One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
I went into this book fully expecting to love it. I fell completely in love with Red, White & Royal Blue so I think I was right to assume I’d love this too. Oh how wrong I was. Firstly, the pace was ridiculously slow. It felt like I was reading this book for months on end. I’m the type of person that gets annoyed when a book takes me more than a week to finish. I’m not sure how long I was actually reading this as my Goodreads info is incorrect, however, I only got 38% through before putting it down and never picking it up again.
All that happened during that 38% was finding out there’s a woman from the 1970s stuck on a subway. Which would have been interesting if I didn’t go into the book already knowing that. It’s literally in the synopsis.
The biggest shock of this entire book was August not turning up to her job or college for over a month and still being employed and passing all of her classes. I’m pretty sure not turning up for either for a whole month would land you in some type of disciplinary meetings.
There isn’t anything particularly problematic about this book (that I remember) so not enjoying this is purely on me. It has a lot of mixed reviews, so you may like it. I really didn’t.
Synopsis: For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.
But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.
Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.
Like a Charm by Kerry Barrett
I feel like I have to start talking about this book by sharing a direct quote from my review: “From the get-go I found Esme to be one of the most unlikeable characters I’ve ever read. You learn in the first chapter she’s in a relationship with a married man and she only seems to feel a little ashamed about it when other people call her out. Before this, she feels no remorse. She actually tries to make the reader feel sorry for her because “I’m so sad, he’ll never choose me over his wife”. How are you supposed to root for this character? The easy answer is you don’t.”. Not exactly the best way to get readers invested in your main character.
This book felt a little ridiculous. You’re constantly told the EXACT same character descriptions, the ‘love interest’ isn’t introduced until nearly halfway through (this book is around 250 pages) and you meet him by finding out that the main character’s mom used a love spell on him and that’s why he was in a relationship with the main character during school, and there’s basically no magic whatsoever.
I hate DNF’ing such short books but I also don’t like to hate reading them as who’s got the time for that?
Synopsis: Esme McLeod is a high-flying lawyer in London, but her life isn’t as perfect as it might seem. She is estranged from her family, in a toxic relationship with a married man, and she’s a part-time witch.
As a teenager, Esme discovered that her meddling mother had cast a love spell on Esme’s boyfriend, Jamie. Mortified, she fled her hometown in the Scottish Highlands, cutting ties with her mum, Jamie and magic. Well, nearly all magic – sometimes getting served at a bar or finding a space in a busy car park without magic is just too much of a drag.
When Esme’s aunt becomes ill, she reluctantly returns home to help out. What she doesn’t expect is for her aunt’s doctor to be Jamie. As Esme tries to repair her family relationships and master her unpredictable magic, could it be that sparks are flying between Jamie and her for real this time?
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