The Procrastinators Book Club discussion

Welcome to the That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on February 5th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 02/05
February 5th: Chapters 1-3
February 6th: Chapters 4-6
February 7th: Chapters 7-9
February 8th: Chapters 10-12
February 9th: Chapters 13-end


PARTICIPANTS
~ LiteraryCryptid
~ Katie
~ Jamie

Ive read through the first 3 chapters now. The plot feels all over the place and the humour is really forced. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The story just doesn’t feel thought out to me and things are mentioned with no real purpose. Why tell us about her dead sister in only one sentence and then carry on the story as if never mentioned??
The characters don’t feel realistic. Ill give the next few chapters ago hope it starts to be a bit more consistent though

I agree Jamie. I haven't read today's chapters yet but I was feeling the exact same over the last couple of days. I thought this would be cozy in a nice way but it's "cozy" in a forced way. I feel like the author is trying really hard to make the main character funny/quirky/spunky/whatever and it's actually just annoying. There were some moments in ch. 5-6 that seemed a little more grounded and real (and actually good) but they were quickly swept away by the bad stuff. I'm hoping it gets better.

I just don't understand how this was taken from the self-pub world to traditionally published. THIS was that popular?? I am sad because I was really excited about this.

Just caught up for chapters, unfortunately my planned reading days were overtaken by chores. . .
Pros: The pun names are right along with my sense of humour, the terrible -clearly in there just for laughs- situational humour (love it), a lich turned goddess (hah, love this premise, one of my favourites from DnD)
Cons: Not the strongest world-building, plot feels a smidge rushed, definitely could use some fleshing out with characters

Overall, it's a fun fantasy read so far, doesn't feel to serious, and I'm actually enjoying the humour behind it. It's a nice step away from heavy and serious fantasy books that I read often. Even with the above cons, I'm loving this book just for the lighthearted storytelling and the fact that it doesn't take itself serious.

Finished reading yesterday. . .

I realize this book is very niche for appeal, it's got a writing style that leans towards a web-publish novel for sure. It has the same structure as a weekly updated serial/fanfic. . .

But I still loved it. Perhaps because of the puns and slapstick comedy, perhaps because it's a nice break from books that feel excessively serious in the fantasy genre, but I ended up really enjoying this book. (To the point I picked up the sequel). I explained it to one of my co-workers that - it's so bad and fun that it's perfect.

The spice in it reads fanfic style - here is some spice because spice - and heavy on the detail. Could some parts be cut? Yes. But the tension it created was kind of fun. Playing with the soulmate plot was interesting, and the shared powers from the bond was a bit cliche, but both made sense for the way the novel was written.

Could it be improved? Yes. But I feel it would lose the charm of just being fun.

I'm curious what y'all feel

I'm so glad you liked it but as you can see from my 1 star rating, I did not--and yes, I am crying on the inside.

I really thought this would be up my alley, as some cozy fantasy romances have been 5 stars recently and have really been my vibe (Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and A Marvellous Light have both been 5 stars for me over the past couple of months, easily new favorites of all time). I think my problem was that this book was just too silly. The beginning especially was just jokes after jokes, and they were in a style of humor that didn't really land with me. The book never really recovered from me hating the first third, even though there were some small redeeming qualities later on.

It was sort of self-aware but not in a clever way. I also didn't feel like I got to know anything beyond surface level about any of the characters, even Cinnamon. Things just happened, but I didn't really get any character's underlying motivations. I think for me to enjoy this type of book, there needs to be some level of groundedness and I need to feel the stakes, even if it is lighthearted for the most part. The writing did improve as the book went on, though maybe that was me getting used to the writing style. I did like that it seemed like we were getting a bit of a found family moment with Usha and the demons that were rescued from Wandermere, but then it didn't actually go anywhere! There could have been a really nice handful of chapters there where the narrative slowed down a bit and let us explore these character relationships, but instead it continued in hyperdrive. The same issue is present in the actual relationship. I don't know anything about Fallon at all other than he is a dragon who wants to bone Cinnamon. Showing the cultural differences behind the idea of "love" between demons and humans was actually pretty interesting, but that's another thing that could have been properly explored rather than Cinnamon essentially throwing up her hands and saying, "I love you too, I guess."

I don't know, maybe my funnybone is just broken :( This was such a miss for me and it's especially sad because I can see a lot of elements that would normally appeal to me but they were executed in a way that just doesn't work for my taste.

Totally fair, it's definitely a niche book.

If you're looking for a really good cozy fantasy book though - with really good character building and a lovely world set-up - try Legends & Lattes. It's my top fantasy read from last year and is an excellent cozy fantasy/found family novel.

I've already read Legends & Lattes and really enjoyed it! Waiting on my hold at the library for Bookshops & Bonedust as we speak.