Tea
I don't quite know where to start. So I'll start talking about a line of thought that I have at the moment and hope that this turns out coherent in the end.
The overarching plot felt a bit lackluster, I mean I just finished the book (started it yesterday) and I'm struggling to remember what happened over the entire book. This could be me reading this entire book in about 4 to 5 hours (this is atypical of me, I try to read about 100 pages per day), so all the details have blurred together somewhat and I didn't allow myself to sit with the book as I was reading it. This could be taken as I was so engrossed and intrigued in the book I couldn't help myself but blast through it or I've caught myself in a bit of a reading kick. Regardless, I'm struggling to remember details and considering how I was fine putting the book down when I had about 30 pages left and go to sleep, probably says a lot about my feelings towards this book.
Throughout reading, I caught myself waiting until I was at another part with Kat as the pov. I don't think I was ever too interested in the mother/daughter dynamic and Kat's feelings towards Cleo (feeling like she's failed Cleo, wanting to reconnect but everything she does is wrong, Cleo distancing herself from Kat, etc.) but it was crucial since this is a large part of what drives everything that Kat does. I think I was more intrigued in her job however and just, I'm in awe and if I could figure out a good route to do what she does for a living, I think I would love to do it for a couple years.
Also, the title is absurd. I finished the book and reread the title and I was just gobsmacked I think. This title tells you so much about the book and while there are blatant hints throughout the book, that did make it feel like beating a dead horse (Cleo looks identical to Kat is one that's almost obnoxious with how often it comes up). I for some odd reason, didn't pick up on their frequency as a *hint, hint, nudge, nudge* and was only getting annoyed at how often some details were mentioned throughout the book (I swear Cleo looking like her mom was mentioned at least once every time we flipped to Cleo's pov. I got it, she has her mother's genes, can we get on with the plot?) I do think I'm not meant for mysteries though, since unlike another reviewer I couldn't tell who was the culprit within the first hundred pages. I don't even think that this person is even mentioned within the first hundred pages, now that I'm thinking about it. There is a lot of skirting around Kat's past and honestly, the reveal really fell flat for me. I think it might've been better to have the first introduction be in Kat's pov and then have Cleo find out about it.
Another reason I might've been more attached to Kat's pov is because Cleo's really did read like a lot of short stories. There was a beginning, stuff happened, then it ended at a good spot where I wouldn't mind not reading Cleo's pov again. While Kat's pov always left more questions in the air, a bit of tension hovering in the background within Kat's pov due to how much she has going on (no, seriously it's a lot. Like, I don't know how she's doing it physically in our universe and no wonder Cleo mentions a personality trait of Kat because it's required. Kat literally couldn't do her job or survive without that trait.) but also how clear her priorities are in life. She might seem put together externally but she really is screaming inside her head all the time but I doubt that she even knows she's doing this since she easily neglects herself.
I lost my train of thought but like, the end of the book particularly the romantic relationships that are happening in the book I did not see coming. Also, maybe you can be on good terms with your children but try not to be friends with them? That was a really tiny detail that bugged me the whole time.
I don't quite know where to start. So I'll start talking about a line of thought that I have at the moment and hope that this turns out coherent in the end.
The overarching plot felt a bit lackluster, I mean I just finished the book (started it yesterday) and I'm struggling to remember what happened over the entire book. This could be me reading this entire book in about 4 to 5 hours (this is atypical of me, I try to read about 100 pages per day), so all the details have blurred together somewhat and I didn't allow myself to sit with the book as I was reading it. This could be taken as I was so engrossed and intrigued in the book I couldn't help myself but blast through it or I've caught myself in a bit of a reading kick. Regardless, I'm struggling to remember details and considering how I was fine putting the book down when I had about 30 pages left and go to sleep, probably says a lot about my feelings towards this book.
Throughout reading, I caught myself waiting until I was at another part with Kat as the pov. I don't think I was ever too interested in the mother/daughter dynamic and Kat's feelings towards Cleo (feeling like she's failed Cleo, wanting to reconnect but everything she does is wrong, Cleo distancing herself from Kat, etc.) but it was crucial since this is a large part of what drives everything that Kat does. I think I was more intrigued in her job however and just, I'm in awe and if I could figure out a good route to do what she does for a living, I think I would love to do it for a couple years.
Also, the title is absurd. I finished the book and reread the title and I was just gobsmacked I think. This title tells you so much about the book and while there are blatant hints throughout the book, that did make it feel like beating a dead horse (Cleo looks identical to Kat is one that's almost obnoxious with how often it comes up). I for some odd reason, didn't pick up on their frequency as a *hint, hint, nudge, nudge* and was only getting annoyed at how often some details were mentioned throughout the book (I swear Cleo looking like her mom was mentioned at least once every time we flipped to Cleo's pov. I got it, she has her mother's genes, can we get on with the plot?) I do think I'm not meant for mysteries though, since unlike another reviewer I couldn't tell who was the culprit within the first hundred pages. I don't even think that this person is even mentioned within the first hundred pages, now that I'm thinking about it. There is a lot of skirting around Kat's past and honestly, the reveal really fell flat for me. I think it might've been better to have the first introduction be in Kat's pov and then have Cleo find out about it.
Another reason I might've been more attached to Kat's pov is because Cleo's really did read like a lot of short stories. There was a beginning, stuff happened, then it ended at a good spot where I wouldn't mind not reading Cleo's pov again. While Kat's pov always left more questions in the air, a bit of tension hovering in the background within Kat's pov due to how much she has going on (no, seriously it's a lot. Like, I don't know how she's doing it physically in our universe and no wonder Cleo mentions a personality trait of Kat because it's required. Kat literally couldn't do her job or survive without that trait.) but also how clear her priorities are in life. She might seem put together externally but she really is screaming inside her head all the time but I doubt that she even knows she's doing this since she easily neglects herself.
I lost my train of thought but like, the end of the book particularly the romantic relationships that are happening in the book I did not see coming. Also, maybe you can be on good terms with your children but try not to be friends with them? That was a really tiny detail that bugged me the whole time.
This is a book that I'm a bit annoyed with myself about, primarily because I've had it sitting on my tbr for almost a year by now.
I think I happened to read this book at the perfect time for myself because I was spending a lot of time recently thinking about happiness and contentment, so reading this book provided an interesting new perspective on everything for me personally. Also, I might be an odd one out, but I really enjoyed reading Mia's perspective throughout the story. It happened to read relatively close to how I think I might react if I was in her situation, which meant that I was able to gloss over some of the faults more easily since it became more immersive for me.
While the mystery was a bit boring at times, I think what really kept me going throughout this entire book would have to be Eugene. This honestly, is another instance where he happened to remind me a lot of my brother, in his mannerisms but also inability to communicate with the ease that they want to. So I spent a decent chunk of the book intrigued about Eugene and wanting to learn more about him, allowing myself to go with the emotional roller coaster that came with this book.
I think the critique that stuck with me throughout the book was how there were moments where it felt a bit empty, or there were things that was skipped that I would've loved to get as a reader, but I understood why they were skipped for the sake of the book.
Overall, this was a fun read, I can see myself rereading it in the future and absolutely recommending it to others as a potentially fun read for them.
This is a book that I'm a bit annoyed with myself about, primarily because I've had it sitting on my tbr for almost a year by now.
I think I happened to read this book at the perfect time for myself because I was spending a lot of time recently thinking about happiness and contentment, so reading this book provided an interesting new perspective on everything for me personally. Also, I might be an odd one out, but I really enjoyed reading Mia's perspective throughout the story. It happened to read relatively close to how I think I might react if I was in her situation, which meant that I was able to gloss over some of the faults more easily since it became more immersive for me.
While the mystery was a bit boring at times, I think what really kept me going throughout this entire book would have to be Eugene. This honestly, is another instance where he happened to remind me a lot of my brother, in his mannerisms but also inability to communicate with the ease that they want to. So I spent a decent chunk of the book intrigued about Eugene and wanting to learn more about him, allowing myself to go with the emotional roller coaster that came with this book.
I think the critique that stuck with me throughout the book was how there were moments where it felt a bit empty, or there were things that was skipped that I would've loved to get as a reader, but I understood why they were skipped for the sake of the book.
Overall, this was a fun read, I can see myself rereading it in the future and absolutely recommending it to others as a potentially fun read for them.
