cursed_sapphire's reviews
163 reviews

I dipped my toe into the romance genre again, and once again was disappointed. I hoped adding fantasy elements would make me like it more, but this book just super isn't for me. Even skipping the steamy bits (which make me uncomfortable in any book) this was still kind of a drag. I liked the main characters, but that's about it. The MC's arc was possibly the only thing I fully enjoyed in this book- well, that and the demon-realm worldbuilding. I thought it was interesting, and would have preferred an entire book set there so I could learn more about it.

TL;DR: I don't like romance books, especially with steamy scenes. This was a romance book with steamy scenes. Therefore, it wasn't for me. 

I wanted to like this book so badly I convinced myself I did. But that denial could only last so long. 

I love gothic horror. I love suspenseful mysteries. This promised me both, and delivered a watered-down version of one. 

The vibes of the book itself are immaculate, with pictures and illustrations strewn about. But they never fully translated onto the page. Probably because most of the time I was just questioning what the hell was going on. Sadly, I don't think I can say this book had a plot. It had characters, but only the MC ever got any extra focus or depth. Everyone else was flat, and honestly, our MC wasn't too much better. But half the time I couldn't get a grip on where anything was going, or what our MC was trying to accomplish, or what flaws she was supposed to overcome, or any of that. It was just a collection of random kinda spooky things happening in a sequence that didn't make any sense. If I put down this book for so much as a day and came back to read the next chapter, I felt completely lost. 

At least the prose itself was pretty good. Madeleine Roux knows how to string a decent sentence together and describe a location. But the rest felt sorely lacking. 

[Review originally posted on Goodreads]

I absolutely blew through this book. The writing was charming and whitty, and the content was overall very informative and offered actionable advice and creative prompts.

Before I continue, I have to admit that I'm a fan of the author's YouTube channel, and could hear every word in this book in her voice. But with that being said, I still found this book was entertaining and useful.

The titular conversations with the puppet were definitely a highlight for me, as they offered humerous breaks between chapters, and exemplified the concept of the book, as Leiser often had revelations or ideas while talking to Shawn (the puppet).

I will state for anyone considering reading this book that it is largely based on anecdotes. If you are looking for a book that discusses scientific studies on play and adulthood creativity, this is not the book for you. Those things are sometimes touched upon in this book, but are not the focus.

The anecdotes themselves were told well and supported the ideas of the book. They illustrated the way that Leiser found play helpful to her as both a business woman and as a creative person, and they were entertaining as well. The book is also short, which works in its favor, as little feels drawn out and anecdotes do not overstay their welcome.

However, I do have a few small complaints with the book.

First, I felt that familiarity with the author was almost necessary. Leiser often says something like "if you watch me on YouTube, you'll already know X." And while that's fine to bring up, occasionally I felt like whatever she referenced was not well explained in the book, relying on audience familiarity with the author. One example I vividly remember is, in an earlier chapter, Leiser starts making many references to Tyler. I know from her channel that Tyler is her husband, but when I was reading I didn't see her introducing him anywhere (although it is possible I missed it). While a reader could figure out that Tyler is the author's husband through context clues, he should have been more properly introduced to readers.

My only other real complaint is that sometimes the book felt too much like a tutorial. Some of the anecdotes went into great detail about the process of making things or setting things up. Specifically, chapter 3 started feeling more like a book on how to customize an American Girl doll, which was only tangentially related to the topic at hand. That section went on a bit long, and could have easily been simplified.

But overall I really enjoyed my time with this book. I found some of the advice very helpful, and even a bit inspiring. I'm already a bit of a dol/toy collector, and reading this book made me want to grab all of my dolls and start playing with them like I did witn my kelly collection when I was six. If you’re looking for an entertaining read that has funny anecdotes or advice on how to spark creativity, I can definitely recommend this book. However, be warned, it might tempt you to go out and spend all your money buying awesome toys!

This would be a 4 stars if Lockwood and Lucy weren't so mean to George. I swear that every time George said something funny or did something smart it was undercut in the next paragraph by Lucy calling him fat or stupid or generally unpleasant, and even Lockwood joined in far too often for my taste. 
If you disregard the fatphobia, this book was actually very funny and exciting. While the plot sagged a bit in the middle, it wasn't unpleasant, and the action near the end was so tense and fun that I didn't want to put the book down. 
Unsure if I'll continue the series, but I'll definitely be watching the Netflix show. At least there George gets a break.