Overall, I really liked this story. It started out a bit slow, but by the middle of the book I didn’t want to put it down.
This is essentially the story of a young adult trying to find her long lost dad who happens to have been a TV star in her early childhood. He disappeared when she was 5 and she has never been told how or why.
One day she is gifted a book of fairy tales by her grandmother who tells her the book is from her dad, and from there she tries to piece together the puzzle.
I loved the two main male characters. I felt they were well thought out and very rounded. They felt real and true and honest. I felt this book did a good job of portraying someone with bipolar disorder.
I didn’t love the female characters as much. The mom in particular- I didn’t love that she completely shut out her ex-husband from her daughter’s life due to a mental illness. She acted as though he was a criminal.
Rebecca seemed to have learned her communication skills from her mother- that is, not talking about things.
The romance in the book is very much a back burner kind of thing in that nothing happens. If you are looking for a book about a romance, this isn’t it. This book is primarily a book about a father daughter relationship.
I was a bit underwhelmed by the ending as well. It wasn’t bad per se, but it just didn’t feel like an ending.
Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Parts of this book felt slow and tedious; like I was trudging through swamp water that's full of tall cattails. But I was just curious enough that I wanted to find out just where Rebecca's father Leo has been for most of her life, so I basically skimmed over some of the slow parts to get to the end of the book. Thanks to author Amanda Block, Hachette Book Group, Mobius, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this ebook for an honest review.

Rebecca’s father is just a distant memory in her life - but to many children, he’s The Stowaway - the star of a popular children’s shown. When a reporter unexpectedly starts asking questions about The Stowaway’s whereabouts, Rebecca begins to question everything she knows about her father - and starts to seek answers. What unfolds is a heart warming tale of family, love, and the power of storytelling.

I absolutely adored this story - the characters are flawed and human, relatable and intriguing. The family, with all its complexities and interwoven relationships, feels warm and loving and they’re easy to root for. The story has such a refreshing tale on finding oneself, the battle of mental illness, and what it means to be a family. I highly look forward to more stories by Amanda Block!

DNF at 25%

I tried to stay invested in this book but it was boring and nonsensical. Our protagonist is Rebecca, who is 26 years old and never really knew her father and never cared to, when all of a sudden she decides she does want to know what happens to him. She stumbles across many clues that would have been obvious if she had ever tried to look, always initially discards the thought of looking further, then relents moments later to further the plot but with no real reasons related to her character. She has a few random character elements added in, probably to make her seem interesting--she loves ancient ruins! Cool!--but that have no relevance to anything else she does in life. Also, her mother calls her by the most childish pet names and she seems somehow okay with that. Basically the plot was contrived, the character building was nonexistent, and I couldn't find reasons to read any further.

*I received a free eARC of this book from NetGalley and Mobius books, which did not influence my review in any way.

I was disappointed with this one. The plot sounded better than the actual story. I was expecting more of a mystery with magic but instead it was about mental health. I ended up skipping to the end. Maybe others would like it but it wasn’t for me. The characters were blah in my opinion. They didn’t catch my attention. Maybe Amanda Block has better books out there, but this one wasn’t it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Lost Storyteller.

I was excited when my request was approved because the premise was intriguing.

First, the things I did like:

The fairy tales Leo had written for his daughter; they were dark, somber and hopeful, though not by much. Like real life and real fairy tales, they reflected his mental health struggles as well as demonstrating how difficult it is live life when life is hard.

I liked how the author treated Leo's mental health illness with compassion and care. I've read so many thrillers and suspense novels that portray characters with mental health problems as dangerous or psychotic and that's simply not true.

Leo makes a point to say how most of the people he met during the course of his treatment were caring and supportive; they were willing to help as long as he sought help.

Leo is a believable, relatable character; I sympathized deeply with his personal struggles, how he worked hard to get help and get better and do better.

The writing was good, and I enjoyed the descriptions of Edinburgh, especially since I was there in 2016 and had a great time.

What I didn't like: Rebecca.

I couldn't stand her. I wouldn't want to be her friend in real life.

She was judgmental, snobby, and a brat; she mentions constantly how she's too old for fairy tales, she passes judgement on how Ellis looks/dresses; the decor of a restaurant if it doesn't meet her standards, I have no idea why she was snobby considering her modest upbringing.

Most times, I kept thinking Rebecca was a teenager since she whined so much; I had to remind myself she was in her mid-20s.

She was so unlikable and as the main character it was hard to sympathize as she and Ellis went looking for her dad.

I'm not a fan of contrived romances, and that's how it felt between Ellis and Rebecca. He could do better than her, and why does every novel have to feature a romance between the main characters?

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I ended up liking Leo far more than I expected to.

I enjoyed the premise of this novel and the seven fairy tales. However, I didn't really like Rebecca's character and she often came off as cold to me. Honestly, I feel like Ellis could do better than Rebecca. I also wanted a bit more from the ending.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.