Mar. 23rd, 2019

baronessekat: (book)
Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead (ToadWitch, #1)Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead by Christiana Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Despite being full of genre tropes, this book was wildly entertaining. I think it was because it did not try to be anything other than it was... in fact in a way it seemed to revel in making fun of itself.

Mara is a woman in her late twenties. She is also a practicing witch. The week of her birthday proves to be one of the worst weeks ever... she cannot find a job despite looking for a year and she is served with eviction papers because the new property management does not approve of her being a witch and she's behind on her rent. Asking the universe for help seemed like her only recourse.

Later she finds out that her great aunt in Wisconsin has died and Mara is her sole heir. With no other options, she packs up and moves from LA to a little tiny town in the middle of no-where. But the house is pretty and the people seem OK.

Problem is that Aunt Tillie has not moved on and is actively trying to make Mara leave so she doesn't find the big scary thing in the basement.

Like I said, this was a fun and fairly quick read. I found myself wanting to get back to the story not long after having had to put it down to do "real world work". It also helped that it was a free Kindle book.

I might pick up the next book just to see what happens next.



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baronessekat: (book)
The Good LiarThe Good Liar by Nicholas Searle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm rounding up to 3 from a 2.75.

Roy is a conman and has lived his life since WWII scamming women out of their money. Now in his 80's he wants one, maybe two, more scores to set him up for what remains of his life. Using online dating ap for seniors he sets his sights on Betty, a widow who lives in the countryside of England, as his next mark.

I picked up this book because I heard of the upcoming movie and when I heard that movie is to star Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren as Roy and Betty I knew I wanted to see it just for them, but wanted to read the book first.

The problem is that this book was... tough. Not the topic, just the pace and storyline. Even half way through I was wondering if it was worth it. Luckily I read some reviews and they all said that you have to slog through the first 50-60% in order to get to the meat of the story. So I kept at it. (but I did bump the speed of the audiobook playback to 1.5 to get through it)

I did like the BIG twist at the end. But I can't say that the story is one that I would recommend to others to read. But I do still want to see the movie because 1) the lead actors (how can anything those two be horrendous?) and 2) I actually want to see how they adapt a book that jumps back and forth in Roy's time line into a cohesive movie.

As for the book... can't say I'd recommend it.



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baronessekat

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