Jaime Leigh > Recent Status Updates

But I was hoping I could change him! 🤦

I read that the publisher recommends this for ages 8+ and I can't disagree more. There is a lot of violence, depiction of corpses both human and animal, consumption of animal and animal companions in gruesome ways, poisonings and comas, child abuse, attempted sexual assault, magic body horror, murder, death and injury, kidnapping of children for ransom, people driven to insanity. Upper YA at least!

Man, they really knocked him out so quickly. That was so anticlimactic

I kid you not this is the THIRD scene where Charlie craps all over Emma while she overhears what he has to say in a convo supposedly behind closed doors. I do not care if this is a "the things that matter don't matter" for Charlie thing. Like she said THIS ISNT THE FIRST TIME HES SAID THESE THINGS.
So frustrating. 🙃

The "meet cute" moments feel so stilted and I can't stop thinking of Charlie as like a middle aged dude and not someone the same age as the MC or slightly older. Apparently I'm not the only one.

I hate that the MC continues to see her hair negatively and as something annoying than something beautiful.
I also hate when she asks "What" questions when she clearly already knows the answer.
Just nitpicky stuff

The diving board scene makes the MC seem incredibly childish

Okay. The dinner scene was overly cliche and I am so incredibly done with the plot moving forward with the MC listening in on conversations behind "closed doors."

I'm SO tired of hearing how amazing Charlie Yates is. He's cool. He's her favorite author. We GET IT!

I forgot how much I liked this world. Avery is a good addition. Reading in physical format this time because there isn't an audiobook available. I feel like the audiobook would be good though.

I needed a Rom Com and this one came in Libby at just the right time. Good to breakup Dragonfruit, which is honestly kind of depressing sometimes, and life.

Ya know, just casual kid consumption.

Getting back to this and enjoying it again. Would love to have a physical copy to highlight.

Already making me glad I switched from Funny Story to this. Love the writing style, the story and lore of the world already, and the MCs.

TW:Fantasy animal death and description of violence against fantasy animals, consumption of fantasy animal parts, and fantasy animal dead bodies. Physical harm to a minor including burning by cigar (in the past). Scene of MC girl bathing where she fights off someone who's intentions are insinuated as wanting to sexually assault her (not super intense or graphic. More insinuated. But still there).

DNF.
Don't love either main characters and honestly, it is really boring.

Julia Whelan is truly the best 🙏

"Man. I can't let Jackson distract me from the mission. We're wasting so much precious time. It's throwing the heist all off!"
Two seconds later
-Is distracted by Jackson again-
At this point this pattern has repeated so, so many times. 😡

The plot is fun and campy. However, the pacing isn't right. Right when we're starting to get moving, it gets slowed by background or interruptions. Some adversity is makes sense, but the number of interruptions is annoying and it feels like they should be resolved quicker. Honestly, I think if the crew bonding/was done in the front end, the heist part would be much stronger. It didn't benefit to jump in/explain later

I have a feeling the dialogue is supposed to be over the top, but hearing her try to be all James Bond about the seriousness of the heist and her revenge makes me want to laugh sometimes.

This is really fun so far. I do wonder if the story would have been less slowed in parts if some of the backstories were established before the heist, rather than have the heist running and filling in as we went. Sometimes it feels like the breaks in the heist to give character motives are slowing it down.

This is giving me Little White Lies vibes and I'm optimistic

Lenore and David are my favorite couple in this book. I swear, if they don't get together in the end, I'm going to be *royally* pissed.

Rereading to prep for the sequel - One of my most anticipated releases of the year!