I loved the slow burn in this one, though it at times had a very measured pace and I wanted things to go a tad faster, I still loved every moment. I wI loved the slow burn in this one, though it at times had a very measured pace and I wanted things to go a tad faster, I still loved every moment. I would say that the blurb doesn't do the story justice because it opens with Leovander Loveage's scriving small magics while Sebastian Grimm is a strong caster. It seems to suggest the story is about a rivalry over skills, but really Leo is a hot mess who is self destructive and impulsive and can't seem to stop provoking his school's stoic Golden Boy. Their types of magic and how they are perceived by the school is part of it. Another part is that Leo is something of a "spoiled rich kid" and Grimm is not, and they just don't really know each other and think they have the other figured out.
What I wish the blurb focussed on more than their personality clash is Leo getting hit by a "compulsion" spell by Grimm. They get partnered for a class and the wrong spell is used. Obeying commands is just the beginning, the spell gets stronger over time. They have to work together, hide this from everyone (it's forbidden magic) and try to reverse the curse. All while not being each other's favorite person.
I liked both the character and world building here. They were both thoughtfully done. I loved the take on magic with casters versus scriveners, and on the wild magic woods that they only seek to keep separate from regular people but don't try to destroy (because magic will disappear if you do that), and I loved the monsters in the wood which were both scary and cute somehow. Leo's own special magic that somehow worked with music was fascinating. And I enjoyed how flawed Leo was, and how he would jump to conclusions and then act out, how he and Grimm would clash and not understand each other. The way their relationship evolved over time fed into my own preferences for slow burn where you feel that real time has passed and it has happened organically.
And that ending...Yes it is one where we get a conclusion about the curse, but the romance hasn't reached a conclusion. And yet. Because the story gets into the theory of the curse earlier, that then gives us some clues about the romance at the end of this book if you are paying attention.
This is the first book in a trilogy and I don't know if I can stand the wait for two more books because that ending has tantalizing possibilities and I really want to know what happens next. I am rooting for these two fools!...more
Cute in a wholesome way with a handyman who does acts of kindness and who the heroine first "meets" via notes on her car, but the heroine's grandmotheCute in a wholesome way with a handyman who does acts of kindness and who the heroine first "meets" via notes on her car, but the heroine's grandmother is dying and she has to watch, so I was also gutted by that in between the sweet gestures and communication. I would have skipped this one had I known (too close to home). I want more escapism in my romance...
Also there was some odd humor here (Grandma's death bed confession and pep talk) and I was confused about the colors of the tools being green flags or not. I think they meant to refer to certain brands but then didn't want to use the brand names? But then the tool colors could refer to multiple brands...eh there was something not well thought out there.
Lastly, don't think this writing style is for me. There's something about it that I find bland....more
Started out interesting and had all the SF stuff I like (cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic world, scrappy quick-thinking heroine), but once the world buildiStarted out interesting and had all the SF stuff I like (cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic world, scrappy quick-thinking heroine), but once the world building is established the plot had that irritating thing YA seems to do nowadays, which is throw in twist after twist after twist, like the reader is incapable of paying attention unless something sparkly and new is going on. But it had the opposite effect because I got bored of the non-stop action and reveals, particularly towards the end. The last 100 pages felt like a slog. I would have much rather had breathing room for deeper characterization and introspection. It's too bad, because I did like the messages about technology, large corporations with little oversight, and how loyalty from employees is eventually "rewarded". And I think the Romance had potential but it never went past a shallow starting point and then we're told that there are feelings. In reality, Ryder and Sil hardly know each other and have shared a few intense experiences with a common goal, but they are not fully honest with each other and hardly share personal details. In fact, because of all the twists thrown into the story, the writing flip-flops at the end on whether they two are heading towards HEA or just HFN, so the Romance is weakened by those twists. ...more
I love this one. Practically a 5 star read for me but there are a couple of bits I found a bit contrived and it started a bit underwhemingly with the I love this one. Practically a 5 star read for me but there are a couple of bits I found a bit contrived and it started a bit underwhemingly with the emails (really got more interesting once we're out of the emails and into regular prose) so it is 4.5 stars?
Like I said, this starts off with "C" (a guy in high school) emailing "T" by mistake (a girl two years younger) instead of a teacher because of a typo. It just so happens to be Valentine's Day, T helps C figure out the right email address, mentions this is the only time they got a note from a guy on Valentine's Day and thus begins a tradition in which they email each other on Valentine's Day but not the rest of the year (have to suspend disbelief that neither forgets by more than a day about their pen pal on Valentine's). Initially they are very short emails and they don't share personal details but as time goes by they reveal what has happened in their lives from year to year, whether they're single that year or not, how school and college and family is doing, and then YEARS have passed and they discuss meeting but sometimes the time isn't right. And then...a lovely secret identity thing sort of happens and there's a really lovely get together.
Initially I had to go back and reread the emails a couple of times to get it into my head that C is the guy, T is the girl, it kept floating out of my head. And when C becomes unveiled and no longer a faceless dude behind some emails and we get a description of him and a fuller idea of his personality he's like a perfect unicorn with only T's best interests at heart. But I loved it and I loved how he and T finally ended up together. I also enjoyed that while this was a short story it spanned years and there's a sense of time passing and feelings growing so by the time they do get together I'm happy about it and it didn't feel like insta-lust/love. Also I'm glad that when T is 14, C is 16 there is not much there and things don't start getting vaguely interested for a few more years, when both are out of high school and in college. At first it's more of a friendly exchange.
P.S. There aren't any sex scenes, it happens off page and is referred to. I was fine with that but saw some reviewers who were not....more
2.5 stars. I think I liked the first 3rd of this book (the set up for the story and where I thought this might be more serious then it ended up being)2.5 stars. I think I liked the first 3rd of this book (the set up for the story and where I thought this might be more serious then it ended up being) but then after that this had a tendency to drag while also feeling not very deep.
It has some silly bits like a lot of casual mention of horses before Bianca inadvertently turns her new husband Aric into a horse, and Bianca's sister's insane approach to magic (which she does illegally it seems but just gets away with it?), but at the same time the romance gets very earnest as does Bianca's thoughts about her responsibilities and shortcomings. There are a lot of repetitive thoughts / conversations (Bianca's introspection on her weaknesses, Aric's similar feelings about his weaknesses, Bianca's worries about her friends), and the romance started off as a potential slow burn, but the story didn't live up to that promise -- Bianca and Aric seem to notice each other's attractiveness often and are in love within 2 days of their adventure together.
The plot is very simple, I wish it was more complicated. And the plot holes are just casually pointed out: yeah it doesn't make sense that the protection talisman turns an attacker into a huge horse that could trample you, yeah earlier we didn't use this secret passageway because so-and-so didn't trust you (but they showed you other secret passageways instead)......more
3.5 stars. Not sure why this was marketed as "low stakes", maybe to get on the "cozy fantasy" bandwagon? While the stakes are not world saving, it is 3.5 stars. Not sure why this was marketed as "low stakes", maybe to get on the "cozy fantasy" bandwagon? While the stakes are not world saving, it is about saving a family, or "House" in this world, which felt like "regular stakes" to me.
The Jay's are a family in the wool trade who have a generational business that has hit on hard times. Mattinesh Jay is responsible for the business (his father is guild master and can't run it as it seems to be a conflict of interest) and despite his carefulness and hard work, the family has had to cut back and are very close to losing both their business and (it is implied) their House status. Matti has negotiated a marriage with the prosperous Cooper House to reverse his family's dwindling fortunes, but another man wants his bride-to-be Sofia Cooper, and will certainly contest the marriage with a duel. So Matti has to hire a best man who can fight off the contender at the wedding. He ends up hiring Luca Piere, a swordsman and conman with secrets, and they of course fall for one another at the worst time.
Unlike some reviewers I enjoyed the details in the world building here, the idea of the Guilds and Gods that oversee each Guild, the Houses and the un-Named, the politics and the details of the business were interesting. I liked some of the side characters like the Jay family, who may not have been on the page long but felt like we got very good characterisations despite that.
I also liked the initial meetings between Matti and Lucas and their mutual fascinations with one another. It did lean on the side of insta-lust, but it was written well, more on the side of two people physically aware of one another and anticipatory than anything else.
I think where the book loses points is in the pacing and the relationship development after the initial meetings. It takes a long time to understand why Luca is in Matti's city and why he ran away there, and it takes a long time to unravel that there are people actively trying to ruin the Jay family and to find out how. But worse: I just don't feel as invested in Luca and Matti together because their relationship is 90% based on mutual attraction and it felt like little else. Their differences that balance each other (responsible and stoic and flighty and impulsive) and their small commonalities were not enough for me. There was eventually a lot of sex, but I found myself drifting off and having to reread what I just read, despite its spicy-ness. The ending was satisfying, but not as much as I'd have liked (and would have been if I was more invested in the HEA by that point)....more
It was mostly OK (the Romance goes from bickering to they secretly have feelings really quick), but certain side characters (Monica, Brandi, Derek's GIt was mostly OK (the Romance goes from bickering to they secretly have feelings really quick), but certain side characters (Monica, Brandi, Derek's Grandma) were well written and there's something dynamic about the writing that keeps you reading.
This is told from the POV of Derek and Ashtyn. Derek gets expelled from boarding school, and since his dad is on a submarine, he has no choice but to move with his stepmom from San Diego to Chicago. His stepmom, Brandi, is pregnant and wants to live with her family, one she left when she was a teen. Ashtyn is Brandi's younger sister, and all she cares about is football. She was just made captain of her school's team but she's dealing with a quarterback boyfriend who was passed over for captain and who is acting weird about it, on top of everything else.
Predictably Derek and Ashtyn's paths cross a lot since they're living in the same house for the summer. There's a lot of butting of heads and bravado while also oogling one another's bodies, denial about feelings, angst about feelings, more things that throw them together, almost-kisses, kisses, almost-more, and so on and so forth till they capitulate.
There are some parts that feel very one dimensional -- like Ashtyn's boyfriend who is written as a very fragile male ego, who somehow has sway with other "bros". And there are plot points that don't seem to go anywhere or feel very fleshed out, like Ashtyn's dad being checked out with his daughters, and Brandi leaving her childhood home and not returning or communicating till now, Fremont and Fairview having a prank war that starts but is not really mentioned again. Not to mention the missing parents everywhere. Much is made of their hang ups (Ashtyn's feeling like everyone leaves her and Derek's feelings of guilt over his mom's death) are big parts of the relationship angst but then the way they're resolved feels very ... convenient and like a movie and not very realistic.
It does FEEL very YA (I suppose on the older spectrum because there are more mature themes) and the emotions of it are compelling, so I was able to read this fairly quickly....more
3.75? This one is a little different from previous books in that it's a Romance but also it's a fictional biography. Hayden and Alice are two rival wr3.75? This one is a little different from previous books in that it's a Romance but also it's a fictional biography. Hayden and Alice are two rival writers who have a month of meetings with Margaret Ives, an infamous heiress, and at the end of the month she will pick one to write her biography.
Standoffish Hayden and sunshiny Alice end up having good chemistry, but maybe it's a relationship doomed to fail when the other is between them and their dreams.
This read somewhat as a mystery, switching between Alice and Hayden in the now, and Margaret Ives' storytelling as she explains the history of her family, all the way to her great grandparents, but always keeping something to herself. She seems to have had a life in the public eye and I couldn't help comparing her and her family stories with that of Patty Hearst, Elvis, Princess Diana, Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr, to name a few.
I enjoyed the romance bits, but the story within the story, the past informing on the present, all of that felt like an experiment that was interesting, but maybe a little heavy handed. I don't know how I feel about the secret Margaret was keeping and her reasons for her plan. It was convoluted and not a twist. But as usual I loved the character development here, particularly Alice's, and I loved how she slowly got to understand Hayden.
As usual the writing itself is lovely. The words are like art. So even with a plot that has me a little underwhelmed, the writing itself bumps it up a star....more
I enjoyed this : another 3rd person POV story that acts like another epilogue to the original trilogy (what happens next as everyone enjoys their HEA)I enjoyed this : another 3rd person POV story that acts like another epilogue to the original trilogy (what happens next as everyone enjoys their HEA), but it is linked with In Arcadia so I recommend reading pretty much all the books before this one before diving into it.
This is from the POV of new-ish characters at the edge of the Devlin clans orbit. It was delightful to figure out who they were and where they fit in so I won't go into more as it's half the fun of the story.
But! This feels like the start of a story and I wish this was expanded into a novella instead of ending where it did. I had questions that don't get answered, plus there is the hint of a possible romance, but I guess we may never know, unless another book in this world comes out...more
3.5 stars. A change from the rest of the Touchstone series as it is no longer in Cass's diary entry format and instead is in third person, and the POV3.5 stars. A change from the rest of the Touchstone series as it is no longer in Cass's diary entry format and instead is in third person, and the POV is of Laura, Cass's mother. I thought the sibling jokes between Laura and her sister Sue were fun, and the personalities of different characters shone through. A lot of Slice of life scenes as Cass's family continues to live and enjoy their lives in Muina and Laura settles into her role as grandmother and new immigrant.
What I really liked was that the romance included an explanation from Gidds Selkie's point of view which in turn gave me some insight into Sight Sight and Cass and Kaoren's romance (I need the closure!). In fact it made me like this romance almost more (but the yearning and slow burn from Cass's side was wonderful).
I think this could be a standalone as the story attempts to give some background as you read, but it really should be read after books 1-3 at least. And it also sets up the short story, Snow Day (book 6)....more
Quite a nice cozy fantasy. I actually ended up liking this more than I expected to because there are a few nuggets in there that delighted me: small wQuite a nice cozy fantasy. I actually ended up liking this more than I expected to because there are a few nuggets in there that delighted me: small wisdoms, a couple of jokes that startled laughs out of me, doses of emotion. I feel like this is a warm hug and a pep talk.
I also felt quite satisfied by the ending! We get a GOOD (happy) ending and epilogue where we find out what everyone plans to do and there are a couple of bonuses.
Will write more when I'm not about to fall asleep...more
I feel bad that I didn't like this more. The highlights were the get together events and the last 10 pages (where it feels like we finally might get sI feel bad that I didn't like this more. The highlights were the get together events and the last 10 pages (where it feels like we finally might get some insight into Kaoren's feelings and why he liked Cass in the first place? plus some final wrap ups on the Earth gate). But the rest was ...kids kids kids, everyone getting kids, kids adjusting, and all sorts of stuff around the kids. It was a LOT for me personally. And usually I like the epilogues where everyone is happy and has kids, this was just so many pages of it.
I still don't get why Siame is jealous of Cass either. It's weird....more
I feel like this third book suffers from pacing issues. I was very into this story and got halfway through this book at a happy clip, but the plot focI feel like this third book suffers from pacing issues. I was very into this story and got halfway through this book at a happy clip, but the plot focus went from the Mystery of the past to Cass' relationship getting even more serious, so serious that they adopted kids together and I started to keep looking how much further the end was. It's page after page about the kids, their schooling, and Cass being continuously tested and getting put into medical but not really doing anything very interesting. Pandora and other cities are progressing, but it felt like there was a lot of family time focus and Cass getting sick a million times. There is a big storyline about Ruuel's sister and her not liking Cass and it seemed to go nowhere.
The final "fight" was a confusing thing that happened in 2-3 pages and it felt something of a letdown after all the build up. In the end I felt like some ruthless edits to combine books 2 and 3 would have helped.
I was holding out hope we would get more of Kaoron/Ruuel's POV about their romance especially with Cass reading her diary entries to him, but we don't. I am still mystified why he suddenly seemed to like Cass. All we know is when he started to feel something...but why? No clue. It is lovely how devoted he is now, but it feels like it just happened out of the blue!?...more
4.5 stars. I'm just tearing through this series. It does feel like Cass is Special and gets all kinds of powers and yet I'm all right with that becaus4.5 stars. I'm just tearing through this series. It does feel like Cass is Special and gets all kinds of powers and yet I'm all right with that because it's done in a way that doesn't annoy. And the Romance : all from her POV and the guy is the efficient, limited words type. I wish we knew his side more because it does feel: ⁉️ when things progress, but I was so vested because she was. Her POV was very well done, the crushing and obsessing without feeling like she was being an emotional teenager about it. It was all very sensible even in the face of the strong feelings....more
Australian school girl wonders through a wormhole/gate to another world on her usual walk home, gets rescued by space ninjas, writes all about in her Australian school girl wonders through a wormhole/gate to another world on her usual walk home, gets rescued by space ninjas, writes all about in her her diary.
I'm so interested in what is going on! Fully invested in the mystery of Cassandra's abilities and the whole fish out of water aspects of this. The alien(?) civilizations and worlds that exist between gates and the different abilities of the Taren people, it's all fascinating. All while Cass nurses a crush and tries to be sensible about everything that happens to her. Including the indignity of being treated as less-than because she doesn't speak the local language, know their culture or history, and is considered a "stray". It's all very well thought out. I immediately want to read the second book too and am cursing that I'm on vacation and it is at home....more
I like the premise of this (hit man and his mark go on the run together; the fall in love) but I think there's a lot going on with the plot (so many pI like the premise of this (hit man and his mark go on the run together; the fall in love) but I think there's a lot going on with the plot (so many people after them for all kinds of reasons and it gets to be a lot in this medium), and the romance seems a little abrupt. I suspect the book goes a lot deeper and this works better as a companion to the book.
But it isn't BAD. The art is very good. I think I wanted more romance and less twisty plot....more
I liked this one and it started strong, but some parts were too cozy (and I kept putting it down, especially when I could sense something was going toI liked this one and it started strong, but some parts were too cozy (and I kept putting it down, especially when I could sense something was going to go bad near the last 150 pages) but I finally got through that and it ended strong as well. I'd like to read more in this world, I seem to have jumped into this world mid-series because there's a duology that is set before this, but this still works as a standalone within a larger interconnected series I think....more