kateships's reviews
156 reviews

I liked this. The middle dragged a bit, and the last 25% really got me. I enjoyed the characters and the folklore aspects. I don't think its a must read, but it was fun, emotional, and overall pretty good.

This was really cute. I was excited to read it. It’s cozy and fun and I loved the community aspect. 

It was absolutely cheesy at basically every turn, but it was very sweet. There’s a ton of unconventional diversity, cinnamon rolls, an island with a tiny town, sentient plants, and a budding romance. 

The stakes are low but just exciting enough to keep you interested. Overall not AMAZING, but a good read. 

This was a pretty anticipated read for me. I LOVE a good retelling/reimagining of an existing story, and I LOVE Ava Reid. 

This definitely has her signature, gorgeous atmospheric writing style, and I enjoyed her take on Lady Macbeth, but it didn’t WOW me. Don’t get me wrong, I flew through it and had a good time, but it didn’t grab me in the feels the way that her other work did.

I didn’t remember the story of Macbeth super well going into this, but I know its a loose following up to a certain point, and then Ava does her thing, and loved where she took it. 

Overall, I think if you go in with expectations that this will become your new favorite Ava Reid book or if you’re obsessed with Macbeth and want a faithful retelling, you might be disappointed, but the story is still very good and worth your time. 

This starts as a story full of the worst people you’ve ever met (particularly in the interviews), but ends up being a heartwarming story about love, empathy, and human relationships. 

Fredrik Backman has a way to just cut deep and write such human experiences, even while creating a story that seems random and funny. I wasn’t sure how much I was enjoying the book for the first part, like it was fine and making me laugh, but I had no idea where it was going, and then I stayed up way too late and cried my way through the last 20%. 

This was fun, eerie, and you kind of knew what was coming but not fully. I wish it were a bit scarier than it was, but I enjoyed this.

I think I liked this one more than the first. The time jumps back and forth lost me a few times, but I really enjoyed the new characters and how they meshed with the old ones we already love, and the direction this took.  

I don't know how I feel about this one. I love classics, but I knew very little about this story going into it and I think that made it much more difficult. I listened to the Ethan Hawke narration, which I was told was stellar, and it was! 

The "so it goes" repetition felt so powerful by the end, and knowing this was semi-autobiographical adds a lot of interest to the story. The back and forth in time and never knowing what was real or not really creates this cool narrative that makes you feel a little bit like you're losing your mind with Billy - where nothing is real and time doesn't exist. 

Overall it was really good, but it might have gone over my head just a little bit. 

I don’t feel like I know how to rate this really. I loved it and I hated it all at once. 

I think I’m at the right age where this all hit wayyyy too close to home, so it was IMMENSELY relatable, but that meant it emotionally destroyed me and I cried the entire time. 

Just not in the right mindset right now. Will likely return later and try again.