mayastef's reviews
185 reviews

This rant has spoilers
Not a vibe. I do have to give her credit for wheel knowledge. As an F1 fan who gets too into the technicalities and gets taken out of other F1 romances because of it, I will give this author credit for knowing her shit. I hate Phaedra. She is mean and vindictive and frankly an abuser. She is not kind to her friends, family, coworkers, nor partner. I love bitches I love a misunderstood mean leading lady. 

As a woman in STEM she's the worst kind of female coworker, being a pick me but also being so mean she doesn't want to be picked. I started off hating Cosmin because of the whole workplace harassment thing and his general forwardness that borders on inappropriate behavior.  The other characters in this book were so diabolically evil he became the sweet one at the end. I almost DNF’d the book but I was already halfway through so I just committed to it. Phaedra full on has a domestic violence moment then immediately plays the victim and throws Cosmin’s childhood trauma in his face as a weapon. She always doubles and triples down on her behavior even after acknowledging that she knows she is being mean and spiteful. If you are a person who described this as enemies to lovers I need you to go take a class on basic literacy or something. He is calling her darling on page one and they are very insta love. The spice was spicy but it was also just fucking weird “Are you fertile?” “my girl bits are only trimmed” HUHHHHHH????? They also rocking with a lot of dubious consent. 

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 3.5/5 stars
I was intrigued by the concept of this book but ultimately I don’t think the story reached my high expectations. I felt a lack of development in the characters, setting, and plot. All three of those things were not bad but I think they lacked the depth to truly create a captivating fantasy world. I still finished this book and enjoyed it, but I wasn't running back to my kindle to pick it up. Maybe it was a lack of intensity? The villain of the story has dramatic views and takes extreme actions but there was a lack of intensity of the urgency of the quest and the slow burn love story going on. I’m torn because there was just such a missed opportunity to explore these characters and this world more but at the same time that means that the characters and the world were interesting enough for me to care about. At the end of the day I would not dissuade those interested in reading this book but I probably won’t be recommending it to anyone either.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had previously read Hotel Magnifique by the same author and really enjoyed her creativity in the worldbuilding element of her books. The concepts are unique but not foreign which is the perfect middle ground for an avid reader that knows what she likes. The writing style and content fits right into the YA genre. 

I sat down and finished The Otherwhere Post in 24 hours and could not stop thinking about it the next day at work. I love what the characters' friendships evolve into but I think for a protagonist as distrustful and deceitful as Maeve there should have probably been more bond building between her and Nan for example. There is a mystery built into this story of a girl trying desperately to make her way through the world while running full speed away from her past. As the mystery unravelled I think it began to fall apart too quickly, the ideas of who to point fingers at and the different “ah-hah” moments were great but I think the pacing needed to slow down. 

I love Tristan, I love the concept of scriptomancy, I love the academia aspect of it. So many things I love shoved into one stand alone book. Honestly most of my gripes with this book could be solved by having it be longer or split into a series, so that these great concepts and characters could get all the way fleshed out. At the end of the day a standalone fantasy will always be refreshing in a world full of 8 book series but that won't stop me from wanting more!

Highly recommend both this book and Hotel Magnifique and look forward to reading more by this author in the future!

I enjoyed the storytelling being via a documentary, it's a cool way to gain insight on the story as it unfolds. Kat and Heath are fucking insane. Full stop thats the book pretty much. The way the book opens you have no idea where this is going and even if you try to guess it's futile. It almost lulls you into a false sense of security so that the event we already know is going to happen shocks you all over again the second time. I'll be so real I dont love the resolution of the book but thats definitely a personal taste thing, it is a quality story. 

library loan ended </3

I feel like we got really dramatic about holiday cheer, more so than we needed to. I think the drama entwined in the more political aspects of the storyline misses the mark, the anxiety the characters are experiencing does not feel proportional to the political issues at hand.  Coal is going at 110mph at all times no matter what and it is A Lot. Arguably this isnt an insta love moment but I will be ignoring that argument because it feels like a very dramatic insta love relationship type deal. I really liked this concept but I think the writing style and fine details lacked for me. 

Also maybe a hot take but Hex is a stupid name and pulled me out of the story every once in a while. The other halloween siblings have very halloween names that aren't as cringe so I know the author has it in them to make good choices!

I also do not care for whatever happened between Kris and Iris at the end. You can slow burn that shit on the backburner the whole book and have it end all unsettled but bad like that. If you want to discuss it in the next book just leave the conflict for the next book.

Why are all of my favorite books about people who want to kill themselves? I don't even know how to begin to describe this book. I think this book offers some sort of comfort/guidance for people in so many different stages of their lives. Just based on the title, it seems like this book would maybe only offer love and relationship advice, but this book has so much more to offer. We get to see a suite of characters dealing with marriage woes, grief, mental health issues, and most importantly the idea of finding who YOU are and what YOU need. 

Essentially, this book is a fantastic reminder that life is incredibly weird and can be incredibly hard, but it will be okay. 

I wanted to like this book because the concept seemed fun and fresh, but sadly, I was only able to finish this book because I felt obliged* as I was so kindly provided with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am no stranger to a lengthy book but there was no reason for this book to be as long as it is. I found myself editing the book in my head as I was reading. It isn't an irredeemable concept but the book is SO wordy. So much detail for inconsequential things, so many tangents that pull focus away from the main plot of the book. I think the setting was a bit hard to pin down in time and space, it wasn't fully fantasy but wasn't fully contemporary magical realism either.

The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading but the execution was poor enough that reading felt more like a chore.

*Felt obliged by my own moral code not by anything said or done by the author, publisher, or ARC providing platform

If you are looking for spooky/paranormal romance or just books in this category please read the dead romantics or the undertaking of hart and mercy  
This book pissed me off so bad. It is such a cool concept, a casket saleswoman falling in love with an employee of death, but it is a flop. Nora is wildly immature, and I struggle to find redeeming qualities in her, I understand grief does a number on people but this is a work of fiction and the author could've chosen to actually write her as likable. Death being so corporate is such a cool concept and its a shame that concept went to waste on this book. My eyes glossed over for the last chunk of the book bc I had mentally checked out to protect myself from this mediocrity but I had to finish so it wouldn't feel like a complete waste of time reading this book. This book gets points for a cool concept and being a readable and edited book but otherwise. Flop.