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Building the Circle #1
The Call
AVAILABLE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!
Matilda was having a bad day.
Matilda was having a bad day.
Caught in a bad Chicago storm, she was tossed into a disgusting drainage puddle while watching her workbag, with her laptop and phone, get run over by a bus. No one would blame her for giving up on the day and skipping the career make-or-break sales pitch meeting she had scheduled.
But, Matilda's an alpha female. She's made an amazing life for herself despite her cerebral palsy disability. She has successfully navigated worse situations than a busted computer. The drainage puddle can go suck it - she's got a contract to win.
Focused on making the sale, Matilda wasn't expecting the start of a pool table romance. After all, romance for people with disabilities is not covered the Happily Ever After fairytales from childhood.
When Matilda shows up in Jake's office doorway, dripping wet and partially frozen, babbling about a mishap, he just knows the tears are coming. He wasn't anticipating getting trash-talked and trounced by the tiny redhead covered in street funk.
Jake and Matty's journey to love - screeching shrews, slobbering dogs, gifted dildos, unfortunate naughty public encounters, and family antics included - is the start of something bigger.
The Call is an inspirational contemporary psychic paranormal romantic comedy and the first book in the Building the Circle series. Each of the nine Tellis siblings will discover love and paranormal romance while wrangling their unique psychic empathic energy.
548 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 6, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 364 reviews
October 8, 2020
2.5 stars - There was a lot to love here, and a few things that jarred, and knocked me out of the story/world.
First up, the meet cute is excellent. Feisty Mattie has a load of attitude and a never say quit outlook on life. Jake is casual, confident and has hottie/nice guy potential.
Sparks fly from their first meeting - and the story takes off from there. The characters had layers and flaws, which was great. He's tired of women using him for his money and connections. Mattie has cerebral palsy and her Mum took off early in her life because of it, and she's had to face a lot of challenges medical/social her entire life.
Alone in the world Mattie is adopted by Jake's large family (heaps of brothers, loving parents and 1 sister) They meet every sunday for dinner and their banter and love is worth reading this book for those conversations alone.
This could have been a straight forward romance but one of the brothers - the one who made them all rich - is psychic. But it comes at a cost, he can't sleep because he's troubled by constant dreams where the world is on fire or everyone in it is suffocating (wow, that got my attention)
There is also a hint one or more of the other brothers has powers, not sure about that.
The above all sounds wonderful, right? But not so fast. I did have a few problems with the book. First off, Jake's model girlfriend, Bella, who he can't shake. Sure it was great watching Mattie verbally smack her down, but.... no one, no one would put up with a Bella in their life. Not if they have any decency. Either Jake is an idiot, I am now thinking. Or his family don't love him at all (cos the man needed an intervention) His lengthy relationship with Bella jarred me constantly. And sure, reading the incredibly mean things she said was funny. But at the same time, I couldn't imagine anyone in the world saying them out loud. Calling Maggie a "Gimp' in front of Jake and him all but shrugging it off??? WTF? She was just too extreme - so much so that she became a caricature and her very existence rang false for me.
Then we have Mattie losing all her self-confidence - combo of factors - Jake being just too hot/rich, her long lost mother coming out of the wood work and undermining her.
So now we have shaky Mattie trying to off-load Jake, because she's not good enough and he's bound to dump her. This went on for chapters and chapters. Sure, every girl is allowed to have some doubts - but these were too extreme and kind of childish. What happened to all of Mattie's moxie and attitude? She became a completely different character - even I was thinking she was hysterical, way too much hard work, and Jake should just walk away.
The happy ending was satisfying. I really did enjoy this, I just question some of the author's choices in getting her word count up there - Bella/ the long lost mother and family - Jake should have put his foot down way earlier. And Mattie should have retained her confidence and brought the verbal smack down.
First up, the meet cute is excellent. Feisty Mattie has a load of attitude and a never say quit outlook on life. Jake is casual, confident and has hottie/nice guy potential.
Sparks fly from their first meeting - and the story takes off from there. The characters had layers and flaws, which was great. He's tired of women using him for his money and connections. Mattie has cerebral palsy and her Mum took off early in her life because of it, and she's had to face a lot of challenges medical/social her entire life.
Alone in the world Mattie is adopted by Jake's large family (heaps of brothers, loving parents and 1 sister) They meet every sunday for dinner and their banter and love is worth reading this book for those conversations alone.
This could have been a straight forward romance but one of the brothers - the one who made them all rich - is psychic. But it comes at a cost, he can't sleep because he's troubled by constant dreams where the world is on fire or everyone in it is suffocating (wow, that got my attention)
There is also a hint one or more of the other brothers has powers, not sure about that.
The above all sounds wonderful, right? But not so fast. I did have a few problems with the book. First off, Jake's model girlfriend, Bella, who he can't shake. Sure it was great watching Mattie verbally smack her down, but.... no one, no one would put up with a Bella in their life. Not if they have any decency. Either Jake is an idiot, I am now thinking. Or his family don't love him at all (cos the man needed an intervention) His lengthy relationship with Bella jarred me constantly. And sure, reading the incredibly mean things she said was funny. But at the same time, I couldn't imagine anyone in the world saying them out loud. Calling Maggie a "Gimp' in front of Jake and him all but shrugging it off??? WTF? She was just too extreme - so much so that she became a caricature and her very existence rang false for me.
Then we have Mattie losing all her self-confidence - combo of factors - Jake being just too hot/rich, her long lost mother coming out of the wood work and undermining her.
So now we have shaky Mattie trying to off-load Jake, because she's not good enough and he's bound to dump her. This went on for chapters and chapters. Sure, every girl is allowed to have some doubts - but these were too extreme and kind of childish. What happened to all of Mattie's moxie and attitude? She became a completely different character - even I was thinking she was hysterical, way too much hard work, and Jake should just walk away.
The happy ending was satisfying. I really did enjoy this, I just question some of the author's choices in getting her word count up there - Bella/ the long lost mother and family - Jake should have put his foot down way earlier. And Mattie should have retained her confidence and brought the verbal smack down.
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July 20, 2021I’m immediately interested in the story, but the writing is horrible. Unexplainable - stilted, stiff, confusing, obtuse… It’s hard to determine who is speaking/thinking/narrating. It’s hard to determine WTF they’re talking about. Add that the writing skips ahead of itself by days to months, and I often feel lost and have to reread for understanding that never really comes.
The characters are good collectively- massive family vibe that’s cool and hip. I love the family dynamics. Individually, though, the MCs suck.
The blurb is misleading. The MCs here show no sign of paranormal. None. Two of the MMCs brothers have paranormal something that they can do, but you will not find out what within the book. < That will remain a mystery that I’m assuming comes out later in the series.
THE FMC puts down on herself and is NOTHING but drama the entire book. I get she’s had a hard life - mom threw her away, dad died while she was in college, she has CP, people have been mean to her, she has low self esteem, boyfriends dumped her, blah blahz. BUT, f’ me… enough is enough. She starts off as someone determined and quickly turns into a snowflake. She melts at the first sign of discomfort and degraded herself until the last 10% of the book. She jumps to conclusions when she shouldn’t and is TSTL when she should be seeing the obvious. Annoying. Degrading. Crying. Weak.
THE MMC is spineless and missing his balls - who stays with someone he calls a bitch for over a year? Who allows said bitch to call the woman he claims to love vile names? Who finally breaks up with said bitch and mopes for months that the FMC may or may not like him? Who lets her continually push him away as he says “please don’t?” He comes off as very weak, immature, pleading, spineless, uninteresting, and SAF. He’s patient is about all I can say for him.
By weak MMC… here is an example of his inner dialogue:
“Double fuck. Now I look like a bigger idiot. She’s gonna know I dressed up for her, and it’s going to be pathetic.”
The plot of his entire family immediately taking her in as family was OTT. She’s smothered, suddenly dropped for months, and then right back to being smothered? Ehh, that combo just isn’t logical.
Many plot points are forced like that.
For example, the FMC is at a meeting where she walks in and is hugged by ALL of the bothers and father (they own the company.) An outside marketing guy is there… witnesses all of the warm greeting, and yet he “mistakes” her for an “office assistant” and asks her to get him coffee. He then proceeded to make a slimy pass at her. <<< That’s illogical shit for word count and drama. And, who sticks up for her? The MMC’s brother and father lol, not the MMC. << Be prepared for that to be a theme. The author writes the love story between the FMC and MMC, but it’s Sam (a brother) that actually feels like has the most chemistry with her.
So…. When the FMC and MMC finally do get it on, I have to agree with his brother’s assessment of it:
” A year of buildup to three minutes of fucking,” he yelled. “I’m oddly unsatisfied.”
Cue the stupid of the FMC crying nonstop for the rest of the book about how she isn’t good enough because almost EVERYONE she’s ever known has hated on her because she has CP.
It’s like the author took all of my pet peeves and put them in a book… right down to laying in bed and having explicit convos about their past sexual encounters.
At 70%, the author suddenly decides the storyline needs to shift to inner thoughts and narrative from multiple other characters, some of whom haven’t even been introduced. WTF?
The paranormal really kicks in around that 70%, which feels so forced. The characters talk around it. The author weakly talks around it… as if the reader is just supposed to go with the oddity of no one ever questioning any of it. Weird shit is said, but NO one ever questions it. Imagine someone saying to keep your colors bright and sparkling, and you just saying yep having no clue WTF they’re talking about.
All sorts of drama with her family comes in, but it’s really never resolved by the end of the book. Again, it all feels like word count.
Suddenly, the FMC is having seizures and can communicate in dreams with the MMC’s brother, Sam, but the book ends leaving all of it unanswered. <<< Not my idea of a stand-alone in a series.
There are scenes where the beginning of romance for the side characters (MMCs brothers) begin.
So, why did I keep reading? Sam. He’s more infesting than the MCs here. He has some kind of paranormal abilities that the reader only gets glimpses of, and he’s just a remarkable character.
The characters are good collectively- massive family vibe that’s cool and hip. I love the family dynamics. Individually, though, the MCs suck.
The blurb is misleading. The MCs here show no sign of paranormal. None. Two of the MMCs brothers have paranormal something that they can do, but you will not find out what within the book. < That will remain a mystery that I’m assuming comes out later in the series.
THE FMC puts down on herself and is NOTHING but drama the entire book. I get she’s had a hard life - mom threw her away, dad died while she was in college, she has CP, people have been mean to her, she has low self esteem, boyfriends dumped her, blah blahz. BUT, f’ me… enough is enough. She starts off as someone determined and quickly turns into a snowflake. She melts at the first sign of discomfort and degraded herself until the last 10% of the book. She jumps to conclusions when she shouldn’t and is TSTL when she should be seeing the obvious. Annoying. Degrading. Crying. Weak.
THE MMC is spineless and missing his balls - who stays with someone he calls a bitch for over a year? Who allows said bitch to call the woman he claims to love vile names? Who finally breaks up with said bitch and mopes for months that the FMC may or may not like him? Who lets her continually push him away as he says “please don’t?” He comes off as very weak, immature, pleading, spineless, uninteresting, and SAF. He’s patient is about all I can say for him.
By weak MMC… here is an example of his inner dialogue:
“Double fuck. Now I look like a bigger idiot. She’s gonna know I dressed up for her, and it’s going to be pathetic.”
The plot of his entire family immediately taking her in as family was OTT. She’s smothered, suddenly dropped for months, and then right back to being smothered? Ehh, that combo just isn’t logical.
Many plot points are forced like that.
For example, the FMC is at a meeting where she walks in and is hugged by ALL of the bothers and father (they own the company.) An outside marketing guy is there… witnesses all of the warm greeting, and yet he “mistakes” her for an “office assistant” and asks her to get him coffee. He then proceeded to make a slimy pass at her. <<< That’s illogical shit for word count and drama. And, who sticks up for her? The MMC’s brother and father lol, not the MMC. << Be prepared for that to be a theme. The author writes the love story between the FMC and MMC, but it’s Sam (a brother) that actually feels like has the most chemistry with her.
So…. When the FMC and MMC finally do get it on, I have to agree with his brother’s assessment of it:
” A year of buildup to three minutes of fucking,” he yelled. “I’m oddly unsatisfied.”
Cue the stupid of the FMC crying nonstop for the rest of the book about how she isn’t good enough because almost EVERYONE she’s ever known has hated on her because she has CP.
It’s like the author took all of my pet peeves and put them in a book… right down to laying in bed and having explicit convos about their past sexual encounters.
At 70%, the author suddenly decides the storyline needs to shift to inner thoughts and narrative from multiple other characters, some of whom haven’t even been introduced. WTF?
The paranormal really kicks in around that 70%, which feels so forced. The characters talk around it. The author weakly talks around it… as if the reader is just supposed to go with the oddity of no one ever questioning any of it. Weird shit is said, but NO one ever questions it. Imagine someone saying to keep your colors bright and sparkling, and you just saying yep having no clue WTF they’re talking about.
All sorts of drama with her family comes in, but it’s really never resolved by the end of the book. Again, it all feels like word count.
Suddenly, the FMC is having seizures and can communicate in dreams with the MMC’s brother, Sam, but the book ends leaving all of it unanswered. <<< Not my idea of a stand-alone in a series.
There are scenes where the beginning of romance for the side characters (MMCs brothers) begin.
So, why did I keep reading? Sam. He’s more infesting than the MCs here. He has some kind of paranormal abilities that the reader only gets glimpses of, and he’s just a remarkable character.
April 29, 2020
Jake doesn't have any magic? What a gyp? Other than being a nice guy, who shoots pool, he's kind of one dimensional.
Loathed the model girlfriend - no way would any human being spend any time with such a shallow horrid person. And the whole Mattie catching him in the garden with her - um, she doesn't even get jealous or horrified that he says he has feelings for her but is still doing Bella???
Really liked Mattie to start, she's sarcastic and holds her own, but then does a complete reversal mid book and becomes a shadow of her former self with absolutely no backbone and suffers way too much self-doubt.
There was stuff I liked here - it was funny. The romance - at the beginning and the end at least - was cute and hot. The trellis family were great, but I had to question if they were all so close how come all the kids have these dark secrets and personal problems that they never feel able to share???
Loathed the model girlfriend - no way would any human being spend any time with such a shallow horrid person. And the whole Mattie catching him in the garden with her - um, she doesn't even get jealous or horrified that he says he has feelings for her but is still doing Bella???
Really liked Mattie to start, she's sarcastic and holds her own, but then does a complete reversal mid book and becomes a shadow of her former self with absolutely no backbone and suffers way too much self-doubt.
There was stuff I liked here - it was funny. The romance - at the beginning and the end at least - was cute and hot. The trellis family were great, but I had to question if they were all so close how come all the kids have these dark secrets and personal problems that they never feel able to share???
August 19, 2020
Sorry, but hero TRULY did not deserve heroine. If your GF calls your friend a “gimp” and tells her she’s ugly, and you don’t dump her immediately? You don’t deserve to date that friend—or anyone—ever.
As a disabled person with some amount of pride, I cannot and will not endorse this as a romance. Telling disabled people that someone who accepts that and lets it go mostly unchallenged is worthy of dating?! Nope. Nopity nope nope.
As a disabled person with some amount of pride, I cannot and will not endorse this as a romance. Telling disabled people that someone who accepts that and lets it go mostly unchallenged is worthy of dating?! Nope. Nopity nope nope.
March 11, 2022
i honestly didn't think i had braincells to loose at this point and yet here we are
my mans spent months in love with one woman and the only thing that was stopping him is a girlfriend he and everyone else hated.
that's not a conflict. that's an idiot.
my mans spent months in love with one woman and the only thing that was stopping him is a girlfriend he and everyone else hated.
that's not a conflict. that's an idiot.
April 28, 2020
Some great stuff here - the hints of magic were light on but intriguing. Really like the heroine, Mattie - at least at first, but then she went through this weird crisis of self doubt and angst that went on forever, and didn't jibe with a girl who has taught herself to be independent, not care what others think and live her life to the fullest.
The romance was nice - but hated that he had a girlfriend for like a year whilst he had feelings for her.
Mattie's family coming out of nowhere, getting under her skin - this was rather too contrived for me.
Lot of the time I was just sorry for Jake who didn't know where Mattie's head was at or understand why she was pushing him away.
Loved the brothers. The pool table. The banter. The tennis balls.
The romance was nice - but hated that he had a girlfriend for like a year whilst he had feelings for her.
Mattie's family coming out of nowhere, getting under her skin - this was rather too contrived for me.
Lot of the time I was just sorry for Jake who didn't know where Mattie's head was at or understand why she was pushing him away.
Loved the brothers. The pool table. The banter. The tennis balls.
January 28, 2021
what in the wattpad fanfic from hell?
April 2, 2020
I'm absolutely love this romance. Tons of humour that made me giggle and laugh.
The Call is about a love story, family drama and women jealousy. I had zero expectations for this book when I requested it from Netgalley. This book got me hooked from the beginning until the end especially after Matty met Jake. I absolutely love how weird the combination of the story. Like I haven't been reading a book like this before, the one like a love story but involved the whole family and family who is very supportive, kind and very rich. And it also has a bit touch of paranormal. See, a bit weird, right? The good kind of weird.
Matty is funny. I liked her. And her character is cute and I really liked how the Trellis family treated her like their own family. Matty was working with them for the beer project. It all started with the 'Mishap' on her way to meeting where she needed to present her ideas on the beer project. It was a disaster but she finally managed to keep the contract going. Thank God.
Jake is charming, in my opinion. Jake has 7 brothers and 1 sister. He's also dating a supermodel, named Stephanie-Bella. Jake has feelings for Matty but he already has a girlfriend. Is he going to dump his girlfriend just to be with Matty?
Love the writing. It was well written. The plot is amazing and all are in suquence and easy to catch up and remember. The other characters, Hank, Darla, William, Adrian, Ethan, Samuel (my most favorite character), Noah, Matthew, Lucas and Bethany are all likeable. I wish to get to read more about The Trellis Siblings.
Thank you, NetGalley for providing the reader's copy in return for an honest review. This book is available now.
The Call is about a love story, family drama and women jealousy. I had zero expectations for this book when I requested it from Netgalley. This book got me hooked from the beginning until the end especially after Matty met Jake. I absolutely love how weird the combination of the story. Like I haven't been reading a book like this before, the one like a love story but involved the whole family and family who is very supportive, kind and very rich. And it also has a bit touch of paranormal. See, a bit weird, right? The good kind of weird.
Matty is funny. I liked her. And her character is cute and I really liked how the Trellis family treated her like their own family. Matty was working with them for the beer project. It all started with the 'Mishap' on her way to meeting where she needed to present her ideas on the beer project. It was a disaster but she finally managed to keep the contract going. Thank God.
Jake is charming, in my opinion. Jake has 7 brothers and 1 sister. He's also dating a supermodel, named Stephanie-Bella. Jake has feelings for Matty but he already has a girlfriend. Is he going to dump his girlfriend just to be with Matty?
Love the writing. It was well written. The plot is amazing and all are in suquence and easy to catch up and remember. The other characters, Hank, Darla, William, Adrian, Ethan, Samuel (my most favorite character), Noah, Matthew, Lucas and Bethany are all likeable. I wish to get to read more about The Trellis Siblings.
Thank you, NetGalley for providing the reader's copy in return for an honest review. This book is available now.
June 14, 2020
It was fine, but it had a lot of hanging threads and random plot points that do not add anything to this books plot, world, or character building. It may be setting up for sequels, but honestly it was all over the place and the characters didn't seem to evolve at all. The main characters were over dramatic as well where one statement would cause a massive fight and break up that would be fixed 3 pages later. The psychic aspect seems tact on to the plot but doesnt ever develop into anything meaningful. Overall this book was mediocre at best, on par with anything on Wattpad, the only reason it's getting 2 stars instead of 1 is because it was free on Amazon. Theres potential, it just was not developed well and lead to a book with a heavily flawed plot.
December 4, 2020
Spoiler alert - Jacob’s a jerk and no one’s psychic, paranormal OR romantic.
April 24, 2021
No, no, no and just NO! What hell did I just read! First, people just don’t behave the way this author describe office life! Matty is an insecure whiner! Just no!
July 11, 2023
This book had it all, it made me laugh, swoon, and yes, at one point I even shed a tear. The good kind, where it's all just so sad, yet wonderful at the same time.
I'm beyond delighted to have stumbled over Maggie Lily, but also annoyed, she should totally have a back catalogue of twenty plus books so I can dive in and wallow in the fun, angst and romance. I suppose I should be grateful for the three already published in this series.
What should you expect? First off, a lot of swearing. The f-word is used heaps. But it is in context and suits these characters and situations - I personally didn't notice it, but I know it has turned some reviewers off.
Next, the romance. You are going to get annoyed and frustrated with both these characters as they failed to communicate several times. And Matty, the h, loses her mojo at one point (for several chapters) and keeps trying to push Jake away. But I had to keep remembering her backstory and realise Matty has known more rejection than most in her life, so she is entitled to her fears.
There's a lot to love about Jake, but the model girlfriend - despite his explanation why he let her hang around so long - just doesn't ring true or paint him in a good light. Thankfully he gets his act together eventually and goes above and beyond in trying to conquer Mattie's fears and doubts.
Which brings us to the Trellis family - Jake is one of 8 brothers (plus an adopted family friend), one sister, delightful parents who want all their single kids to settle down. The family are rich, mega-rich, and the reason for that is Sam, one of the middle brothers, who is kind of psychic, but those powers come with a heavy toll and even Sam doesn't know how to handle them or know if he is dangerous. It also emerges that several of the other brothers might have powers and be dealing with their own problems surrounding them. BUT - this family is beyond wonderful. They are close knit. Supportive. Funny. They banter and needle each other but will do anything for one another.
I stayed up way too late to finish reading this, and then immediately downloaded book 2 - thinking I would just read a chapter or two to get me started - yawn, boy, am I paying for that decision this morning. Can't wait to get back and finish Adrian's story.
I'm beyond delighted to have stumbled over Maggie Lily, but also annoyed, she should totally have a back catalogue of twenty plus books so I can dive in and wallow in the fun, angst and romance. I suppose I should be grateful for the three already published in this series.
What should you expect? First off, a lot of swearing. The f-word is used heaps. But it is in context and suits these characters and situations - I personally didn't notice it, but I know it has turned some reviewers off.
Next, the romance. You are going to get annoyed and frustrated with both these characters as they failed to communicate several times. And Matty, the h, loses her mojo at one point (for several chapters) and keeps trying to push Jake away. But I had to keep remembering her backstory and realise Matty has known more rejection than most in her life, so she is entitled to her fears.
There's a lot to love about Jake, but the model girlfriend - despite his explanation why he let her hang around so long - just doesn't ring true or paint him in a good light. Thankfully he gets his act together eventually and goes above and beyond in trying to conquer Mattie's fears and doubts.
Which brings us to the Trellis family - Jake is one of 8 brothers (plus an adopted family friend), one sister, delightful parents who want all their single kids to settle down. The family are rich, mega-rich, and the reason for that is Sam, one of the middle brothers, who is kind of psychic, but those powers come with a heavy toll and even Sam doesn't know how to handle them or know if he is dangerous. It also emerges that several of the other brothers might have powers and be dealing with their own problems surrounding them. BUT - this family is beyond wonderful. They are close knit. Supportive. Funny. They banter and needle each other but will do anything for one another.
I stayed up way too late to finish reading this, and then immediately downloaded book 2 - thinking I would just read a chapter or two to get me started - yawn, boy, am I paying for that decision this morning. Can't wait to get back and finish Adrian's story.
September 9, 2020
Out of the gate had a heap of potential - our Heroine, Mattie, was all things you would want in a lead. Determined, capable, with just enough snark to be funny/witty. Jake, our Hero, had gorgeous/nice guy potential.
Then I was hit by an epic number of insurmountable obstacles or things that jarred me on the believability scale and kept yanking out of the story to roll my eyes. In no particular order:
- Jake's model girlfriend. Seriously? First off, he dates her for like a year during the course of this novel even though he had feelings for Mattie. He doesn't walk away from her when she says incredibly heinous, hurtful things. At one stage she calls Mattie a gimp. WTF!!!! If he had slapped her down verbally I would have been okay with it, but he kind of lets it roll off. Jake's Hero potential went to zero every time the model GF was mentioned or appeared.
- Mattie's mother and family appearing. I was fine with it as a story device but it was done clunkily and too obviously engineered.
- Mattie's epic melt down that she is not worthy of Jake and keeps pushing him away without explaining why and just being an all out mess. This went on for way too long. Chapters and chapters and chapters. We are all entitled to a little doubt but this didn't ring true with the Mattie I had come to know.
- Jake's family were kind of fun. But also how close can they be if every single one of them is keeping some dark dreadful secret?????
The magic aspects appeared added in after the event - so this contemporary romance felt kind of wobbly and didn't know what lane it wanted to be in.
A lot of great elements were present - but a heap of stuff should have been left out, and a different approach was required on other aspects.
Then I was hit by an epic number of insurmountable obstacles or things that jarred me on the believability scale and kept yanking out of the story to roll my eyes. In no particular order:
- Jake's model girlfriend. Seriously? First off, he dates her for like a year during the course of this novel even though he had feelings for Mattie. He doesn't walk away from her when she says incredibly heinous, hurtful things. At one stage she calls Mattie a gimp. WTF!!!! If he had slapped her down verbally I would have been okay with it, but he kind of lets it roll off. Jake's Hero potential went to zero every time the model GF was mentioned or appeared.
- Mattie's mother and family appearing. I was fine with it as a story device but it was done clunkily and too obviously engineered.
- Mattie's epic melt down that she is not worthy of Jake and keeps pushing him away without explaining why and just being an all out mess. This went on for way too long. Chapters and chapters and chapters. We are all entitled to a little doubt but this didn't ring true with the Mattie I had come to know.
- Jake's family were kind of fun. But also how close can they be if every single one of them is keeping some dark dreadful secret?????
The magic aspects appeared added in after the event - so this contemporary romance felt kind of wobbly and didn't know what lane it wanted to be in.
A lot of great elements were present - but a heap of stuff should have been left out, and a different approach was required on other aspects.
January 29, 2022
DNF & didn't like what I did read.
DNF. It was such a f***ing mess, I don't even know what know why I gave it two stars. My mind's all messed up.
I couldn't follow. The story "dragged on" from the beginning. The jumping between POVs every few moments caused dizziness, the month time jumps added to it, the plot was crazy.
Matilda was supposedly a professional, to the point of almost being stiff. But then she wasn't, rather as if she knew the boys since childhood, not for a couple of days. Jake was another level of insane, with a girlfriend nobody, even him or especially him, didn't like. Like Matilda said, the GF was over the top, exaggerated with her bitchiness, she was ridiculously unreal and the whole garden situation disgusted me. Rejected me more from both the main characters. And that's aside from the fact that their personalities weren't constant.
I passed over the halfway mark when I realized I've been giving myself wrinkles by frowning the whole time and murmuring WTF for the hundredth time. It was plain stupid and I absolutely have no desire to ever finish this story or read any of the others in this series. I'm sorely disappointed that I had higher expectations that were squashed from the start.
DNF. It was such a f***ing mess, I don't even know what know why I gave it two stars. My mind's all messed up.
I couldn't follow. The story "dragged on" from the beginning. The jumping between POVs every few moments caused dizziness, the month time jumps added to it, the plot was crazy.
Matilda was supposedly a professional, to the point of almost being stiff. But then she wasn't, rather as if she knew the boys since childhood, not for a couple of days. Jake was another level of insane, with a girlfriend nobody, even him or especially him, didn't like. Like Matilda said, the GF was over the top, exaggerated with her bitchiness, she was ridiculously unreal and the whole garden situation disgusted me. Rejected me more from both the main characters. And that's aside from the fact that their personalities weren't constant.
I passed over the halfway mark when I realized I've been giving myself wrinkles by frowning the whole time and murmuring WTF for the hundredth time. It was plain stupid and I absolutely have no desire to ever finish this story or read any of the others in this series. I'm sorely disappointed that I had higher expectations that were squashed from the start.
January 16, 2023
When I first finished this book I had a lot to say about it but honestly I just can't be bothered to rant on it now. Essentially the book just felt a little too all over the place for me to really enjoy it and some parts even seemed confusing, especially with Sam and his "abilities." The characters also weren't super likable in my opinion and the weird inner dialogues they had with themselves didn't help at all since it made them seem really immature.
Overall, this wasn't the book for me even though the premise seemed really intriguing and it sounded like a book I'd love.
Overall, this wasn't the book for me even though the premise seemed really intriguing and it sounded like a book I'd love.
April 1, 2023
The premise of the book sounded cute. I needed something light-hearted after the last book I read was soul-draggingly dark. And in the initial third or so of the book, it delivered. Matilda was cute, fun, and didn't really let things bother her. But the constant angst over Jake and him staying with his awful gf was drawn out too long. He drug Matilda along for almost a year while still being with evil gf and wondered why Matilda wouldn't accept his advances. Later on Jake's brother, Sam had enough of the tiptoe-ing around each other and told Matilda that Jake loved her. Mind you, this was right after evil gf just called her a "gimpy ginger bitch" to her face, in front of a room full of people watching, with Jake standing there and not defending her. And it wasn't the first time. So Sam confessing Jake's love for her rings a little false and reminiscent of middle school. Then Jake is dumb-founded when Matilda never reaches out to him after Sam's confession. Months pass and he doesn't make a move to contact her at all. The idiocy was astounding.
Matilda's best friend, Ellie, was a nightmare. She was obnoxious (which I'm sure the author thought the reader would find her extroverted and endearing) and kind of terrible to Matilda. She made her birthdays these huge events where people had to bow down to her wishes which included bringing enough wine to satisfy a party of 30 people (He's rich! He can afford it!), and demanding her "best friend" degrade herself and act out giving a blow job to a dildo in front of a crowd while filming it without her consent and refused to delete it when asked. The next year at her birthday, when Matilda walked in to Ellie's birthday, the video was playing on the big screen. This year's show of humiliation that she would subject only Matilda to, involved making her stand on a table in front of everyone while Ellie grilled her about her fledging relationship with Jake and how her dead dad would feel about it. "Would he be proud of the stress and strain you've put on your relationship with Jake? Would he agree with your general outlook on the relationship?" On and on and how she wasn't treating Jake right, how his family had been so lovely to her, and to essentially stop being reserved because surely a week of dating is enough time for you to let down your walls, right? Even though he strung her along for a year, let his evil gf say horrible things to her, tried to get her to be the other woman in said relationship and was hurt when she wouldn't, never made her feel secure in the relationship, etc. This whole scene was supposed to come across as the best friend having a sage, come to Jesus moment. It was one of the worst scenes in the whole book. Needless to say, I could rant about Ellie for several more paragraphs but lets move on from that awful character. But before we move on, one last thing. All this fanfare for Ellie's birthdays but she was no where to be found on Matilda's birthdays. Odd.
The subtitle of this book was "A Psychic Paranormal Romantic Comedy". The psychic/paranormal aspect didn't really show up until about 70% of the book. And it was involving a peripheral character who might have psychic powers. But then...the rest of the Trellis siblings might have them too? Besides the MMC of course. It was as if the author suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be writing a paranormal book and just started cramming random things in.
The writing was abrupt and confusing. I had to constantly reread previous paragraphs and sentences to see if I missed something but no, it was just jarringly stilted. I was going to write more but this ended up being more of a rant session than anticipated and I'm tired of this book.
Matilda's best friend, Ellie, was a nightmare. She was obnoxious (which I'm sure the author thought the reader would find her extroverted and endearing) and kind of terrible to Matilda. She made her birthdays these huge events where people had to bow down to her wishes which included bringing enough wine to satisfy a party of 30 people (He's rich! He can afford it!), and demanding her "best friend" degrade herself and act out giving a blow job to a dildo in front of a crowd while filming it without her consent and refused to delete it when asked. The next year at her birthday, when Matilda walked in to Ellie's birthday, the video was playing on the big screen. This year's show of humiliation that she would subject only Matilda to, involved making her stand on a table in front of everyone while Ellie grilled her about her fledging relationship with Jake and how her dead dad would feel about it. "Would he be proud of the stress and strain you've put on your relationship with Jake? Would he agree with your general outlook on the relationship?" On and on and how she wasn't treating Jake right, how his family had been so lovely to her, and to essentially stop being reserved because surely a week of dating is enough time for you to let down your walls, right? Even though he strung her along for a year, let his evil gf say horrible things to her, tried to get her to be the other woman in said relationship and was hurt when she wouldn't, never made her feel secure in the relationship, etc. This whole scene was supposed to come across as the best friend having a sage, come to Jesus moment. It was one of the worst scenes in the whole book. Needless to say, I could rant about Ellie for several more paragraphs but lets move on from that awful character. But before we move on, one last thing. All this fanfare for Ellie's birthdays but she was no where to be found on Matilda's birthdays. Odd.
The subtitle of this book was "A Psychic Paranormal Romantic Comedy". The psychic/paranormal aspect didn't really show up until about 70% of the book. And it was involving a peripheral character who might have psychic powers. But then...the rest of the Trellis siblings might have them too? Besides the MMC of course. It was as if the author suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be writing a paranormal book and just started cramming random things in.
The writing was abrupt and confusing. I had to constantly reread previous paragraphs and sentences to see if I missed something but no, it was just jarringly stilted. I was going to write more but this ended up being more of a rant session than anticipated and I'm tired of this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2021
I didn’t really love the main characters (who were not paranormal at all). Matty went from being awesome to unrecognizable. She got a little better for a while, and changed for the worse again. She improved once again at the end, but she didn’t learn her lesson before; who’s to say she did this time? Jake was a jerk. He stays with Bella for a year and a half. Yes, she’s horrible, but he chooses to stay. He’s afraid she’ll steal from him, so he refuses to bring her to his house. But he takes her to his parents’ house? And subjects his family to her horribleness while he’s at it. He’s in love with Matty for over half the time he’s with Bella, which he thinks is okay... It’s just not okay to break up with her over the phone? I didn’t understand him at all. Then there was paranormal stuff... there wasn’t much, and it seemed almost like a completely separate story than the romance. Nothing was explained well, and there were so many questions and loose ends.
January 4, 2021
yeah no. i read other reviews that said jake was a jerk, and i thought, 'maybe it's not that bad' and kept reading. the scene in the park with maddie watching jake and his girlfriend freaked me out so much i stopped. i'll take that scenario in a penthouse letter, sure, but this made it weird and bad.
may i point out that i was 100% ok with the weird factor in Laura Thalassa's book Pestilence - LOVED that book, but it beats the weird-ick-mean factor of The Call by about 43 billion weird-ick-mean points on a scale of 1 to 3 million.
may i point out that i was 100% ok with the weird factor in Laura Thalassa's book Pestilence - LOVED that book, but it beats the weird-ick-mean factor of The Call by about 43 billion weird-ick-mean points on a scale of 1 to 3 million.
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March 30, 2020DNF.
Every other sentence had an F word in it. And for no good reason.
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
Every other sentence had an F word in it. And for no good reason.
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
January 13, 2023
I liked the first half of this book a lot more than I liked the second half. Mostly because in the second half, Matty just became... whiny and insufferable. I mean, she went from being this tough badass to a wet dishrag. Her family was so clearly manipulating her, and she just took it. That's not the character we spent the first 2/3 of the book getting to know.
And then the solve - - feels like a big cheat. There was no growth. No evolution. Just a hand-wavy easy button fix. Jake deserves so much better, because I don't know how anyone has faith in that non-resolution.
I'm not sure if I'll go on with the series. I liked the Trellis family, but the woo-wo0 stuff (and I say this as someone who primarily reads UF / PNR / fantasy) felt extra hand-wavy. Like, I don't understand what happened at the end there. I don't understand if we're supposed to believe these people all have supernatural powers? Like, even Matty? That seems weird.
But the primary reason I would go on is that I do like the family. I like them a lot more than I liked this FMC, which gives me pause because I'd hate to invest more time/emotion into another book only to end up greatly disliking the FMC in the back half.
And then the solve - - feels like a big cheat. There was no growth. No evolution. Just a hand-wavy easy button fix. Jake deserves so much better, because I don't know how anyone has faith in that non-resolution.
I'm not sure if I'll go on with the series. I liked the Trellis family, but the woo-wo0 stuff (and I say this as someone who primarily reads UF / PNR / fantasy) felt extra hand-wavy. Like, I don't understand what happened at the end there. I don't understand if we're supposed to believe these people all have supernatural powers? Like, even Matty? That seems weird.
But the primary reason I would go on is that I do like the family. I like them a lot more than I liked this FMC, which gives me pause because I'd hate to invest more time/emotion into another book only to end up greatly disliking the FMC in the back half.
March 25, 2024
March 2024
Kindle edition
KU
I really liked this one. To the halfway point it was 5 stars. But then it went into the third act multiple will they won't they insecurities and break up. Sam should've been there when she went to meet her family. The first half was fun and where I don't like cheating, I wouldn't have minded if they had fooled around a little, because Bella was awful. So yeah, with Bella, name calling, insults etc etc. Black soul.
I liked the lightheartedness and the time it takes them to get together. It was after the quickie that things started going haywire. The Trellis family is sweet and close knit. I liked how smoothly the psychic situation was weaved in. It didn't feel out of the place, but it didn't feel like a paranormal book either.
Jake and Matty needed all the help they could get. Fave character was Sam, although I'm curious about William. Sam was the rock, his mean streak was deserving. Nice to see he's not the only one with power, Luke was a lot more subtle. Looking forward to the next one. A lot of loose ends. Already gutted about Darla. First part was great fun. Second half was where all the emotion and psychic powers were.
Kindle edition
KU
I really liked this one. To the halfway point it was 5 stars. But then it went into the third act multiple will they won't they insecurities and break up. Sam should've been there when she went to meet her family. The first half was fun and where I don't like cheating, I wouldn't have minded if they had fooled around a little, because Bella was awful. So yeah, with Bella, name calling, insults etc etc. Black soul.
I liked the lightheartedness and the time it takes them to get together. It was after the quickie that things started going haywire. The Trellis family is sweet and close knit. I liked how smoothly the psychic situation was weaved in. It didn't feel out of the place, but it didn't feel like a paranormal book either.
Jake and Matty needed all the help they could get. Fave character was Sam, although I'm curious about William. Sam was the rock, his mean streak was deserving. Nice to see he's not the only one with power, Luke was a lot more subtle. Looking forward to the next one. A lot of loose ends. Already gutted about Darla. First part was great fun. Second half was where all the emotion and psychic powers were.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2022
DNF 57%
This was just...all over the place? trying to be romantic, trying to be funny, trying to be psychic and what not. it did NOT work out. I was just so incredible bored... I ended up Did-Not-Finish it.
I got this eARC from Netgally
This was just...all over the place? trying to be romantic, trying to be funny, trying to be psychic and what not. it did NOT work out. I was just so incredible bored... I ended up Did-Not-Finish it.
I got this eARC from Netgally
May 14, 2021
Cute little romance - honestly not very paranormal-y but it has some aspects to it that just aren’t really detailed. I suppose she’ll get more into that as the series progresses?
April 12, 2020
Found this book scrolling through the "Read Now" section of romance on Net Galley - thank you for the opportunity to read this book!
We follow Matilda, an alpha female with a take no crap type of attitude. While on her way to an important meeting with the Trellis family for their new beer label, she get knocked over and takes a tumble. She arrives at her meeting looking like death warmed over: she has mud all over her, she's soaking wet and all of her electronics (and the bag holding them) are destroyed, having been run over by a bus. Not quite the first impressions she was hoping to make. Jake is the Trellis man hosting the meeting. If anyone else showed up looking like Matilda did, they would've cried, which is exactly what Jake is expecting. Instead he gets all of Matilda's snark and sass, and also gets demolished in pool.
What follows is a love story between the Matilda and Jake with a whole cast of characters that you, as the reader, want in your corner.
This book was fun! It was the romantic escape I was looking for when I picked it up. I love Matilda as a character, she's strong and full of life and I loved being in her head. Jake was an interesting character. His heart was in the right place, and I honestly enjoyed watching him fumble with his words. Not everyone is great with words, and it was nice to see that represented on paper.
When I first saw that this was paranormal (after I downloaded it), I was skeptical. Paranormal romance is not typically my cup of tea. However, this was well done. It wasn't too over the top. It never really gets explained in the book though, so that did knock my rating down a bit. It also seems like each Trellis sibling (there's a lot of them) is meant to have some sort of ability, and I don't recall understanding what Jake's ability is. This itself knocked down my rating.
Overall, this book was fun! I had a good time reading about the romance and am looking forward to picking up more books in the series.
We follow Matilda, an alpha female with a take no crap type of attitude. While on her way to an important meeting with the Trellis family for their new beer label, she get knocked over and takes a tumble. She arrives at her meeting looking like death warmed over: she has mud all over her, she's soaking wet and all of her electronics (and the bag holding them) are destroyed, having been run over by a bus. Not quite the first impressions she was hoping to make. Jake is the Trellis man hosting the meeting. If anyone else showed up looking like Matilda did, they would've cried, which is exactly what Jake is expecting. Instead he gets all of Matilda's snark and sass, and also gets demolished in pool.
What follows is a love story between the Matilda and Jake with a whole cast of characters that you, as the reader, want in your corner.
This book was fun! It was the romantic escape I was looking for when I picked it up. I love Matilda as a character, she's strong and full of life and I loved being in her head. Jake was an interesting character. His heart was in the right place, and I honestly enjoyed watching him fumble with his words. Not everyone is great with words, and it was nice to see that represented on paper.
When I first saw that this was paranormal (after I downloaded it), I was skeptical. Paranormal romance is not typically my cup of tea. However, this was well done. It wasn't too over the top. It never really gets explained in the book though, so that did knock my rating down a bit. It also seems like each Trellis sibling (there's a lot of them) is meant to have some sort of ability, and I don't recall understanding what Jake's ability is. This itself knocked down my rating.
Overall, this book was fun! I had a good time reading about the romance and am looking forward to picking up more books in the series.
May 25, 2020
I won a digital copy of this book in the Goodreads giveaway. The Call focuses on the relationship between Matilda, a focused, hardworking woman, and a man she begins working with. The relationship between the two is so heartwarming and funny, and I truly enjoyed watching them get to know each other and fall in love. However, later in the book it seemed as if Matilda was not as true to the character that she was at the beginning, which was a bit jarring and confusing. In addition, the paranormal aspect of the story was slightly hard to follow. I imagine the second book probably goes deeper into it, but I wished there were more details to really hook the reader to the story.
In the end, I really did enjoy reading this story and will most likely read the next books in the series, but I wished there were a bit more consistency in Matilda's character.
In the end, I really did enjoy reading this story and will most likely read the next books in the series, but I wished there were a bit more consistency in Matilda's character.
April 16, 2020
I liked the big family camaraderie that came with Jake, though there were so many brothers I had a hard time keeping them straight. I'm sure once each of them get their own story and book it will help though. Some of the dialogue felt a little unbelievable though. For instance, even if I showed up soaking wet and out of sorts to a business meeting, I doubt I would be swearing and speaking unprofessionally.
March 12, 2023
Why must we make these women weak??
I really hate it when authors create women characters that hate themselves until a man helps them see their worth. I found it extra sick that you made this character, who has a disability, so weak and self loathing. Come on, lets give our women some respect and power.
I really hate it when authors create women characters that hate themselves until a man helps them see their worth. I found it extra sick that you made this character, who has a disability, so weak and self loathing. Come on, lets give our women some respect and power.
February 6, 2022
Lots of mixed feelings about this book. (I listened to the audio version (which was great!) so hopefully I don’t butcher the names too badly.)
I really loved the Trellis family, I loved their dynamics, I loved the matriarch and her husband, I adored Sam even though he comes across harsh at times, and I love that they’re all different but similar in the ways that make me want to read their stories.
I even loved Mattie at first. I love the way she ribbed Jake and kicked his ass at pool, I loved her friends and how she’s interacted with them and the Trellis family. I loved that she was a disabled woman that kicked ass to get where she is and took no shit about her stature or her gait. I even enjoyed the whole rich family adopts girl with a sad backstory angle, which can sometimes come off pretentious but was really well written here.
But once Mattie & Jake finally sleep together, it’s like Mattie turned into an entirely different character. She clearly had insecurities beforehand, and she talked herself down at times especially in Bella’s company, and communication isn’t her strong suit but once they were together that amplified to near neurotic levels and despite having some really shitty things happen in her past, it was such an over the top change that it almost made me put the book down. She was insufferably in her head and unwilling to talk to Jake about her concerns, she misinterpreted his words and would cut him off and not let him elaborate or explain, she kept jumping to conclusion after conclusion and it didn’t matter what anyone said because she had made her mind up based on her assumptions and insecurities. She thought the worst of Jake, of the Trellis family, and she hurt them a number of times because of it and didn’t realize it until the literal end of the story and she only apologized to Sam - when honestly the whole family deserved an apology, or at the very least Darla & Hank too. Im glad it worked out but there were times where I would not have blamed Jake for walking away. Despite him being terrible at words, she was even more terrible at putting words into his mouth.
Communication issues aside, I didn’t feel like this was paranormal or psychic novel the way it was advertised. We were like… 60 or 70 % through before Sam started being more than just the brother with the Midas touch because he had feelings about investments other than his weird dreams that haunt him and whatever pressure he was feeling to save the entire world somehow. And I know it’s a series and likely done on purpose but you end up with zero answers about the family and their gifts by the end of the book. Just more confusion and questions. We don’t know how/why Mattie can “call” Sam, we don’t know if Mattie is like them or if she means something deeper to Sam; we get a teasing of Luke maybe being like Sam, but then they have that conversation at the end that makes it sound like Sam is much different than the others and I once again wonder WHY NO ONE TALKS TO EACH OTHER about this stuff! The lack of communication all around is infuriating; I know people keep secrets and fears close to the chest but the entire family appeal is how close and supportive they are but they don’t talk about these gifts??
I don’t know. I’m rambling at this point I think, I will read the next one to see if things get better / answer more questions because I am interested in seeing what else happens but I can’t say I will keep reading if communication gets better because of how frustrating it was.
I really loved the Trellis family, I loved their dynamics, I loved the matriarch and her husband, I adored Sam even though he comes across harsh at times, and I love that they’re all different but similar in the ways that make me want to read their stories.
I even loved Mattie at first. I love the way she ribbed Jake and kicked his ass at pool, I loved her friends and how she’s interacted with them and the Trellis family. I loved that she was a disabled woman that kicked ass to get where she is and took no shit about her stature or her gait. I even enjoyed the whole rich family adopts girl with a sad backstory angle, which can sometimes come off pretentious but was really well written here.
But once Mattie & Jake finally sleep together, it’s like Mattie turned into an entirely different character. She clearly had insecurities beforehand, and she talked herself down at times especially in Bella’s company, and communication isn’t her strong suit but once they were together that amplified to near neurotic levels and despite having some really shitty things happen in her past, it was such an over the top change that it almost made me put the book down. She was insufferably in her head and unwilling to talk to Jake about her concerns, she misinterpreted his words and would cut him off and not let him elaborate or explain, she kept jumping to conclusion after conclusion and it didn’t matter what anyone said because she had made her mind up based on her assumptions and insecurities. She thought the worst of Jake, of the Trellis family, and she hurt them a number of times because of it and didn’t realize it until the literal end of the story and she only apologized to Sam - when honestly the whole family deserved an apology, or at the very least Darla & Hank too. Im glad it worked out but there were times where I would not have blamed Jake for walking away. Despite him being terrible at words, she was even more terrible at putting words into his mouth.
Communication issues aside, I didn’t feel like this was paranormal or psychic novel the way it was advertised. We were like… 60 or 70 % through before Sam started being more than just the brother with the Midas touch because he had feelings about investments other than his weird dreams that haunt him and whatever pressure he was feeling to save the entire world somehow. And I know it’s a series and likely done on purpose but you end up with zero answers about the family and their gifts by the end of the book. Just more confusion and questions. We don’t know how/why Mattie can “call” Sam, we don’t know if Mattie is like them or if she means something deeper to Sam; we get a teasing of Luke maybe being like Sam, but then they have that conversation at the end that makes it sound like Sam is much different than the others and I once again wonder WHY NO ONE TALKS TO EACH OTHER about this stuff! The lack of communication all around is infuriating; I know people keep secrets and fears close to the chest but the entire family appeal is how close and supportive they are but they don’t talk about these gifts??
I don’t know. I’m rambling at this point I think, I will read the next one to see if things get better / answer more questions because I am interested in seeing what else happens but I can’t say I will keep reading if communication gets better because of how frustrating it was.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2020
So creative and amazing!
I loved this so much. This reads like a tv series or a movie with the changing perspectives and really showing the passage of time. It's a very creative way to write and I enjoyed it, really felt like I was watching everything play out.
Now about halfway through I was wanting to shake some sense into Jake and Matty. Then 70% through I just wanted to shake sense into Matty. They're both idiots, but lovable idiots. (I mean this endearingly, I really do love the characters and the story even though I wanted to jump in the book and shake or smack them at times).
I ran through a gambit of emotions here and that's a testament to the amazing skill in the writing.
Also the entire cast of characters, just so well done. Often a lot of characters can kind of fade in a story or all start to resemble one another but all of these characters felt real and interesting and unique. The main characters shine of course, but really the robust cast is what's makes this such an interesting and good read.
And Sam, I hope/pretty certain there is or will be a book with him because I am in love with his character so much.
The paranormal elements have me intrigued, I like how this is more of a romance with a few paranormal elements, keeps me wanting to know more and it's very unique. Looking forward to reading more!
Only negative which is really just a personal pet peeve is the word "OK" is used a lot, like over a hundred times a lot. And maybe it's just because I think it's supposed to be "okay" in a book or just the excessiveness but it really started to drive me crazy. But again, that's a pet peeve of mine that might not bother anyone else.
I loved this so much. This reads like a tv series or a movie with the changing perspectives and really showing the passage of time. It's a very creative way to write and I enjoyed it, really felt like I was watching everything play out.
Now about halfway through I was wanting to shake some sense into Jake and Matty. Then 70% through I just wanted to shake sense into Matty. They're both idiots, but lovable idiots. (I mean this endearingly, I really do love the characters and the story even though I wanted to jump in the book and shake or smack them at times).
I ran through a gambit of emotions here and that's a testament to the amazing skill in the writing.
Also the entire cast of characters, just so well done. Often a lot of characters can kind of fade in a story or all start to resemble one another but all of these characters felt real and interesting and unique. The main characters shine of course, but really the robust cast is what's makes this such an interesting and good read.
And Sam, I hope/pretty certain there is or will be a book with him because I am in love with his character so much.
The paranormal elements have me intrigued, I like how this is more of a romance with a few paranormal elements, keeps me wanting to know more and it's very unique. Looking forward to reading more!
Only negative which is really just a personal pet peeve is the word "OK" is used a lot, like over a hundred times a lot. And maybe it's just because I think it's supposed to be "okay" in a book or just the excessiveness but it really started to drive me crazy. But again, that's a pet peeve of mine that might not bother anyone else.
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