Harisa
This was a 3 until the end, which was emotional and so emotional. Ultimately, the way the the author wrote about relationships (with family, friends, and family) completely won me over.
This one really didn't work for me. The entire ghost thing and allllll the characters along with the short chapters no thank you
I thought this was pretty good! A lot of telling and not showing but it worked for me!
So I had to start and stop this many times and maybe that's why I am only giving it three stars. Overall, this was pretty interesting and a good introduction to this author. I really liked the concept and the mixing of the sci fi and horror genres but it's not going to make it into my absolute faves.
Looking forward to reading more from him though!
My Serbia book around the world.
The actual cool stuff about the history and all that got very lost on weird stuff about the tiger which was maybe just too deep for me but I was not into it.
DNF at 50%. I liked the Devil in Midwinter but overall this author isn't for me (so sorry! I know this is super unpopular)!
Maybe a little implausible, but cute! I actually really liked the cooking and watching her fall into her creativity.
I just do not think his writing style works for me. Something just makes me feel so so disconnected. This was a very good premise though and super interesting as a plot. I can see why this is his most popular work.
I agree with some other reviews on here. While I appreciate Isabel allende's writing style and her opinions, this book was very long and started out incredibly slow.
However, by the time I got to the end I appreciated all the backstory so it was worth it and it certainly picked up in the second half of the novel but I must admit it took me a ridiculously long time to get through the first half (almost a month I believe) and only a few days to get through the second because I couldn't stop myself from reading.
The characters were all really interesting, especially since we got to see them through many many many years of their lives.
Wow I LOVED THIS! It did end rather abruptly and it felt like SO many things got resolved too quickly (in paragraphs) but I was mostly sad about it and not annoyed. As it ended, I wanted to hear more from the characters and knew I would miss them...and I think that's generally pretty cool. I really liked the different characters and viewpoints and the hard parts of society at that time discussed with Christianity.
Again: I find it hard to find Christian fiction that actually tackles the harder topics instead of making the central conflict be whether or not the heroine will let the hero kiss her. So I'm always happy to see someone set her story in a time period and stay true to it as far as how the time period changed society today. I like that the auto hit also added how after the war the sentiment of “okay ladies thanks for your help go back to the kitchen” was one that rubbed a lot of them the wrong way and I like to think Jean went on fight those stereotypes along the way :)
I don't read a lot set in revolutionary war time period, so this was a unique read for me! I really really enjoyed it. The only reason it's not 5 stars is because I wish the spy aspects and the romance overlapped a bit more—it felt more like two separate parts.
What the hell is this.
What. The. Hell.
I honestly feel utterly sick to my stomach by the fact that Thomas completely wrote Teresa off because of what she did but after time and time again of Brenda being suspicious completely ignores it because he's “too tired to think about it right now”. But Teresa is horrible and irredeemable?
Minho does the same. So unfair and not okay and I hate it so much.
Also the fact that Thomas never got his memory back (by choice) seemed extremely lazy. I just didn't respect Thomas as a character at all in this one and I'm very disappointed. I wish it would have been in Teresa's POV she is much better.
Also, Brenda sucks.
Very melodramatic but that wasn't a bad thing! There were a few small continuity errors but otherwise the writing was very strong. I was into the family backstories and everything else. However, I had a hard time with the party boy “reformed” and everything being so easy for him. He kept saying he “worked” for it but he really didn't. Also Sloane saying this couple is “completely unexpected” is funny bc they're literally from the same socioeconomic class in NYC....its not that unexpected.
This might be a me problem bc I already have a hard time with billionaires and this made it even more difficult. There was also a random scene and Sloane being embarrassed she couldn't cook/bake and that insecurity was just..unnecessary? Like why? She is such an accomplished woman and it was annoying she resorted to that for Xavier of all people. I understand adding depth to a strong character by adding insecurities but I think Sloane just got too much and it took me out of the story.
Omg and the third act breakup and the entire getting back together??? Rough.
Maybe a 2.5
The romance was SUPER lack luster. It should have been non existent to be perfect honest. Not believable at all and seemed super forced.
This book had SO much potential. Great setting and great set up. Our main character wasn't much of a detective and I really, really wish that we had found out more secrets of the suspects before the will reading. Then they all seemed to just confess out of nowhere? So weird.
What was the point of bringing them all on the cruise if we, as the reader, didn't get to uncover everything little by little?
Audio available on Audible Plus.
This one was really engaging!! I'm really starting to get immersed into this world and the cast of characters.
Very dark, so be warned it has a lot of sexual abuse in here.
I appreciate him adding the caveat at the end of the book that we do not have to reach his conclusions, what is important is that we ask the questions.
I liked this book, it was short but very informative. Was recommended to me by an old college professor who was a big Frye fan. I would also recommend this book.
I think like many reviewers of this book, I had mixed feelings.
Ultimately, I think its important to note that you can forgive someone but NOT bring them into your life in the same role they were before. I think the main character should have considered that at some point.
This was a story of a marriage gone wrong, and while the main character, Sierra, was rude and whiny and a brat for way too long she ended up blaming herself for the falling apart of her marriage. While there are great lessons to learn through Sierra's brattiness, I found it appalling that the book did not explore how Alex's manipulation, emotional abuse, desertion of both her and the kids, and his own transgressions could not ALL be explained away as a response to Sierra being “unsupportive.” I think Sierra thought about it all wrong and it pains me to think that she thought her only choice was to a) blame herself ENTIRELY and b) accept Alex back in her life to be a good Christian.
There were a lot of times when I got extremely angry with Alex, it was really painful to read Sierra beating herself up so much.
WHAT MADE IT UNACCEPTABLE WAS: I went through this book thinking that maybe Alex would have a “Come to Jesus” moment and ok then I can (possibly) forgive all of this screw ups and see how he could be “changed.” HOWEVER, when asked about his faith, Alex said he had been a Christian ALL ALONG and when he screwed up he just “walked away from God.”...and it was left at that. The entire explanation of why he acted the way he did was pride and walking away from God. Red. Flag. I understand that Sierra was the main character so we focused more on her character development but it would have helped me more as a reader to understand Alex's.
Anyway...
The story within the story of her ancestor Mary Katherine was interesting but...weird. I didn't really get the point of it and found her conversion and her romantic relationships lacking as well. Her voice always seemed very young and naive and it made it made the romance seem a little creepy at points.
The writing style and overall quality is what made me not rate this any less, not the actual storyline.
Well....I finished this in one day. It was CA-UTE. And deeper than I thought so that's good. The only thing is some of the drama at the end was a bit too frivolous for me to really care about, but still a very sweet romance with good themes and it helped me personally too. Her confession that she has never felt “desirable” was particularly striking. The author handled self-esteem issues well, and realistically. Lucy didn't think about it 24/7 and led a successful and on the outside fulfilling life, but every once in a while the depths of her issues were revealed and eventually dealt with. Well done.
Honestly, 0/10. No redeeming qualities.
This is not a romance, this is a psychological thriller with a really depressing ending. This screwed me up. There was nothing romantic from this. Just threats, emotional and verbal abuse, scare-tacts, and A LOT of manipulation. He did try to disguise the threats as him being “sarcastic” but like when you just meet someone you don't threaten them to mess with them and then tell them “wow I would never hurt you I can't believe you believed me.”
This hurt to read, and I suggest that you read the other one start reviews as well because they all capture what I'm trying to say. I kept hoping for the ending to get better but it really didn't. His “grand gesture” fell WAY short for me and I rolled my eyes and uttered a sound in disgust throughout all of it.
Also, the plotline with the animals was SO weird. If anything, it just goes to show how deeply messed up this girl is. I'm disturbed by this entire relationship. Felt sick reading this at points and it never got better.
Also, to keep it spoiler-free....I'll just leave it at this: The “secret” and his “past” was an ATROCITY TO EVERYTHING I STAND FOR. HOW DAREEEEEE THE AUTHOR GO THERE. HOW DAREEEE SHE. THE ROMANOVS DESERVE BETTER!!!!!!!! .
I actually really liked this. A bit of an eye-rolling start but then it got much better.
Looks like I'm going to be continuing this series even after the disappointing first book. But that may have just been because of the hype.