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I picked this up because it was described as something akin to The Princess Bride. I don't agree, and the only similarity is the narration feels similar-ish to how the movie was presented. And even then, it's a stretch. However, that's not a mark against the book, and more against the marketing.

The book, honestly, felt like a Pratchett book. I wouldn't call the writing as good as Pratchett (that's a high bar), but the feel of the book was right. It definitely kept me reading. The world is complete, thoughtful, and consistent. The narrator has a kind of colorful commentary that I enjoyed. And, most importantly, it took a lot of ideas on how things should be and sort of made poked fun at how that's not how things work. I really like Tress, and how she interacted with the world. She was a take charge kind of person that didn't realize she was a take charge kind of person. Which made for fun moments to read.

I kind of saw the twist at the end coming, but that didn't keep the story from being an enjoyable read and a moving ending.

I enjoyed this book. Reena gets a new neighbor across the hall, and crushes on him hard until she finds out he is part of their parents match-making plans. She then tries to resist his charms, but eventually fails.

The characters are fun to read about, and Nadim, the love interest, is charming as heck. The two are playful and witty throughout. The food is described so lovingly that I got hungry while reading.

This book has that trope where characters keep things from each other, but it makes sense here. Traditions in how the family behaves lead Reena to be very quiet about her wants and needs and concerns. They way it's resolved felt really natural as well, and you never get the feeling that anyone in the family is malicious. You can feel how much they care for each other, even when they make missteps.

This book was fantastic. It's a classic enemies-to-lovers story, but it's crafted beautifully. Nora is initially positioned as the "city girlfriend" that gets repeatedly dumped by the protagonists of other stories. However, she is relatable, well written, and her relationship with Charlie feels natural and honest.

They don't do the tired plot point of not being open with each and then getting upset over a misunderstanding. Both characters live their lives in a straightforward and direct manner, and communicate to each other in a similarly honest way. This made their struggles feel less selfish, and more collaborative.

I was real worried about how Henry was going to end the story (I even had my stationary at the ready to write a strongly-worded letter), but she stuck the landing. I will be reading more of her work.

I struggled a bit in the first chapter, but that was probably me more than the book. The story takes place in a forest town inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. My struggle was trying to visualize a fox, a mouse, and a moose all inhabiting the same coffee shop and interacting. So I just threw away realism, and thought of them as roughly the same size and looking like story book characters. Sometimes they leaned in too hard to the stereotypes of some animals.

The story and mystery itself is rather good. The main character, Vera, is believable as a journalist, and she's makes some good choices to solve the mystery (some aren't even correct, but they are logically sound). The characters are varied and colorful, and it's not a clear right and wrong to each one. The authors had me second guessing who I thought was the murderer right to the end, and I appreciated that.

Another book with a found family. I'm not sure if it's becoming a popular setup, or if I'm just unconsciously leaning into it myself.

This is a cozy book. The protagonist, Mika, is a lonely witch that's somewhat given up on people. She's a person of color (which I think is rad), but that doesn't factor heavily in the story. This book isn't meant to change minds or shine a light on prejudice or any such thing. It's a cozy romance with magic.

Mika lands a job tutoring three young witches (which is very much against the Rules), and finds delight with a mismatch group of caring people.

The characters are a delight to read. There's lots of funny moments, lots of touching moments, and a very spicy scene between Mika and her romantic interest. I loved it, and if you like light-hearted romance, you probably will as well.

I'm not even sure where to start with this one. The book focuses on the crew of the Ambit, a ship that's part of a peace-keeping organization.

Each member is a delight to read about, and the author switches perspectives to get a sampling of the characters' internal thoughts and motivations. Each one has feelings and beliefs and a history that makes them feel like real people. Some of the personality quirks feel a little cliche if you think about it too hard, but it didn't detract for me from how much I cared for them by the end of the book.

The author did a fantastic job pulling my emotions this way and that while the crew traveled the galaxy. I strongly recommend giving this one a read.

The quality of the writing is good. The explanation and description of events, magic, and emotions are clear and well done. The explanation of the magic in this world felt like there was a logic to it, but it's hard to comprehend. Which is how you want it when the protagonist, Ivy, was never a part of this world. She's an outsider looking in.

The story itself was pretty good, but not a particularly positive one. It's a bit of a downer. Personally, I found most of the characters unlikable. They had a haughtiness to them that made me want to smack each one of them upside the head. The exceptions being one of the teachers and the school secretary. The main character, Ivy, while not a great person overall, gets a dollop of empathy from me, and her actions make sense within the context of her life. From the start, she doesn't hide that she regrets a number of her choices in the story.

It's a good book, but I don't think I could read it more than once.

I grabbed a couple mass-market paperbacks from my local library. I wasn't expecting an amazing read, but I was expecting a little better than I got.

For a murder mystery, there wasn't a whole lot of mystery happening. The victim dies early in the book, but the majority of time is spent following the main character, Tori, being threatened by her boyfriend's former girlfriend. Tori and her friends are implicated in the murder, and the chief of police takes turns harassing each one without looking for actual clues or checking alibis. He just interrogates them repeatedly, hoping that one of them will confess. In the few moments when Tori does investigate the murder, she has clue and connections drop into her lap, but she doesn't put anything together until the final pages of the book.

"A novel of high fantasy... and low stakes"

You get exactly as it reads on the tin for this book. It feels to me like a romantic comedy in book form. An orc woman stops adventuring to start a coffee shop. What follows is hi-jinks, suspiciously convenient events, and mostly non-conflicts. Even the worst thing that happens to the main character in the book is not so very terrible in the end.

Unless you are bothered by same-sex relationships, nothing in this book is a game changer for fantasy nor will it challenge your view of the world. Personally, I loved it. It's like a warm cup of coffee in the morning.