Ashley > Recent Status Updates

I'm only 54 pages in and I'm frustrated and kind of annoyed. Not sure if I should keep going.

I'm kinda nervous, ngl

"It never occurred to me that keeping my thoughts to myself might one day be categorized as an endangered privilege."

Using palatable when you mean palpable is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. 🫩

The ✨️nostalgia✨️

Absolutely not. That is disgusting. 🤮

Interesting world building and an interesting choice to end the collection. I didn't really feel much but I wasn't bored.

Not as cute as the last few, but simple and bittersweet.

Super cute! This one felt the most fleshed out and thorough? I'm not sure what the right word is but this felt like a complete mini-novel, not an open ended or unfinished story like short stories can often feel. Julie Murphy writes characters so well.

I wasn't sure about Philip, he kind of annoyed me. But he really got a raw deal he didn't deserve. I loved Blythe. This was adorable overall but bittersweet.

Cute! I love when facts and fate collide. Plus a happy ending. ♡

Cheesy in the best possible way and adorable. I loved it. ♡

Finally an actual Meet Cute! And nobody died or had a distractingly tragic backstory! This is exactly what I was expecting based on the title and marketing. ♡

My favorite story of the collection so far. Not as cute and flirty as I would have liked, but interesting and entertaining. There were a couple inconsistencies in the world building, but I really enjoyed the concept. I would read a whole book set in this world.

Interesting

I probably liked this story the most out of the ones I've read so far. Mostly because it didn't wander confusingly off target into unnecessary backstory too much. Or maybe just because it was short. But why is everyone in these stories mourning someone? Still waiting for an actual fun classic romcom meet cute. Maybe that shouldn't have been the title of this collection.

Points to this story bc the couple both actually knew they were interested in each other and said slightly more words than just hello, unlike the other 3 stories so far. However, I hated everything about this one. Besides being set in 2020 and REALLY not aging well on all fronts, the characters were insufferable and the story was nonsensical. Running around in the street listening for a ringtone inside a car???

I know these stories are meant to be about meeting so we aren't going to get a relationship or any kind of ending, just a beginning. But all three of these stories so far seem to consist mainly of random backstory that doesn't really connect to the cute romantic story/moment that I'm still waiting for. I'm keeping an open mind bc there are all different authors, but I'm disappointed so far.

Meh. We didn't even actually see them meet or interact. This story seemed to be about everything but a romantic encounter. Same as the last one really. I hope one or two of these stories actually has that sparks and butterflies, giggly romcom meet cute feel bc so far I'm just kind of confused about what premise/prompt these authors were using bc it doesn't seem to match the the book title or marketing.

First story was interesting. Not what I was expecting. Not bad, but not sure I totally get it. Not sure how I feel about the second person POV. I think I wanted more.

"Mine is a complicated story, and people don't want to hear complicated stories. They want simple stories, in which people are either good or evil, and no one good ever makes a mistake, and no one evil ever repents."

Trying this again, audiobook this time...

But why would Radane pose as an investigator to begin with? If she wanted to hide why not just show up and be normal and try to blend in? Makes no sense to draw all that attention to herself in the first place.

I do want to finish this bc I want to see how it ends....but I wish it would move a bit faster....

I absolutely hate Emerson.

Haven't started Chapter 2 yet and I've already made a chart to try to keep straight who is related to who and how they all connect. I'm glad I just finished a reread of the other four books or some of this would be going over my head.