Dacia
Lonely, awkward, poignant. Ayúdanos. I didn't know there were three different versions of this book until I finished it, and damn. Now I have to find and read them all.
Sweet little book that wasn't as chick-lit-y as I was expecting, and that's a good thing for me. The plot basically follows two storylines, one of which held my interest much more than the other. I really liked how the book had some magical elements without being full-on fantasy or supernatural. And I love when a book talks a lot about food – cakes and barbecue especially.
I enjoyed the first half of this book, which focused on young Hillary & young Bill. Perhaps I should have just read a biography because once the speculative stuff started, I lost interest. The timeline took to jumping around wildly, which I found confusing. Then Trump showed up and I just wanted to be done with the entire thought experiment.
Giving up on this one. World is confusing. Characters are lifeless. I can't bring myself to pick it up again.
The story & the perspective are unique, interesting and important, but the book is overlong and needed a much firmer edit.
I love Jackson Brodie and will read all of the Jackson Brodie books. This one was solid, but needed more Jackson and far fewer other characters, many of whom got jumbled in my head.
I thought this book would be cool and edgy, and you can feel the author trying so hard, but in the end, it's a drag. Writing about writing, is there anything more dull?
Mostly really enjoyed this (1960s Baltimore, yay) but struggled at first with the multiple POVs, then the ending just kind of fizzled for me.
I've said enough about this book, haven't I? In the end, it was OK. Fine. I'd give it 2 1/2 stars if I could. I'd give it 3 stars if it were 50% shorter. The story isn't bad, just long and meandering. I don't mind verbose, flowery language, but I am not as patient with characters and scenes being introduced when they are completely non-essential to plot progression or character/world building.
If I could do a search on the text of this book, I'm pretty sure the word “grimace” would show up at least 3,000 times. Which is a pretty apt description of the face I made while forcing myself to finish the book.
Follows the same formula as The Guest List, which I read first and preferred. This one just didn't catch my interest. The characters were all so unlikeable I had a hard time caring who got murdered and who did it.
Went in blind without having seen the movie. Enjoyed every page. But that ending. chefskiss
So unfortunate when an author tries to make a strong, self-secure female character and winds up creating a self-absorbed, shallow asshole. This story would've been better if it had been more about the girl this hateful heroine was trying to protect. But it's not. And then it gets even worse when our super-tough femme fatale gets herself in trouble and has to be saved...twice. By a dude. Groan.
Long and meandering, overwritten, with minimal character development. And then it suddenly turns into a soap opera.
I'd give this 3 1/2 stars if I could. I think the story within a story technique worked well, but at times the history got a bit dry for me.
Picked this up looking for a plot forward mystery and it started off with a bang. Then it slowly morphed into a family melodrama that I found somewhat tedious.
Waited so long to read this because I did not enjoy Daisy Jones, but this is a better book.