First, Middle, and Last Impressions – January 5, 2022

I love taking a look at a book cover and description and then coming up with my own idea of what the book will be about. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m so wrong it’s almost funny. So I’ve decided to launch myself off of WWW Wednesday, a bookish meme run by Sam@Taking on a World of Words, and write about my first, middle, and last impressions of each book I read.

The first impression is based solely on the cover and description. What do I think it will be about?

The middle impression is kind of a check-in on how the story is going about halfway through.

The last impression is my final thoughts on the book, what I’m left thinking.

I hope you have as much fun with this as I will!

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Lucky King by Bruce Griffin Henderson – Fiction

First Impression: No real clue, honestly, but I’m hoping for an interesting story about an ensemble cast eventually crossing paths or having their lives affected by the other characters.

Middle Impression: This is definitely an ensemble cast story that seemingly revolves around a radio talk show host…and his missing lighter? I’m really not sure yet about what the purpose of this story is.

Last Impression: This ended up coming full circle very nicely, but I could have done with some of the more secondary characters, some of whom only exist for a chapter. I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this as most of the story just felt long and tiresome.

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30 Things I Love About Myself by Radhika Sanghani – Women’s Fiction

First Impression: I’m hoping this will be a fun book about learning to love oneself peppered with some harder topics.

Middle Impression: I’m really enjoying Nina’s journey. It’s steps forwards and back with a large dose of family love. It’s been a lot of fun to get to know her Indian culture and how it impacts what she does and how she sees herself and what she wants out of life.

Last Impression: This turned out to be a little cheesy, especially at the end, but I loved how unapologetically herself Nina was. There’s a lovely cast of great characters and I loved that this was truly a journey into self-love instead of turning into a romance that would have diluted and ruined the story and the message.

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Bad Luck Bridesmaid by Alison Rose Greenberg – Women’s Fiction

First Impression: The only thing rattling around my head about this one is: rom com.

Middle Impression: I actually forgot to write down my middle impression, but I do recall not being impressed with Zooey and was instead quite annoyed and kind of in disbelief about her absolutely nutty ideas.

Last Impression: The end kind of saved this book for me, but I just can’t stop shaking my head at Zooey and feeling bad for the men who got tangled up with her. This definitely felt more like women’s fiction masquerading as romance.

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The Liar’s Knot by M.A. Carrick – Fantasy

First Impression: I don’t really know what this one is about, but, after the way the first book ended, I can’t wait to get back into the story. I am, though, a little apprehensive about jumping back into the world that took me about half of the first book to figure out.

Middle Impression: After a slow start the story’s finally heating up and a fun tangled web is being spun. I also adore the slow, sweet romance blooming.

Last Impression: The knot is tightening, especially with so many revelations and even more questions that just tangle things further. I can’t help but wonder what the finale has in store because, while a lot of it seems to have been figured out and solved, there’s still something greater than all these little parts and so many changes that have happened to the characters looming over everyone.

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Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner – Fiction/Mystery

First Impression: I’m so about to indulge in my love for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Middle Impression: So far this is a really amusing, fast-paced read with a fun albeit creepy mystery and great characters. It’s driving my nuts, in a good way, that I can’t tell fact from fiction, but it’s seriously so much fun.

Last Impression: After all the suspense and craziness built up over the mystery, it almost felt like a let down, but really proves how crazy some people, especially some fans, can be. Overall, a fast, delightful read that has me wanting to watch TNG again.

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A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K.J. Parker – Fantasy

First Impression: I haven’t looked at the description yet and I’m not a big fan of the cover so I truly have no idea what to expect. However, based on the previous book (I haven’t yet read the first book, but each book follows a different character, so I feel okay with that) I’m expecting something fun, something that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Middle Impression: I think I enjoyed the second book in this series much more than this one, but I also feel this story just proves how extraordinarily useful it is to practically live in a library (not necessarily to just learn things, but to also pass the time when the people who save you from execution don’t have any use for you).

Last Impression: This is humorous in a kind of tongue-in-cheek way that actually rubbed me a bit in the wrong way, but was still an amusing read. The main character, Felix, was extraordinarily lucky, but the world itself helped him out a lot. Still, I really enjoyed the logical flow of it and I liked how it ended.

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Honey Roasted by Cleo Coyle – Cozy Mystery

First Impression: I’ve been reading this series for over 15 years and this has been a long-awaited read, so I’m certain it’s going to be incredible and I’m going to love it.

Middle Impression: I decided to not track my progress while reading the eARC, so I have no idea when the midpoint came, but I know I really was enjoying myself! Absolutely no bumps for me; just smooth sailing.

Last Impression: I love it when Clare’s and Mike’s cases intersect, and I love how real their relationship is, and the other characters were exactly as I love them. Really, this book had everything I love in this series.

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Light Years From Home by Mike Chen – Science Fiction

First Impression: This one has aliens. I don’t do aliens, but I will for Mike Chen. I’m a little apprehensive.

Middle Impression: I have no clue where the story’s going, but I really like the relationships between the siblings and the way their mother’s dementia is represented feels real to me.

Last Impression: This is really a lovely story about family, about a fractured family learning to come together. There wasn’t as much alien stuff as I expected, which was really a huge plus for me as it let me really focus on the story of family.

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Red Thread of Fate by Lyn Liao Butler – Fiction

First Impression: A novel of family, and maybe one that will wrap me in a familiar hug as it involves a Chinese-Taiwanese couple.

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What about you?

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