2.5 stars. I listened to this audiobook in one sitting as it’s quite a quick read, clocking in at 4 hours. I picked this up because I was looking for books that would satisfy a “two books with the same titles” bingo square, and there’s at least three other Forget Me Nots that I have/will read. As an Oregonian, I was intrigued by the historical romance set in Baker City. I don’t often read Christian fiction, but it’s also nice to mix it up. In this second chance romance, Julia and preacher Seth rekindle their former flame after seven years apart. This book’s first turn-off was how Julia went from not recognizing this apparent love of her life to instantly feeling infatuated as if no time or intervening events had passed. I really struggled with the Chinese immigrant representation. It felt so stereotypical with too much emphasis on the white savior. Maybe the stilted broken English speech on the audiobook exaggerated the effect, but I felt there was a missed opportunity to humanized these underrepresented characters. I appreciate what the author is trying to do (as evidenced in the author’s notes), but I think she misses the mark in execution. Maybe this book would be better as a full-length novel in which their story gets fleshed out a bit more. I almost rounded this book up on the rating because I think the intentions are good, but as it currently stands, I would recommend skipping this.

My favorite part of this romantasy is the angsty relationship between Odessa and the Guardian. This book is filled with terrifying magical creatures, a mysterious rage-inducing sickness, blood oaths, betrayal and secrets. I loved the first 75% and then once the romance storyline transitioned, it lost a bit of steam but the action of the book soared in the final chapters (A blood bath! Big reveals! Cliffhangers!). I really enjoyed the narration though some of Samantha Brentmoor’s male voices blended together. I listened to the audiobook on Libby and am already looking forward to the next in the series.

Great book with wacky components.

For readers who have met New York author (and eventual resident of Maine) Lucy Barton in Strout’s other books, this is an interesting deep dive into her life. It focuses on a period in. Barton’s life where her children were young and she is in the hospital for nine weeks with a severe infection following routine surgery. Not sure if I would have enjoyed this story if I hadn’t read about Barton in Strout’s other books.

I thought it was really well-written. The club was cool and I also love making signs. It inspired me.

T

Evil spy school is a very good book.

interesting book

This book brings Jack and Annie to Australia. They obtain the final gift they need to help the dog Teddy and finish their four-part quest. We learned about kangaroos and there was a scary wildfire.

This is a great book of complexity, and family fighting issues. I love this book because it sent me into a new world of reading the 39 clues series.