nclcaitlin's reviews
1731 reviews

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

2.25

Not sure if I read interpreted this the same as others… 

Divorced, depressed, and grieving her cat’s death, Phoebe has booked the hotel room to end her life, but her plan is derailed by a bubbly (and delusionally out-of-touch) bride-to-be, Lila.

Every single character in this book was unlikable. And annoying. And also felt like stereotypes. Is that the point of the book?

The situation with her ex-husband and his new wife is crazy. The affair, Mia, thinks she isn’t to blame at all. In fact, it is Phoebe’s fault for the failing marriage. Not her husband’s for cheating on her, not Mia for enabling it and cheating on her own husband. 

It’s always a risk to balance humour with really hard-hitting topics like depression, suicide, infertility. This one didn’t quite work for me. The humour felt way too light and glib for the conversations. 

Haha, oh no I can’t kill myself without room service!! 

Hahah, can you not kill yourself until after my wedding please??

You honestly expect me to believe that people go on vacations without making a spreadsheet of fun first?

I ended up not finishing at 68% after being told by my buddy reading partner that it never got better. As we discussed it, I out forward my prediction of the twist and I was right. It was what I had been expecting from the start.

All in all, I am not blown away.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

3.5

Five years ago there was a murder in a small Texas town. Lucy is found stumbling out from the woods covered in blood and cuts shortly after her best friend Savvy was found murdered.  Thing is, Lucy can't remember a thing!

Years later, a crime podcast tries to uncover the truth, and the lies….

Lucy had such a strong and distinct voice. Her internal dialogue had me giggling. She was so compelling m, even if it turned out she had committed the murder, I was convinced she would probably have had a good reason. 

And people hate that quality in a young woman, don’t they? They don’t know what to do with a girl who isn’t looking for their approval. They feel like they have to bring her down a peg

Lucy’s grandmother was also a delight. In a town full of people who hate Lucy and are all gossiping backstabbers, her grandmother is a matchmaker, day drinker, and the most sarcastic, strong willed old lady ever!

I definitely recommend the audiobook! I don’t think this would be nearly as enjoyable reading it what with the podcast format and the incredible narration!

I would recommend this if you enjoyed books such as None of the is True and A Good Girls Guide to Murder. 

Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan

3.25

The lowest rated Wheel of Time book.

Crossroads of Tedious Descriptions.

The prologue alone is 94 pages and Jordan takes 12 pages to walk from a room to the kitchens…. 

I am not ashamed to admit I sped through this book by skimming the many, many descriptions. 

We rejoin Mat after he freed the damane and his journey with the unplanned kidnapped Tuon, the Daughter of the Nine Moons and his prophesied wife-to-be. The only thing that keeps him from bawling is that it seems his luck is still with him. 

Perrin is bereft without Falie, 22 days after she was first captured by the Shaido. 

A hammer had to be used with care, and he was working a forge where one slip would tear the heart out of his chest.

Elayne is being coddled and mothered by everyone since news of her pregnancy has spread. She continues to try and consolidate her claim. 

Her and Aviendha’s relationship is so cute to read! Yes, I am using the word cute to describe Aviendha!

It still icks me that three incredible women are resigned, if not elated, to be sharing Rand with others. 

The White Tower continues to spin webs, the Ajahs spins webs, and even individual sisters spun webs. Now they also have to deal with Black Ajah and the splintering of the Tower. 

“And don't disturb us unless the city is under attack. Unless it is important," she amended. In stories, women who gave orders like that were always setting themselves up for disaster. Sometimes, there were lessons in stories, if you looked for them.

I was expecting to be bored out of my mind. Crawling to the end. 

I finished this in two days! 

Okay, so it was by no means the best, but I don’t think it was the worst Wheel of Time book… controversially. 

Maybe it helped that I did skim a lot of the useless descriptions, yet I have to say I am guilty of doing this with quite a few passages in the Wheel of Time series. Talking about dresses, laces, and jewellery holds no interest to me or relevance to the plot. 

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent

3.75

A girl who can only love broken things, and a boy so broken he can only love what he cannot have.

Mische left Oraya and Raihn only to be captured by the House of Shadow whose prince she killed. She is only saved from execution by Asar - the Wraith Warden and scarred heir. He requires her for a mission from Nyaxia, the goddess of vampires, to go the underworld. 

Mische (pronounced Meesh-uh - definitely not been pronouncing it right lol) was chosen by the sun god before being Turned. Now she feels abandoned by her god, the magic burning her when she calls on the sun, burning her vampire self. 

I loved her journey of accepting her self and present situation. 

Similar to Oraya’s arc, Mische must grapple with her past and the love she thought she had, the devotion she felt, and the love she felt she didn’t deserve. 

Mische is was a priestess. A scholar. A bringer of the light. Yet, she has experienced so much blood and death and trauma but still greets the world with smiles, chatter, and unrelenting kindness. 

I knew she was a favourite from the first time she appeared in The Serpent and the Wings of Night!

As if it wasn't the most compassionate thing someone could do for another being. As if even attempting to help those who were so helpless to all others wasn't such an act of bravery.

Broadbent knows how to write delicious slow burn. Normally, I don’t typically enjoy romantasies as the romance being at the forefront frustrates me in circumstances that make no sense. Yet, Broadbent keeps the tension high, doesn’t rush the development, and doesn’t add any unnecessary scenes or drama that recent books trying to hit a troupe list do. 

Let him unravel. Let me see what he looked like in the ruins of all that self-control. Let him drown my grief and my sadness beneath the exquisite sin of his touch.

If you need any more convincing, there is a dead wolf companion called Luce who is probably Mische and Asar’s biggest (most annoying) matchmaker. 

Also, there is a sentient magical death prison. 

Thank you to Pan MacMillan for providing an arc in  exchange for a review!

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

4.75

The Favourites is a new favourite!

THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN DAISY JONES AND THE SIX!

Katarina Shaw is a bitch, a diva, a sore loser, a manipulative liar. Cold-blooded, a cheater, a criminal. An attention whore, an actual whore. Even a murderess.

She is also one of the most (in)famous Olympic ice dancers alongside partner Heath. This follows their obsession. Scandal. Tragedy. 

Starting with a banger hint of what is to come (blood on the ice, headline news), we go back to the start of Kat’s ice skating journey. From Heath being sequestered firmly into her life after a bad foster past, her childhood with an abusive brother, Heath’s protective relationship. 

The only person to understand her. People used to joke they were going to die in each other's arms or kill each other with their bare hands. Nothing in between.

Two poor small-town Midwestern trash who don’t belong in the elite sport. 

That free dance was the story of us: Heath and me, spinning away from each other one second, only to clutch each other close the next.

Never still, never simple, always pushing and pulling, shattering each other and putting the pieces back together again.

Told through both Kat’s perspective as well as interview transcripts from people who knew the couple, or professionals from the sport, these short chapters keep you on your toes and biting your nails.

This will put you through your emotions. Love, angst, pride, pain, rage, suspense, anger. I couldn’t stop turning the pages… it was so addicting. 

I am a sucker for anything to do with dance or ice skating as a former competitive dancer myself. I know how the sporting world functions and seeing this through a thriller, romance, lit fic form is a pleasure! 

Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me a PR box! 

Your Wish Is My Command by Deena Mohamed

3.75

Everyone should read this… 

Set in an alternate reality of modern-day Egypt, this graphic novel is set in a world where all kinds of wishes can be bought and granted. 

However, the author doesn’t concentrate on the magic behind, but rather focuses on the consequences. 

This follows three individuals who get first-class wishes, the most powerful kind.

My favourite perspective was Nour, a Gen Z student who is grappling with his mental health, sense of identity, and purpose. 

While Nour’s rich neighbours use their pricey wishes to dream up dinosaurs and flying cars, Nour has no idea what to wish for. Happiness? Contentment? To change himself? 

But what if his appealing mood and uninterest in life is just growing up and not something you can ‘fix’. 

“I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO LIVE UP TO MY OWN EXPECTATIONS OF MYSELF FOR YEARS AND I'M JUST TRYING TO ADAPT TO MY NEW ROLE AS A MEDIOCRE PERSON."

Using wishes, the author explores how power is utilised to keep the powerful powerful. 

From how wishes are mined in and how religion, politics, and propaganda is used to take advantage of certain countries (funnily enough, those that have the biggest mines that colonialists can exploit to increase their own wealth in wishes). 

As a result, businesses, governments and wealthy citizens monopolise the best wishes for everything from defence projects to beautification, leaving “third-class” wishes to ordinary folk which normally have negative consequences. 

After all, who’s to say that what you want… is necessarily what you need?

The art is also great!

Stark monochrome images of incarceration contrasted with bright street corners. Similarly, humour and talking sarcastic donkeys next to depressing pages charting Nour’s declining emotions. 

This is smoothly translated into English, produced by the author herself. The author uses footnotes to provide extra Arab cultural context for anything that cannot be accurately translated. 

The book is even set to read from right to left, to mimic work published in Arabic.

Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan

3.0

Okay, but the prologue is 86 pages…. The prologue!!

Elayne’s formal claim for the Lion Throne was only a few days old and she must find out her allies to cement her Succession. 

Meanwhile, Nynaeve is busy planning with the Knitting Circle how to spirit Kinswomen out of Seanchan-controlled lands before they were discovered and collared. And trying to survive each encounter with the Sea Folk.

Rand aims to cleanse the male half of the Source using ter'angreal, but must keep his actions and movements secret. 

Rand behaves as if he were the King of the World which isn’t helped by having three girls declaring they love him enough to share him with each other. 

Rand had sent Perrin to bring back Masema, and Masema was coming, but not before Falie is captured by the Aiel and Shaido. 

Mat is stuck in Ebou Dar which has been taken over by the Seanchan. He remains trapped as Tylin's pet and toy, but the rice are rolling and there is mention of the Daughter of the Nine Moons. 

Mat makes me cringe so much. 

Tylin using him as a pet, dressing him in pink, bedding him all the time. Not to mention, Mat’s own attitude which hasn’t seem to have taken a hit with his own treatment. 

He seldom saw a grown woman younger than his grandmother that he did not at least think idly of what it would be like dancing with her, maybe kissing her…

That surprise at the 75% mark? Of course, I am not going to spoil it just in case, but it made me feel so giddy! 

“You can never know everything," Lan said quietly, "and part of what you know is always wrong. Perhaps even the most important part. A portion of wisdom lies in knowing that. A portion of courage lies in going on anyway."

This and the next book is supposed to be the worst of the slog. At the moment, I am not feeling it too bad. This book was actually probably better than book 8 in my opinion! 

Lady of Darkness by Melissa K. Roehrich

2.5

The indie book with Throne of Glass comparisons overtaking booktok!

Apparently, this gave everyone else major Throne of Glass vibes. Apart from a few similarities, I didn’t really see it. 

Scarlett is a part of a trio of infamous assassins raised by the cold Assassin Lord dealing with some trauma in the house of a lord she is friends with. 

Then children begin to go missing and Scarlett is determined to track down those responsible which might mean allying with Sorin - a secretive Commander who is training her and seems to be hiding a lot. 

“You think he broke you, and maybe he did. But look at what rose from those ashes. Look at the strength, at the power, at the beauty of those shadows and that darkness on your soul.”

Even though this is supposed to be a romantasy, the character work is developed a lot more than the romance, with it only becoming more prominent after 60%. 

There was good banter between them, sharing secrets, sharing one horse, training montages…. Basically, it’s a troupe hotlist. 

Admittedly, it’s fairly predictable. Perhaps this is why I never felt hooked or why none of the characters felt ones I could latch on to. 

I couldn’t help but role my eyes at the dramatic and over-the-top angst and theatrics. It was just too much for me. Too cliched. 

Not to mention, Sorin barely calls her Scarlett - it is love or darling or princess. 

I am gutted this didn’t work for me as I know so many people are binging through this series. 

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing an arc in exchange for a review. 

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

4.25

This book was BRUTAL. And it was so addicting…

More than 20 years ago, Claire and Lydia's sister vanished. Their family fell apart and the two sisters are now estranged.  

Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of a millionaire who is murdered protecting Claire from a robber in an alleyway. 

Lydia is a single mother with a strong and clever daughter, a recovering addict, struggling to make ends meet.

Everything is brought up again when another teenage girl goes missing. 

The two sisters are drawn together as dark secrets connected to their past and the horrific truth of their sister’s disappearance starts surfacing. 

This was my first Karin Slaughter book and all I know going in was that it was very dark and full of twists that would snap my neck 360. 

My first thoughts were - “Wow, these people are messed up.” When Lydia first finds out that her sister’s husband had been murdered, she goes to urinate on his grave (where they first reunite). This gives you an idea about the convoluted relationships between our characters. 

Lydia had such a strong narrative voice. She is fed up with everyone and extremely wry and snarky, determined to raise a strong daughter who can protect herself and stand up to the world. 

Claire is a bit more vanilla, but she starts to question her life as she discovers hidden depths to her husband after his death. 

The world stops for you when you’re pretty. That’s why women spend billions on crap for their faces. Their whole life, they’re the center of attention. People want to be around them just because they’re attractive. Their jokes are funnier. Their lives are better. And then suddenly, they get bags under their eyes or they put on a little weight and no one cares about them anymore. They cease to exist.

Slaughter knows how to build tension and I couldn’t listen to the audiobook fast enough. 

I did have my suspicions the major plot twist, but it was still pretty shocking. And then they kept piling up and I was entranced by how twisty (and messed up) it got. 

I also really enjoyed Slaughter pointing out mundane things someone might think - like jealousy, spite, intimate insights. This just made it feel all the more real, especially after listening to the non-fiction Everyday Sexism. 

That’s my main qualm against thrillers. They never feel real as they’re too popcorn-like - fast-paced with not much character study or depth. 

This did not suffer from that. 

It’s the truth. I’m sorry to be blunt about it, but girls don’t like guys who are doormats. Especially pretty girls, because there’s no novelty to it. Guys are hitting on them all of the time. They can’t walk down the street or order a coffee or stand on a corner without some idiot making a comment about how attractive they are. And the women smile because it’s easier than telling them to go fuck themselves. And less dangerous…

I do think the bonus chapter from Julia’s point of view actually damaged the story. It seemed a lot more political bringing in stats and emotive facts about AIDs, homelessness, etc. 

I think it also detracted from having some of the mystery of Julia completely taken away. However, it was nice seeing the relationship between the three sisters before the horrible tragedy.  

This started as a five stars, but the latter third turned it into a strong four stars. It just felt slightly too prolonged and some of the decisions of the antagonist was completely out of sorts with the wry intelligence they had previously displayed.

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto

2.0

How many times did Elliot bring up Ama’s pebbling nip*les? 

An ambitious wedding planner who doesn’t believe in lasting marriages (her mother has had 16) and a grumpy florist have a messy breakup in the past as told through Elliot’s perspective. Years pass without having to interact until an influencer decides she wants them both to do her wedding as told through Ama’s pov. 

Talk about mommy issues…

After the 48% mark, it was overtaken by steamy scenes. Normally I am okay with that as I know that’s what I am getting into with an adult romance, but I just didn’t feel they had any emotional connection. It was just banging anywhere at any time with no talking. And in very unprofessional places. 

However, I do have to admit some of Elliot’s inner dialogue had me cackling. 

Emma sucks in air like a Disney princess waking up from a curse.

Did I just kill her with a peanut butter doughnut?

I read it due to the many, many recommendations, but I’m left feeling whether we read different books. 

I did this a a buddy read and honestly the best part was laughing about the narrators and how disappointed we were that this had so much potential and just led no where. 

A male florist? A wedding planner with ever after fears? A media storm coverage? Yet, I felt like none of these issues were properly addressed or developed.