Sarah Lahey

In Louie, Lahey gives us a pretty thoughtful exploration of anxiety and depression that I came to really enjoy. Her fears and neuroses are well balanced by Ryan's directness and need for control/to do things the "right way." In these ways, and in the examinations of art and form (the author's knowledge of which is made apparent), I enjoyed the broad strokes of the story and characters.

However, the writing is often jarring, lacking some connective tissue in world and character development to fully capture my interest and investment as a reader. The pacing is wild and the level of detail we're provided in different moments is inconsistent, the combination makes for an unbalanced reading experience. For example, we sprint out the gate in the first chapter or so, giving very little background or depth to connect with the characters or visualize the action, but then are given an in depth description of the make, model and feature of both MC's vehicles?

It was a quick read, but hardly an easy read, as I ultimately found myself struggling to keep up with what was actually important or really believing the chemistry between any of the characters.

I received this book for free as an Early Reviewers Copy via LT and, due to typos and other issues, I do wonder if there is an updated, more edited edition out there now.… (mehr)

Louie the Lynx and Ryan the Lion: Louie has been working on her PhD for 9 years, and if she doesn’t finish it this year, she never will. For Louie, light is everything, but translating that to the page is a struggle. She has every bit of life planned out so she can complete her work, but a chance meeting with architect Ryan throws a wrench in everything.
Oh man I did not want to stop reading this book! I loved Louie and her sweet dog, Eva. I loved Ryan and his desire to help everyone. Louie and Ryan had amazing chemistry, and it was completely believable that their relationship would progress so quickly. They also really respected each other and tried to see things from each others perspective. Yes, they absolutely both have some frustrating walls up and I wished they would talk more instead of bottling things up, but I read with a sense of joyful frustration. The lack of communication was done really well, if that makes any sense. I also laughed out loud several times. What a gem of a book!

Thank you Cross Over Press and Library Thing for the ARC!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

… (mehr)

It was just an ok read for me. I was rather skeptical about the romance parts and I didn't really feel the chemistry between MCs. The meet-cute was very strange - the treasure hunt and the first kiss. I also found the happy ending rather weird, especially the prelude part at the museum.

On a more positive note, I enjoyed the setting and all the quirky Australian details. I don't read many books by Australian authors, so it's always a brain exercise that Easter is in autumn and a house facing the south stays cool. I loved that even the Sydney Opera House got a feature chapter.
It was interesting for me that all speeches in the book began by "acknowledging the traditional Custodians of Country and honouring the Elders past and present." I'm wondering now if it's an official requirement in Australia or the author's stand? There's nothing like that in American books.

The huntsman spider Harry was an interesting, very Australian, character and, of course, the Australian kelpie Eva was a major character in the book and she was just adorable. If I was more into baking, I'd try to make hot cross buns and Bombe Alaska. Covid was mentioned a couple of times, but in the same way as Influenza A was - one of the common viruses going around, making it a post-Covid novel.

Louie (and not only her) is eating only gluten free, so it's mentioned a lot, almost next to each dish. I was just surprised that it's mostly (gluten free) pasta and pizza, and (probably gluten free) croissants and cakes, basically all the food, which is generally gluten impersonated. I'm trying to cut back on gluten myself and I was cooking quinoa yesterday, so I started to wonder why quinoa, for instance, was never mentioned in such a gluten free book. Is everything available gluten free in Australia?

The book's portrayal of the academia and the anxiety connected to finishing one's thesis was very realistic. I've been there myself several times and always told myself: never again! That's why I didn't apply for PhD. One can feel that the author's background is in arts and design because there is a lot of discussion of artists and designer chairs. The author also liked to describe in detail how people were dressed, what houses looked like etc. Overall, even if I enjoyed all the details and descriptions, they overshadowed the story. The story wasn't captivating and moved between plain and boring to quirky and unrealistic.

I won this e-book in the Early Reviewers giveaway. This is my honest review.… (mehr)