Kate Watson

I think I would've enjoyed this more if I didn't love Mansfield Park so much. This is a fairly thorough retelling, nailing many of the details that even the film adaptations have ignored, but in making it more modern, much of what I loved about Fanny and her character has been significantly downplayed and even lost.

Fanny Price is a non-entity, a convenient nothing, a plain, easily ignored girl taken on charity. And she's aware of it all the time...aware of her duty to her family, to show more contribute to their happiness if she can. And yet, when the time comes for her to cave to their expectations, she cannot compromise her own ethics. Because Fanny Price is also a stubborn, moral stick-in-the-mud possessing more wisdom than anyone wants to admit, and she trusts herself even when no one will listen.

I love that Fanny Price. Socially oppressed, ignored except when convenient, she nonetheless finds something of value within herself and refuses to relinquish it. Finley Price, on the other hand, is glossy and beautiful with social cachet in spades if she chooses to use it. A history of abuse has left her timid and unwilling to trust herself, and so she looks outward for approval and submits to others' expectations and needs like some kind of martyr.

I understand why Watson wrote her this way. It's a lot more complicated to write about societal pressure and marginalization today than it was in Jane Austen's time. (Though not impossible.) And so why not flip the source of conflict from external pressure to internal instability? But I wanted to read a Mansfield Park retelling with Fanny Price in it, not Finley. I wanted her wise and stodgy and plain and fighting for herself.

Every scene where Finley huddles deeper into herself, lets others make her choices for her, refuses to assert her beliefs, even gently; every scene when someone comments on her beauty and her charm and how many dudes want to date her; every scene when she patches together the life she's always wanted from the shards of her broken past, when she "finds" herself and "heals"...every scene I spent with Finley, I was imagining how it could've been with Fanny instead. And I missed her. In her own retelling, I missed her. show less

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flux books for allowing me to read and review “Shoot the Moon” by Kate Watson. What an insightful look at addiction. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that so deeply takes us into the numbing, heart-pounding world of brain-chemistry changing addiction, where just the mention of a trigger, a let-down during the course of the day, or just not having enough to DO can cause that itch to beg incessantly to be scratched. Kate Watson illustrated show more that so beautifully through Tate’s struggles and eventual management of his disease.

And the plotting and narrative of this was so nicely done. I loved the creativity in the characters of the Wolfs, of Alex, the angry daughter who is out to hurt everyone she touches, the toxic parents, the campaign pitting two relatives by marriage against one another that exposes all sorts of dirt. The mafia and the secrets that they hold and use. This was entertaining and brilliantly plotted. An entertaining treat from start to finish.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.

Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader. show less

I was completely charmed by Kate Watson’s debut. From her updated take on Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park to Finley Price’s backstory, I loved every minute of Seeking Mansfield. The first companion novel, Shoot the Moon, was a bit of a let down after the high expectations that the first book set.

When I saw that Off Script was returning to the formula of the first, I hoped the magic would return.
On the one hand, Watson returns to Jane Austen for inspiration and her focus on some of the show more secondary characters in the first book is a draw. On the other hand, it can be tough to meet the high expectations after a book that isn’t as well-received.

Yet, in Off Script, Watson manages to take a character who, on the surface appears fake, superficial, and self-centered, and makes readers change their minds about her before the finish of the book. Hang out with Emma long enough, and it becomes obvious much of her behavior is a reaction to her pain and disappointments (many of which come from the people she should be able to depend on the most).

It takes a while to get there, but the growing pains Emma experiences are worth the journey. Add in Liam, who doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind and offer correction where Emma’s behavior is less than stellar and all of the correlations you can make between this book and Austen’s Emma, and Watson has managed to create another story I thoroughly enjoyed.

Content warning: There are several instances of cursing throughout the book

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. show less

Where to start with this book? I should start with the fact that I do love stories about Gods and Goddesses. Their personalities, their whims, the fact that they're all powerful, it all wraps up into something that has me firmly invested in books revolving around them. So when Lovestruck appeared on my reading list, I was pretty darn excited. As a Cupid in training, and a reluctant one at that, I hoped that Kali and I would get along swimmingly. After all, who doesn't love a story about star show more crossed love?

I'm going to start with the honest fact that Kali and I didn't get along as well as I'd hoped. While I absolutely understood that this is a YA story, Kali's character felt really young to me. The fact that Kate Watson set Kali on a path that she wasn't 100% sold on, really touched my heart. I felt hopeful and anxious right along with her, as she tried to figure out how to get around her supposedly inevitable fate. However I also felt frustrated with her, a lot. Her attitude towards her friends, and her inability to see how selfish she was being, made me want to smack her more than a few times. I did feel like she ultimately learned and grew up by the ending, but Kali isn't an easy character to love. That might be rough for some readers.

Still, the story that Watson weaves around Kali's fate fueled dilemma is an excellent one. She perfectly weaves backstories for each of the Gods and Goddesses who are featured, without it ever feeling like something overwhelming. I loved watching Kali interact with all of them, and giggled quite a bit at the parent/child relationships in this book. It should be noted that there are also really excellent messages woven into the tapestry of this book. Watson touches on familial relationships, one-sided friendships, and (best of all, in my opinion) on what a real romance looks like. I can't count the number of times that I found myself nodding my head along with Kali's realizations that the relationship she was in might be toxic. Oh, to have read this book as a teenager.

Lovestruck also has its fair share of laugh out loud moments! The interactions between godly brothers and sisters had me cracking up. I love that these ethereal beings are just as silly and petty as all of us here on Earth. This book moves so quickly, and 300 pages all but flew by. Overall, I had a really good time with this book. It might read a little younger than I'm used to for YA, but it has a ton of heart. For that, I happily award it 3 stars. show less