mcdermottcecelia's reviews
327 reviews

I'm having a very conflicting reaction to this book. I found this book browsing online and thought it sounded like the perfect cute romance book that ties in a love of reading through the main character Paige's career as a librarian. It seemed like it'd be a pretty standard romance book with the added touch of the library, but it still fell a little short.

The Good:
This book was off to a pretty decent start. I could feel the frustration from Paige in the first chapter, and I was ready to see how her story would change as she moved on from the long-term relationship that just ended. The word choice itself in the book was also nice. I liked the ways in which the author balanced dialogue and non-dialogue, and things like sentence length or paragraph-length never stuck out as an eyesore. The third-person point of view was beneficial, and I think Paige was the right character for this book to follow. Furthermore, I think the main conflict of the story was reasonable, and it didn't fall into some of the overused cliches I try to avoid when reading romance novels. I wasn't really mad about anything in this novel, and I think it was a very promising start that could shift into even better work as the author continues to write new stories.

The Bad:
While the beginning chapters were promising, I quickly found my opinion changing as the love interest James was introduced shortly thereafter. The initial strength of their connection felt a little off, and it was hard for me to find the chemistry between their characters despite the majority of the plot solely being their relationship. The plot itself somewhat lacked depth or any significant side plots that would've helped the reader connect more with the characters. It felt like Paige and James's characters were defined only by their jobs and their connection to each other, and even the side characters felt trapped in being solely tied to one part of their identity (such as Paige's best friend existing only as a pregnant woman). Making both the characters and the plot more dynamic would've gone miles toward improving this book. I wanted to hear more about Paige's work in the library and her efforts with the discussion group, but it felt like those were only mentioned when James was somehow tied to it. Despite this being a romance book, I think it's totally okay to include scenes that push the characters forward even if it doesn't directly impact their relationships. The other main problem I had with this book was how James's accent was written into the novel. This is definitely a personal preference, but I really find myself disconnecting from books that spell out how characters with accents sound instead of spelling the words as normal while mentioning their accent. There were too many "dinnaes" and other wordisms for me to really enjoy the love interest, which was especially hard since the whole plot revolved around James interacting with Paige. This book had a lot of potential, but it ultimately ended up falling short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and 8N Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC of this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not Good for Maidens is truly a book that lives up to its epic description and gorgeous cover. This book follows the Wickett witches May and her niece Lou in this retelling of the Goblin Market. May fell for a goblin in the market and subsequently ties her family to the market as the memory of their name holds great power. When Neela is kidnapped by goblins, May and Lou must return to the temptations of the market to save their family member without losing themselves in the process.

This book was absolutely stunning. I'm unfamiliar with the original Goblin Market story, but I was so entranced by this novel. The plot was rich, the worldbuilding was immersive, and the characters were well-developed and exceptional. Following both May and Lou was artistically designed and easy to follow, and I loved following their stories as they intertwined in a wonderful way. Even the side characters and enemies were great to read about. I definitely connected more with May's storyline, but it was easy and enjoyable to follow both May and Lou throughout the book, and I wouldn't change it if I could. Additionally, the inclusion of both sapphic and ace stories helped make this book stand out. Even the gore-y reality of the market and the many horrors it entails were described well without being too repulsive that it'd pull the reader from the story. The conflicts were reasonable, the plot was well-paced, and even the narration of the audiobook was exceptional. Tori Bovalino really blew it out of the water with this one. I would give this 4.5 stars. I'm very picky about which books I give 5 stars in this genre, but this one really came close. The beginning may have been a tad bit slower than the latter half, but I know this book is still close to a perfect read for me. 

I received a digital ARC copy of this audiobook through NetGalley and RB media in exchange for an honest review.

The Ohana Cottage is a debut romance novel that follows Mia as she moves to Hawaii for a few weeks to reset her life after the end of a long-term relationship. Mia rents an Airbnb-type cottage from John, and the novel follows the blooming relationship between Mia and John for the remainder of the novel.

I'm feeling a little conflicted about this book. On one hand, it was a very fun, short read that I was able to finish in one sitting. I thought Mia and John were fun characters, and I loved reading about their interactions during Mia's travels to Hawaii. On the other hand, this was a very short read, and it felt as such. At about 190 pages (from what I've seen on Goodreads), it tries to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Throughout the entire book, I felt like it was missing something. It was very dialogue-heavy at times, and it even refrained from adding a "he said" or "she replied" after a long series of back and forth quotes. The book almost felt like you're in the shallow end of the pool looking toward what could've been if the author added more details to push you into the deep end. Just about every paragraph could've used a few more sentences to really set the scene and push the reader further into the story. I feel like the way John and Mia first started talking and the way in which the conflict at the end was written felt somewhat out of character for the both of them, and it made it difficult to give this book more than 3 stars. The in-between plot points were fun and easy to consume, but even those felt very repetitive with frequent lines about going to work at the coffee shop, running back to the cottage for a quick shower, or other minor plot points. With all of this being said, I still did really enjoy the story. If this book was twice as long and gave a little more elaboration throughout, I think this could've easily become at least a four-star read for me.

I received a digital ARC of The Ohana Cottage from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start with this: I really, really wanted to enjoy this story. When I first heard about this book, I was so excited to see this book's great diversity and representation featured in a book of this genre. This book follows 16-year-old Benji, a trans boy trying to escape a cult in an apocalyptic future. I truly enjoyed the characters featured in Hell Followed With Us, and I was excited to follow all the characters from the ALC once they were introduced. Benji was a great choice of a complex main character to follow, and the premise of the plot sounded really unique and engaging when I first read the description. Horror is more of a new genre to me, so I intended for this book to help me start to explore it. As an aside, I truly recommend looking up the content warnings before reading this book, and please proceed only if you are comfortable doing so.

Nonetheless, I was surprisingly struggling to get through this story. I guess I usually steer away from the more graphic or violent books, but I think it was more so the execution of the plot with which I wasn't always connecting. I wish the book would've been told solely through a third-person point-of-view so that it could get away from some of the "telling" and include more "showing" as it described the world around Benji. The first-person narrative felt too constricting, and I would get lost in Benji's thoughts without fully understanding what else was at play here. I would say the last quarter or so of the book was really great to me, and I wish some of the earlier parts of the book followed the same pacing and language styles from its ending. Ultimately I think these are more issues of personal preference, and I still think the book is worth reading for those that really connect with the genre. 

I received a digital ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and Peachtree Teen in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute romance story! I was in a bit of a mini-reading slump when I started this book, and it totally pulled me out of it. Booked on a Feeling is a cute, fun romance novel that follows Lizzy Chung as she moves to her best friend Jack Park's small town as a hiatus from her job as an attorney in LA. Crushed by the anxiety and loneliness of her job, Lizzy sought out a temporary change and found herself working in the cutest small bookstore above the apartment she rented. In a quest to revitalize the bookstore, Lizzy finds herself navigating a new relationship with her longtime friend and all the complications that would entail. I found the story to be really fun and easy to consume despite normally leaning away from the friends-to-lovers trope. Lizzy was such a gem of a character to follow, and her journey of career introspection felt relatable yet exciting. I really enjoyed this book despite not having read Lee's other related books, and I was happy to give this 4 stars. I took away a star only because I don't like the style of conflict featured towards the end of the book, and it felt a little rushed to resolve. Nonetheless, I still greatly enjoyed this story and will be excited to follow its release in July. What can I say, I'm a sucker for book-ish books!

I read Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee as a digital ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.