Scratch > Recent Status Updates

Well, the gang-rape scene that came flying out of nowhere was not a welcome surprise. Beyond that, I am struggling to do the math, but I *think* this book is set in 2028? And in this universe, Republicans went extinct in the U.S., and somehow all the liberals made Islam the national religion? WTF? I wouldn't mind so much except they cheer the deaths from 9-11. This took a Neocon turn.

It has been a long time since I read something YA like this. Hard to judge it fairly.

I love this series. Sacrificing sleep because of this book.

Nearly 40 percent done with this book and we are still just doing exposition. It took this long for the protagonist to acknowledge that he's in another world, which the reader already knew.

Struggling not to DNF.

So much of the plot centers upon people identifying someone on sight as a witch, guardian, or hunter. Couldn't we bypass the problem by just everyone wearing nondescript leather clothing? Also, so sick of horny teens.

This was a bonus borrow my library was offering at the end of February. I finished the audiobook I had been working on, and then had a small road trip, so it turns out I really am listening to this. ... Very YA so far.

There are a few specific jobs the author wants us to consider. "Guardian" and "Hunter" are ideologically different. And even though the protagonist is a "memory witch," she still summons elements.

Much as with the last book in this series-- very high quality, but very difficult to just sit and read without getting distracted. Great wry tone. Great commentary on bureaucratic nonsense. But, probably more easily consumed as an audiobook, which is not the format I have.

All these books more or less feel the same. The protagonist is always so much more frighteningly powerful than everyone else. People underestimate him. He explores different magical worlds. They talk about "mana" a lot. The farming aspect falls further and further by the wayside.

This is looking like it's going to be a 2-star rating. Having now read some of the negative reviews, I am regretting having committed to this 20-hour audiobook. The beginning was rushed, this long middle is tedious, and I'm not looking forward to the end.

Oh, NOW we find out that this girl is only a few weeks old? She experienced rapid growth after her birth and now has the apparent age and intellect of a teenager? That is going to make any "romance" extremely problematic. Vampire romance is bad enough. Now the male lead is implicitly a pedophile, even if he doesn't know that?

I do not find this protagonist's acceptance of her enrollment in this academy realistic. From her point of view, she is in a different world, she just learned vampires are real, and she just fought a war. Within 24 hours, now she is completely consumed with following her class schedule? When she said she is a warrior princess who has never been to school before? She would not passively accept this.

More than half done and she hasn't even mentioned Gilmore Girls as foreshadowing yet. Apparently, she is most like her character from Bunheads in real life.

Not as good as the original series. So far, this book has been about a non-magical princess' engagement, with its political ramifications. Less magic than the original series, and also less comforting.

The "witchcraft" element took forever to get here. We have definitely seen one real spell. Otherwise, this is more of a feminist story set in the 70s, with a focus on the body horror of pregnancy. It's not "bad," per se, but it's also not an audiobook I can eat food while listening to. When I ordered McDonald's, I switched to a different audiobook while I ate.

I am invested, I concede.

Cozy can be kind of okay.

I am shocked that my library copy came through. I had four holds across two libraries, and I was in 68th place. Appreciating the grieving, painful tone, btw. Matches how I feel.

Getting through this audiobook a lot faster when I realize that I have already read some of these short stories. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED "Perfect State," and I really liked "Snapshot." But, my to-read list is so huge, I'm grateful that I can afford to skip sections of this.

Took me forever to sit down and make some progress, but I am getting into it.

Not a lot of action, but the premise is interesting enough.

HUGE stuff keeps happening in the plot, shockingly early.

I have a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, I mostly enjoy these stories. I think the "cat lady" date was poorly written and rushed. I think it was queer-baiting to call the first date with a gay guy a "date," when it really wasn't. But, overall, I enjoy this. But, the author said something really offensive on her FAQ section of her website. When I brought it up with the moderators of her FB page, angry retorts.

Pleasant surprise came early in the novel. I must say, I am paying surprisingly close attention to this "cozy" series. The characters are engaging enough that I am following along with the audiobook without difficulty.

Done with the first date. While the story is pretty good, I am disappointed that the "gay" date was between a gay guy and a straight guy, so no real romance was possible. Do I like the idea of a straight guy being comfortable having a platonic night out with a gay guy? Yes. Do I find this a satisfying "date"? No.

Like so many memoirs, the author describes their drug use proudly. Matter of factly. As usual, I don't understand WHY the drug problem started. They just treat it as a matter of course that people would do acid, ecstasy, marijuana, etc., even starting at a very young age.

I know that this is meant to be more of an elementary school book, or at least middle grade. But, it's grating on me. The protagonist is somewhat willing to consider the possibility she is seeing a ghost, is totally unwilling to talk about there being a demon, and all the demon has done so far is taunt her. It's a child's problem ("How do I steal/keep/give an amulet?"), with attention to a child's bedroom.

This feels like the work of a really talented middle schooler. The dialogue and pacing are all cliche and juvenile. It is urgently important to go to a dee-jaying show, and this precludes the protagonist from taking time to get answers about her parents' murder. But, the person with the answers is going with her to the show, and there is time to stop and talk about other things along the way.

The protagonist just gave an explanation for why witches are better than wizards that came across as transphobic. He called wizards "unnatural," and that they're lying by trying to be like witches. He used an analogy about a dog pretending to be a cat. ... Where are you going with this? Because it sounds like transphobia in every way except explicitly.

Let the hate read begin.