Welcome to Litsy!

A soft pick. Entertaining enough for me to want to finish, but I don‘t think it‘ll stick with me. I liked the chapters about Peyote Trip and “hell as a bad office job” (it‘d be a good sitcom), but the more serious storylines (the Harrison‘s, Cal‘s backstory) didn‘t work as well for me and as a whole it didn‘t completely coalesce. But it‘s a first novel! There is enough promise here that I would read what Lux writes next.

“I watched Mickey gather the contents back up, putting each item back as she had found it. She ran the sharp edge of the razor along her thumb for just an instant before snapping the tin shut.”

“Love is all-powerful, until you learn firsthand what happens when a vegetable peeler meets the far-back surface of your tongue.”

“Did humans hug in their caves? I went back into Jack‘s and thought about it the rest of the night.”

Peyote Trip has found a loophole to exit Hell & he is determined to leave no matter what. I really dug the quirky world building of Hell & the scenes portraying Peyote going on field trips with his colleagues to sign multiple souls at once were great; however, this one completely fell apart for me in the final act. I honestly didn't care about where any of the narratives ended & I think it could have benefitted from some editing. A soft pick.

I have a few books going right now but Sign Here not only has the best named protagonist (Peyote Trip) but my favorite opening line(s):
You already have a lot of ideas about Hell. It's amazing what Dante and thousands of years of folklore can do to a place's reputation. I mean, I'm not going to lie to you: it is Hell. It's not fantastic. But let's see if this is relatable....
#firstlinefridays
@shybookowl

Couldn‘t put this one down. The main character, Pey, exists on the fifth level of hell, where everyone is in “sales”. That means signing up souls by trading something they want now for an afterlife in hell. Concurrently, there‘s a story that takes place in real life about a family who Pey is tracking to try to get another soul. Hopefully this doesn‘t sound as complicated as it seems writing it down! It‘s a page turner with lots of twists.

Finished my first 2024 #AuldLangSpine book today which was also my January #DoubleSpin. The premise of this book was very clever. It kind of reminded me of a cross between Good Omens and Dead Like Me but layered on top of a thriller. I think this book will stay with me for a while. Would be a good discussion book for a buddy read I think. #JoyousJanuary #ReadAway2024

I finished this book last night after flying through the last hundred pages, and I‘m still processing it. My overall impression was that it was sooo creative and playful and just clever, and I was absorbed completely. I also have this nagging feeling that I missed something? Like if you asked me to explain the upshot, I would struggle? I‘m inclined to blame myself for that since I started and stopped more than I usually do. So it‘s a clear pick!

This book was so darkly funny. I loved the bureaucracy that‘s depicted in Hell. This was a story full of completely flawed characters that still somehow made me root for them. 5/5!

Book club of the month choice! I actually voted for this as well ! … I just had a difficult time getting into this one some parts better than others. Not a fav for sure 4/10

I loved this book until it got closer to the end and then it got a little over complicated with the different stories and I started to lose interest in certain parts. But, it did pick back up and I loved the ending and how it all came together. It was really unique and I would definitely recommend this one.

Loaned Sign Here to my dad and his initial comment made me laugh. 5th floor hell does bear a lot of similarities to most of our jobs. 😉

#AutumnPlease
Day 16 #BadBossDay
When your boss is the devil 😈
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#BlackCatCrew #Scarathlon

This felt like several different stories they came together at the end. It started out as pure dark comedy but slowly transformed into a captivating family drama and I couldn‘t put it down. I stayed up very late to finish it.

I didn‘t expect to like it, if I‘m being honest: books about Hell usually freak me out completely. But I did enjoy it and I‘m delighted by that.

I can't believe how beautiful sunrise was this morning! 😍 This clever book is really 2 stories in one until the very end. 3 with as much backstory as we get on Cal. Part of me was impatient for the stories to come together but mostly I enjoyed the ride. This version of hell, at least once a damned soul makes it to the 5th floor, was very creative. I liked all of the Harrison's in the 2nd storyline & ⬇️

Good morning from my #happyplace, starting this today 👹

This is a good spooky season read! Funnier than I expected. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1 part satire “welcome to Hell; where the beer is always flat, your pen is out of ink & everything is carpeted” which follows a resident of Hell making deal with mortals & the other part is a family drama surrounding a decades old murder.

I was wrong several times on how these perspectives would converge, it was fun, funny & very compelling.

I don‘t know how I feel about this book.
Peyote Trip works in hell and his job is to get mortals to sign over their souls but he‘s got a private mission of collecting all generations of the Harrison family.
But the Harrison‘s are going through some shit, most of which is left over from a party 16 years earlier that left one girl dead.
It started out as a darkly funny take on hell and turned into a family drama/murder mystery. It was ok.

🎧 One last May book. My favorite part of this book was the depiction of office life in hell. It felt a little disjointed.

Multiple POVs and 2 storylines. Each chapter starts with the name of the POV character.

There‘s a couple things going on. Some obvious, some not. Family secrets, mystery, death. Hell with a side of dark humor.

Fun quick read. I‘d like more of Office life in hell.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I have a lot of thoughts and a lot of them spoilery. I‘ll put my main issue in the comments. I liked this book for the most part, though I was a bit confused with all the metaphors (not sure that‘s the right thing to call them). Also, I think I understand what happened at the end, but honestly not sure. Also, I hated when the guy narrator had to do female voices, just awful.

#BOTMBacklog

2023 Quidditch Cup Reading Challenge! These are my first 6 prompts!

🧹Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland: Set in the British Isles -Boyfriend Material
🧹Holy Head Harpies: Includes a group of strong females- Memphis
🧹Katie Bell: Includes a character who gets cursed- Sign Here
🧹Alicia Spinett: Written by a female author- Dream On
🧹Draco Malfoy: A book that has a large fandom - Saga
🧹Body Blow: With a body part on the cover - Bodyguard

Two story lines - a story about the Harrison family who lost a family member because of the death of a friend AND the story of a group of folks that live in hell, sort of like salespeople, who talk people on earth to sell their souls. I‘m sure there are lots of deep meaning in this book, but I found it to be tedious and sometimes confusing.

🎧 soft pick
Negative - I am not sure I understand how the different stories in this book come together.

Beyond that this was a lot deeper and more interesting than I thought it would be. The family story at the heart is complex and the characters are likable. The Hell world building is simple but good, and those characters are interesting. It was lightly black comedy (I wasn't laughing out loud, but it was lightheaded)

I‘m not sure how to classify this debut novel, but it wasn‘t scary, mysterious, or funny enough for my tastes. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#sign-here

1-31-23: January Book Wrap Up! This photo is missing the last two books I read, the tagged book Sign Here and Our Missing Hearts. Loved both just didn‘t have room in the collage. I‘ll work on that for next month. 📖🎉#️⃣1️⃣2️⃣ books read. 🙌🏼

1-31-23: My 12th finished book of 2023! This was a fast, solid read. Peyote Trip works in the Deals Department on the 5th floor of Hell. He is waiting for one more Harrison soul to make a complete set. The Harrison family is on their yearly summer retreat at their lake house where a traded occurred 17 years ago, something no one can ever forget. While Pey patiently waits to be called the Harrison‘s start to fall apart. Surprising and touching.

OMG!!!!

I needed a palette cleanser after some heavier reads, and this hit the spot! We go back and forth between Peyote, a worker in hell whose job is to collect deals for souls, and a family with some dark history they haven‘t entirely grappled with. There‘s some good humor and it‘s light but not fluff.

I really enjoyed this debut! Delightful, creepy, and a story easily invested in, Lux‘s Hell is hilarious and often a little too familiar to my corporate job. 😂 The mystery kept me guessing and the twist was satisfying. Even if I found the ending/plot connections a bit confusing, the writing and unique concepts beat out any missteps. While I eagerly anticipate her next novel, it will be fun figuring out the details of my own personal Hell. 😂 4⭐️

OMG!!! First book of 2023 and it was a ROARING success! Last night I could not put it down and had to see it through to its heart-pumping end. I love when authors can just shock you and do something so different and cool, both with their writing style and plot - this book was definitely like that for me. So many genres rolled into one genius book. A story that raises questions about fate, love, and the relationships that shape us - and also hell!

This debut novel is part mystery, part paranormal comedy and part family drama. I enjoyed the sections involving our main character Peyote Trip, a demon trying to finish collecting one more soul from the Harrison family. The less entertaining parts were from the perspective of the Harrison family. I don‘t want to go much deeper into plot as I think this is best enjoyed without knowing much.
⬇️

This book was a lot of fun. Peyote Trip is in hell, literally, and his job down there is to get the living to sign away their souls. He's been following the Harrison family and working on getting one more soul from them. So he'll have a collection of five 😈
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #WinterReadathon @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES @DieAReader #WinterCosyBingo @PuddleJumper

NYE vibes with the puppies 🐶 📖 📚

Funny, dark, and thrilling. This ties together an offbeat dark comedy where Hell is a corporate office & a sinister family saga that is equal parts disturbing and engaging. Great stuff.

This is one of those books that is hard to characterize. Is it a mystery? Horror? Weirdly devised chick/bro lit? Bitingly witty workplace angst? This is ALL that! Keeping everything straight was a little chaotic, but well worth the effort. This is a multi-layered book that I can see generating some really lively book discussions.

Well done.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was twisted, with several plot twists and turns. I initially really enjoyed this book, however the different viewpoints felt a bit disjointed and made it hard for me truly appreciate the whole it was trying to create with its deeper meaning. This was a solid read with interesting characters and a clever plot, however it fell a little flat for me.

Just finished reading this for #LMPBC. Dark and humorous - Hell is basically a corporation where you will never meet the CEO but you will spend an eternity trying to claw your way up the ladder. Surprisingly touching sometimes but it did leave me with questions. On to you, @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks

#GroupM @HufflepuffGirl90 @TheBookHippie

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 This book was fantastic. A really unique read that was funny and a little dark but surprisingly touching. Definitely recommend this one, a fun and kind of twisty read. Actually made me stay up and read even when I was exhausted lol This was Claudia Lux first novel and it definitely made me want more from her, can‘t wait to see what she writes in the future #BOTM

Book 203📚 4.5⭐️

Hilarious banter, set in Hell & a moving story line - who knew!🤍🖤

400 pages and finished in a day! Definitely a goodie👌🏻

This was not only funny but surprisingly touching. I don‘t think I‘ve ever read a story quite like this! With two loosely connected storylines, both of which are equally entertaining, we get to see these complicated and somewhat broken characters navigate worlds falling apart. They are all flawed but realistic and I love it. Definitely unique! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

4¾⭐
I kind of loved this but not everybody will connect with this story. Because, yeah, there are elements that one could pick apart. It was a little slow in the middle and a touch confusing at times…but, I‘m not really complaining. I thought it was not only fun but uniquely told. I loved how the two separate stories were connected. Plus it has an ending that I never saw coming…definitely not in that way.

Enjoyed it! Fun and disturbing and unique. #botm

Let‘s goooooo, #GroupM! I‘m so excited! #LMPBC #bookofthemonthgroup

I actually really enjoyed this book. The connection between Peyote and the Harrison‘s was a great twist.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall, I really enjoyed this entertaining, creative, vibrant read. The middle felt a little slow - I think the story as a whole could have been tightened up a bit - but the ending was full of suspense as everything came together. The originality makes this distinctive and memorable, and it was just a hell of a lot of fun! 😉😈 #BOTM

This for me was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ read. While at times it was humorous (dark humor) and I loved the idea storyline wise, there were times where it was just too slow and I had to force myself to keep going.