Jessi > Recent Status Updates

DNF on page 176.
The writing was very good; some of the prose was beautiful and the characters felt so real. It was just very heavy, about normal & terrible things that happen in real life, which is not the kind of fiction I personally enjoy reading. It kind of reminded me of Catcher in the Rye in tone and general sense of disenfranchisement. It’s also a long book, I’m giving myself permission not to finish it.

1/12/26 I’ve already listened to 6 hours of the audiobook and am only 16% through. So far the actual story parts (by which I mean plot and character-based scenes) are very compelling! But all of the highly detailed explanations about the history of the land and the minutiae of how alchemy works just bogs the whole thing down and I’m already annoyed. Hopefully that stuff tapers off as the book continues?

Very festive and it’s interesting to read these acclaimed authors’ voices in such close proximity to one another. The juxtaposition makes their unique styles stand out. Louisa May Alcott is overly formal, bluntly pious, and pedantic (as expected) while L M Montgomery is warm and charming (also as expected). It’s a quick read too, perfect for bedtime stories.

I was so excited to read this third installment in the series…. But WHY is the audiobook narrator giving everyone a British/Welsh accent… even the Jones women who are from Georgia? I miss the narrator from the second book, she killed it. I’m trying to get into the story but it’s so distracting for Vivi and Gwen to have such weird voices. I may have to wait until I can get a physical copy from the library.

It’s just utterly ridiculous that all of this wedding drama took place after FRESHMAN YEAR of college. I totally get why the show aged them up at least a couple years (still absurd, but slightly more believable).

Just got it in my hands today! Struggling not to shirk responsibilities and just read all day.
👑 🐸 📚

DNF at 20%
I’m sure some people would really enjoy this. But I found the dry, expositional tone to be pretty uninteresting. It felt like he was exploring a concept rather than writing a story. I was looking for the wit and charm I found in Starter Villain, but it was a wholly different voice that I didn’t enjoy. Life is short, I’m giving myself permission to not finish what I’m not enjoying.

Reallllly trying to make myself finish this. I don’t know what. Life is short and the world is full of books… except now I’m over halfway and I don’t like to leave stories unfinished. But goodness. This is a slog.

I have never before read a romance novel and had to look up the meaning of words & I love that. Current favorite addition to my vocabulary: galvanic- adj. intensely exciting, having the quality of electric shock (i.e. a performer having a galvanic effect on an audience) Best part is that in a book as spicy as this, the word could have been used in all sorts of dirty ways, instead it describes the joy of a dog.

So far the best parts are the references to Skyline Chili and Graeter’s ice cream. I have family in Cincinnati and can confirm these foods are awesome.

I’m listening to the audiobook… but I may need to switch to ebook, the narrator’s voice is annoying to me for some reason. The Irish accent is pretty good but the Ghanaian one is… odd. And her natural voice ends on an exclamation point a lot.

It’s cute but I’m realizing that Abby Jimenez books are all kinda the same. Female protagonist with trust issues and emotional *drama* meets male protagonist who is just the perfect specimen of patience and empathy and also sexual prowess. Romance novels are supposed to be realistic, I get that. But it’s frustrating that no male character is ever given more than one dimension in her books.

I’m so torn between reading it as quickly as I WANT and saving it because I’ve been looking forward to it for so long and I don’t want it to be over!

So far it’s just kind of… boring. I’m just not invested in these characters or their relationship at all.

I’ve been waiting for this book for so long!! I couldn’t stand to wait until the US release. Thank God for international shipping!!! It got to my house mere days after the official UK publication date. Now I just need to find time to hide from all my responsibilities to read it!