David Brooks > Recent Status Updates

So far this is just okay. There is a lot of plot and a lot of quickly moving from one plot point to the next with little time to breathe. While I'm not asking for a lot of downtime in a MG book... I do prefer if everything doesn't always feel so rushed.

I love the idea of this book but so far the tonal shifts are a bit much to get used to. Also, not a fan so far of where the plot is going, but that's just personal preference.

It's interesting, boring, and frustrating all at the same time.

This is such an odd experience for me as a reader. This should be one of my favorite reads of the year but everything just is sort of falling flat. I'm thinking the characters seem to be missing the usual charm from Klune's writing, and the humor feels so forced. There is also this sense that the main character and Hugo seem to have the exact same dynamic as the main characters in Cerulean Sea

Having such a hard time getting into this one. I don't know if the humor just isn't landing, or the world building just feels so thin, or the characters just aren't hitting the spot so far... but this one just isn't keeping my attention in the way some of the authors other works have.

It's a fun, light read. For those who like middle grade fantasy it's full of your common tropes, familiar settings, and comic nonsense. Nothing to complain about so far.

Love the writing and atmosphere so far.

I'm a bit torn about this so far. I guess I was expecting some more comedy, or cozy, or over the top things to happen. So far it's been rather tame and straightforward fantasy plot and world.

Really enjoying this so far.

This has been an interesting experience so far. I feel like it's both moving a bit too slowly, but also moving way too quickly all at once. Like I'm not getting enough of the cozy or character building yet, but at the same time years are flying by.

Really enjoying this so far. The story jumps around a bit which can be a tad annoying, but it's a small complaint.

I like the hints so far of magic coming along at some point, or at least some more magical elements. However, I feel like even weeks in I don't really know much about the academy. Almost like the world building is skipping anything other than the awful parts of this place.

It took about 100ish pages to really pique my interest. The world building is good and I like the characters, it just didn't really catch my attention at first.

Not going to lie, this is a super weird story so far. Not a fan of the writing style either which makes it even harder to continue.

A lot of fun so far. Not quite as good as Legends and Lattes, but still very cozy and fun read.

Really enjoying this so far

The middle of this is really starting to drag. I'm assuming there will be a decent payoff but for me as a reader I'm not a big fan of this vexling storyline.

Not sure how to feel so far. It's quirky, fast-paced, and a little weird. Usually that's totally up my alley but for some reason this just isn't quite hitting the right spot.