One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There is so much I could say about this book. It was fantastic and this solidifies Casey McQuiston as one of my favorite authors; meaning I will now read any book she publishes.

One Last Stop was such an interesting idea for a book and it was done well! It's a contemporary romance with an element of sci-fi. The fact that Jane isn't from the present really intrigued me and I was unsure if it would work in terms of plot and character arc, but she was written well as a character and she grew throughout the story. Plus it wasn't too non-sensical her sci-fi arc.

The characters in this were so enjoyable. I loved our two main characters and their relationship, but I also enjoyed the side characters and the individuality and aspects they brought to the story. They were not bland or boring, they were drastically different and unique and I loved each and every one of them! I also liked how they weren't just there to be there, they were actually apart of the plot.

The details in this book were so great as well. I can't name specifics, but the tiniest things about a character or the scene or the surroundings, just added so much to the story. This may be because I listened to the audiobook (which was also great, would recommend!)

This book was just so good! And I should have written my thoughts closer to when I finished it because my thoughts would be more cohesive, but it's okay.

Afterlife - Lauren Beukes

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

The synopsis tells of this book tells of a story that is suspenseful and thrilling. The tags say it's more science fiction . In this case, I would've preferred it to be a thriller set in a dystopian world. So it's safe to say, that I was disappointed in this book.

The fact that I was expecting it to go a completely different route than it did, was the first thing that threw me off. The second was that it took FOREVER for anything to actually happen in this book, and when it happened it was nothing? Very lack-luster.

Almost all of this book is spent traveling across the country, no matter whose perspective you're in (I'll talk on those later). And we meet some people, have a few "interesting" encounters, but nothing major ever really happens. I was expecting more intrigue and thrill. Maybe getting found out and having to escape people who weren't Billie. Maybe Miles gets taken by someone and he has to escape and find Cole again. And maybe when Billie actually shows up, it can be more of a battle? More thrill and suspense, literally anything. I will take anything more than what we got in those like 5 pages.

The characters in this book were all irritating. I didn't like any of them. Cole was this overbearing, selfish mom who keeps her son safe for her own self interest. Miles is typical 12 year old boy and oof just doesn't have the common sense I feel like most people have at that age. And don't even get me started on Billie; she was the worst. I get she was supposed to be the villain, but her injury leaves her hurt and whining in her head. It's awful. She's very distasteful and not well written as being the villain who is present in the beginning of Cole & Miles' journey and a glimpse of her at the end, but like I mentioned it was so dull when she did show up. And the fact that all of them use these horrible pop culture references... oof not great and definitely the first thing that turned me away from the book. I get you are trying to make the characters relatable, but using pop culture in that way is not good writing in my opinion. It shows you don't know how to grow characters without that. I could be wrong, as this is the only work from this author that I've read. Nevertheless, I didn't enjoy the references interspersed within the book.

Overall, this was very disappointing. If you're looking for a different take on a dystopian, men-go-extinct pandemic, story I would recommend The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird. It provides more of a science-fiction dystopian take and a more realistic pandemic like situation. I think because I read that book first, I wanted something different out of this that I just didn't get in any sense.

Lost in the Never Woods - Aiden Thomas

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1⁄2

I knew this could go one of two ways; it could be a really good book that I really enjoyed... or I wouldn't like or enjoy it at all. And I thought through the beginning that it was going to be the latter. However, it started picking up and I was invested in the lost children and in Wendy and Peter.

The characters in this were amazing. Wendy's trauma from having lost her brothers to Neverland was so intense and real. And I enjoyed how that was depicted accurately as anxiety. How guilt poured from her because she was found and they weren't returned and as the book progresses we find out why. Which wow, what a plot twist! PETER! My boy! I loved Peter. As ironic as it is, I really enjoyed the parts of Peter that were grown up like Wendy. There was still parts of him that were child-like, and not in a negative way, but when he interacted with Wendy it was different and I liked that. Wendy's parents were definitely semi-present to help depict the grief and loss aspects of the book, and they were written well in that regard. It felt necessary to have them there. The only character that felt unnecessary was Jordan. I get Wendy needs to have a friend or friends, but they don't need to be as heavily present in a story where the friends are not the fore front of the story. She also screamed teen-y bop vibes which I didn't enjoy considering they are both eighteen years old and Wendy didn't have that vibe at all. I wish she hadn't been included at all, but that is a personal opinion.

The plot of this was so interesting! It had me in it's grasp and I read the majority of this book in one sitting. Children keep going missing and it's almost eerily similar to how Wendy and her brothers were missing 5 years ago; except Wendy returned. Then as Wendy is driving something hits her car, it's a boy... It's PETER! God, this book is so good. Wendy and Peter talk and he tries to remind her of her memories of the past that she has shut out (her choice or not). They have to save the lost children and they are the only ones who can. I love their relationship, their friendship, but the only thing I desperately wanted from this was for them to be together. When the villain later reveals that Peter felt an instant connection to Wendy when he first met her, that just hit me so hard in my feelings. It was written well and I was already invested in them together already that I was being teased by the author that there were indeed feelings there! But I respect that the point of the story was for Peter to return to Neverland and for Wendy to grow up and live her life rid of the guilt of her past. I'm happy for them, I am, but god I wish they could've been together.

This book was so good. I loved the mystery and the suspense. And clearly I loved the characters (minus one). Would recommend.