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This sounds like a great book, and the photos of your cats are even more wonderful! Thanks for including them

I agree! I think some people though get annoyed with books like this that are setting up a different world than when it's set somewhere modern. I also don't mind slow burn books when I can feel it's going somewhere....

that's a nice way to describe it, a bit slow at times but it's a journey/questing book so that's to be expected

Aw, what a timely review. I recently saw that photo of Ian McKellen and Tim Curry in Amadeus and you're right--what a treat! Makes me wish I could time travel to see that production. I need to go watch Treasure...

LOL. Depending if you have an issue against all horror would skip, but this is not gory like some horror novels.

Ah I'm so conflicting on one hand five stars!!! on the other horror which noooo

I come back to this book once a year and I can never figure out why she gives James the time of day? Like, I get why she forgives and moves on with her life, but the two of them...

Oh no… get four now. Wanda, sweet oblivious Wanda, inadvertently makes a big splash in four (as one does) and you want to see it. It sets up five and whatever is on tap for six.

Until this review, I don’t think I noticed just how many adventures Maggie has in this book. I do recall frequently checking my progress bar to figure out if I was nearing the midpoint or ending, though, so maybe I...

This book was a weird ride. I want to say it’s the WASP version of Reesa Teesa’s Who TF Did I Marry except it isn’t. The way Burden tells it, the reader is just as blindsided by James’s departure as...

She does to a certain degree, but growing up with a paranoid mother makes her less discerning of other people’s bad intentions.

does Maisie have to wrestle with her mother's paranoia being valid?

just to say that using this as right is such genius ha

I started reading this back in March but haven’t picked it up since April (I was at about 60% through). I had never read David Copperfield so I think I expected it to cover a longer period of time, instead...

I read this last year after hearing the author interviewed. I really enjoyed it! As you mentioned, it's well told and entertaining but still so full of interesting facts. The comparisons to present times weren't often flatly stated, but readily...

I'm actually surprised, I felt like this book wouldn't hold up very well at all just because of the overall Discourse around it. Heartening that it does

I really liked Dr No. James was good but got a little dark. Erasure was great but I hated the book within the book. I don’t think we’re supposed to like it, but it was still about 60 pages of...

I can see this being one of my top reads this year. I keep thinking about it

The cat gets an okay amount of page time. She is an 18 year old senior lady who belongs to Bennett and has her own room in the house and is meant to indicate people's moods/comfort levels by her willingness...

I loved this book. One of my top five reads from last year.

which one(s) would you recommend?

I've liked the Percival Everett books I've read and do plan to read more, but I think I'll skip this one. I prefer to avoid gore.

I am weak for pretty pictures and surrealism. Although as time gets me away from this book, I've putting most of the blame on the author for being a good writer.

Okay, but there is a cat on the cover. Does the cat get sufficient page time? For example, I thought considering that cat shelter was in the title, Heather Fawcett’s latest could have used the cats a bit more/better.

Good analysis! I definitely felt the contempt.

Thank you!! I thought it was crap and you’ve explained why better than I ever could. I have just one thing to add. This poorly written book was also a money grab.

The cover is amazing, though.

I absolutely LOVED of monsters and mainframes, I didn't read your review but I am putting this on hold immediately

Yes, I would agree with that.

I almost think of her like a jobbing author, which feels mildly rare outside of romance/mystery novelists? A small cut below Taylor Jenkins Reid in that regard.

Yeah, it's a rare book series that stands firm on its "no, the world as we have it is terrible" legs--sometimes I think of the series of unfortunate events, but that's not quite the same vibe as these. The fact...

I gave this a much more generous rating but a lot of that was right time, right book and spillover good vibes from reading Good Material which I found hilarious (and also read at the exact right time, e.g., right...

Congrats on your finished bingo card! For whatever reason, neither Mexican Gothic nor Gods of Jade and Shadow really resonated with me, so I just gave up on reading her books. This sounds interesting though, so maybe I'll give it...

I’m glad you liked it. Perla is definitely a seasoned manipulator. Ulises is not as seasoned a con artist as he thinks he is. He’s such a flop. I loved him. [spoiler title="Spoiler"] I especially love that he and Ines...

It's funny how people valorize being amicable and 'bigger people' when honestly, some good old fashioned comeuppance delivered in a timely manner would work well...

Yesss that would be perfect

Happy Cannonball! I loved this book so much. I’m glad you liked it.

Happy cannonball! I feel like stories about so-called amicable divorces sort of get to me, but I loved reading this review

yes! and they could get involved with Austen character drama still, right, like family gossip and resultant issues sans murder can also take up plot B time

You know, after Heated Rivalry there was all this talk about what a female/female equivalent would be, given that ice hockey (and soccer, basketball, etc) are already pretty openly gay and full of couples. I do think that tennis is...

Wait I would LOVE if your prediction came true! And would also love it if eventually Juliet and Jonathan just had their own little detective agency, solving crimes that weren’t necessarily connected to Austen characters. Because like you said, eventually...

When I get like this I ask my id what it wants to read.

The ending was kind of wild!

I don't remember much about this book, and I do not remember a Choose Your Own Adventure section at all! They may have changed it or taken it out for the audiobook, but I have no way of knowing.

I loved it; I have been in a bit of book slump lately but this one was a nice, “it isn’t you, it’s the books you are reading” reminder because I flew through this one.

Yay, someone else who is (was) reading this! I have about 20% of the book to go; I hope to finish soon!

I just wrote my review of this and don't really want to go back and add more, but I completely forgot about the "pressure to be perfect" of it all--such a powerful theme

having just read this (as an actual book!) I'm curious if you recall how the audiobook dealt with the choose your own adventure section!

Good lord! Good on you for finishing. That character sucks. I hope he ends up stabbed at the end of this book. And I recall being told to read this and I just never even added it to my TBR...

the books are so good my fav is fruitcake I loved it so much