A delightful read, as if I was reading the correspondence letters themselves and piecing them all together. The book is told through the letters and sparse emails of Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired judicial clerk – someone who thrives on law and order in her work and personal life – must come to face the challenges of growing old and learning that the past must be forgiven and the future holds many unexpected adventures.

I wanted to love this book, the premise and story is an interesting idea it just unfortunately got bogged down by the scientific and military jargon. If the story had continued with just Jim and Tawny, it would have been better.

Maybe I‘m not the right demographic for this book but I was just not able to fully love the main character, Rocky. It could be because I don‘t have twenty-something year old kids nor am I going through menopause. The story itself is heartwarming and a reflective look at aging, growing up and moving on from trauma in the past. Maybe when I‘m Rocky‘s age, I‘ll pick it up again and read it in a new light.

Reading this book reminds me of this quote: “We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read.” Anton Ego, Ratatouille.

She wanted a convincing explanation for the existence of this unbelievable rule, that there is nothing you can do while in the past that will change the present.

Finished this book in one sitting. A short collection of ghost stories about the Institute, a research facility for haunted artifacts and the people who work there. One of my only complaints about this book is that it wasn't longer, but I don't think more needed to be said. Each story was delightfully creepy tale. If you enjoy the idea of liminal spaces, the backrooms theory and haunted artefacts this will be the book for you.

I wanted to love this book so much more than I do. The premise is great: time traveler heads back to the 50's to find a cure for a virus in the dystopian future and ends up in a psychiatric hospital with no recollection of why they are there.
The ending is where I have problems, it just didn't end the way people would assume but that is the truth about the future isn't it? We don't know what truly happens, and that can be great but also scary.

There is no keeping politics out of criticism. There is only regulating the flow of traffic.

The story takes place in London, in the 1700s and present day. Told between two voices: Alys in the present and Eleanor one of the three Venuses – anatomical wax figures who are said to have come to life and murder the men who do them wrong. Now Alys is on a tight mission to dispose of and rid the world and herself of the hold the Venuses have over everyone—but the Venuses do not go silently into the cold, dark night.

I‘m starting to understand why this book is marketed as “The Crucible” meets “The Virgin Suicides”. Both of those storied have isolated girls, whom have their whole lives placed on display for the town–much like the Mansfield sisters in The Hounding.
We never hear directly from the Mansfield sisters themselves, only from those who love them, observe them and hate them.

The book is told by the two main characters, Alba and Elias. We follow the star-crossed lovers as they traverse towards Mina San Gabriel and its doom. Cañas does a fantastic job of intersecting the line of control, who‘s control? The control of a woman‘s body, the control of the Inquisitors and the church, or the control of the mercury and money flowing through the veins deep within the mine.

“When you descended into the dark, you never went alone.“

I loved this story! I really felt as if we truly got to see the characters mature not only in their art but in their lives. Could not put it down!

A poignant story about a man and a woman, relationships and cancer. This is kind of a quintessential love and loss story.
I was at times confused and upset by the characters, as if their emotions weren‘t truly a big deal. I wanted to feel a bit more emotion from our narrator, I mean she‘s going through two of life‘s toughest situations: divorce and cancer at the same time. The book was well written and a quick read for a more light-hearted story.