Kristan Higgins used to be one of those go-to writers for me, but now I face each of her books hopeful but resigned that the fun-loving, less bitter author may never return.

As far as Always the Last to Know goes, I was happy initially. Sadie is an intriguing character, a free-spirited artist (is there any other kind?) who is dating a wealthy man but evidently hasn’t forgotten her first love. And, then there’s her mother, Barb Frost. The name is so appropriate for this prickly, cold woman who is unfortunately written as a–presumably unintended–caricature of how people from Minnesota speak and behave.

I’ve hovered between doing a DNF and continuing, but I am enjoying the Sadie sections. I will be in the minority on this review because so many readers adore this book. I just wish I did!

I’m reading The Unready Queen by William Ritter for an upcoming release tour from Algonquin Young Readers. This is the second book in the series and I finished the first one last week. I am so totally loving this series. Yay! Ritter has done a great job of world building. I am not one for fantasy but series like this could totally persuade me to give it another go. While The Unready Queen is written for young readers, I can assure you that adults will enjoy the story. It’s thought-provoking. Although, I have to admit, I’m a little wary at one-third of the way through that something sad is going to happen…..

Hopefully not. Can’t wait to share my review of this series.