Hot Girls Read Podcast

Ayesha

Last night, I finished “Phantasma” and I have to admit that it was a bit of a let down. I was initially pulled in because of synopsis describing a unique world – set in New Orleans with the backdrop of paranormal beings is a great combination. The premise of a high-stakes game, Phantasma, was also intriguing. That said, I struggled with the pacing and the character development. The book is shy of 500 pages so you’d think we would see the characters grow and learn, right? Well I didn’t see that as the case. I think a slower tension between the FMC and MMC would’ve been better for the story, rather than them jumping into each other’s pants. The twists at the end were pretty predictable and frankly, the ending was rushed. 

I want to talk about the descriptions as well. I mentioned that the synopsis caught my eye and specifically, it was the mention that “Ophelia discovers her mother brutally murdered.” Spoiler, her mother died of a heart attack so this synopsis was inaccurate! Furthermore, the descriptions of each level of Phantasma were hard to follow. I’m very good at imagining scenes and characters in my head while reading but I had a lot of moments where I simply couldn’t understand what was happening in a scene and I believe that comes down to how it was written. Overall, “Phantasma” is like the “Caraval” series in that we have two sisters, a game, and a mysterious man. However, this story needed more refining.  

On a more positive note, I am finally getting back to Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series and am reading “The Bullet That Missed.” It’s been at least two years since I read the previous book so I’m struggling a little to remember some contextual items. Regardless, it’s sweet to follow this ragtag group of retirees who solve cold-cases.

Julia

January has taken off with a flying start and I am ravenous to sink my teeth into some books. And yet, despite wanting to read and having recently been stuck on a train for 11 hours (on what was supposed to be a 5 hour journey back to Paris), I have not been reading as much as I would like. Let’s call it as it is, a bit of a slump, and the solution is simple: I need a side-novel. In a case like this, fantasy is best and I already have a side-novel idea in mind. Hopefully by this time next week I’ll have a much more interesting update!

In other news, this frigid evening I attended a book launch at my neighbourhood bookstore, The Red Wheelbarrow, for Beverly Bie Brahic’s latest poetry collection, ‘Apple Thieves’. I had no expectations or previous knowledge of Brahic’s work coming into it and during the reading I fell under the charm of her understated and touching poems that seemed to bring real moments to life as if in a painting. I bought a copy of ‘Apple Thieves’ and read some more poems on the metro ride home. I think I’ll read a couple before bed too.