Jeffrey J.

Sadly the title is the best part

Reviewed: 10-22-22

solid premise, amazing title, terrible book. I wanted to love it- magical realism? historical fiction? gangsters, flappers, speaks and zesty 1920s slang? gay characters? all things I love. The writing is bad: plotting, dialogue (YOWZA that dialogue), prose, the whole shebang. Worse, it commits the unforgivable sin of being BORING. Cringey I can take as long as it's interesting.

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1 person found this helpful

absurdly bad

Reviewed: 08-14-22

I was going to write a real review but honestly, why should I put more effort into reviewing than the author did writing it to begin with? It's bizarre and one questions if the author has met real life women from this century. Anyway, not worth your time.

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non optional headline

Reviewed: 06-20-22

First Wives Club, but make it a thriller. Fun story, not much else to say.

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1 person found this helpful

troubling

Reviewed: 02-24-22

Reading this book tired me too much to enumerate ALL the quietly terrible things, so a brief list will have to suffice:
- While the author is very... careful to use "Native American" instead of other terms, she decided to include a late 19th century story about an "Indian Princess" as truth- which EVEN THEN they admitted was false. If you read this book to your kids (please don't), take the time to explain the racism underlying Wendy Swore's depictions of "Native culture." There are plenty to go around.
-The plot is ostensibly about overcoming ableism- external in the forms of bullying and parental rejection and internal from absorbing those attitudes. If it was done well that would be a great book- I'll go further and say a NECESSARY book. This one isn't it. Toxic positivity, the most played out, bottom of the barrel storyline about bullies, and sneaky internalized ableism masquerading as caring solutions is what ya get.
-Hope you're good with American Imperialism being described as "I loved my country sooo much and tried to HELP those people but some kids blew me up for no reason. Maybe war is bad." This book is aimed at MIDDLE readers, Wendy. Good god.
-All religions and mythologies are fair game to Wendy, who is entitled to use closed practices if she wants to. Thankfully the text makes it very clear that THOSE are fake and made up, but Christianity is real.
In conclusion, this book is basically designed to make disabled, bullied and/or POC kids feel vaguely bad but not be able to articulate quite why. Flip side of the coin, it's a feel good story that reinforces traditionally white, Christian, conservative beliefs in things like "noble savage" tropes or the otherness of protective Black hairstyles, disproven 80s ideas about why people bully (and is definitely not how most bullying takes place in 2020- you can tell where it's autobiographical), and that the REAL disability is a bad attitude™.

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4 people found this helpful

It's a modern Gothic Horror!

Reviewed: 02-08-22

I'm actually only halfway through, but had to pause to write a review because none of the reviews I read before picking this title out mentioned- this story is an old school Gothic Horror! Complete with many of the tropes and familiar narrative structures (why I believe some reviewers find it boring and familiar) modernized. The way the typical 19th century cast of characters has been updated (and the ways it has not, and what those choices communicate) is absolutely delightful. I am in high heaven! Already want to suggest this title for my book club. I am eager to jump back into the story with both feet; I anticipate a lovely ending. If I need to change my rating or review after finishing, I'll do so. edit- Finished, reread my favorite sections, still five stars all around.

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NOT A MYSTERY

Reviewed: 01-17-22

This is a Mormon "secular romance" and "clean." Aka it follows Mormon rules but it's not explicitly religious and "clean" is code for "nothing really happens". If it was marketed as what it is, it would earn 5 stars. The plot is deeply, DEEPLY dull but the writing, characterization and narration are pretty good. There are murders but in a stunning turnabout they immediately tell you who did it and there are no real stakes involved in catching the killer. The romance is similarly obvious with no real conflict. Bold choice for a murder mystery. I assume that's de rigeur for a clean romance. It's the literary equivalent to Maypo. Whoever tagged this as mystery- mystery thriller is an evil agent of chaos. Please know I wasted hours and hate you. I hope you stub your toe and smile at your crush with spinach in your teeth.

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40 people found this helpful

Barbara Michaels vibe

Reviewed: 10-27-21

Reminded me a lot of Barbara Michaels gothics, with less humor and spookiness. Fair warning: mystical Native American servants, r_pe culture/victim blaming. The solution was pretty obvious and the ending wasn't paced well and felt unsatisfying with regard to the reveals. Probably won't listen again but I enjoyed it and give it a slight recommendation.

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I added an extra star to be fair

Reviewed: 10-24-21

I threw on an extra star because cozy mysteries aren't my usual genre and I thought that would be fair. I know we've been trapped inside without human interaction during the pandemic, but that dialogue?? Woof. The plot was ok, the characters were boring, and as much as it pains me to say it, the setting (southern Maine) was characterless and flat. You could replace SoPo with some random town in any country and nothing would need changing. Russia might make more sense with how many affairs apparently everyone in this AU SoPo are indulging in. That being said, the author shows promise. Some research into how human beings talk and a good editor (some of the inaccuracies might have been the narrator misspeaking, but that can't account for all of them) and the next book could be more worth the time. The phrase "write what you know" does come to mind thinking of the hilariously bizarre portrayal of a waterfront warehouse brothel. The main characters are believable if not quite fully fleshed out. In my heart, this is a solid two stars.

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Odd story

Reviewed: 10-09-21

Very weird storyline -spoilers and tw for sa- one character is pressured into drinking and then pretty explicitly assaulted but no one ever calls it r_pe. Between that and a male stalking victim being labeled a "coward" for not responding to his stalker (aka what you're supposed to do), I'm disappointed in Garritson. Boomers gonna Boomer, I guess.

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Good read

Reviewed: 06-15-21

I don't want it to sound like I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. Let's just say that despite the main characters being POC and the majority of the characters being queer, I knew it was written by a straight white woman without looking up the author (I did before writing this review, and that impression is correct). That being said, and despite the author's apparent ignorance of the importance of D*kes on Bikes* and the general role of butch women in Stonewall (ahem, Stormé DeLaverie, anyone?), it was refreshing to see an explicitly bisexual character and a variety of queer relationships. The racial aspects to the story felt like window dressing. There was an attempt at realism but it rarely felt authentic and wasn't really woven into the story in a way that feels natural.


*while the official organization began after the point in the story I'm discussing, GNC lesbians on motorcycles were absolutely already known for providing security

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