Okay, so I've made it to book #14 in this series, and I feel like I need to post a review for all the books I've read up to this point. These books rea all set pretty close together, so it's almost like you're reading one big, long story or watching a TV drama or soap opera. There are some really fun, interesting things in these books, and some other things that are problematic.
Things that I like:
The setting - Honey Hollow is one of those adorable little towns that exist almost exclusively in rom-com books or cozy TV shows. Think Stars Hollow, but in Vermont. It's the kind of town that has absolutely no major corporations in the downtown area. No McDonald's, no Walmart's, nothing. Everything is family owned. Every business decorates for whatever event/holiday/season is coming up or going on and everyone in town is always at every event. I'm here for that. If I could find this kind of town in RL, I would be in heaven. I'm sure that some place, somewhere, is like this, and I haven't found it yet, so that's why I'm saying it's almost exclusively in books or shows. But I do really love this little town.
Most of the side characters - I love Keelie and Meg the most of the side characters, but Lainey, Brittany, and even Cormack are fun and have enough quirks to keep them interesting. I'm not saying they are perfect, but they are a lot of fun and I want a friend group just like them.
The premise - I'm not going to do spoilers for any of the books, but this isn't really a spoiler, since it is literally the first paragraph in every book. Lottie's power is really cool and something different from the normal cozy mystery realm. She sees ghosts of pets and people who are there to help her solve a murder of someone they are close to. Love this idea. It's really what sets this series apart from the other cozy mystery type stories. The fact that her powers do grow and shift, and her reaction to them, is something that seems like normal reactions.
Everett - I really like Everett. He's understanding, has his own demons, is a calming force on Lottie, and really cares about her. He tells her things that he's hidden from others in the past, which just shows how much he cares for her. And he's willing to give her time to figure things out on her own. He also supports her in everything, but mostly in her investigations. He knows she's going to do whatever it is she's going to do, so he tags along to make sure she's as safe as she can be in the situation. He doesn't try to fit her in a box of his own expectations, but lets her be her own person, which is very refreshing.
Things I'm on the fence about:
Lottie - Yes, the FMC herself. First of all, I do like Lottie. She has a lot of good points, and she genuinely cares about people and is fiercely loyal to her friends and family. She is stubborn and keeps going, no matter what obstacles are in her way. I like that part of her. However, the other part of her is a complete mess. The woman cannot make up her mind about her love life and frankly, it's pretty darn annoying. I get that it's easy to be attracted to two different men at once, but if she actually sat down and looked at how each of them treats her, she would be able to make her choice. That part of her makes her seem kind of airheaded and jealous all the time. I really don't like that treatment of her, even though those are normal emotions and behaviors, and she is relatable. But given how focused she is in her business and the other parts of her life, it's almost like the author is afraid to make a choice for Lottie and make someone mad. Which just leaves everything in a long, drawn-out romantic triangle that no one really asked for.
Things I really don't like -
Both of Lottie's mothers - Look, the backstory of Lottie's birth mom having been a teenage who got pregnant and left her to be adopted by her "parents" is good. Love the back story and the support Lottie gets from her adoptive family is great. But both of her moms act like they are mean girls in high school and the only thing they have to do is fight each other over who has which guy as a boyfriend now. After hearing about how much Miranda loved her deceased husband and spent 10 years not dating, to have her having a revolving door of dates now seems a bit of an overkill. I do think that people can and should have meaningful relationships after their SO's pass on, but her relationships seem so superficial and juvenile. Carlotta, on the other hand, has every reason to distrust men (that we know of. We don't get a whole lot of background on where she was and what happened for the 29 years she was gone), but she just jumps back into competing with Miranda for every man in her life. It's very 1980's soap opera-ish. And really, it's somewhat distracting to the main stories.
The constant repetition - There are certain words/phrases/paragraphs that seem as if they are just lifted from one book and dropped right into the next. Do we really need the first paragraph (which is also the blurb for every single book) about Lottie and her ability to see the dead? Couldn't the author think of a different way to work it in somewhere in the first chapter or so? Why don't we get any background as to why Lottie's powers are suddenly escalating? But nope, just the same "I'm Lottie Lemon and I see dead pets." every single story. Also, why does everyone refer to Lottie almost exclusively as Lottie Lemon? It's not like Lainey comes in and someone always says, "Lainey Lemon!" I'm sure there are multiple ways to keep putting her last name in there, if that's what the author is really wanting to do. And the shoulder shimmy and hip bump. It's like those phrases are used 40-50 times per book. The books are not that long at all. There is no reason for someone's shoulders to do a shimmy every other chapter or so.
Noah - I know this will probably cause some hurt feelings, but Noah is not a likeable character. He is controlling and stalkerish. His and Lottie's meet cute was cute. I enjoyed that. But then, Noah got problematic. I enjoyed the beginning of his relationship with Lottie. He was her pick, and Everett was there in the background, but I was fine with Noah. UNTIL Brittany showed up. Do you mean to tell me in SIX MONTHS Noah couldn't find one second to have a serious conversation with the woman he said he was falling in love with to tell her that his divorce was not finalized yet? Oh, his bad. He "forgot" to tell her. Just like he "forgot" to tell her that he put a tracker on her car. Is that even legal? Oh, and cameras pointing at her front door? Really? Hello, stalker. And when Lottie, who did not want to be the other woman, tells him that yes, she has feelings for him, but she is done with him because of his wife, he refuses to accept that. Instead of figuring out his relationship with Brittany (and Cormack -but that's next), he continuously busts in on Lottie and Everett. That really bothered me. Lottie set boundaries and eventually, when things had settled down, she and Noah could have been really good friends, but he refuses to accept the boundaries. He constantly interrupts Lottie and Everett, breaking in whenever they are alone and making snide comments about Everett. You know who doesn't do that later? Everett. When he tells Lottie to figure out who she wants to be with, he even says no to getting physical with Lottie so she can decide for herself between Noah and Everett. But Noah? Nope, Lottie is his toy and he can't stand other people touching his toys. And then, he "accidentally" gets engaged to Cormack and "can't find a way" to tell her that they are actually not engaged. He takes her on dates. Takes her to dinner. Takes her to relationship counseling. Let's Cormack throw them an engagement party. And through all of this, he keeps telling Lottie that "he just can't figure out how to get Cormack to understand." Idk, dude. Maybe stop taking her on dates? Slap her with a restraining order? You're a detective. Figure it out. OH, and that brings me the worst part of Noah (if you can believe that). He doesn't want a relationship with Lottie. He wants to own her and to put her in a box or on a shelf. The whole first part of their relationship is him telling Lottie to stay out of everything and be a good girl and get back in the kitchen. Look, I get she's a baker and he's trying to keep her safe. But there is ALWAYS a point in the books that he realizes she's far ahead of him in the investigation and all of a sudden, it's fine for her to be involved. As long as she follows his rules and does exactly what he says.
So, I read through the first 13 pretty quickly and have started 14. But I think I'm going to take a break, because the things I am annoyed with are slowly starting to outweigh the things that I like about this book series. Hopefully, when I go back and pick it up again, I'll be able to enjoy the stories once again.