main reason I swore off Caroline B. Cooney in the first place. All of the books I’ve read by her are filled with super dramatic teenagers. Much of the time the drama is well deserved when you think about the things these kids are dealing with, but I am just not the kind of person who wants to read about a character agonizing over every detail of something bad that happened. I do enough of that in my own life, thank you, I don’t really want to read about made up people doing it as well. Like I said, the plot was interesting enough when Janie wasn’t bawling and her boyfriend (whose name I have forgotten—maybe it was Rake?) wasn’t complaining that she wouldn’t sleep with him. There are six books in this series and I read two of them, which is more than enough to know I don’t really want to continue. Also, if some of the angstiness had been left out of both books then they could have easily been one book. I would have much, much preferred it that way, actually and it wouldn’t have interrupted the flow of the story at all. It might have toned down some of the drama, but I would have been a-okay with that. The characters weren’t great either. As I mentioned previously, Janie is crying half the time and feeling like she wants to cry the other half. I can relate to that, but geesh! It is not fun to read about. I believe I also mentioned that her boyfriend is an idiot. Rake or Rafe or Ron or whatever his name was, is nice much of the time, but there are several instances where it seems like he is only helping Janie because he thinks once they clear up all the mystery then she’ll sleep with him. Like, dude, I think she has waaaaaaaay bigger issues to deal with at the moment. Leave her alone, you poop. I honestly don’t remember much about any of the other characters and what I can remember, I can’t tell you because it’s a bit of a spoiler. And that’s really all I have to say about the book. I don’t know if I’ll ever read another book by Caroline B. Cooney. I keep finding really old beat up copies of her books. I found Twenty Pageants Later at a used book sale and I found The Stranger in a bag full of worn out old paperbacks with the cover barely hanging on and now The Face on the Milk Carton in some books that were donated to one of the libraries I work at. If I find another one I’ll let you know, because, for some reason, I can’t resist reading them. Until the next book! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19469.The_Face_on_the_Milk_Carton Personal Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.75 Stars Content Rating: PG-13 Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. Bored, lonely and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest: Surely a blue ribbon for the best quiche will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when Judge Cummings-Browne not only snubs her entry--but falls over dead! After her quiche's secret ingredient turns out to be poison, she must reveal the unsavory truth… Agatha has never baked a thing in her life! In fact, she bought her entry ready-made from an upper crust London quicherie. Grating on the nerves of several Carsely residents, she is soon receiving sinister notes. Has her cheating and meddling landed her in hot water, or are the threats related to the suspicious death? It may mean the difference between egg on her face and a coroner's tag on her toe… (goodreads.com) Confession time: I had no idea what this book was about (beyond a deadly quiche) when I picked it up. I came across it while shelving at the library where I work and I could not stop giggling for the rest of the day. I think the title is hilarious! That’s the sole reason I read it. I thought the title was fantastic. I still can’t help but smirk when I think of it… The Quiche of Death. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be like a pun like “the kiss of death” or if it is simply supposed to be a deadly quiche, but either way, I love it. This book is what we call a “cozy mystery” (the favored genre of mystery loving grannies everywhere). What’s the difference between a cozy mystery and a regular mystery novel? Well, regular mystery novels are usually more action-packed staring police officers or bounty hunters or private investigators or someone else qualified to be tracking down murderers. Cozy mysteries usually focus on someone who solves the case even though they probably shouldn’t be interfering. Cozy mysteries star anyone from old ladies with Sherlockian tendencies to cats. This kind of novel also frequently features baked goods, cats, or quaint shops on the cover and much of the time the titles are puns or a play on words (e.g. Twelve Slays of Christmas, Rest in Pizza, Crust No One, Fudge and Jury, Huckleberry Finished, For Whom the Bread Rolls, etc.). So, now that we all know what a cozy mystery is, let me tell you that I do not usually read them. I typically don’t read any mysteries, but I have read and enjoyed a few. I’ve never read a cozy mystery before this that I can remember. Part of the reason I read it might have been because I’d eaten quiche around the time that I saw it at the library (seriously, I went my whole life with out eating quiche and then I had both mini quiches and regular sized quiche from two different friends in one week). And even though I probably won’t be reading the rest of the series or any more cozy mysteries any time soon, I was glad that I read this one. The protagonist, Agatha Raisin, is not a very likable character and I don’t think she was intended to be. However, you can’t help but root for her and feel bad for her when she’s feeling lonely. She’s also fairly amusing in how she deals with people in her abrasive way and I had fun reading about a main character who just plows right into everything with little grace or cunning. The plot of the book was long, drawn out, and had way too many side adventures. There was one chapter where she just took these two random old people out of the town and the old people were really grouchy. I can’t remember if Agatha actually found out anything more about the case in that chapter or if she was just enduring the old people the whole time. And there were other chapters that were pointless but my cup of tea, like when Agatha arranged a charity auction with the local Ladies’ Society. Pretty much irrelevant, but something that I personally liked reading about. I don’t know if the long gaps between relevant information are something common to cozy mysteries, but it just seemed like there were too many filler chapters even though this is already a relatively short book. If this is a regular trait of cozy novels I probably won’t be reading many more any time soon, but I can see wanting to read one if I’ve been reading too many action books or something and need a break. Also while shelving at the library I discovered that there is a TV show that was made based off of the Agatha Raisin series. While I don’t think I’ll read any more of the books, I probably will give the show a try, just because I think I prefer watching mysteries to reading them in most cases. It seems that the pilot episode/movie covers the events of The Quiche of Death so I’ll probably start out with that and if I like how it is on screen then I might watch more. We’ll see! Do you ever read cozy mysteries? Are there any really good ones out there that I should know about and give a try? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading, but if you’ll excuse me I just left my poisonous quiche in the oven and it’s going to burn! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/139176.The_Quiche_of_Death |
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