The cover and the premise were an instant yes from me. They're both directly up my alley, and I was kind of hoping for something akin to the kids show in Nope.

Mister Magic doesn't quite get there though. The mechanic of having the main character repress her whole childhood was an amazing way into the story, forcing the reader to discover what's happening (or what happened) alongside Val was very well done. Some of the horror bits were definitely there as well, and the eeriness of the whole situation was palpable.

I think what spoiled it for me was the ending.

With the whole thing turning out to be a Mormon cult thing, it lessened the horror I was getting before that. Cheapened it, for me, a bit.

It just wasn't for me, and I found myself skimming more after the reveal than I had before.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was 100% written with me in mind. The vibes, the gothic spookiness, and even the monsters weirdly enough were so good.

The monster in her head kept things entirely interesting - like the general concept of magic as it stands in the world is interesting enough, but just the inscrutability of the Nightmare made things that much better.

Though like...finding out he was the Shepard King himself was kind of a duh moment.

I picked up the first one before the second came out, and went straight to BN when I finished this one to grab it because it was a requirement.

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

Well, if I hadn't already thought the conservatorship was bullshit and unnecessary, I certainly do now.

Her family/parents are awful, and I cannot understand how this never got more attention than it did until like 13 years after the fact. Absolutely horrendous.

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I was primed to not like this from the start. I have a major attachment to When Harry Met Sally, and it took me a bit to get past the differences (which like, it absolutely shouldn't have because obviously it can't be exactly the same, but the vibes were slightly different).

Once I did, though, I really enjoyed it! Josh was on my last nerve at first, and really so was Ari, but they end up growing both as characters and on you. There were definite "giggling, twirling my hair, kicking my feet" moments, and I wasn't entirely expecting to have any of them at the outset.

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

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dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Actually only read this on a whim because of booktok, but ultimately didn't have any real hopes for it because they also recommend Haunting Adeline so...

This definitely surprised me though. I always love a good morally gray love interest, and boy does Alex fit the bill. Both him and Ava were so similar and yet had such different reactions to their pasts that they really worked once they actually let themselves, and ended up being adorable.

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tinyhermione's reviews 259 reviews

tinyhermione's reviews
259 reviews