The story failed to hook me. The first chapter pretty much tells us outright where Hal went, so there's very little mystery to Sorrow's investigation. It all feels very cliché and on-the-nose, and I just don't have it in me to keep reading.

Having some futuristic vernacular written likeThis could've been a neat idea if it wasn't used in every other paragraph.

Also, wedAge? Really? That sounds like something out of a parody skit about ridiculous YA tropes.

I really wanted to give this a fair shot but I just couldn't take it seriously.

This is a very well-written book, but I'm 200 pages in and Mary has hardly done anything at all out of her own volition. She talks a big talk to her sister behind closed doors but isn't clever or brave enough to back it up with actions, and in fact doesn't seem to even

want to do that. I'm not a history buff so I'm not sure if this was done in the name of accuracy, but

boy is it frustrating. I was expecting something with a strong female lead and ended up sorely disappointed.

I was really enjoying this book, up until around a mid-way point when a certain scene took place.

I could perhaps rationalize Jamie punishing Claire with a belt as a learning moment for the both of them, if he hadn't in that same scene admitted to enjoying it. If he hated hurting someone he loved and that made him rethink his view of corporal punishment, that would've made for a good plot point (in my humble opinion), but instead she was the one learning that this sort of violence was apparently justified.

Also this happened the same day she almost got raped (and this was the closest she came to that actually happening, too)—you'd think that was punishment enough for her foolishness!

"But that's how it was back then—" Shh. I don't care. This is time travel romance fiction. Claire met

the Loch Ness monster like two chapters ago, ffs.

Days later, I'm still upset. I desperately wanted to like this book; maybe that's why I ignored some very questionable lines from both Claire and Jamie, up until I couldn't anymore. I loved Gabaldon's writing, even highlighted some unique turns of phrase she used. I really hope I can find something like this (but not

too like this, I don't want another heartbreak over a book having too much rape in it).

The book absolutely lived up to my expectations. I loved it.

I could guess at some of the plot twists, but not the others, so it never stopped being thrilling.

The triangle truly is the strongest shape.

T. Kingfisher has a knack for writing small towns and horrid grandmothers, and the two books of hers that I read seem to be a part of an extended universe (if Pondsboro and the goth barista are anything to go by).

The Twisted Ones and

A House with Good Bones follow a similar formula, but I don't mind because I happen to like it very much. This book isn't half as scary as

The Twisted Ones, but it has its moments. It's a light read and it kept me engaged throughout, made me smile and chuckle and learn way too much about bugs.

It might not be a literary masterpiece but I'm giving it 5 stars regardless, because it left me with a pleasant afterglow and a desire to read more of Kingfisher's works.

This was... phenomenal. It's rare for a book of this length to keep me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing, but this one managed it. The twists and turns of the story had

just enough breathing room between them to keep me engaged but not overwhelmed.

The world-building of the book is very well done, and it never feels like the author is infodumping on you. You can easily infer the meaning of world-specific terms from the context, but there's also a glossary at the end of the book (as I've discovered after finishing it LOL)

Similarly, I wish I knew beforehand that the book has a pronunciation guide at the end of it, because my internal narrator butchered a lot of names.

Also, I'm now reading the author's previous series (which I almost never do) because I really liked his writing.

This writing style just isn't my cup of tea.

The book is long and slow-paced, but the writing isn't dense and it kept me engaged. There are a lot of POVs so it can get a little confusing, but I enjoyed getting a peek into the characters' psyche. And the mystery of it all made me second-guess myself multiple times: is this supernatural or are they just on drugs?

As a trans person myself, I've read my fair share of stories with trans protagonists. But the writing in this one had all the subtlety and grace of a punch to the face, and I found myself cringing more times than not. So yeah, I decided to drop it (and looking at some of the reviews, it was the right choice).