✨Been there, Dreamt that✨ - Book Buddies Reading Challenge - Page 4

(read till ch 33)

That confession scene between Tristan and Maeve was so perfect 😍 I always love this trope of "I know you hate me" "Yeah, I hate you. I hate how much you make me love you" ughh it always does things to my heart ❤️🙈

Cherry on top was him asking "are you clear now about how much I hate you?" after the kiss

Tristan as an ML is so golden 🥹🥹 He came to find her and he didn't reveal her name or use the tracking spell, he didn't once lash out at her or misunderstand her despite her cageyness, he took care of her and always respected her boundaries and kept his word. He's such a gentleman 😭❤️ I'm so used to morally grey and antiheroes in fantasy that this feels a bit unreal tbh

I also really like this group they've formed. Maeve deserved someone in her circle although I'm not sure what she did to invite their warmth and loyalty, as an introvert who blessedly got adopted by extroverts irl, I'm totally rooting for this I love seeing fictional friendships

82% done so ig we're at the final stretch of the mystery now. As expected it wasn't the Postmaster and Sybilla is involved. I'm hoping for one more twist in the story, let's see 👀

Firstly, sorry for making such a late entry. I hope you understand, too many things going on 🙈❤️

It was a total rollercoaster ride. Initially I did not understand why Maeve had to assume a false identity, but eventually it became clearer. But it was such a burden on her to keep her identity hidden, also her mission was too risky. It was cute to read Tristan and Maeve’s friendship blossom gradually. I am a fan of fictional friendships too ❤️ And friends to lovers 😍 Btw, that letter stating Maeve’s father’s innocence was unexpected. I couldn’t help but think about those TV tropes when I read this 😅 But I was happy when she decided to stay and investigate despite spending so much time hating her father previously. But I hated Modraig for what he did, not only to Maeve’s father but also to Maeve, but our brave heroine faced it all 😭 It was disappointing to see Tristan write just one line in his last letter. Couldn’t he be a little more expressive especially given his expertise as a mentor? 😆

I loved the book, I am so glad you recommended it to me. Unfortunately we couldn’t discuss as much, and I couldn’t be around as much as I had hoped to be. We are on the same team in September, I hope we get to have more fun reading 🤗

Yeah, I was trying to post regular updates but itna sannata tha yaha, it felt weird to continue talking by myself But I finished The Otherwhere Post a while ago and I loved it too. I had my doubts bcz of the slow start, but it took off somewhere around the middle and didn't bore me for a single moment after that. The mystery was interesting and the romance was sweet 😌 I already liked Tristan from the beginning but Maeve really grew on me and the world was interesting too, I wish I could do some magical penmanship as well 🥹

I've REALLY struggled with Her Many Faces though. It started off promisingly and I really love the idea of 5 different POVs shaping the story of this woman who is a murder suspect, but whose own POV is the only one we don't get. I was so excited with this initially, but although I like the suspense and social commentary, it does drag a lot. The pacing definitely could've been better (why do sm authors struggle with grammar and pacing these days? ). I'm like almost done though, should be finished in half an hour

Where are you with Her Many Faces?

Okay the last 7% of HMF really changed the game! After all the contrasting viewpoints and buildup, this exposition is exactly what the book needed. And the ending was perfect

This definitely changes my opinion on the book From struggling with the pacing and wishing it would just end already, to a properly exciting finish. Nicely done.

Also I think the author did a pretty good job keeping all 5 voices distinct (I read this in audiobook format so the multiple narrators deserve credit for this too). I was very aware whose chapter was going on, just by the way they thought. Not an easy task to do

Originally posted by: Bee222

Yeah, I was trying to post regular updates but itna sannata tha yaha, it felt weird to continue talking by myself

Sorry about that 🙈 As I said we are in middle of shifting houses, and that’s not only shifting, lots of little things here and there. So I could be around as much.

But I finished The Otherwhere Post a while ago and I loved it too. I had my doubts bcz of the slow start, but it took off somewhere around the middle and didn't bore me for a single moment after that. The mystery was interesting and the romance was sweet 😌 I already liked Tristan from the beginning but Maeve really grew on me and the world was interesting too, I wish I could do some magical penmanship as well 🥹

I wish Tristan’s last letter could be a magical one to Maeve. Even if not, why did he write just one line? 😭 But yeah, overall great plot and character arcs.

I've REALLY struggled with Her Many Faces though. It started off promisingly and I really love the idea of 5 different POVs shaping the story of this woman who is a murder suspect, but whose own POV is the only one we don't get. I was so excited with this initially, but although I like the suspense and social commentary, it does drag a lot. The pacing definitely could've been better (why do sm authors struggle with grammar and pacing these days? ). I'm like almost done though, should be finished in half an hour

Where are you with Her Many Faces?

I was still listening to the last 25% yesterday. Updating my review in the next post.

Originally posted by: Bee222

Okay the last 7% of HMF really changed the game! After all the contrasting viewpoints and buildup, this exposition is exactly what the book needed. And the ending was perfect

This definitely changes my opinion on the book From struggling with the pacing and wishing it would just end already, to a properly exciting finish. Nicely done.

Also I think the author did a pretty good job keeping all 5 voices distinct (I read this in audiobook format so the multiple narrators deserve credit for this too). I was very aware whose chapter was going on, just by the way they thought. Not an easy task to do

Yeah, I read in audiobook format as well For some reason I am enjoying this hands-free way of reading more. And yes, the plot seemed to drag in few places. At least the chapters weren’t too long.

I found Katie both fascinating and frustrating. She insists on her innocence, claiming she was set up, but then telling the arresting officers “they deserved it”. Like who does that? Sometimes she feels more like a canvas for others’ projections than a fully present narrator in her own right. I loved the 5 distinct voices too, and good job by the narrating actors. And this multi-voice structure worked really well in showing how truth can fracture depending on who’s telling it.

I think the strongest sections are the ones that show Katie caught between two worlds: her supportive dad versus the media and courtroom circus. And the weakest: the book seemed to juggle too many themes at once; trauma, conspiracies, media bias, and they dragged the pace down. Overall it was a nice courtroom drama, and thank god the chapters were short.

Tia, I have the kindle version of HMF too and its page count is 383 pages — that's what I put in my log as well. Do you want to update to that one maybe, since we are using kindle counts for audiobooks?

Or I can change to 350 instead. But I think both of us should record the same count 😅

Originally posted by: DreamOfEndless

Yeah, I read in audiobook format as well For some reason I am enjoying this hands-free way of reading more. And yes, the plot seemed to drag in few places. At least the chapters weren’t too long.

I found Katie both fascinating and frustrating. She insists on her innocence, claiming she was set up, but then telling the arresting officers “they deserved it”. Like who does that? Sometimes she feels more like a canvas for others’ projections than a fully present narrator in her own right. I loved the 5 distinct voices too, and good job by the narrating actors. And this multi-voice structure worked really well in showing how truth can fracture depending on who’s telling it.

I think the strongest sections are the ones that show Katie caught between two worlds: her supportive dad versus the media and courtroom circus. And the weakest: the book seemed to juggle too many themes at once; trauma, conspiracies, media bias, and they dragged the pace down. Overall it was a nice courtroom drama, and thank god the chapters were short.

I'm trying to train myself in audiobooks bcz they're so convenient to read, but it's hard bcz my attention keeps wandering Physical/e-books hold my attention much better. I'm still showing progress though. Initially I couldn't read anything more than 3 hrs via audio Now at least I manage to finish full-length novels. I'm gonna keep training myself until my mind gets used to it 😅

Yeah, the "they deserved it" is the only thing in which Katie messed up. Everyone knows you don't say things like that in situations like that Other than that, "a canvas for others’ projections than a fully present narrator in her own right" is exactly what she was meant to be. That was the whole idea and I really liked that we had all these different characters viewing her from their own lens but never really the actual story from her perspective. I was genuinely impressed with this idea, but yeah, it could've used a bit more precision. I understand what all the author tried to do, but the story still felt bogged down bcz of it.

I actually felt myself wishing for longer chapters at some points Wanting to know more from that POV before it ended and we switched again. But it was a good way to keep up the suspense

Originally posted by: Bee222

Tia, I have the kindle version of HMF too and its page count is 383 pages — that's what I put in my log as well. Do you want to update to that one maybe, since we are using kindle counts for audiobooks?

Or I can change to 350 instead. But I think both of us should record the same count 😅

I see, I kept the count by converting hours into pages 😅. The Kindle Edition has 334 pages as per Amazon (and the audiobook is 8h 44m long). I agree, Bee, we both should record the same count for the same books.

Edit: Okay. I checked the rules, and we are supposed to use Kindle Edition counts for completed audiobooks as well. So, I am updating the page counts accordingly.