Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

👍 Thumbs up for The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer.

An author of a series of much beloved children's books creates a contest in which the winner will be awarded the rights a new book in the series. The participants are selected based on having met him as a child under very particular circumstances. One of the lucky contestants is a young woman who wants desperately to adopt a child but cannot meet the financial requirements. This could be her last and only chance.

I was unsure about this one in the beginning. The early parts of the book dwell on the main character's circumstances and her desire to adopt. However, once the contest comes into play the book became delightful. I enjoyed the secluded island, the hermit author and the games that they played. This part of the book was cheesy and sometimes predictable, but it was the right kind of cheesy and predictable.

3 love a good riddle stars.

Quotable:

“What’s a foot but not part of the body? Afoot, not a foot. As Sherlock Holmes once said, “The game is afoot.”
― Meg Shaffer, The Wishing Game

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”
― Meg Shaffer, The Wishing Game

“Hate is a knife without a handle. You can't cut something with it without cutting yourself.”
― Meg Shaffer, The Wishing Game

12 books way to go!

Completely agree about Chain-gang. I'm going to steer clear of Ripley I think.

Lillie wrote: "#57-59 3* A
Sunshine Vikram #1-3

A fun little interlude as..."


I liked the Sunshine Vikram series too. Glad to see you enjoyed it. And of course, adding the will of many to the never-ending TBR.

Beginning to listen to The Wishing Game

👍 Thumbs up for Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross.

Two young people struggle to make their way in the world. Both work for the same newspaper on a trial basis, vying for the same job. While they are from very different backgrounds, both have challenges and disappointments to deal with in their personal lives. Both receive great comfort from corresponding magically with an unknown person. Both end up as war correspondents in the war of the gods. You can see where this is going but it's the world building that makes the story here and it is really well done.

When I picked this book up I expected an American Gods/Percy Jackson mashup. Not at all. What I got was more Romeo and Juliet meet Harry Potter. A magical world much like ours but with gods who have started a war and are manipulating the human population into fighting it. At the center of the magical buildings and typewriters etc. are two young people from different sides of the tracks. Excellent but understated world building and a sweet little romance. The whole thing reads more like magical realism than a story built in it own unique fantasy world.

4 Hades/Persephone but not stars.

Quotables:

“By all means, don’t stop on account of me or my floor. I claimed who I wasn’t, and you then—quite naturally—asked who I am, but I think it’s better this way. That we keep our identities secret and just rest in the fact that some old magic is at play here, connecting our doorways. But just in case you were wondering … I’ll gladly read whatever you write.”
― Rebecca Ross, Divine Rivals

“My favorite season is autumn, because my mum and I both believed that’s the only time when magic can be tasted in the air.”
― Rebecca Ross, Divine Rivals

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn't quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. We were there.”
― Kristin Hannah, The Women

#24 The Women I can't say enough good things about this one. I'll just say I think it is the best Kristin Hannah book that I have read. It is the story of a young girl who volunteers to go to Vietnam as an army nurse. It is also the story of all the young girls who volunteered to go to Vietnam as nurses. Really well done. 3 they were there stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Historical.

#25 Romantic Comedy Definitely another winner! The romance between a comedy writer on an SNL-like T.V. show and one of the show's celebrity guest hosts. Funny and sweet. 4 romance with a healthy dose or realism stars. ebook. Romance-Comedy.

#26 Emma of 83rd Street (1) A really good retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. Modernized but true in spirit to the original. It seems though that I have unknowingly started a new series of Austen retellings. Oops. Oh well, the Pride and Prejudiced retelling appears to be next. Who can resist that? 4 Mr. Knightly book crush stars. Audiobook. Romance-Retelling.

26 books/2989 pages

Current:
Divine Rivals Audiobook. Pleasantly surprised by this one.

“Thank God for girlfriends. In this crazy, chaotic, divided world that was run by men, you could count on the women.”
― Kristin Hannah, The Women

“That was the starting and ending point in life: love. The journey was everything in between.”
― Kristin Hannah, The Women

Patricia wrote: "I loved Homecoming. Look forward to hearing what you think about Divine Rivals."

So far I'm really enjoying it. It surprised me in a good way. Not exactly what I expected.

Giving two thumbs up 👍👍 to Curtis Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy. (Why two thumbs up? Because it's my challenge and I can if I want to)

A comedy writer for a fictional SNL-like T.V. show enjoys a weeklong flirtation with a celebrity guest host. Unfortunately due to her insecurities it all ends badly at the show's afterparty. Fast forward a couple of years and the celebrity reaches out during the pandemic lockdown. But can our writer get past her own walls and build a relationship with someone she cares about or will fame and her own head games get in the way.

I truly enjoyed this one. The first part of the book that dealt with the fictional comedy show was a lot of fun. I've read some of the memoirs from the women of SNL (Bossypants etc.) and this really rang true. I was surprised when we shifted gears to the pandemic but those parts turned out to be better than I initially thought they would. This story was not only funny and romantic, but it also felt more realistic than your typical romance.

4 life is weird and sometimes funny stars.

Quotable:

“Right? Because hot eventually gets boring, but funny never does.”
― Curtis Sittenfeld, Romantic Comedy

“Just as I always did, I’d turn my feelings into comedy, and that was how I’d cure myself.”
― Curtis Sittenfeld, Romantic Comedy

“It was a belated realization to have, but it occurred to me that perhaps this was how grown-up conversations worked—not that your communication didn’t falter, but that you both made good-faith attempts to rectify things after it had.”
― Curtis Sittenfeld, Romantic Comedy

I also started listening to Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross.

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Thumbs up 👍 for Homecoming by Kate Morton."

This looks really good, I may have to put it on my list. I'm only hesita..."

It wasn't perfect but for me the true crime vibe to the historical story sold it. Those sections felt just like a true crime book (a genre I do enjoy from time to time) and I wanted to get to the resolution and find out what happened. I usually enjoy Kate Morton, but I like to put plenty of time between reading her books. For me the issue is the multiple timelines. I read and like books with that format but I'm not a huge fan of it. Pick one and let's go with it. If there isn't enough there for a book we probably shouldn't write it.

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Giving myself permission to listen more than read has helped me squeeze that in and keep calm"

This sentence right here! Once I let go of what I thought of as reading (for me the ..."

You couldn't have described it better. I have enjoyed audiobooks for as long as I have been listening to them but I always separated listening and reading. I still do but the line blurs more and more and it feels good.

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Wow Lillie! You are really knocking them out. Over 50 books and we aren't even in March yet. Looks like you had some good ones!"

Audiobooks are so much easier to speed through tha..."

I'm discovering that you are right about that Lillie. While I still love to sit down and actually read a book, I seem to have less and less time to do that. Unfortunately, the more hurried and stressed I am the more I need my book therapy. Giving myself permission to listen more than read has helped me squeeze that in and keep calm. I'm not up to double speed yet but I can usually listen at 1.5 so I'm getting there. Maybe its not ideal but its better than Melatonin.

Wow Lillie! You are really knocking them out. Over 50 books and we aren't even in March yet. Looks like you had some good ones!

Lillie wrote: "Ugh! I'm sorry you had a couple of stinkers. I'll have to keep them in mind and steer clear.

Based on your continued enjoyment of the Mercy Thompson series, I've downloaded the audiobook. Hope to ..."

Oh well. The next few books will be all the better for the comparison. You should try Mercy. It is over the top but I like the humor and the bad ass main character.

“Hold thy peace, dear little Pearl!" whispered her mother. "We must not always talk in the market-place of what happens to us in the forest.”
― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

#20 Silence Fallen Mercy is kidnapped by vampires and escapes even before Adam can find her but being Mercy she stirs up plenty of trouble while waiting for him to catch up. Not the strongest book in this Urban Fantasy series but still enjoyable. 3 ghosts and golems stars. Audiobook. Fantasy-Paranormal.

#21 Amazing Grace Adams I was going to rate this higher because I thought I was hating it just because I didn't care for the main character, and I wasn't in the mood for disfunction. As the story went on, however, and more was revealed; I realized that it was the main character's family and friends I didn't like. Who lets something like that happen to someone they care about? Also, this was extreme for a breakdown. By the end I just sort of felt that what happened was necessary and maybe deserved. As bad as her pain obviously was does that excuse the behavior? It was just a terrible and depressing story. Don't read it. 2 headbutting people on the subway is not OK stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Contemporary.

#22 Same Time Next Year This was supposed to be a short, funny romance with the marry me so I can get a green card trope. It was short. It was not either romantic or particularly funny. I would describe it as long passages of soft porn strung together by a poorly executed story. 2 TMI stars. ebook. Romance-Bad.

#23 The Scarlet Letter This is not the first time (or maybe even the second) that I have read this classic. It is the first time I actually could say I liked it. Maybe it takes the right frame of mind or the right amount of life experience. I did enjoy this reading and felt more charity for the main character than I did before and more disgust with both of the male leading characters. I decided though that some of the hate for this American classic must come from the fact that Hawthorne decided to open the book with a lengthy (and I assume fictitious) introduction in the first person. It was pointless to the story and unbelievably boring. Also I felt while reading it and looking up words every other page (thank goodness I was on an ereader) that I'm pretty sure Hawthorne just made up some of those words. I mean "plashy". I guess the meaning is obvious but couldn't he just say splashy like everyone else? 3 superfluous introductions and overly ostentatious wording stars. ebook. Classic.

23 books/2467 pages

Current:
The Women Audiobook. Sooooo good.
Romantic Comedyebook. Hate to put this one down.

“...if truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom...”
― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

I started reading Romantic Comedy over the weekend. Curtis Sittenfeld is always hit or miss with me. Unless something goes terribly wrong in the rest of the book this one is going to be a hit. I am loving it so far.

Ooooh! Beach read challenge such a good idea.

Lillie wrote: "#10 The Scourge Between Stars 2.5* P

This was too short! I know it was a novella but I wanted more. The ideas were good but they need..."

I didn't like Scourge much either. I gave it 3 stars but that was being generous. It had all the set up for a great book either sci-fi or horror but it just didn't make it. Disappointing.

Karol wrote: "Rats! Even as I try to pare down my "To Read" list, I find that I MUST add Homecoming to it."

Definitely add it Karol. It will keep you invested.