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karigan

27. she/her. I work to afford my reading habit 🧚🏻🦄🏰🐉

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DraculaMad Sisters of Esi

karigan commented on karigan's review of Three Holidays and a Wedding

1h
  • Three Holidays and a Wedding
    karigan
    Jan 22, 2026
    3.0
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 2.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 2.5
    🕎
    ☪️
    ✝️

    Three Holidays and a Wedding had something great going for it, but the execution was not there. I was drawn in by the idea of three of the biggest religious holidays happening concurrently with the backdrop of a hallmark movie type setting. In fact, I think the handling of the holiday festivities was one of the things handled well. We experienced traditions from Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan with pretty equal emphasis placed on each. There was no bashing of one another's holidays and all of the characters truly embraced each other's cultures with zero hesitation.

    I also loved the way these characters interacted with each other. Sure it was cheesy and over the top, but that's what we signed up for reading a hallmark-esque holiday romance. The relationships felt real and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know each one.

    Unfortunately, that is where the praise stops. Any conflict in this book was only present when necessary. Multiple times a conflict would be introduced just for it to go away entirely until it became important to the plot again. Speaking of the plot, I was disappointed that a major growth moment for one of the characters was taken away by another character telling the readers what happened to them. It felt out of place and, frankly, unfair to that character.

    The biggest issue is that the readers are treated like they are stupid. The plot of A Christmas Carol was told over and over and over again as if we couldn't be smart enough to remember the details the first time. A character will be introduced and then in the next chapter they'll be introduced again as if we're meeting them for the first time.

    I think what bothered me most though is that we were not trusted to either come with prior knowledge about Ramadan and Hanukkah, or given the ability to research them as we read. This book is clearly written for a white Christian crowd because anything related to Christmas is stated as if everyone should know what is being discussed. But anything related to Hanukkah or Ramadan is mentioned with a little aside about what that thing is. Like imagine if I said, "over there you see a child with a ball, a spherical object that is often tossed or rolled." It's exhausting and places no faith in the readers.

    That being said, I think this book is on par with many cheesy hallmark-esque romances. The inclusivity is great and overall the book is enjoyable if you go in with proper expectations.

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  • karigan wrote a review...

    1h
  • Three Holidays and a Wedding
    karigan
    Jan 22, 2026
    3.0
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 2.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 2.5
    🕎
    ☪️
    ✝️

    Three Holidays and a Wedding had something great going for it, but the execution was not there. I was drawn in by the idea of three of the biggest religious holidays happening concurrently with the backdrop of a hallmark movie type setting. In fact, I think the handling of the holiday festivities was one of the things handled well. We experienced traditions from Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan with pretty equal emphasis placed on each. There was no bashing of one another's holidays and all of the characters truly embraced each other's cultures with zero hesitation.

    I also loved the way these characters interacted with each other. Sure it was cheesy and over the top, but that's what we signed up for reading a hallmark-esque holiday romance. The relationships felt real and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know each one.

    Unfortunately, that is where the praise stops. Any conflict in this book was only present when necessary. Multiple times a conflict would be introduced just for it to go away entirely until it became important to the plot again. Speaking of the plot, I was disappointed that a major growth moment for one of the characters was taken away by another character telling the readers what happened to them. It felt out of place and, frankly, unfair to that character.

    The biggest issue is that the readers are treated like they are stupid. The plot of A Christmas Carol was told over and over and over again as if we couldn't be smart enough to remember the details the first time. A character will be introduced and then in the next chapter they'll be introduced again as if we're meeting them for the first time.

    I think what bothered me most though is that we were not trusted to either come with prior knowledge about Ramadan and Hanukkah, or given the ability to research them as we read. This book is clearly written for a white Christian crowd because anything related to Christmas is stated as if everyone should know what is being discussed. But anything related to Hanukkah or Ramadan is mentioned with a little aside about what that thing is. Like imagine if I said, "over there you see a child with a ball, a spherical object that is often tossed or rolled." It's exhausting and places no faith in the readers.

    That being said, I think this book is on par with many cheesy hallmark-esque romances. The inclusivity is great and overall the book is enjoyable if you go in with proper expectations.

    17
    comments 6
    Reply
  • karigan commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    4h
  • Badges

    Hey ☺️ I was wondering if there’s a way to display more than 3 badges or not? I don’t know if I’m just missing something something or if it’s just not possible ty!

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    karigan commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    12h
  • new to pagebound and wondering what the list feature is

    i keep seeing the lists everywhere but what are they? what are they meant to be for? is to group things? and most importantly how do i use it?

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  • karigan commented on seema's update

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    karigan commented on karigan's update

    karigan made progress on...

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    karigan commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    1d
  • How to see someone's reading journey (Solved)

    When I see "Activity from People You Follow" and some of them have DNF'ed the book, I would love to be able to click the map icon from there and see any posts leading up to the decision to DNF. Where is the map icon? I can never seem to find it.

    Do I have to navigate to the person's page and then try to find it?

    Sorry if it's very obvious.

    EDIT: Turns out it doesn't work on the website, only on the app. Insert crying emoji here because I primarily use the website.

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  • karigan commented on ChaosReader's update

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    karigan commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    1d
  • gracie
    Edited
    What features on Pagebound are your favorite?

    Hi friends! I love hearing what everyone loves about Pagebound. Even though there are features I'm looking forward to having in the future, I would continue to use Pagebound if nothing ever changed and the site/app stayed the way they are right now, forever. I love it here, and there are already so many delightful features. Which features make PB feel special for you? What feature did you not know you needed until you had it? Is there a UI/UX thing that makes your life easy in a way that you love?

    For me, the "pause" reading status was part of what led me to be able to finally start committing to DNF books. I used to force myself through every book I picked up, but when I realized I could put books on pause instead of committing to DNFing, I allowed myself to put them down without feeling bad. Now, I'll DNF anything I know I don't like as soon as I realize all I'm focusing on is what I don't like about the book lol

    A recent feature I love is the progress bar on shelves in our library. I've immediately started using my shelves more, and it's overall increasing the usability of the shelves. Love love love 🙂‍↕️ Also, just a cute thing, I love that every different card in our feed is color-coded according to its type (e.g., comments are orange, posts are blue, etc.). It makes identifying what I'm looking at easy, and ofc it's adorable.

    What about you?

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  • karigan commented on MagPiper's review of As Many Souls as Stars

    2d
  • As Many Souls as Stars
    MagPiper
    Jan 20, 2026
    DNF
    1.0
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    I was really intrigued by the description for this and had high hopes for the "Faustian bargian" and "cat-and-mouse" game I expected. Unfortunately, 30% into this, I mostly found myself growing tired of repetitive prose and unconvincing sexual tension (if it could be called that; at least, that's what I think it was meant to be) between two characters who had neither struck a bargain yet nor had any chemistry with each other. Ultimately this was a disappointment and I ended up DNFing.

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  • Post from the Three Holidays and a Wedding forum

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  • Three Holidays and a Wedding
    Thoughts from 61% (page 226, end ch12)
    spoilers

    View spoiler

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    Three Holidays and a Wedding

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    karigan entered a giveaway...

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    Penguin Random House giveaway

    Mundane Magic: A Lazy Witch's Guide to Hacking Your Brain, Building a Daily Practice, and Getting Stuff Done

    Mundane Magic: A Lazy Witch's Guide to Hacking Your Brain, Building a Daily Practice, and Getting Stuff Done

    Molly Donlan

    Transform the mundane tasks of daily life into intentional moments of magical self-care, with spells, rituals, and exercises that work with your brain, not against it—from the co-host of the Demystify Magic podcast Are the dust bunnies and clutter in your house getting out of control? Do you put off cleaning your shower curtain or organizing your closet until you can’t ignore the mess anymore? Imagine turning these mundane chores into moments of magic, where sweeping the floor or folding laundry becomes an act of spiritual connection and enchantment. But how do we bridge the gap between the ordinary and the extraordinary? That’s where Mundane Magic comes in, to help you focus on the intention behind your actions and tap into everyday magic with simple rituals and mindful moments, like whipping together a coffee spell for abundance or clearing out the stagnant energy under your bed. Initially a skeptic herself, Molly Donlan’s journey took an unexpected turn when chronic hip pain led her to Reiki and the intersection of science and spirituality. She’s been where you are, overwhelmed by the weight of daily stress and household chores, but by injecting boring tasks with a sense of novelty and fun, she found magic practices that worked for her and her ADHD brain, rather than against it. Organized by rooms around the house and divided by the level of difficulty, Mundane Magic shares fun and actionable tips, exercises, spells, and rituals to create micro-moments of magic and motivation. You can organize your chores around the moon cycles to optimize cleansing and creativity, whip up an easy simmer pot for the motivation to tackle that pile of dirty dishes, or turn a minty shampoo into a spell for mental clarity. Mundane Magic offers a fun approach and empathetic support for productivity around the house and reclaiming joy and creativity in the process.

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