I read this book for the first time years and years ago and completely fell in love. I took the Readalong opportunity for an overdue re-read. 

I still loved it on a re-read but noticed more of its flaws this time around. For me, it’s still a 5-star read despite the flaws, but it’s easier to see why others might feel differently about it. 

Some people say this book is “all vibes no plot”, but I disagree with that. It’s definitely vibe-heavy (such delicious vibes) and the plot is slow to get going, but it’s definitely there. Or maybe the plot is slow to reveal itself completely – there’s a lot of mystery. For me, this fits the magical atmosphere of the book. I think the fact that I am a fast reader also definitely helps. I read this book over a few days, so I everything unfolds quickly enough, but I can imagine getting a bit impatient with a drawn-out, mysterious plots. 

In the readalong forums someone @voxlunae mentioned “[…] there is almost no interiority to these characters. The narration remains relatively limited, and we don't get much of the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of characters except what can be inferred by their actions.”. 

I agree that I didn’t feel a strong connection to most of the characters of the novel, something I usually do need to love a book. However, in this one, I think the style is so dreamlike, the characters being less defined works for me. I’d totally get that YMMV on that point though!