Marjo > Recent Status Updates

That answers the question of whether or not to get the audio book: not. We just spent way too much time with the villains for my taste.

I think this might be a Nora Roberts first: a main character says "I don't need a shrink" and 2 different characters answer the equivalent of "yes you do, and you won't be considered healed until you address your mental health along with the physical trauma".

Past the most frustrating part of "enemies to lovers" story.

This point (approx, audiobook means guesswork) marks the first day of the titular cruise.

A bit late for the murder, but it doesn't seem like we'll have the "loved one of the detective red herring" plot, so it might work out.

That was quick! And it was the boy band crush! lol Single dad of a generic cute kid, and that is not enough to hook me now that I've given up on the rest of the book.

The pacing has gotten really bad over the last 50 pages or so. I'll push through until I get to the introduction of the love interest, and then I think I'll skip.

Wait... Tyler... one of the reviews I read said the love interest's name was Ty... is the protagonist going to marry her boy band crush? Is the romantic subplot an off-brand 1D fanfic or something? What!?
(That might make me sound mad. What I am is cackling. This is ridiculous! It's brain goblin food, I love it for all the worst reason.)

Also, we are about 70 pages away from meeting the love interest, if I did the math right. Now I'm assuming that they'll meet as adults, so that's a lot of timeskip in a very short time, considering the protagonist is still 12. (And has been the whole time. I can't help but think other choices could have been made, pacing-wise.)

Isn't the villain 18? And he already killed 9 people?
This might be one of the most consistently weak spot of NR's writing: all the villains are the same, just evil for the sake of being evil, with no variations and no personalities. It's both over the top and boring, and nothing should be both of those things at once.

Hey, it was! But now that just makes the whole thing feel pointless! The exclamation marks are there to show my frustration! I shouldn't be frustrated, really I should have seen it coming, should have seen it would play out exactly as is did, but... why?

Ok, the skeptical asshole cops subplot better wrap up quick, because I'm already over it.

Ok, that was sad. That was effective. Is it cynical for me to think "hopefully they won't drag this on for too long and ruin it"? Maybe, but here I am.

They're spending a lot of time talking down the California grandparents. It would make be believe that the children are going to end up over there, or might, if not for the official blurb spoiling otherwise. This could have been a source of tension and drama, instead it's much ado about nothing.

End of the free preview. Now I just need to remember from what I've read in other reviews: the romance sub-plot is introduced very late and is rushed. I can't expect a romance novel or I'll be disappointed.

The premise for this one makes me really nervous (I'm not one for psychological thrillers, mind f-ery sort of stories), but I liked the free preview enough to give this a try. (Curse my completionist streak.)

The art of Io Sakisaka is so pretty!

Was the "breaking up the main couple for the sake of drama" bit as irritating a decade ago? I honestly can't remember. Now all I can think is how I would have written that plot line.

What's that? A woman willingly going out (or doing more) with a man is him ruining their lives? Yeah, no, that's not how that works. I'm starting to skim now.

This book is so weird to read *after* The Number of Love. So much of the tension is just... gone.