howlinglibraries's reviews
1719 reviews

 This was fine for an introduction to basic sun/moon/rising signs, but really, the bulk of this book felt like someone jazzed up the results of a personality quiz online and then printed it out and published it.
 

 

This was so much fun. It gets shelved as 'horror' a lot, but I'd almost consider this more of a thriller/comedy crossover. I dunno, it's a tough one to categorize but an easy one to rate. Dr. Harper's internal monologue is hilarious and the mysteries in each short story kept me super engaged. I was also relieved to see that the treatment of actual mental illness wasn't nearly as dramatized as I worried it would be based on the theme of the book. In fact, there are some really good myth-dispelling moments about some of the more ostracized mental illness sufferers, such as people with DID and BPD. I digress... this was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to continuing the series! 

 This is really hard to rate. It's been a few days since I read this, and I still don't know how I feel about it! 75% or so of this book is full of adorable, hilarious comics about this cute, cranky kitty. It's super relatable for cat lovers and I was having a great time! Then the final 25% or so hit, and this book became a devastating, tragic story of an elderly cat's end days. That was sad enough on its own, but certain elements of Linney's passing hit far too close to home.

I lost my sweet Lotus to early onset/congenital kidney failure back in 2022, and I haven't recovered yet. I'm not sure I ever will, truthfully. And while I appreciate the fact that Lucy Knisley tried to make the story of Linney's death as gentle and loving as it could be—and probably used these comics as an outlet for her own grief—I honestly wish I hadn't read it. 💔

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 This was so wonderful and I think it's tied for my favorite Emily Henry title now. I absolutely loved Daphne so much, especially her inner struggles with feeling like she wasn't "enough" for anyone. Without getting into it too much, it was immensely relatable and flipped a switch in my mind that helped me finally make sense of some of my own childhood experiences and how they've affected my life and my relationships. 20+ years of searching for an answer for where those feelings of inadequacy came from, and Emily Henry comes in and kicks the door down with one rom-com. Go figure.

While Miles is also a delightful character and I definitely enjoyed his golden retriever energy at first, I loved the reveals about his own inner turmoil and found him so easy to root for. The chemistry between these two was perfection! I love a good best-friends-to-lovers romance, and despite the bizarre circumstances that first brought Daphne and Miles together as roommates, that's exactly the vibe this story gave me: best friends first, partners second, and I adored it.

I'd be remiss to review this book without talking about the side characters, too: Miles' sister Julia and Daphne's co-worker Ashleigh were incredible and I'd happily read a spin-off novel about either of them, should Emily Henry ever choose to write one (or both). Honestly, Ashleigh finding joy would probably be an instant Book of the Year for me. *nudge nudge, Emily*

Emily Henry knocked it out of the park again, and nobody is surprised. I adored this book and am so glad I read it. Thank you yet again, Emily Henry, for gifting your stories to the world. 🥰

Thank you to the publisher and LibroFM for the gifted audiobook! All thoughts are honest and my own.