Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Board to Death by C.J. Connor

2 reviews

wardenred's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My goal was to not have thirty be a milestone birthday but to have it pass quietly, and without the mysterious back pain every Instagram meme seemed to promise would follow once I hit it.

Such a quick, fun read! I picked it up pretty much on a whim and enjoyed it far more than I expected. My favorite aspect, without a doubt, was the board gaming and how it didn't just exist for flavor but fully carried the story. Absolutely every aspect of the mystery and the investigation—the why, the what, the where, the how—came down to board games, and the way all of the aspects came together was awesome. The mystery itself wasn't that hard to crack, but the way the investigation was constructed made the book pretty much unputdownable.

I really liked Ben as a narrator. He has a fun subtle sense of humor and a pleasant personality, and I related to his inner conflicts. His relationship with his father was especially compelling, and their final on-page interaction really touched me. I also loved, loved, loved his slow burn romance with Ezra. All those gently humorous exchanges! All those times they were mistaken for a couple! The gradual opening up! The confession scene, OMG, the confession scene. Such a great relationship, and yet I confess this is the aspect of the book that left me just a tiny bit unsatisfied—much as I enjoyed the mystery, I would have enjoyed it even more if it skewed a bit heavier toward romance. You know, something in the spirit of Adhara's Big Bad Wolf, cozy mystery edition. This is, however, fully a subjective preference and not an objective complaint.

Speaking of the cozy aspect: the vibes were so good. The board game shop, the flower shop, all the food, the coffee, Ben's dog, Ezra's cat—every staple of coziness was there, woven into the narrative so naturally. And finally, I loved the strong sense of setting. I learned more than I expected about Utah and will definitely remember this book, among other thing, as "that one set in Salt Lake City."
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ezwolf's review

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Ben is a (just turned) thirty year old professor who comes home to help care for his father and take over running his board game store. One night a murder takes place right on their front porch and Ben and the flower shop owner next door, Ezra, set out to prove Ben's innocence. 

This was certainly an interesting book. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. It was entertaining and Ben's relationship with his dad felt very real and genuine to me. Ben and Ezra's team up and flirting (unintentional or otherwise) was also cute. The community between the shop keepers had a very found family feel to it which was also nice. 

I wasn't a fan of how the author seemed to switch between out right pop culture references and ones that were just alluding to the work. There were also, what seemed to be, an abundance of long metaphors.

The ending was interesting. And I'm not sure how to describe how so. It wasn't a bad ending, it was just kind of laughable? But I think it was sort of intended that way. 

Overall if you're looking for a queer murder mystery with a more relaxed feel to it, then I think this is the right book for you. 

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
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