Loved the scene with the magpie, loved the central mystery, loved both Cassie and the detective and their personal lives and struggles even more. But Loved the scene with the magpie, loved the central mystery, loved both Cassie and the detective and their personal lives and struggles even more. But ugh, what a wall-climber of an ending!
I've never been to camp, but I was obsessed with it as a kid. I’ve seen The Parent Trap! I've read Laura's Luck and countless other summery books! I lI've never been to camp, but I was obsessed with it as a kid. I’ve seen The Parent Trap! I've read Laura's Luck and countless other summery books! I love hot dogs and roasting marshmallows and sneaking around after dark with flashlights!
So this book, set at a soon-to-be-closed camp during its last hurrah with former campers, was such a pleasure. I loved the setting and all the activities, and the friendships and the sense of slowing down time. It made me feel nostalgic for something I’ve never actually experienced.
There are a few things that I think would have made me enjoy this more, however:
-- I really liked the two girls reconnecting, but I think focusing equal time on them (and specifically, their individual romances) diluted both their stories. I would have preferred if this was entirely Jessie’s POV with a strong Hillary friendship that either led into a book two for Hillary or just a reduced role/POV/relationship focus for her. Hillary’s romance wasn’t as compelling as Jessie’s anyway, and her back story is one we’ve read in many stories before.
-- There were a couple of times when the story lost its flow a little abruptly and I'm not sure why.
-- A little more time spent on Jessie's relationship would have made this more romantic. I liked it a lot, but it didn't quite hit swoon levels. (But ohhh—the dog!) I guess this is a hybrid of contemporary romance and “women’s” fiction.
-- But most importantly: call me heartless, but I think the ending would have been stronger if (view spoiler)[the camp had not been saved (hide spoiler)] and there hadn't been such a perfectly tied up HEA across the board. One of the worst things about summer is that it comes to an end--but it's also part of your growth process and what makes those memories particularly bittersweet. The emotional weight of yearning and sadness and trying to be brave are so well described throughout the story that the ending would have felt deeper and truer if it hadn't been quite so conventional.
3.5 stars I'm totally reading this duo's other books, though. Looks like they love all the summery things....more
2.5 stars Weird mix of contemporary romance (beginning is cute, with potential for lots of great angst) and eventually, controlling stalkery MMC behav2.5 stars Weird mix of contemporary romance (beginning is cute, with potential for lots of great angst) and eventually, controlling stalkery MMC behavior--the combo is jarring and not well done here, it really felt like two different books. Also repetitive and WAY too long at over 600 pages (originally published in two books with a cliffie, now combined).
There is something here in the emotions and relationships, but the writing is in need of more rounds before it would be cohesive....more
Stellar writing (and though it’s written with modern views and takes some liberties with language, it still feels properly historical for the most parStellar writing (and though it’s written with modern views and takes some liberties with language, it still feels properly historical for the most part) and a great, non-typical MMC. I was absolutely convinced he loved her, though I could have used more of her falling for him (or looking back on their history more). Very good, just very short.
Wish it had been a full novel. But how nice to find a new author I like!
She died just as she lived: alone, perplexed, and wearing something a bit shit.
There's nothing like a British rom com when the writing is sharp. So fuShe died just as she lived: alone, perplexed, and wearing something a bit shit.
There's nothing like a British rom com when the writing is sharp. So funny from beginning to end, with sparky chemistry and a lively heroine with a very full life—but one who sometimes feels uncertain and unanchored as well. There are also surprisingly touching secondary relationships, which are very close in feeling to the best parts of Sarra Manning's Unsticky.
Just…needs more plot and feeling. And not a thriller, but really not deep enough thematically and character-wise to be a literary thriller or literaryJust…needs more plot and feeling. And not a thriller, but really not deep enough thematically and character-wise to be a literary thriller or literary fiction, either.
2.5 stars
Audio Notes: The audiobook is a nice experience, though....more
2.5 stars Started out with such promise, but quickly swerved into some odd lanes.
Questionable police methods, a weird hard-on for acting, and most am2.5 stars Started out with such promise, but quickly swerved into some odd lanes.
Questionable police methods, a weird hard-on for acting, and most amazingly, a far-reaching, repetitive, and pretentious use of Charles Baudelaire’s poems as basis for murder.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Audio Notes: Sally Scott’s voice and narration are great, however (and made the audiobook and enjoyable experience). The audio effects that pushed into the play format/stage direction were not. They were tolerable at first, but then the simulated sex panting and dialogue steered this firmly into cringey and annoying territory. Just let Sally read me the story, please...more
Wendy Darling
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