Mini Reviews: No Exit by Taylor Adams and Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence

After having what felt like a lackluster reading month in March, I am up to 12 thus far in April. I am wrapping up one more book--perhaps another--before the end of the week. I am writing several other posts currently: one about why I dropped off of blogging for four years and also one about my participation in the Magical Readathon, OWLs edition. So look for those (along with hopefully a few more reviews) over the next week or so. In the meantime, here are two books I have read recently but did not feel so inclined to write a full review. 




Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks
By Annie Spence
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

This is great but I'm a librarians so perhaps it is a niche market? Seriously, anyone who loves books will get something out of at least one of these essays--at the very least a chuckle. It is a humorous account of one person's experience with helping the public locate books, making book recommendations, and own personal reading experience. Reading can and should be a highly personal experience, with each of us pulling something out books based on what we bring to the table at the time of reading.

Essay collections are one type of book I am not an avid reader of and one thing I am working on adding to my repertoire. This one I sat down and read on a rainy, cold afternoon during quarantine. As I was reading it, I was chuckling to myself and nodding my head. It brought back memories as recollecting about any good books is prone to do. Pick this up if you want something to occupy your time, without committing to a full story.

No Exit
By Taylor Adams
My Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

This one is a miss for me, just too many things I did not like/agree with or had sat well with me. What issues did I have you might ask? I did not like decisions made for the sake of plot and tension building—they seemed unnecessary and predictable way too often. I had issues with the gore—I knew it would be, but it unnecessary at times. For a thriller, I also had issues with the pacing being too slow at times, such as when “circle time” was introduced. I did not really get invested into the characters unfortunately either. With all of these, this one is just a miss for me. Since I am newer to adult thrillers, it could be just this one did not agree with me so I will keep trying.

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