First, Middle, and Last Impressions – February 23, 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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Black Truffle & Spice by Mathis Bailey -Fiction, Romance

First Impression: I’m so excited for this one! It sounds like it’s full of diversity in so many ways and it has food AND it’s received praise from one of my new favorite women’s fiction authors who also writes books that make me seriously hungry and gets me into a cooking mood.

Middle Impression: It’s all about the food. There’s so much food. Even people are described using food terms, the way they smell, the way they move. I’m so hungry. This book has food, romance, and mystery, but all the story lines and character arcs are a little uneven with jumps that take my mind a minute to piece together and catch up on. I’m looking forward to how it’ll end, though.

Last Impression: A delicious food-filled story with romance, but the story lines were uneven with big jumps, which contributed to a dearth of tension throughout the story when some would have offered so many more shades of interest. Things were just a little too easy, but I adored Zola.

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The Olympus Trinity by Brian Coggins, Jr. – Fantasy

First Impression: No clue, but it’s based on Greek mythology and revolves around Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, so I’m really excited about it.

Middle Impression: I’m finding myself really liking the sci-fi setting and the reimagining of the gods in what appears to be far in the future (meaning it’s set long after the myths), but there’s an immature quality to the writing and it feels like I’m reading an action sci-fi movie. I’m really missing the emotion.

Last Impression: So, this is an interesting take on Greek mythology, but it’s all tell and no emotion and feeling. Just one thing happening after another. There are tears, but no way for the reader to be drawn into it emotionally. Zeus felt like a grandfather, Poseidon was more like a teen bully, and Hades kind of felt like a lovesick coward, but he didn’t get as much page time so I can’t be sure. I did enjoy the story of family, but it was too much action and not enough feeling.

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For the Love of Alison by Sahlan Diver – Mystery & Thriller

First Impression: I’m expecting a ride of a thriller. The idea of the murderer not seeming to exist is fascinating to me.

Middle Impression: This started with an exciting beginning, but it was followed by a slower section that didn’t make a ton of sense until the next section hit, but now that I’m halfway through, I have no clue what’s going on and it’s driving me crazy (in a good way)!

Last Impression: This was a fascinating, twisty story that lay somewhere between a mystery and a thriller. It kept my mind turning around and around just trying to figure it all out. Easily one of the best mystery/thrillers I’ve read in a long time!

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In Ora: The Land of the Superior by Sotto Voce – SFF

First Impression: I don’t really know what to expect, but, considering it involves a world divided between those with biomedical advances and those without, I’m anticipating a story that will leave me with a lot of food for thought.

Middle Impression: So far, this book offers an interesting divided world, but I don’t really know where the main story is going. There does, though, appear to be a sweet love story.

Last Impression: This book certainly raises some interesting ethical questions! I loved how it presented both sides and offered the reader a chance to take their own stance. I also loved how consistent the characters were, how they never acted out of character even when they had the chance. I wasn’t fond of the attempt to set up love triangles and I wished for deeper world building, but, overall, I really enjoyed how thoughtful the story was and how much it made me ponder a few things.

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The City of Dusk by Tara Sim – Fantasy

First Impression: I’m anticipating this will be an intriguing fantasy, and maybe a bit on the dark side. I mean, look at that cover…

Middle Impression: So far, I’m enjoying the story and like the slow unraveling of what’s going on and what the characters are going to do about their small and large problems. The story does not shy away from anything so far. The only thing that seems a little odd to me, though, is that all the heirs are about the same age. Considering they come from different families and considering these families who don’t seem to socialize with each other appear to be having children at about the same time, well, it just seems like too much of a coincidence and I would have liked differently aged heirs. But I do love the world building and am dying for more of it, and the magic and the way it’s used is fascinating.

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What about you?

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