whimsicallymeghan's reviews
1386 reviews

Review to come. 

Review to come. 

Review to come. 

In the middle of all the hustle and bustle in Toronto’s Chinatown, live an elderly couple Wong Cho Sum and her husband See Hei Wong. When See Hei dies unexpectantly, Cho Sum is left to navigate a changing world around her. Not only has her own life completely shifted but the city continues to shift and change around her, leaving her in the dust. This was a poignant novel that really looked into the aging population, specifically the elderly Chinese community. The majority of this novel was sad, and the reader’s heart went out of our main character Cho Sum because she suffered such a huge loss, and then she continued to suffer the loss through the changes of the time. The author did such an amazing job of tying it all together in such a way that it was blinding not to see how the two went hand in hand. This reader really enjoyed getting to know Cho Sum and getting a glimpse into a life that many live in Toronto today. The plot was well developed, it wasn’t too fast, or too slow, the pace was great and kept the reader engaged throughout. The way this was both written in English and the Toisan dialect really gave this an extra layer and made it feel that much more special and helped it to stand out and be an even more memorable read. The characters were beautifully developed, we got a sense of who they were right from the beginning and the reader loved them from the start. What also made this so special were the illustrations that were added. This was such a cool idea and this reader loved it so much, the fact that there was an illustration of what used to be, versus what is there now in Toronto and it was so artfully striking and just so moving. It really showed what the novel was conveying in words, with visuals and it was just so stunning to see. In the end, this was such a sorrowful novel, but also one that really sits down and reflects life, it was truly beautiful.  

Jan and his wife Antonina were zookeeper’s at the Warsaw Zoo before the war hit. This explored life for Antonina as a mother, a keeper of the animals and the “Guests” that would stay during the war. Using Antonina’s diaries and historical references, Ackerman brings this story to life. For the most part, this was really interesting because the reader had no idea about any of this. What they found truly interesting was how the Nazi’s were obsessed with animals and having unique and obscure ones, as well as wanting to create their own or to bring back ones that were extinct. It’s a side that never really gets told, so that was definitely captivating. At the same time, reading about Antonina and her life was riveting because that was not an easy time; the reader truly felt for her. We certainly got to see the type of person that she was; Ackerman did a good job of portraying who she was, but telling the actual story could get flat. Even though this had all really compelling facts and stories, it wasn’t told in the most engaging way. The storytelling felt a little all over the place and the reader found they would zone out for a time because the writing got to be a little dull. This didn’t know if it wanted to be a fiction or non-fiction book at times because Ackerman tried to make it as novel with fancy prose, but then would flip and get technical like a textbook, there was no in between, which gave this a bit of a clunky read. Most of this was told in chronological order, but there were parts where it would go out of sync and that would throw the reader off. In the end, this wasn’t a bad book, and the reader is glad they read it because the content was actually very fascinating, it just didn’t work how it was presented.

After the death of her mother, Fern Brookbanks finds herself back home at the Brookbanks Resort in cottage country, a place she’s been trying to desperately leave since she was a teen. The resort is hers now and she’s faced with the dilemma of either selling the place or running it herself. To top things off, Will, a man from her past, shows up to help consult for the resort. Fern and Will spent one day together and haven’t spoken in ten years, after he never showed up to meet her at the resort. Now, they must work together, but will it be a good thing or a bad thing. This novel was heavily emotional and really took the reader on roller-coaster. It was so easy to fall into the story and into the world that Fortune created. The plot was told in a back and forth dual timeline, past and present and that worked well. We got to see the two main characters when they met, and now ten years later and how much had changed in their lives. This reader thought the author did an excellent job of showing how things can change as you get older, like your perception of life. When you have so much life in front of you it’s easy to say you’ll never do x, y or z, but as you get older and more life experience, things can change, and I think this book did that well. The romance of it all, this reader can see why other people didn’t like it, it’s very insta-love, seeing as the two main characters met for one day, and it completely changed them, but this didn’t feel completely unbelievable. The way the connection was written between these two felt real and raw. The fact that they still had these strong feelings ten years later was a bit of a stretch, but it didn’t deter this reader from eating it up and enjoying it. The way this almost ended did though. They weren’t a fan of the way our main character, Will, was willing to throw away everything, and it didn’t feel right that our other main character, Fern, was left to put everything back together; it really shouldn’t have been her, but the reader could see both sides and see all the flaws, which again, felt very true to real life. The end also started to fall into trop-y territory and felt a little clichéd, which almost had the reader knocking this down a star, but all the emotional stuff – not just with Fern and Will, but with Fern and her mother was what really hit home. This reader is not one to get emotionally upset by a book, but boy did this destroy them. The way Fortune wrote such a complex mother/daughter relationship was so captivating and so relatable, it hurt. The little diary entries added in were great for the storytelling, and it was an extremely effective way for us to get to know Fern’s mom without having to meet her. We obviously know her through Fern, but seeing her through the diaries gave us a glimpse of the woman she was without and before Fern. Even Fortune’s mother/son complex was well written, not as deeply, but it still held a lot of emotional ground. In the end, this wrecked this reader, but in a good way and in ways they weren’t expecting. This wasn’t the fluffy cute romance the reader thought they were getting, but more of an honest and moving coming of age story.

Review to come.Viv is an orc who is tired of the life she’s lived and is looking to hang up her sword for good. Starting anew, she has the hopes of opening up the first ever coffee shop in Thune, a place where no one has ever even heard of coffee. Viv takes on the challenge, but old enemies stand in the way and new rivals make her dreams a hard reality. This was such a cute, cozy fantasy. It was a lot of fun to read with such an intriguing concept for a plot. If you love fantasy and coffee, this feels like the perfect match. This novel was short and the stakes were pretty low, so it was enjoyable to dive in and be immersed in this world. The plot wasn’t very fast-paced. The beginning was quite slow as we learned who the characters were and we learned of the town, but the second half moved a lot more quickly, as that’s when we got some conflict. It felt balanced though because once we got a grip and sense of the people and the place, the conflict made sense and felt earned, instead of diving right into it. The reader liked all of the characters, they all had very interesting and distinct personalities that were hard to ignore. The quiet slow-burn relationship Baldree created for the two main characters was so good. It’s so subtle at first, but slowly started to unravel as the plot continued to pick up. Then the way this ended, it felt so perfect and was just the right amount of cuteness that it didn’t feel overwhelming, overdone or underwhelming. The writing was very engrossing that it just engulfed the reader, keeping them in the world and fixated on it. The reader is really curious about the prequel and what that entails; if it’s just as good as this story, the reader can’t wait.

 My next classic read is Jane Eyre and I’m going into this one completely blind because I have no idea what the story is about, nor have I really heard people talk about it other than to say it’s a classic. I’m 9 chapters in now (I figured I’d wait until I made it further than 2 chapters to give an update) and Jane is already quite an eccentric child. She’s orphaned and now sent to live at this school because the people she was left with don’t want her. I’m liking her character and am interested to see where it progresses. The fact that she needed to visit her dying friend Helen was so heartbreaking to read. The writing is really gorgeous and flowery, very poetic. I can’t wait to continue! 

 

I’ve hit “the next chapter”, if you will. Well, that’s what Jane is calling it, as the story skips ahead to her older and now tutoring a child, so she’s moved from the school to Mr. Rochester’s house… and I’m sad to say I’m kinda bored. I missed the precocious kid that Jane used to be. I feel like I didn’t get enough of it. I still like Jane, she’s still got this air to her that is enjoyable to read, but the last few chapters have just been ok to me. The whole affair with the fire and the flood of water was interesting and had my attention somewhat. I am still enjoying the writing, it’s really beautiful, but I guess I want more story and more character development. We’ll see where this goes. 

 

Okay, so this has picked back up again. A lot has happened in the last 7 chapters I’ve read. Mr. Rochester is a strange man, and for the longest time I didn’t get him. I also couldn’t see how Jane could fall for him… but when they came together to admit all their feelings, I was invested?! How did I get here?! I need to keep reading to see what will happen next. Also, Jane’s aunt asks her to come to her death bed, only so she can berate her one last time… I was surprised that Jane went back, but that shows great character strength, even while she’s with her aunt, I was like damn, she’s got a lot of self-control. I hope this continues to pick up because I’m locked in again. 

 

See! I knew there was something fishy about Mr. Rochester! He never quite sat well with me… and now I know why. Wow - this story went from 0-60 real fast! I was really afraid this story was going to go downhill, but it’s just been getting better. I’m really glad that Jane stuck to her truth and didn’t just stay because it was convenient; she really chose herself, even if that meant almost dying. I honestly have NO idea where this story is going or what direction. There have been so many twists and turns that nothing is predictable at all! Jane as a character isn’t bad, I like reading about her and seeing where she ends up but sometimes she can be sorta bland. I’m so ready for wherever this story is going to go next. I have 9 chapters left, so hopefully next week I’ll be back with my final thoughts! 

 

Alright so I’m back with a mini update because I’m not quite done yet, but geez! When I said I couldn’t predict what was going to happen next, I wasn’t wrong! This story is kinda insane… but I’m living for it. Like my goodness, Jane realizes she has family and money, St John basically adopts her as a sister… but then wants to marry her?! What is going on, and please don’t tell me Mr. Rochester is back. I loved Jane’s speech to St John, I loved reading her reasonings and her thought process. I’ve been loving the writing and the plots have been wild so I find it a nice balance. Curious how this is all going to end, only 3 chapters left! 

 

Wow, you know, I feel like I should have seen that ending coming, but I didn’t. Although, I have to say I’m not surprised by it, nor am I mad by it. I think the events of this book happened in the right time and I think that Brontë did a fantastic job with creating a story you can really sink your teeth into and one that you’re not going to love all the characters, but you understand the reasons they do what they do. She set it up so that nothing was rushed and it really felt true to real life in the sense that things will happen when they’re meant to, and I thought that was really beautiful. This story gets almost all the stars for being completely wild and memorable; it gets stars for being extremely well written, like beautiful writing, so captivating and moving; and more stars for the characters who were so versatile; I will say it lost a star for me because there was a part in this that dragged and really made me question the rest of this novel, but in the end a solid 4-star read. 

Evil still lurks within the city of New York, the Woman in White is still out there, threatening to destroy the universe. So the avatars of New York must band together, with the help of other cities around the world, to help take her down for good. For a plot and idea that sounded so promising, this just failed to deliver. This novel continues where the first left off essentially and we’re still out following the same core group of characters, with a few new ones added to the mix. If this reader is being honest, they don’t really get why the new characters were added. This started off as the boroughs of New York City having to come together to save the city… but now in this novel, the world is under threat and so we had different cities from across the globe show up. The only thing with that is, only a handful of cities were mentioned/showed up, and left it feeling super underwhelming and underdeveloped. Even the way everything resolved just felt flat and boring, like the author just wanted this to be over. This novel was not as a good as the first. The first had heart and soul; this one just felt like a dump of concepts that could have been really cool, if only it was fleshed out properly. The reader could feel in the writing that the author wasn’t all that into this because the writing felt lazy, a lot of clichés and just on the nose references, the pacing felt strange, like it felt rushed, and nothing felt like it was explained properly. The reader had read other reviews before reading this, how this novel should never have existed and they would have to agree to a degree. It wasn’t like this was a bad read, but it lacked so much in quality, especially when the first book was so good, the reader had such high hopes for this and they were just let down. The characters at least felt more developed in this one; it was a slow development, but that was done really well. We really felt like we got to know these characters better, and we got to see them grow and come together better for one another; that was all really well done, and probably the only thing that stopped this from being a complete wash of a book. In the end, this was an alright book, but don’t go in expecting anything like the first.