Book Club November 2019- Normal People

By: Sally Rooney
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Hogarth
Pages: 273

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers—one they are determined to conceal. At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers—one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

What I thought

This month’s book club pick was my choice. I was a bit torn between two books, but ultimately decided on Normal People because I had heard a lot about it and it had been on my list for a while.

Normal People follows Marianne and Connell from their final year of secondary school through university. In their final year of school, they secretly start hooking up but ultimately, it ends poorly. They then head to the same university, but don’t keep in touch. When they happen to meet up at a party, their friendship starts back up.

Mere pages into starting this book I wanted to give it up. This book does not use any quotation marks to mark conversations. It doesn’t even have the dialogue on separate lines. It’s fully just immersed in the rest of the paragraphs. It drove me insane and definitely impacted my enjoyment of the book. If I hadn’t picked it for book club, I would have put it down without reading it and taken it off of my to-read list. That’s how much it bothered me.

The story itself was fine. The two main characters are extremely dysfunctional and I absolutely could not root for them to get together, but it was interesting to watch them live their lives and I was curious where they were going to end up. Marianne and Connell are not the most likeable characters, which make it hard to read about them at times. I think it was easier to read about Marianne, because she was such a train wreck it was like watching a car crash and being unable to look away. Connell just became whiney and irritating and I wanted to kick him in the butt to get him over his non-issue issues.

The other irritation I had with the writing of the story was the timelines. The story continually jumped 3-5 months ahead at the end of each chapter, leaving out entire chunks of time and information important to the story. Sometimes those bits of information were revisted through flashbacks or conversations, but most of the time it was just lost. Things would happen and you would just have to accept you didn’t know why and that irritated me.

What Book Club Thought

Everyone was on the same page with this one. None of us liked it, though some disliked it more than others. We did find out that they are making Normal People into a TV series, and the general consensus was that it would be much more tolerable in that format. Two of us didn’t have huge issues with the story and I am curious to see how it comes across with actors. But the other two that read it did not like the characters at all and feel like they will not be redeemed off of paper. Because of the writing style, we all decided we would not recommend this book. One of the book club members usually does audiobooks, but was not able to get to it in time for book club. She is going to listen to is and get back to use to let us know if the story and characters are more tolerable when you take out the writing style that none of us enjoyed.

Christmas Angels

By: Nancy Naigle
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
Pages:

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Growing up, Liz Westmoreland dreamed of taking over her grandparents inn located in the small mountain town of Angels Creek only for it to be sold before she ever got the chance. While browsing the internet, she stumbles upon a listing for what looks to be the picturesque inn and it’s set to go to auction. Liz places a bid, and by a miracle, wins the auction. But when she gets there she finds the property in significant disrepair.

When Matt Hardy narrowly lost the inn and property that butted his land, he just hoped it wasn't another city slicker coming to make matters worse after the previous owners gutted the place for an art gallery. But the minute he recognized the sweet, freckle-faced girl from his childhood and heard her plans to reopen the inn, he jumps at the chance to help his childhood crush restore a place where he made so many fond memories.

While working on repairs, Liz and Matt discover her grandmother’s collection of angels in one of the cabins. When the angels start mysteriously showing up all over the inn, she begins to look at them as reassurance—that restoring the inn is what she's meant to do. But when an accident leaves Liz feeling like she made a mistake, will Matt—and the residents of Angels Creek—be able to show Liz that she's found a home? And possibly true love as well?

First Impressions

I read my first Nancy Naigle Christmas book last year for our Hallmark Book Club and enjoyed it. Her books are perfect for Hallmark adaptations and I was excited when I was offered the opportunity to review her latest one. The cover is a bit blah for me, but the description was right up my ally.

What I thought

It is only October but I am in the Christmas spirit!

Liz has always dreamed of running the inn that her grandparents used to run in Antler Creek. When their old inn ends up on an auction sight, she takes a risk and buys it sight unseen. Matt has grown up in Antler Creek and is back for a while, mourning the death of his father. He also happens to be a contractor which is exactly what Liz needs.

I was a bit unclear of Matt’s backstory. I know that in Hallmark movies, and Naigle novels, that the male characters don’t always get completely fleshed out, but I hoped for a little more. He apparently lives and works in Chicago, but he also lives and has a dream home in the North Carolina mountains. The death of his father also seems to come and go as necessary to the story.

Liz on the other hand is definitely more fleshed out. She is a successful big city realtor who decides to move to the mountains to open her grandparen’t sold inn. Unfortunately, the last owners tried to turn it into an art gallery and as a result, tore it down to the studs, leaving Liz in more of a hole than she originally intended. She does, of course, have a male best friend who does not believe that she is capable of getting this project off the ground.

When this book is adapted into a Hallmark movie, which for sure it will be, I will not be surprised when the male best friend/co-worker is turned into a co-worker/boyfriend. Part of the reason I keep comparing this book is not just because she mentioned Hallmark by name on 5 separate occasions, but because it follows the classic Hallmark formula. As a Hallmark movie lover, I greatly enjoyed this aspect.

The town comes to life in this book which is wonderful. The small town aspect is the perfect amount of warmth for a Christmas story. I love that even though it did have the aspect of the angels, it never got to be super religious. Also, if I’m being completely honest, it didn’t even get completely Christmassy until the end. This book could’ve happened at any time of the year and I appreciated that.

If you are looking for a feel good Christmas book to read curled up by the fire with a cup of coffee or tea, this is the one you should pick. It moves quickly with lovable characters in a lovable setting. There aren’t any completely ridiculous twists or conflicts. Just pure love and romance and joy. I don’t remember liking Christmas Joy as much as this one, so I would recommend Christmas Angels first, but I am definitely looking forward to more Christmas stories by Naigle!

Book Club October 2019- Daisy Jones and the Six

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published year: 2019
Publisher: Hutchinson
Pages: 368

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In 1979, Daisy Jones and The Six split up. Together, they had redefined the 70’s music scene, creating an iconic sound that rocked the world. Apart, they baffled a world that had hung on their every verse.

This book is an attempt to piece together a clear portrait of the band’s rise to fame and their abrupt and infamous split. The following oral history is a compilation of interviews, emails, transcripts, and lyrics, all pertaining to the personal and professional lives of the members of the band The Six and singer Daisy Jones.

While I have aimed for a comprehensive and exhaustive approach, I must acknowledge that full and complete accounts from all parties involved has proved impossible. Some people were easier to track down than others, some were more willing to talk than others, and some, unfortunately, have passed on.

All of which is to say that while this is the first and only authorised account from all represented perspectives, it should be noted that, in matters both big and small, reasonable people disagree.

The truth often lies, unclaimed, in the middle.

What I thought

Initially, Meghan, who chose October’s book, asked me if I had read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I told her that I had and that I had really enjoyed it. She then told me she had been thinking about picking it for book club. Slightly selfishly, I suggested she check out Jenkins Reid’s newest book because I’ve been meaning to read it since it came out. But also, because I know that Meghan is very into music and bands and rock and roll. So she picked that!

Daisy Jones and the Six is told in the style of an interview tell-all. The members of band each share their point of view of how the band came to be and how it ended.

I have never read a book like this before and I really enjoyed it. I initially thought that because of the interview style that I would fly through the book, but it ended up taking a little bit longer than I originally thought. I think I got a little burned out on some of the drama, but not necessarily in a bad way? Real memoirs sometimes take me a little time to get through and, in the best way, I think this read more like a memoir than a work of fiction.

I enjoyed every band member except for Eddie. He irritated me. I understood where he came from, but he drove me nuts and I just wanted to skip over his parts.

This book is very different from Jenkins Reid’s previous novels. Even though it is most similar to Seven Husbands, it’s still very very different. I find it fascinating that she can write such varying content and it’s still done so well.

The story itself wasn’t groundbreaking, but I don’t think it needed to be. I think the best part of this story was the storytelling and that was done perfectly.

What Book Club Thought

I don’t have much more to say as we were all on the same page with this one. I don’t know if I would say it’s a great book club pick because it didn’t spark a lot of discussion with us. Everyone really liked it and we all liked the unique way in which it was written. If you have read this book, I would recommend looking at Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Instagram because she has posted bits of behind the scenes information from her writing process during Daisy Jones and it is really interesting!

CAUSEBOX Fall 2019

If you’ve been reading the blog for a little while, you’d remember that last Fall, I purchased my first subscription box from CAUSEBOX. I have kept an eye on their other seasonal boxes, but nothing had caught my eye enough to purchase another one. Then this fall, I was drawn in again.

CAUSEBOX is a quarterly box that costs $49.95 per box if you are an annual member. The difference between Causebox and other quarterly subscription boxes is that CAUSEBOX only puts items in its boxes from companies that give to charities or to a cause and are cruelty free.

If you are an annual member, you are offered the opportunity to pick some of your items. I am not an annual member, so I did not make choices, but I will indicate what the other options could have been.

The items that I saw that drew me in were the Known Supply Weekender Duffel and the Nashelle Lariat necklace. I’ve been tempted to buy myself a grownup duffle for a long time, but continually make excuses and I found the necklace to be beautiful. Those two items alone made the $50 purchase worth it so I went ahead and bought the box. The other items I received were Underwood Letterpress Felt Letter Board, (MALIN + GOETZ) Recovery treatment oil, la beaute Soi 10-piece Makeup Brush Collection, and the La Lueur Candles White Cactus Coconut Wax Candle.

I always find it interesting to see the cost breakdown of the items along with what the actual value of the box is, so I’m going to list that below. I will also give a little blurb about any thoughts I have on any of the products.

Weekender- CAUSEBOX Estimates $108. On the Known Supply website, there is a similar duffle listed for $98. If you are an annual subscriber, you get to customize the color duffle you receive. I liked all the colors so I’m very happy with what I got! The quality of the canvas feels wonderful. It’s a little smaller than I imagined, but it will definitely be the perfect back for overnight or short trips.

Necklace- CAUSEBOX Estimates $38. On the Nashelle website, the closest necklace I could find comes in at $73 but it’s definitely a little fancier than the one in the box. I love this necklace. I have to learn how to wear it exactly, but I’m sure I will get a lot of use out of it. this was another item where you could choose between silver and gold if you are an annual member.

Letterboard- $30 and available on the Underwood Letterpress website. This was another choice item. As an annual member, you could choose between this and a Glass Ladder & Co. Terrazzo Travel Wallet. Honestly, I would’ve been fine with either option. They’re both items that I have wanted but consistently talk myself out of buying. However, I wanted the letter board a little bit more so I was very excited when I got one. The letters are great and the board feels sturdy. As you can tell from the picture I’m already having fun!

Candle- $35 and available on the La Lueur website. I am obsessed with candles so any time I can get a new one I am excited. This one smells AMAZING. It’s a beautiful sweet yet warm cactus scent. The packaging is also gorgeous. I’ve never had a coconut wax candle, so I’m curious to see how the scent payoff is once it’s burning. It also says it has a 45 hour burn time!

Oil- $82 and available on the MALIN+GOETZ website. Back when I got Birchboxes I received a few MALIN+GOETZ items that I loved. I appreciate that they’re a cruelty free brand that works. I was beyond excited to try this oil and let me tell you, after only two nights of usage it does not disappoint. I have yet to find a face oil that I like. This one sinks in beautifully without leaving me greasy and I wake up with happy skin.

Makeup Brushes- $24 and available on the la beaute Soi website. This was the only item I was a little bit disappointed to receive. I bought myself a makeup brush set last year, so it’s not something I necessarily need. However, they are beautiful and soft and I will use and love them.

Paid Value- $49.95 Actual Value- $317!

My last CAUSEBOX was valued at $260 so this one ended up being worth even more! And I prefer more of the items!

Now, if I’m being honest, subscription boxes are not a necessity. I would say purchase with caution because you can end up with a lot of items you don’t need and that end up going to waste. I am so happy I decided to go with this box and that I ended up with all of the choices I wanted, even though I didn’t get to make choices.

If you are looking for a subscription box, I would highly recommend checking out CAUSEBOX. Their items have been consistently high quality and useful. I also know from past experience that their customer service is wonderful.

Evvie Drake Stars Over

By: Linda Holmes
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 304

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In a small town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her house. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn't correct them. In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher and Andy's childhood friend, is struggling with a case of the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and he can't figure out why. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button.

When Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house, the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken--and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. But before they can find out what might lie ahead, they'll have to wrestle a few demons: the bonds they've broken, the plans they've changed, and the secrets they've kept. They'll need a lot of help, but in life, as in baseball, there's always a chance--right up until the last out.

First Impression

I LOVE the cover of this book. The font, the colors, everything. Then my friends shared with me that it was written by one of the hosts of the podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour and I was intrigued. Add in that it was a romance novel about baseball and I knew it was going to be on my summer reading list.

What I thought

Evvie lost her husband about a year ago on the day that she was planning on leaving him. Dean is a Major League Baseball pitcher who has lost the ability to pitch. Evvie and Dean are both friends with Andy, who decides that it would be mutually beneficial for Dean to move into Evvie’s extra apartment. Evvie needs the money and the company and Dean needs to get away from New York City.

Have you ever read a book that makes you feel nothing? That was, unfortunately, the case for me with this book. Two of my friends read it prior to me and both of them enjoyed it a lot, so I expected to enjoy it too. We pretty consistently have the same taste in books. Unfortunately, something about this book just didn’t work for me.

It started out with Dean. He didn’t give me those excited “aw” feelings. I read this book immediately following The Rest of the Story, where I got “aw” feelings about Roo and Dean didn’t compare, even though Roo was a teenage boy. I also didn’t like the 0 to 100 anger escalation that Dean had going on. I get that he had a lot going on in his life, so it’s not that I felt like he had no right to be angry. But I felt like he was getting angry at Evvi in such an over the top way. Like, his reactions did not sit with the situation at all, in my opinion. Besides that, I didn’t see what Evvie saw in him. He was just an average, normal guy. I mean, besides the fact that he’s a talented pitcher.

I did like Evvie. I know she had a lot of issues, but I found that for the most part I liked the way she handled everything. I thought that she was going to get on my nerves, but she didn’t. Sure, there were moments when her choices bothered me, but overall I was ok with her.

I also got a little annoyed with Andy. I liked him at first and then he irritated me. He did redeem himself but it was hard for a little in the middle. Since I like character driven novels, it was a little hard for me to get excited about this story when I wasn’t really excited about any of the characters.

The other issue I had was the timeline. While the story was broken into seasons, I still felt like I never knew how much time had passed. I was reading about Thanksgiving and then next thing I knew it was after Groundhog Day? Where did Christmas go? I also think that this book had a little too much realism for me. It wasn’t a fairytale type of story, but more of a realistic love story and that was a little harder for me.

Like I said, this book kind of left me with no feelings at all. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. I think it will end up being pretty forgettable for me. However, if it sounds interesting to you I would recommend checking it out. I have two friends who really enjoyed it, so maybe I’m in the minority.

On the Corner of Love and Hate

By: Nora Bocci
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 336

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): What’s a campaign manager’s worst nightmare? A smooth-talking charmer who’s never met a scandal that he didn’t like.

When Emmanuelle Peroni’s father—and mayor of her town—asks her to help rehab Cooper Endicott’s image, she’s horrified. Cooper drives her crazy in every way possible. But he’s also her father’s protégé, and she can’t say no to him without him finding out the reason why: Cooper and her have a messy past. So Emmanuelle reluctantly launches her father’s grand plan to get this Casanova someone to settle down with and help him lose his lothario reputation.

Cooper Endicott wanted to run for Mayor, but he never wanted the drama that went with it. Now that he’s on the political hamster wheel, the other candidates are digging up everything from his past. Even though he’s doing all the right things, his colorful love life is the sticking point for many of the conservative voters. He wants to win, badly, and he knows that if he wants any chance of getting a vote from the female population, he needs to change his image. The only problem? He might just be falling in love with the one person he promised not to pursue: the Mayor’s off-limits daughter.

First Impressions

I initially heard about this book through some of my favorite authors, Christina Lauren. When they recommended a romance novel, I was intrigued because I love their novels. The cover is fine. I honestly don’t know, whether or not I would have picked it up based off of the cover alone. The summary immediately hooked me though, because I am a sucker for hate to love stories.

What I thought

Cooper and Emma were friends growing up. Life got in the way and now, even though they work together, they bicker and Emma claims to hate Cooper. Cooper decides to run for Mayor of their hometown in which Emma’s dad has been Mayor for the past 23 years. Emma and her father back Cooper, and Emma ends up running his campaign.

This is a bit of an interesting book for me to review. I didn’t get as pulled into it as I thought I would, but in the end I did really enjoy it. It look me about a month to read this book and I think in the end that kind of helped me? I had a lot of other books that I was reading and had to get read by certain dates, so this became my background book that I would read when I didn’t have my other books around. But in the end, I think that helped because it made me feel like I had known Cooper and Emma for a long time. I became more invested in the slow pace of their relationship and I really got behind them by the end.

I loved the energy between Cooper and Emma. Cooper is a bit of a cocky womanizer but he’s a genuinely good guy. Emma is the mayor’s daughter and is good at her job. When Cooper doesn’t do his part of the job, she gets irritated with them and I enjoyed their banter.

The other part of this story I enjoyed was the suspense of who was going to with the mayoral election. I liked the tension between Cooper and the other candidate. In fact, I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more. There were bits and piece that seemed like they were going somewhere seedy that were never touched on again.

While I wouldn’t put this book on the same level as the Christina Lauren books, it was still a well written romance. The smut level is very low, so if you want a romance story that is all about the relationship development and not a lot of physical romance, I would recommend checking this out. Since it is the first in a series, I am looking forward to the next books. The town is adorable and I liked Cooper and Emma’s friends, Nick and Henry, so I would love to read their stories of finding love.

No Judgements

By: Meg Cabot
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: William Morrow Books
Pages: 384

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The storm of the century is about to hit Little Bridge Island, Florida—and it’s sending waves crashing through Sabrina “Bree” Beckham’s love life…

When a massive hurricane severs all power and cell service to Little Bridge Island—as well as its connection to the mainland—twenty-five-year-old Bree Beckham isn’t worried . . . at first. She’s already escaped one storm—her emotionally abusive ex—so a hurricane seems like it will be a piece of cake.

But animal-loving Bree does become alarmed when she realizes how many islanders have been cut off from their beloved pets. Now it’s up to her to save as many of Little Bridge’s cats and dogs as she can . . . but to do so, she’s going to need help—help she has no choice but to accept from her boss’s sexy nephew, Drew Hartwell, the Mermaid Café’s most notorious heartbreaker.

But when Bree starts falling for Drew, just as Little Bridge’s power is restored and her penitent ex shows up, she has to ask herself if her island fling was only a result of the stormy weather, or if it could last during clear skies too.

First Impressions

Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors and I was so excited to see she was coming out with something new and for adults! The cover is cute and falls in line with the trend of cartoony romance covers that I enjoy. I couldn’t believe my luck when I got to review this book because it was one I was beyond excited to read.

What I thought

Bree moved to Little Bridge Island off the coast of Florida 3 months earlier to start over. Now there is a Category 5 hurricane coming straight for the island and Bree is refusing to evacuate. Luckily, she is looked after by her boss, his wife, and their nephew and town lady’s man, Drew.

Normally one of the things I love about Meg Cabot is her characters and these ones I didn’t quite connect with. Bree fell a little flat to me and it seemed like there was a bit of a cheap backstory meant to give her depth but it didn’t work for me. It wasn’t that I disliked the characters, I just didn’t find myself falling in love with them.

Other than the mediocre main characters, I enjoyed the story. I have never read a story about a hurricane and it was fun. I liked the hurricane party and I liked the aftermath of the hurricane too. I also really liked the secondary characters. Neveah, Drew’s niece, cracked me up. She loves animals and she’s a teenager, and I really appreciated her comments. Maybe part of the reason I liked her so much is because I’ve always enjoyed Cabot’s young adult novels.

I don’t have too much to say about this book, unfortunately. It was a quick read and I found myself enjoying it while I read it.

Overall this book was fine. It was a solid romance novel with decent characters, a cute connection, and a great setting. The writing was solid, as could be expected with Cabot, but it wasn’t anything special to me. It looks like this is going to be a series and I am curious to see what the next book is going to be about. I’m curious whether it is going to continue to follow Drew and Bree or whether it’s going to follow other characters. I think that Cabot’s previous adult novels were better, but again, this one is solid.

The Vanished Bride

By: Bella Ellis
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 304

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Before they became legendary writers, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Anne Brontë were detectors in this charming historical mystery...

Yorkshire, 1845. A young wife and mother has gone missing from her home, leaving behind two small children and a large pool of blood. Just a few miles away, a humble parson's daughters--the Brontë sisters--learn of the crime. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are horrified and intrigued by the mysterious disappearance.

These three creative, energetic, and resourceful women quickly realize that they have all the skills required to make for excellent "lady detectors." Not yet published novelists, they have well-honed imaginations and are expert readers. And, as Charlotte remarks, "detecting is reading between the lines--it's seeing what is not there."

As they investigate, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are confronted with a society that believes a woman's place is in the home, not scouring the countryside looking for clues. But nothing will stop the sisters from discovering what happened to the vanished bride, even as they find their own lives are in great peril...

First Impressions

Bronte sisters as detectives? Count me in! When I first read the description that sounded so cute and I couldn’t pass it up. To be honest, the cover isn’t my favorite. I would not have been drawn to it on the shelf.

What I thought

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne stumble across a mysterious disappearance that involves one of Charlotte’s old friends. It seems as though no one is going to go looking for the missing woman, so they decide to take it upon themselves to become detectors and find out what happened.

I think I would’ve liked this book more if it was a Young Adult novel with the Bronte sisters being a little younger. I couldn’t quite get behind the sisters being in their 20s and running around trying to solve a murder. The other issue I had was that it seemed as though being a detective was a new field, yet the Bronte sisters understood the need for someone to have a motive and a lot of other classic detective tropes.

The story alternated chapters told from the perspectives of each sister, yet I didn’t find them to be very different. It seemed like when the chapter was from Emily’s perspective, for example, but if all the sisters were in the scene, it didn’t focus on Emily’s thoughts or views.

I kept waiting for the story to find it’s rhythm, but it just didn’t do much for me. Again, I think if the girls were younger it might’ve been a bit more believable for me. The curiosity getting the best of them and trying to escape from the boredom of their lives. I also found the mystery to be predictable which always knocks a story down a bit for me.

The story wasn’t terrible, and I enjoyed a lot of aspects of it. But there were still some kinks to me that need to be worked out. The mystery wasn’t a page turner and there were some things that needed to be streamlined. I think maybe a few books down the road that maybe they will find their rhythm, but for now, the Bronte Sister’s Mysteries are not for me.