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A review by birdie_is_here
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
It was a decent book, but honestly, didn't add a whole lot to the original story. Some parts of it had me wondering why Viv struggled so much with opening her own business in Legends & Lattes, since a lot of the required skills came decently easy to her in this prequel.
The first act was good, but the pacing and tension suffered heavily in the later second and third acts for me. There was also minimal buildup to the final encounter with the Big Bad, which made the climax feel... kind of hollow. It's hard to have great pay off if the setup is lax. I also couldn't pinpoint a 'Dark Night of the Soul' plot beat, which may have been part of the problem? I'm not really sure.
One of the main relationships that makes up the emotional core of the book--Maylee and Viv --felt underdeveloped and almost contrived, and the gut-punch that the ending was supposed to have between them felt more like a slap on the wrist.
In the acknowledgements, Baldree admits they struggled with finding the story; despite this, the timeline of writing the book was less than six months. In the nicest way possible, it shows. Given a few more drafts, maybe some (more?) developmental editing, and less of a time crunch, this could have been a pretty good book. But, personally, it just didn't hit right.
The first act was good, but the pacing and tension suffered heavily in the later second and third acts for me. There was also minimal buildup to the final encounter with the Big Bad, which made the climax feel... kind of hollow. It's hard to have great pay off if the setup is lax. I also couldn't pinpoint a 'Dark Night of the Soul' plot beat, which may have been part of the problem? I'm not really sure.
One of the main relationships that makes up the emotional core of the book--
In the acknowledgements, Baldree admits they struggled with finding the story; despite this, the timeline of writing the book was less than six months. In the nicest way possible, it shows. Given a few more drafts, maybe some (more?) developmental editing, and less of a time crunch, this could have been a pretty good book. But, personally, it just didn't hit right.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Gore