Dida > Recent Status Updates

In the middle of reading this, I came to a startling revelation. I was having *fun*?! It'll never be Tolkien but it's certainly not the Everything Wrong With Books Today, some proclaim. More to come.

Something happened to me in the middle of reading (slogging? Not the right word) this...I realized...I was having *fun*. Not only was I having fun but I was *actively invested* in the story. It's never replace Lord of the Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire or Tad Williams or Frank Herbert for sheer immersion for me.
But I * was * enjoying myself?! Fellow reader I am shooketh. More to come.

Barely past chapter five and we already have *four* references to oral sex. I don't mind but yeesh. Things are moving super fast but I'm enjoying this more than "The Cruel Prince", which I had to DNF for complete apathy.

We're half-way through and so far no real answers and clarity is coming. I can see reviewers frustrations now, I hope clarity is coming, Metaphorical navel gazing on childhood and growing up and innocence can be interesting but it's not a plot.

While I'm still loving the authors writing style and the plot has me breathless with suspense, we're falling into the trope of open secrets the MC doesn't know and for convenient reasons *cannot* know and characters (one in particular) is frustrated at MC and that shit drives me nuts. Here's to hoping it doesn't get worse.

I struggled through her YA novels, finding they just didn't click for me. But White's voice for her adult novels fits into what I'm looking for in a horror novel. Excited for the rest.

Never read a Schusterman, so far he's excellently given me some world building without info-dump vomiting all over me. Cleverly interspersed diary entries tell me all I need to know. Thumbs up so far. 👍🏽

Jesus Christ we lost Lehaba for this sanctimonious incompetent pretty boy to replace her presence in the story? And I'm sorry Sophie/Emilie is not anywhere near as interesting a mystery as Dannika was.

I'm starting to see what the issues are according to some reviewers. Lots and lots of talking and little of it anything other than world building and vaguely plot related. I also miss the days when Bryce wasn't hit on every single page rather than every day. I'm getting strong Sookie Stackhouse vibes.