Justin Chen > Recent Status Updates

"She released her breath. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding it."
OF COURSE this would make an appearance 🤣

I cannot dissociate the name 'Sam Smith' from the singer...

This is extremely enjoyable—but I don't know how it's going to top the antics in the first couple chapters.

Bruno is possibly the most charismatic drunk.
P.S. GREAT audiobook narrator

Shockingly, I'm slightly bored at this point—the writing is so padded, you can skip every other sentence and not miss a plot point. Will still finish since I do want to know who's the culprit.

"The enormous refrigerator which is now full of food that must be thawing and spoiling." What's with snow-bound murder mystery's odd obsession with spoiling food (Ruth Ware's One by One being another)?! The lack of electricity means the whole place is literally an ice box!

It's so hard writing a murder mystery set in isolation, taking place in the 2010s (and beyond)—because we have enough technologies nowadays we are never fully cut off from the rest of the world—just encountered a slight loophole in the narrative.

This is... not great. But I was looking for something a bit brainless, and this fits the bill.

Eyes Wide Shut 😱

Still 100% hooked, love the supernatural undertone! (Also, it feels very much like a screenplay at times—very dialog heavy)

While the writing is very immersive, with a gentle flow, I'm a bit at loss regarding the romance—the extreme wavering of emotion and its consequence doesn't quite make sense to me.

Was expecting a human story, but ended up getting a human story PLUS a locked-room mystery, and I'm totally OK with that!

This is SO gripping, if you like investigative story you'll be into this!
It does throw A LOT of characters at you all at once, listening on audio helps with keeping track who's who.

I realized one of my primary preferences for historical romance while reading this book: needing a rich story beyond just the couple's relationship.