First, Middle, and Last Impressions – October 12, 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 write about my first, middle, and last impressions of each book I read, as well as a little bit on why I wanted to read it because sometimes, when I’ve finished, I really can’t remember.

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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The Prophet Paradox by Danny Tuttle – Fiction

Why I want to read this: Well, this isn’t something I would ever actually pick up, but I’m doing review requests a little differently, opening up for more authors to have an opportunity to get a review from me and opening myself up to more books out there. I’m trying not to regret this.

First Impression: Well, I have no clue. It looks like this is trying to combine science and religion, neither of which I know much about since I don’t consider myself to be either a scientist or religious, so I figure most of this book will be over my head and I’m just here for the ride.

Middle Impression: There are multiple POVs. Seriously, multiple, multiple POVs. I’m starting to have a hard time tracking them and putting them into a story that makes sense. But this seems to follow two primary characters: Biblical scholar Anne and physicist Max. But it’s so spread out and these two only meet once, so I’m having a hard time trying to figure what, exactly, is going on and how they might be related beyond one instance of coincidence (that the entire world then takes and runs away with). I do like the diversity, but accents were written into the dialogue and I can’t figure out what some of the characters are actually saying half the time. There’s also a definite emphasis on the religious aspect, making one of the characters someone I’d like very much to strangle.

Last Impression: This was definitely not for me. There was so much stuffed into this book, so many elements from other genres, that I just have no idea what I just read. Though it appears to generally be about how people go nuts when it comes to religion? I really don’t know. Divided into several parts, the first one was the best, and then it felt like the kitchen sink was thrown in. Mostly, though, the treatment of some of the women just grated on my nerves.

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ShegoraTH by Dima Tsyptsiura – Collection

(The cover is white with just the name of the book.)

Why I want to read this: This is another one that was dropped into my inbox. But I’m curious anyways because the description isn’t very descriptive and the sole review on Amazon makes it sound different. I like different.

First Impression: I really have no idea. Neither the description nor the cover gives much away, so I think I’m in for an interesting book.

Middle Impression: I’m still not sure what this is supposed to be about, but it’s definitely not a single story. Nor does it seem like a short story collection. It’s kind of a loose collection of stories and poetry where the stories almost sound lyrical. There’s also a general theme of what feels like a commentary on life and what should be important to us. There are science fiction/fantasy themes with characters in outer space, magic, and aliens.

Last Impression: So, this was written by a Ukrainian author, written over several years. While I’m still struggling to figure out what this was about and what, exactly, tied the stories and poems together, I find myself bowled over by how much the stories actually touched me, which was compounded by what’s going on in Ukraine right now. There’s actually a very positive feeling about each piece, and it gave me a certain feeling of peace. I loved how well the stories just flowed, how complex my emotions were when faced with such seemingly simplistic phrasing.

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Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade – Romance

Why I want to read this: I loved Spoiler Alert. All the Feels kind of let me down and some parts of it felt annoyingly repetitive. But I am in love with this cast and I’m intrigued as this one puts two of the actors together.

First Impression: As the third book in the series, I fully expect Dade to have hit her stride and, considering how much fun so many of the characters are, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Peter and Maria.

Middle Impression: As expected, and like the first two books, the first half is absolutely delightful and just pulls me in. It takes us back in time to the early seasons of Gods of the Gates and, since it’s set on an isolated island, has Maria and Peter and their small crew essentially apart from the rest of the cast. But Maria has such a big, delightful personality that it makes the island feel incredible full.

Last Impression: And just like the previous two books, this one turned serious as both Peter and Maria have pained pasts that must be revealed and dealt with. But what I really liked about this one was that their pasts didn’t linger and they didn’t really feel like they had the more serious hang ups like the other two couples. Most of the time, they felt very understanding and mature, but, since these books follow the romance template, their inevitable break was predictable, but so important to explore. My only issue is that the auction and con from the first two books felt mostly glossed over in this one, so I felt like I was really missing out on the rest of the cast.

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The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson – Women’s Fiction/Romance

Why I want to read this: I’m not really sure since I haven’t tended to read many of the books that involve bookstores, but it does sound interesting and I like the voice in the description.

First Impression: This sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun and full of books and stories. It also sounds like there might be a bit of a mystery? Anyways, I think this will be fun, sweet, and delightfully bookish.

Current Progress: 27%. I’m reading this slowly not because I don’t like it, but because I have my own stories intruding in on my thoughts and making me lose a bit of interest in reading. This really is a ton of fun, though. I adore Maggie. Her lines are honestly my favorite part so far, and it works so well against the backdrop of what she has to work with. I can’t wait to see how her plans to save her best friend’s bookstore unravel; it sounds like the kind of thing I’d like to attend.

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