Shalan Mitchell > Recent Status Updates

I liked this book. I listened to the audiobook, so I feel like I didn’t engage with the content as much as I could have if I physically read it. It explores how to plant, nurture, and grow in your spirit to produce a fruitful life. I feel like there is a seed for every woman of Christ in the book.

I’ve decided that, like memoirs, I will not rate Christian books because it feels like rating a teaching/sermon.

Whoa! This prequel duology changes everything we know about the first series (technically the sequels)! Is this how Star Wars fan felt?! Literally, everything we believed about the School Master and later “Rafal” in connection to Sophie and then to Tedros’ trials are so twisted!! If this book was designed to make me want to reread and reanalyze the original six books all over again … it succeeded. 4.5 🌟

I have mainly been listening to this one because the audiobook narration is top tier! So good!!!

I thought I’d get back to this duology before I forgot it all. This world is always fun to return to!

I mainly listened to this one and occasionally read the ebook in tandem. I did not enjoy it as much as the first book. Perhaps, I just wasn’t in the mood for this kind of fantasy? I’m not sure, but I found that I wasn’t as captivated by the plot and the pacing felt off to me. I don’t think it was bad, but it didn’t keep my interest. 3.5 🌟

I’m annoyed. The first book did so well steering away from played out romantic tropes! Now all of a sudden, Sungho and Ren want to be confused, miscommunicate, and assume the worst just cause. Ugh, let this end quickly. Let it be a small blip … please!!

I’m glad this book recapped a lot of the first book because I forgot so much!

Gosh, this book is phenomenal.

The writing style is simple and straightforward. I liked reading it, and I enjoyed discussing it with my prayer small group. I would recommend it to anyone who is beginning their prayer journey or wants to dismantle prayer stigmas. I wish I had worked through the study guide as I read the chapters. I’d like to revisit this one in the future. 4🌟

I cannot personally identify with the neurodivergent representation in this book. However, from my experience working with twice exceptional students as a teacher, the portrayal of Christopher’s perspective feels genuine. It was both humbling and challenging to be in his mind and imagine how overstimulating the world is for him. However, there was hope in his love for maths, science, answers, and truth. 4.5 🌟

I adored the setting! The wildlife felt like a character itself. The nature descriptions, interactions with animals, and the theme of environmental care/conservation were the parts that I enjoyed the most. I struggled with the characters, especially Rowan and Dom and their romance. I also found the flashback format (this may be due to the audiobook) a little jarring. It was good read overall. 3.5 🌟

This audiobook was surprising enjoyable … at least, I found it entertaining. It was a quick popcorn thriller to listen to while I did laundry and watercolored. I momentarily halted in my activities during some of the twists too! It was a good time because I didn’t think too deeply about it and ignored the fact that all these people made dumb decisions constantly. 3.5 🌟

It’s not awful the way people say (at least, not yet). The writing style is masked by the narration a bit but, aside from some odd word choices, it’s not ringing in my ears. All these characters are unlikeable though, and that’s where I find myself not really caring what happens to them. Haha, maybe that’s makes me an unlikeable character 🤷🏽‍♀️.

This book has been on my physical TBR since I read the first one. I remember rating that first one 5 🌟 due to pure entertainment - that book was cuckoo bananas bonkers. I’m not certain how I’ll feel about this one and I likely won’t continue the series, but I want to give it a go instead of just unhauling it.

I am already loving this book. I am listening to it in tandem with the ebook. I cannot speak to the representation from a personal perspective, but it feels true to my experience as a teacher of neurodivergent friends.

I loved Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, but I did not love this sequel. I do wonder why Shea Ernshaw didn’t write this book? Shepherd isn’t a bad writer, but her writing style (so repetitive) and the plot (meh) mixed with the length (too long) made this book slog along. The audiobook got me through the story, but the narration wasn’t my favorite either. I’ll read the next one … maybe. A generous 3🌟.

I only have 3 more days to finish, but I am finding it so difficult to pick this one up. I got the audiobook in the hopes that it will help my reading experience. I think something about the repetitive and overly-descriptive writing style isn’t working for me. Usually, I enjoy descriptive prose because it helps me visualize the story more. So, maybe it’s the plot? I don’t know. I’m just not loving it.

Average Rating = 3.75 🌟 (rounded up to 4)
I enjoy Soman Chainani’s writing style. I also love his feminist twists on fairytales. A handful of these stories were 5 stars and I will reread them. Some of these stories were metaphors for dark subjects/traumas, so please check trigger warnings. I will leave a few here: SA, racism, homophobia, physical manipulation/abuse, death of a spouse, and loss of a child.