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plaidpladd's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
It's hard to rate this book because some things were really good and some things were really bad, so I'm going with an average rating. The cozy vibes and supporting cast are the stars of the show here, to the point where I wish the romance plot line didn't exist because the book would be much stronger. The "hero" is the absolute worst part of this book. The narration bends over backwards trying to justify his creepy behavior as not creepy, but it still is! He still sucks! I also think, like a lot of recent publications, this book suffers from the push to heavily rely on tropes for marketing purposes. A book can have found family without cramming the idea of found family down your throat and mentioning it constantly, as if the author doesn't trust the reader to recognize it unless it is spelled out bluntly multiple times. It makes the story feel constructed rather than organic (obviously all stories are constructed, but the best ones don't feel that way). Lastly, the cover is amazing and I feel like is doing a lot of work selling this thing lol.
mels_reading_log's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I love a book where a collection of misfits and weirdos come together to become a family. When Iris inherits a large Victorian house she cannot afford, she takes in roommates: a grumpy old man, a sassy newly divorced grandma, a witch, a hottie with a secret and a teenager with a horrible home life. Not only do most of them have nowhere else to go, but they love the purple house, so when their home is under attack, they fight back. This was just a delightfully happy book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Abandonment
gabfat's review
Couldn’t even get through the first few pages - this is badly written
iviarelle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Having a big bag of mixed but mostly positive feelings about this one. On the one hand, I relate all too hard to Iris, and I really do love the shape of this story. On the other hand, the ending felt really rushed, leaving me with a bit of a sour aftertaste on the whole thing. I'd hoped that having somewhat less scale than the previous book set in this world would mean the ending might get more time and space to breathe, but it didn't, and it's not sitting so well for me. Particularly, the resolution of the conflict is just too fast. Iris flies to see Eli, he rushes her into his bedroom while Liz is out in the living space, and there's just a cursory apology and promise never to lie to her again before they fall into bed WHILE LIZ IS STILL OUTSIDE THAT DOOR?! Not to mention the fae "blessing" that if he causes Iris even a moment of sadness he'll die on the spot, like, that's not how healthy relationships are built no matter how cute it sounds in the moment. But everything else felt so good, I can't take more than half a star away.
alehell's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
taylorwitte's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This started as a 4 star book but when she and Eli got in that little fight it started going downhill. Of course she’s a fae princess and everything works out. Of course even though there’s six wildly different people SHARING ONE BATHROOM they all get along. I loooove the found family trope, but no one in real life is saying it out loud this much after only two weeks.
ntembeast's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't normally read romance books, but the cover drew me in immediately, and then the premise sounded charming and unusual enough to be my cup of tea, and man, I'm so so happy I wasn't disappointed with this book.
This book is like You Can't Take It With You (Movie 1938) meets queer found family with a modern world touched with the supernatural and it just was so freaking good.
I'm an absolute sucker for really good found-family anythings but this was done so damn well! I loved every single character and they were all hilarious and wonderful and moving in their own ways. They lived, they breathed, the oozed life off the pages of the book and I was sucked right into it from the get go. Even though this book is a romance, the romance happened gradually and naturally and was paced so well! I loved the steady slow development and the hilarious premise that got Iris and Eli together in the first place, but I was completely engrossed in the day-to-day life so much that the romance was just an added bonus to getting to meet all these diverse characters and see how they interacted with each other, how they found their place in the house, how everything came together just in the best and most fulfilling way.
Speaking of diversity-- THANK YOU ANN AGUIRRE! I have never seen a romance pull off diversity in such a natural, casual way and make it so fantastic. Even though the main relationship in this book is a straight one, the trans rep, the bi/pan/poly drops, the nonbinary and gender-nonconforming moments, the queerness everywhere, the aro/ace rep, the ability to see older queer and questioning people on the page living outside of the constraints of monogamy and leaving marriages that didn't work for them?! I am living for every single ounce of goodness that was constantly being found with such natural and comfortable and easy familiarity in a world where it all is and makes sense! What a flawless way to portray SO MANY wonderful things! Absolute hats off to the author, because this was so SO well done! With such heart and soul, and such clear love. I can't thank the author enough for it.
What an honestly delightful, comforting, joyful, hilarious, and fantastic read. Not only am I buying this book now, but I absolutely have to read everything else this author has written, because I loved this so much. Highly, highly recommend if anything I've said here sparked any amount of interest. It took me a few pages to be sold, because again, I don't normally read in this genre, but man... what a wonderful book. I'm so damn happy I gave this a shot, because I absolutely loved it.
This book is like You Can't Take It With You (Movie 1938) meets queer found family with a modern world touched with the supernatural and it just was so freaking good.
I'm an absolute sucker for really good found-family anythings but this was done so damn well! I loved every single character and they were all hilarious and wonderful and moving in their own ways. They lived, they breathed, the oozed life off the pages of the book and I was sucked right into it from the get go. Even though this book is a romance, the romance happened gradually and naturally and was paced so well! I loved the steady slow development and the hilarious premise that got Iris and Eli together in the first place, but I was completely engrossed in the day-to-day life so much that the romance was just an added bonus to getting to meet all these diverse characters and see how they interacted with each other, how they found their place in the house, how everything came together just in the best and most fulfilling way.
Speaking of diversity-- THANK YOU ANN AGUIRRE! I have never seen a romance pull off diversity in such a natural, casual way and make it so fantastic. Even though the main relationship in this book is a straight one, the trans rep, the bi/pan/poly drops, the nonbinary and gender-nonconforming moments, the queerness everywhere, the aro/ace rep, the ability to see older queer and questioning people on the page living outside of the constraints of monogamy and leaving marriages that didn't work for them?! I am living for every single ounce of goodness that was constantly being found with such natural and comfortable and easy familiarity in a world where it all is and makes sense! What a flawless way to portray SO MANY wonderful things! Absolute hats off to the author, because this was so SO well done! With such heart and soul, and such clear love. I can't thank the author enough for it.
What an honestly delightful, comforting, joyful, hilarious, and fantastic read. Not only am I buying this book now, but I absolutely have to read everything else this author has written, because I loved this so much. Highly, highly recommend if anything I've said here sparked any amount of interest. It took me a few pages to be sold, because again, I don't normally read in this genre, but man... what a wonderful book. I'm so damn happy I gave this a shot, because I absolutely loved it.
honeybie's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
a8bhatia's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
laurenmiller100's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
2.0
- Characters: 2
- Atmosphere/Setting: 3
- Writing Style: 3
- Plot: 3
- Intrigue: 2
- Logic/Relationships: 6
- Enjoyment: 4
This book is sort of sickly sweet. It’s enjoyable as a break between reading more serious books but at time the writing style is overly straightforward and even a bit preachy. There’s a lot of LGBTQ inclusion, but it feels shoehorned in and overly righteous instead of natural.
The characters also feel a bit flat and the dialogue is pretty stilted. It’s cute, but not particularly well executed. Also,