Month: July 2024

At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce

Title & Author: At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce
Published by: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Del Rey
Pub Date: Jan 28 2025
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pages: 384
Date Read: 2024/07/13
Rating: ★★★★☆

Thank you Netgalley, publishers, and author for giving me the chance to read this wonderful book.

I liked this story a lot. There was a bit of a “Practical Magic” vibe happening, but only if the story remained when they were children. Oh, and if you like a complicated, awful woman. I’m a little amazed with the author making me able to feel bad for Clara, our antagonist. No where does she come off as sympathetic and yet, when I read her childhood, I got a glimpse of why someone might turn out like that.

There were only two things that I think take away from the story; the pacing (which slows down in the middle), and the sisters voices. I got their character chapters mixed up a lot, because it was a bit difficult at times to distinguish from which viewpoint I was reading, they just both sounded the same (even though the chapters were named after them, it was just difficult).

I’m a little embarrassed by this, but I always thought the saying was, “If you thought (this), you have another thing coming.” I learned thanks to this book that it’s “think”…”If you thought (this), you have another think coming.” And it really does make way more sense. SMH

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Title & Author: We Used to Live Here Marcus Kliewer
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Pub Date: June 18, 2024
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 312
Date Read: 2024/07/04
Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this book, though I found the pacing to be a little slow at times. Charlie by far is the star here. I loved her character the most, and the bond Eve and Charlie has for each other really shines through. I appreciated the fact that Charlie didn’t ever play down Eve. Sure, there were doubts, but she took Eve’s concerns fairly seriously.

This book scared me. While reading, I was half convinced I saw a withered woman out of the corner of my eye in the next room. There were points where I was scared enough that I had to put the book down.

The only thing I am upset with is the Morse code! No one is talking about it!!! And there is one bit that I can’t figure out, but no one is talking about it, so please people come to my comments and share what the code means and that bit at the end. WHAT IS THE NAME?

The easter eggs are superb.