Status Updates From Into the Night (Troubleshoo...

I’m really starting to hate Sam in this book.

Re-read. Listening this time around.

I can’t put this book down and I have things to do.

“ She still was in shock over the fact that Sam had actually considered marrying Alyssa Locke. Mary Lou had called him on it once, and she’d seen from his eyes that he honestly didn’t see what was so wrong with that—a white man married to a black woman.”

Yeah, this sow deserves what she’s getting and what’s coming.

“Because unlike her husband who was obviously ruled by his dick rather rather than a sense of what was right or wrong, she’d never hooked up with someone who wasn’t white.”

And that right there sounds the death knell on any sympathy for this character.

Trying really hard to not feel like we're fridging Mary Lou so that Sam can have his path clear to Alyssa. REALLY HARD. (I should have skipped this book, tbh.)

Mary Lou's racism makes it EXCEPTIONALLY hard to read from her perspective Just saying. I hate it.

I just... do not understand why we have to read from Mary Lou's perspective when we also have Sam's story on this page. And all of her racist thoughts. Like. I don't need to read from her perspective. At all. I just don't.

I'm trying to decide how well I really think this series has aged and I feel like both well and not well. Like, I don't think I would like reading this series as much in the beginning at least if I was gay? But I feel like Brockmann does a good job in a lot of ways of pointing out the biases of the time and kind of correcting them. Idk. It's complicated.

My desire to read a single page from Mary Lou's POV is nonexistent. I still remember what she said about Alyssa in the last book and I'm not here for reading from this racist lady's POV. No, thank you. Please tell me that was the first and last snippet from her. *crosses fingers*

I can tell I'm not buying ANY of these relationships turning out well (except Joan's grandparents, but they're 60 years into a pretty great marriage). Joan is belittling and dismissive to Muldoon but he falls in love with her anyway? And the awful (despite this book's attempt to rehabilitate her) Mary Lou latches on to poor Ibrahim? What did he do to deserve a load of racist nonsense like her?!

Wow. This book is just full of people being nasty at each other. And Mary Lou is still garbage, no matter how hard SB tries to redeem her.

This narrator is aggressively mediocre. She differentiates voices for some characters, but not for others. It makes following dialogue difficult at times.

Attempts to make Mary Lou a sympathetic character not working for me...

Damn it to hell and back. I was really really really looking forward to Mike Muldoons book. I have kinda been in love with him since he was first introduced. So it is breaking my heart that I can not stand Joan and her stupid hangups about her age

Wow I would really love to strangle Mary Lou. I really do not like her and the shit coming out of her mouth. Im also having a hard time liking Joan all of her Im too old for you crap is getting old!!!!!!!

Chapter 27

Chapter 21

Chapter 15

Chapter 4

Omg I think I have a slight addiction- book 5 in maybe a week?? And these are really long!

Re read.... Damn Joan is annoying. Not sure why Mike is wasting his time. I can't stand woman like Joan. Re reading this whole series and I'm having a hard time with these woman all over again... Except Savannah and Alyssa

I kind of hate that I feel for Mary Lou. I still think she's an idiot. But she comes by it honestly. And I (sadly) understand her fear. Big mistakes suck.

I like this narrator much better than previous ones. Not a lot of character voices, but enough tone change to signal dialog, and her narrating voice has all the life the words (I believe) intend. Jury's still out on the story itself.

I am going to like this Joan character. She means business.

Sad, I know... Yesterday wasn't the day for me to read. Killer headache and in bed by 7.

OK, I'm not overly sympathetic to Mary Lou, but still... C'mon, Sam! Just 'cuz she's not Alyssa, you chose to marry her! Man up! At least try! If you married for your daughter, try for your daughter. You're just adding to your marriage misery!

Already loving this book... except I don't know how much more my heart can take of the Mary Lou-Sam-Alyssa story. Guess I have to make it to book 6 and live through that one, first, huh?

"It was like meeting Jesus and then wondering aloud if he suffered from athlete's foot." LMAO that has got to be the best line in this series so far.

This is not going to end well... just a feeling.