Book Review

Thoughts on SHRINK SOLVES MURDER

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? It’s actually Monday as I’m writing this because my new wheelchair is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, so I probably won’t feel like writing a blog post. But! It means you can expect an update on the saga next week. I’m still waiting on Medicaid to review my renewal paperwork. That’s about it besides the low level terror of the administration and living in Texas and how they all feel about cripples. But, anyway. It’s the last Wednesday of July, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I stuck within my cozy mystery comfort zone. Shrink Solves Murder by Philippa Perry was released by Crown Publishing on the 28th. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Shrink Solves Murder follows Patricia Phillips, a psychotherapist and woman of a certain age. She’s set in her ways. She has issues with her daughter, relationships, and isn’t likely to win Miss Congeniality even if her life depended on it. But at least she’s good at her job. Right? When a client shows up dead in a prime suicide spot and the police rule the death just that, Pat wonders just how wrong she could have been about the young man’s state of mind. Was she wrong at all or is something more sinister going on? Since the police have no interest in finding the truth, Pat will do it herself.

Plot: pretty standard. Pat wrangles her bestie (Pritchard) into helping her solve what may or may not be a murder. It’s a small English village (think Midsomer Murders, but on the seaside). People get up to all kinds of things from the mundane to the kinky. Everyone kind of seems to hate each other but can’t stand it when anyone seems to hate them. It’s the type of book where everyone is too obvious to be the murderer, so when they’re revealed it’s one of those “who? Oh, that one who was mentioned once 200 pages ago” moments. They actually show up a couple of times, but still. Same feeling. There’s no real romantic entanglement, not even a hint at one. But there’s a random growth arc with her daughter. To be honest, it wasn’t very memorable as far as cozy mysteries go, but it wasn’t bad at all. I quite enjoyed it as I was reading it.

Characters: interesting for the most part. Pat definitely feels like a self-insert. I wouldn’t call her a Mary Sue per se because she’s not young and perfect and all that. But it definitely feels like the author writing a story with some part of herself as the main character. Pat’s still an interesting character, though. Love Pritchard, but I want to know more about him. He has potential. I just felt he was still cookie-cutter quirky friend. I could do without the DS. She’s lazy and doesn’t do her job and only wants to fool around with her boyfriend. She did nothing for the book. The rest of the characters were flat. But if you read the acknowledgments, you’ll see that most of the characters are literally named after the author’s friends. It was a bit cringe to be honest. Made the whole thing feel a little like middle school besties writing stories for each other.

Writing: fine. There wasn’t anything wrong with the writing. It was just fine. But I fully admit that the title annoys me. I guess they were going for news headline speak, but I still hate it. If the blurb hadn’t interested me, I would’ve skipped it.

Ultimately, I found Shrink Solves Murder okay. It wasn’t bad. The characters could go either way if there are future books. If I end up liking them, I might read past book two. But I probably will pick up a second book at least.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. A solid 3. There’s potential, but I’m not quite sure if it could support a series. If you like seaside English villages, give it a try.

Thoughts on ISIS OF EGYPT: GODDESS OF THRONES

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are usual. Quiet with a constant undercurrent of terror. I’m still playing the waiting game. But we’re not here for any of that. It’s the last Wednesday of June, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I decided to go with an Egyptian mythology retelling. I knew the very basics going in, but it’s not a mythology I’ve looked into much, so I was just along for the ride. Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones by Malayna Evans was released yesterday (the 23rd) from Alcove Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones follows the goddess Isis from birth throughout many of her greatest challenges. It’s not easy being the power behind the throne of the gods, but someone has to find and manipulate the right gods into power. But what happens when her beloved husband is kidnapped after years of peace and prosperity? The goddess abandons everything to search for him, letting chaos reign in her absence. Will her journey bring her husband back to her? Will she be able to end the chaos when she returns? Only time will tell.

Plot: it’s the tale of Isis. I didn’t know much going in, so I’m trusting the author (who has a Ph.D in Egyptian history) to know her stuff. The setting and story were lovely. I enjoyed how much page time went to the minor gods and goddesses. The pacing was pretty good, though a couple of spots lagged. I’m gathering those were the areas that the lore didn’t really cover, because it was mostly filler. But I learned a lot and had fun doing it. My only complaint would be the attempt to make Set sympathetic at the end. The entire book basically highlights what an asshole he was, then when he gets his ass kicked, we’re suddenly supposed to feel bad for him because he had crappy role models? Nah. He’s quite literally the personification of chaos. Just let him be the asshole.

Characters: mostly likeable/understandable. For a book told in close third person, most of the characters are surprisingly fleshed out. Except Osiris. He was basically perfect in Iris’s eyes, which was annoying. Also, apparently there’s a lot of incest in Egyptian mythology. It’s weird. But at least they don’t deny it/skip over it like some mythologies (looking at you Christianity). However, Isis and her siblings are gods, so I guess that’s what makes it okay. I don’t know. I spent far too long trying to convince myself it wasn’t icky, but never quite succeeded.

Writing: kind of preachy. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the ideas in this book, but everything was so overexplained that it quickly became too much. It was written in more of a memoir style than as a novel, so most of it is Isis telling us the lessons we should learn rather than showing us. Yes, we get it. Stop beating the horse. It’s already dead.

Ultimately, I had mixed feelings about Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones. I really enjoyed learning about Egyptian mythology. The plot and characters were good for the most part. The writing was lacking. It was a solid look into Isis if you’re interested in Egyptian mythology.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Actually, a solid 3.5, but rounded up because I didn’t feel a 3 was fair. I enjoyed it well enough and think it’s worth a look if you don’t mind something that overexplains everything.

Thoughts on MISSED CONNECTIONS

~ shawnaborman ~ 9 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here have been lazy. No wheelchair saga updates for at least a couple of weeks. Everything is waiting for approval from Medicare/Medicaid, which they say usually takes two to three weeks. In my experience, it takes longer. So, we’ve officially hit the hurry up and wait portion of our journey. But that’s okay, because it’s the last Wednesday of May! You know what that means. Book review time! This month, I decided to try something a little more “literary” than usual. I guess you’d call it women’s fiction with a tinge of magical realism. Missed Connections by Aimie K. Runyan was released yesterday (the 26th) from Harper Muse. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Missed Connections follows Sabrina Sorensen who heads home for the holidays and her sister’s engagement party after a poor job interview. She’s been fired from her posh GM job at a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris, which has derailed all of her plans and dreams. She’s 37, jobless, and has no personal life to speak of. A spat with her mother sends her running to the airport with nowhere to go. A fairy godmother-esque ticket agent saves the day by letting Sabrina visit anywhen (yup, time travel!) in her life to see what kind of things would change if she had chosen different paths.

Plot: not bad, but could have been better. She has the option to go back to any point in her life and relive it. For some reason, she decides to go back (multiple times!) to try to fix dudes who were complete assholes. Come on. You’re telling me this daddy’s girl chose an ex over going back to have one more conversation with her dead dad? Yes, it’s established that she can’t save him, but she could have made time to go home once before he died just to say goodbye. Not making time to go home before his death was one of her biggest regrets and she chose to work on relationships that didn’t deserve a second thought instead? I call bullshit. But for what it was, the plot was fine.

Characters: Sabrina was fleshed out pretty well. The two exes were complete douchenozzles who didn’t deserve anything from her and the fact that she couldn’t see that even in hindsight was very weird to me. Even when they were painted as “nice guys,” there were huge red flags everywhere. Her mother wasn’t fleshed out very well at all, so their relationship felt more toxic than I think it was supposed to. Mom deserved no contact from all of her children if she was even half as bad as she was made out to be. Nikolai was too perfect. No one else got enough page time to really pop.

Writing: weirdly technical. I learned more more about back and front of house roles in fine dining than I ever wanted to know. Personally, I enjoyed that aspect of the book, but it does slow things down a bit.

Ultimately, Missed Connections was yet another book where I loved the premise, but didn’t care for the execution. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel realistic to me. I just didn’t believe the choices Sabrina made. They didn’t match her character.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. A solid 3. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. If it intrigues you, give it a shot. If not, pass.

Thoughts on A MURDER MOST CAMP

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely last Wednesday of April? Things here are okay. I’ll do a wheelchair saga update next week. Dad’s okay. Just keeping busy. Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of April, so you know what that means! Book review time. A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio was released yesterday (the 28th) from Poisoned Pen Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

A Murder Most Camp follows Mikey Hartford IV, the child (almost 30-year-old manchild) of a grocery chain empire who has done very little with his life outside of being the stereotypical rich kid. This all changes when daddy dearest changes the conditions of access to his trust. Mikey gets shipped off to a summer camp in the hopes that helping kids and being in nature will bring out his good side. Throw in solving a 13 year old murder with a bunch of tweens and falling for a “regular” guy, and maybe Mikey can change.

Plot: meh. I really wanted to like this one more than I did. The murder mystery part was beyond slow, mostly because there weren’t many suspects and it was super obvious that three out of four weren’t the baddie. It just really dragged. The romance was slightly better, but not much. It was a bit abrupt. There was also family stuff that drove the story more than anything. That was okay. But mostly, the book mostly felt like a shrine to ’90’s movie references. Mikey endlessly references Clueless and other movies that are older than him like they came out in his teens or something. At least pick references for things that would have been pivotal in his time. Or scale back on the references. Maybe one a chapter instead of five per page. It just made the book feel dated instead of cute.

Characters: pretty flat for the most part. Mikey gets a lot of development, but it feels forced. It’s like the author is trying to convince the reader that Mikey is a good person instead of letting the story show us that. There’s so much telling rather than showing. It’s like the author doesn’t trust the reader to see the character growth. It’s annoying. None of the other characters really get enough page time to come into their own, so they’re all a bit flat.

Writing: the best part. Other than copious amounts of movie references, the writing was smooth. It was a quick and easy read. Something good for a day at the beach or a rainy day in.

Ultimately, I was disappointed in A Murder Most Camp. It was mediocre at best. I think I was just hoping for more than I should have. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Probably a little over 2.5 anyway. If you’re looking for an uncomplicated, mindless read to get you through a weekend trip or something, this is a good choice. Otherwise, give it a miss.

Thoughts on A FIELD GUIDE TO MURDER

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely last Wednesday of January? There is so much to scream into the void about, but I’m going to push it down and focus on the book review. That’s right! It’s book review time! This month, I went with a cozy mystery. A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen was released yesterday (the 27th) from Crooked Lane Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

A Field Guide to Murder follows Harry, who has recently fractured his hip and believes his globetrotting life is behind him, and Emma, his caregiver who is trying to get Harry back into the world while avoiding her own problems. When a neighbor calls him during her death throes, Harry finds life in trying to solve her (maybe) murder. Emma gets dragged along for the ride until she realizes she’s finding herself as well. Can they help each other find renewed purposes for their lives? Can they solve the case?

Plot: enjoyable. I’m growing fond of stories that follow people post-retirement. Harry is an older gentlemen and Emma becomes like a second daughter to him. Found family! The mystery part of the plot is standard, but with little twists that make it fun. An upscale gated neighborhood basically (not sure if it’s actually gated or just has that feel) where everyone knows each other and it turns out most of them are shady. One of them dies mysteriously. Drama is revealed. Plus Emma’s drama. It’s all woven together pretty well for the most part. No real complaints here.

Characters: there are too many. This is my only real complaint about this book. There are far too many named characters that don’t really need to exist. It happens a lot when stories are weak, so the author throws in a bunch of names to confuse the reader in an attempt to hide what’s happening. I hate it, especially when it isn’t needed. This story is strong. We don’t need to meet every single neighbor. I knew who the bad guy was, but I kept confusing another name with his, so it was super weird. There are like 12 neighbors plus Emma’s family and Harry’s family and his acquaintances. Oh, and the police officers. It was an unnecessary amount. That said, I loved Harry and Emma. There wasn’t enough page time to get to know everyone else properly.

Writing: smooth. There wasn’t anything particularly special about the writing. It was unobtrusive and let the story shine. Made for a quick, smooth read.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed A Field Guide to Murder. Aside from the annoying amount of characters, I liked this one. I’ll definitely pick up book two if there is one.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I do recommend it for anyone who loves cozy mysteries, older protagonists, or even just found family stories.

Thoughts on THE BOOK OF AUTUMN

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Dad got a new phone because he decided it would be fun to tumble into the pond with his old one in his pocket. That damn water hose just snaked out and grabbed him by the ankle. Splash. He’s fine. Fish are fine. Dogs just sat there and laughed at him. Lost about 4 years worth of pictures, but apparently everything else was backed up. Otherwise, life is still going. Today is the last Wednesday of October, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I went with a dark fantasy in the hopes of getting some spooky vibes. The Book of Autumn by Molly O’Sullivan was released yesterday (the 28th) by Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

The Book of Autumn follows Marcella Gibbons as she returns to her alma mater, a school of magic deep in the New Mexico deserts, to help solve a brutal murder and eerie magical plight. She must delve into her troubled past to save the life of another troubled young woman and perhaps the entire school. But can she get out of the shadow of her dimidium, the other half of her magical soul, long enough to shine on her own?

Plot and pacing. The plot has a lot of potential, but in actuality, it’s super muddy and makes very little sense. There’s no real reason why Cella and Max are even needed. No one cooperates with them. They both blatantly ignore obvious clues for no reason other than to drag the story out. There’s this whole thing with mushrooms that never really comes to anything. It’s just a confusing mess and everything is crammed into the last 20% of the book, which makes the first 80% of the book useless. It’s far too drawn out and the ending ends up being confusing and jarring. It’s just not executed well at all.

The characters. They’re all selfish and deliberately ignorant. The only one with any sense is Luce and that’s not saying much. None of them know how to have a conversation, which would solve so many issues right up front. These are supposed to be adults, but they all act like they’re 12. I just really hate stupid people. I really wanted to DNF this one because of them, but I pushed through.

The writing. So, this book was supposed to mimic an academic paper with footnotes and references and everything, but it didn’t work for me. Most of the footnotes just felt like stuff the author was told to cut and decided to sneak it back in under the guise of academia. It should’ve stayed cut or been blended back into the story itself. Beyond that, pretty much the only redeeming feature of this book was the descriptions. The New Mexico setting sounded beautiful.

Ultimately, I really didn’t like The Book of Autumn. It sounds like a great story, but missed every mark. I’m trying really hard to think of nice or at least constructive things to say. Nothing is coming, so this review will have to stay short.

Overall, I gave it 1 out of 5 stars. I struggled really hard to get through this one and just can’t bring myself to recommend it.

Thoughts on R.A.T.S: REVOLUTIONARY ARMY OF TEENS

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this first day of October? Things here are the same. Just waiting to find out if I’m still cripple enough for Medicaid if they ever do anything. Anyway, as you can see from the post’s title, this is going to be a book review! That book that was supposed to come out in June was finally released, so I’m going to go ahead and review it. R.A.T.S: Revolutionary Army of Teens by Claudia Daher was released on September 25th from Vanguard Press (an imprint of Pegasus Publishers). Rachel Lachney from Books Forward reached out to me about reviewing it. As usual, this is an honest and unbiased review. I will say that the ARC I received was from way back in March and I have no idea if any major edits have taken place since then or not. So, take this review with a grain of salt just in case I didn’t have the most recent version. Here we go.

R.A.T.S: Revolutionary Army of Teens follows a number of young people from all over the world, mainly David, as they become immersed in a video game about saving the world from climate change and an alien threat. When they find out the game isn’t just a game, but based on a real and imminent disaster, they take it upon themselves to use the training provided in the game to go save the world.

The age range of the kids has this book straddling middle grade and young adult, but it definitely reads on the younger end of middle grade. It’s an over-simplification of climate change and some other complicated issues that encourages kids to think about these things and try to work together on potential solutions. I like that part. In today’s world, adults (at least where I’m from) can’t even agree that basic access to affordable food and healthcare are rights, not luxuries. They certainly aren’t going to fix anything as complex as climate change. So, the premise of this book is great.

The actual plot, though. Meh. A lot of it reads like a C.S. Lewis book. Thinly veiled Christianity. The good aliens are beings of light and warmth who never interfere with a human’s free will, etc. While the bad aliens are beings of darkness and greed who destroy everything they touch, but they happen to be descendants of evil, lying, sinning humans. There’s also a random scene with a lion and a lamb, just in case everything else was too subtle. Oh, and David’s basically Jesus for reasons I won’t spoil, but which are glaringly obvious. Now, I’m not saying this is an inherently bad thing. I do think it will confuse the crap out of Republicans. “Must ban because climate change doesn’t exist, but it’s thinly veiled Christian stuff…” -internal meltdown-. I find that hilarious. I’m just saying, I’m not into books that try so hard to be religious and cover it up at the same time. So, it ruined an otherwise decent plot for me.

The characters are all pretty much perfect, except for the bad aliens and random young Texans. This is not a good thing, especially in a middle grade book. There are no flaws for young readers to relate to, no room for growth. Literally the only character growth in this book is when one of the Texans decides not to be a dick any more. Otherwise, everyone makes all the right choices at all the right times. There’s no tension. No internal conflict. Everyone is just perfect and it’s boring.

Side note: the dialogue is pretty standard if somewhat stilted, except for the Texans. They talk like some combination of the Beverly Hillbillies and every cliché Western movie. I’m not entirely sure if it was supposed to be insulting (if so, fair) or if that’s how the author actually thinks people talk here. It’s just weird that they’re the only ones who get lines that sound like “I done jumped ’bout as high as an armadilly what got it’s tail-end tickled with a feather” (not a quote, just my own example). I mean… why?

The writing was fairly unobtrusive. It flowed and made for a quick read. There are also pictures drawn by the author throughout the book, which was lovely.

Ultimately, I thought the premise of R.A.T.S: Revolutionary Army of Teens was great, but I was not a fan of the execution. Most of my dislike was a me problem. Personally, I just felt it could’ve been better.

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One because it was written and published and one because I know other people will like it more than I did. If you’re a fan of thinly veiled Bible retellings, you’ll probably like it a lot more than I did. If you’re a fan of middle grade sci-fi or have kids who are, check it out.

Thoughts on EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS FOR AMATEUR WITCHES

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are about the same. Still waiting. Still tired. Anyway, it’s not time for random complaints. It’s the last Wednesday of September, so it’s book review time! This month, I went for some fluffy, gay fantasy. I didn’t realize it was actually the second book in a loosely connected series when I requested it, but it stands fairly well on it’s own. I just hate reading things out of order because if I do go back to the first book, it’s spoiled. But I digress. Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches by Kayla Cottingham was released by Delacorte Press on the 23rd (yesterday). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches follows Kieran, who is currently reeling from a series of unfortunate events, as he accidentally curses his (on a break) boyfriend and sets off on an impossible task to fix it. The task? Finding a panacea (cure all) which may or may not exist. To make matters worse, this quest is also his Calling, the test of his own choosing that the Witch’s Council will use to determine whether or not he keeps his magic. Why did he choose something so difficult? But at least he gets to go adventuring with old friends and even a new one. Why does the new one have to be so attractive, though? Kieran has no idea what he’s doing. Hopefully, he can figure it out before everything falls apart.

The plot. It’s cute and predictable. The romance is a little too slow burn for me, but it’s adorable. The main part of the story is broken down into three tasks, then the culmination and climax. I went right through the first two tasks, but by the third one, I had a little trouble continuing. It was just so clear what was going to happen that I lost a little interest. The climax was also super disappointing. This is supposed to be all about Kieran growing and becoming the hero, but when it comes to the final boss (if you’ll excuse the video game reference), someone else takes care of everything while he cries over his inability to save someone. It felt lazy.

The characters. I loved most of the characters. Especially Kieran and Sebastian. Seaweed was my favorite, of course. I thought Ash was an asshole and not worth all the angst, but maybe if I had read the first book, I’d feel different. If he was even in it. There was also a baddie who shows up for like five pages that was useless. They were supposed to be this formidable opponent, but the way they showed up and disappeared was weak. They were literally used to make Kieran freak out about the fact that Sebastian had dated before, then thrown back into the ether like they had never existed. They could’ve been a much larger part of the story. Adelaide also feels completely random, but I’m almost positive that’s because I didn’t read the first book where she seems to play a big role.

The writing was good. There was nothing mind blowing about it, but it flowed nicely and made for an easy read.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the first half or so of Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches, then got bored with it. I seriously thought about going back and reading the first book, but this book basically spoils the whole thing, so I probably won’t.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It wasn’t bad per se, it just wasn’t for me. If you enjoy super light gay fluff fantasy, check it out. But there are a lot of better ones out there.

Quick Thoughts on THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

~ shawnaborman ~ 1 Comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m fine, just annoyed. On Friday, the Medicaid people sent one of their fearmongering letters saying they never received my renewal application (the one that was sent July 17th that they confirmed they got when I called on August 4th just to make sure they got it) and if I didn’t submit everything within 5 days, I’d be booted off. Five days and it’s a freaking 3 day weekend. So, I called on Friday and was told they had everything except the signature page, please just send that ASAP. Sent it right away. Called Tuesday to confirm they received it. They did. Everything is under review and now I get to keep waiting. They don’t have any ridiculous deadlines with serious threats to get back to me, though. Like, why can’t I get a response in 5 days or they lose their insurance? Anyway. It’s late, so I figured I’d give you a brief review of The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J. R. Dawson since I finished it! Why a quick one? Because I’m biased and therefore don’t give full reviews on books by friends.

Plot: it’s a take on Orpheus, but it’s kind of like there are three very different versions of the myth happening at once. Charlie and Sam, Nera and Charlie, and the Keeper and the thing in the dark. All three storylines have echoes of Orpheus and Eurydice in them, which is cool. Plus, there are doggies! So many puppers to cuddle. That alone makes this a great book in my opinion.

Characters: love, love, love Nera. Especially at the end when she has grown strong enough to put her own needs first instead of trying to cater to everyone else. Charlie is a lot, but given what she’s been through, that’s to be expected. All of the older people suck, but I think they’re supposed to. If they were well-adjusted individuals with healthy coping strategies, chances are Nera and Charlie would have those traits, then there wouldn’t be a story. The doggos are still the bestest part of the book!

Writing: the flow is really nice and I love how the remnants sections break things up. They provide a respite from the heaviness that comes with stories about grief and loss.

Overall, I gave The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World 5 out of 5 stars. Definitely recommend it if you’re into Greek mythology, enjoy stories about the journey through grief, or just REALLY like dogs like me.

Thoughts on LOVE’S A WITCH

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? We have tomatoes (Sweeties and Black Krims)! Yummy. Be jealous. We also have jalapeños that are good too. But mostly yay for tomatoes! Anyway, we’re not here to talk about yummy goodness. It’s the last Wednesday of August, so we’re (you and I, not the royal we) here for the book review. This month, I went for a witchy little romance. Not like an epic, sweeping romantasy. Just a cute sounding little romance with fantasy elements. It’s the first book in the Scottish Charms series. Love’s a Witch by Tricia O’Malley was released yesterday (the 26th) from Gallery Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. So, let’s get to it.

Love’s a Witch follows the MacGregor sisters as they move back home to Briarhaven in Scotland to try to break the curse that’s been on their family for centuries. Sloane, the oldest, is so used to playing mother hen to her sisters that she’s having trouble acknowledging that they’re all young women now. She’s also struggling with the fact that she’s coming into her magic as her 25th birthday looms. Throwing in a pushy hottie hellbent on running them out of town before their curse quite literally destroys everything, and Sloane can’t get much more stressed. Can they stop the curse and save themselves from a nomadic existence? If they do, does Sloane even want to settle down? Maybe with a certain pushy hottie?

The plot. I love the plot. The whole idea of trying to break the curse because they want a place to call home without having to move all the time. There’s enough family drama introduced to keep the future books connected to this one. I didn’t even mind the enemies-to-lovers trope (it’s not my favorite, but I try to give it a chance). It’s interesting and fun, but I have to be honest… the pacing sucks. There’s lots of talk about breaking the curse, but none of the sisters actually do anything about it. All the information just kind of falls into their laps. They don’t do any research or anything. Hell, when they find out the name of the woman who cursed their family, they don’t even bother asking around about her to try to find her descendants. Everything gets done for them, which makes any step forward unsatisfying. Plus, everything is crammed into the end of the book. It’s not balanced at all.

The characters. I’m going to preface this by saying that I don’t have to like the main characters in order to like a book. That being said, I absolutely hated Sloane and Knox. I don’t give a fuck how hot a dude is. If he comes to my house, drags my bags out into the snow, and tells me I have to leave without so much as a “hey, what brings you to town?”, then proceeds to have the townsfolk bully and blackball me and my family when we don’t leave, the dude’s irredeemable. No way I’d talk to him, let alone have sex with him. And his whole background is supposed to make me sympathetic to him, but it only emphasizes the fact that he’s just a giant walking red flag with too much money and zero communication skills. Sloane’s not much better when it comes to communication. And even though she supposedly took care of her sisters, it’s like she still expects everything remotely difficult to be done for her and if it isn’t, she threatens to run away. They’re both annoying and I hate them. Luckily, the side characters were all wonderful and did a lot of heavy lifting in this story.

The writing itself was fine. Nice description and dialogue. The steamy scenes were disappointingly short, but I guess that’s more realistic than most scenes like that.

Ultimately, I was just kind of meh about Love’s a Witch. I enjoyed the plot and side characters enough that I will check out book 2, especially if it switches to Lyra as the main character as I’m guessing it will since she comes into her magic next.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Not a must-read, but if you enjoy little witchy romances, it’s an okay read. Hopefully the next one is better.