In a Holidaze - Christina Lauren

 


Groundhog's Day meets Love, Actually

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.
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An image of 5 hearts that vaguely look like 2-D glass hearts from an older video game. Three of the hearts are filled with red. The latter two are gray and empty looking.
Verdict: It's a cute book that is exactly what it says it is. 
If you like holiday romances with a bit of a twist, you'll enjoy this.
I like it for what it is, but not completely to my taste - and that's okay. It's good to go outside the comfort zone sometimes.
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Sunday Post #23

hosted by Kimberly @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer

The Sunday Post is a chance to share news. (Blog related or not.)
Click above for more information and more posts!

A Post of Participation

One big post to announce my October activities. (Admittedly, a bit late.)


Hosted by Herding Cats and Burning Soup. The idea is to get 31 posts scheduled for after October. I am way behind on my blogging, but I'm hoping this will help.


One week dedicated to reading anything that may have spooky Halloween vibes to you.



This is a new one. Grace, a fellow book blogger, passed away earlier this year and as a way to honor her, there is a tag going around #readforgrace. The challenge is to read a book from her TBR list or her favorites on her birthday which is October 14th. Since her birthday overlaps with Fraterfest, I combined them. (Mr. Mercedes is one of her favorites, thus the tag over it.)
This one actually doesn't require a sign up or anything, just that you use the tag on her birthday. You can find more information including both lists by clicking the banner or the tag.



Sunday Post #22

hosted by Kimberly @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer
The Sunday Post is a chance to share news. (Blog related or not.)
Click above for more information and more posts!

Sharknado: A Very Coyer Update


You’re trapped in your house because there’s a Sharknado outside. The weather is getting a little rough. You board up the windows and stock up on food. It's going to be a long week trapped in the house! 

Artemis - Andy Weir


Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.
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2/5

Hold on, this one is going to be a doozy. There are a lot parts that I completely checked out of.  I feel like it should have ended a good 75 pages earlier than it did. You get to the climax and... but WAIT THERE'S MORE... OH AND HERE'S MORE .... AND MORE until it fizzles into a complete mess and I was over it.


Did we really need page after page of the description of welding?


via GIPHY

The humor was not my thing. Yes, we women can be just as crude as men if we want to be, and there's nothing wrong with it, but every single vaguely sexual non-sexual remark doesn't need the "that's what she said" approach taken to it. (That specific phrase isn't uttered, but that's basically what it is.) It might have worked if it had been a character thing in actual conversation, but it's Jazz's inner monologue to us. At some point, you have to say enough.

Another pet peeve of mine is Sci-Fi far in the future to have "current" (using the term loosely) pop culture references. While Star Trek in all it's forms may transcend time and space... Scooby-fucking-Doo should NOT.

I did like Jazz for the most part and seeing how different cultures might mesh into a city on the moon. The penpal bits were fun and a nice break between chapters without being too indulgent.

Even though I'm 0 for 2 with Weir's books, this one shows some promise and I'll still probably try a third should it come out.