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2.96 AVERAGE
2.96 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book was like a cheap wine. you’re still drinking wine but somethings missing. it’s in your glass but the substance isn’t there. was it still enjoyable? absolutely. the family drama i was expecting just didn’t dig deep enough and was too glazed over.
Really there was only one page of this book that I really liked and that was Cord finally standing up from himself and choosing to fight for Giovanni. That final phone call gave me a least a little joy in this entire book. But I'd give this 2 stars, really didn't like the story, but the writing quality is decent so it's not a 1 star book for me. I have no idea what the point was of this story, I'm not sure what the author was trying to do at all.
3.6/3.7 A lot heavier than it seemed at first glance. I liked the many different narrative threads and LOVED the big reveal with Lee- totally didnt see it coming that she bought the tickets!!! I felt like a lot of stuff got resolved without being perfectly wrapped up in a bow or easily or neatly fixed, which I liked. I loved all the views of Greece and then other locales later on. Charlotte’s love story was cute if a little desperate and she was kind of a crazy character/caricature compared to the real troubles of the rest.
There were some interesting character developments and moments in this story, but ultimately I wanted more from the characters. I think I would be more interested to see what happens after the events of this story.
I tried to decide what I would say to describe this book and the only words I could muster was “silly and indulgent”. It was good as a beachy read, with absurd stories interwoven with themes of depression, infidelity and alcoholism. It was an entertaining tale, but almost too over the top (I discovered as I tried to describe what it was about when my husband asked what I was reading and he looked at me like - huh?)....It was confusing because at the heart of the book it was about a mother reflecting on her life as a mother after her children have grown up and left her....do they still need their mother?
The Perkins are one dysfunctional family- two sisters who haven’t spoken in a decade, thanks to one marrying the other’s high school sweetheart. A widowed mother who just wants everything to be perfect and loves her children, even if she knows very little about the current affairs of their lives. And a son who has been living in the closet for most of his life, fearing rejection from his family once they know the truth about who he loves. All the family drama converges when the matriarch wins a European cruise and the family reunites for the first time in years.
I felt like there was a lot of potential in this book, and it was always sitting just on the edge of being really good, but never quite getting there. I appreciated that the author did tackle some tougher subjects, including suicide and alcoholism. It added a bit more substance to the book, but ultimately this one fell a little flat for me. It’s an easy summer read, but nothing groundbreaking. I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I felt like there was a lot of potential in this book, and it was always sitting just on the edge of being really good, but never quite getting there. I appreciated that the author did tackle some tougher subjects, including suicide and alcoholism. It added a bit more substance to the book, but ultimately this one fell a little flat for me. It’s an easy summer read, but nothing groundbreaking. I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was Ordinary People set on a cruise ship. Heartfelt and sometimes painfully accurate in how families interact, especially when they're trying to hide their secrets.
**Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advance copy!**
Let's start here: I fucking LOVED this book. Straight up. This is a story about a dysfunctional (aka: mostly normal) family and their life. You see a glimpse of a childhood scene, and then the remainder of the books are the three children as adults and their aging mother as they go on a cruise together.
What I most appreciated about this story was that literally every one of them was fucked up in some way. They felt like real people, rather than those characters you sometimes get in a novel, where it's fun to read but not super realistic. This was realistic, with lots of character flaws and bad decisions and moments that leave you wondering why someone is doing the thing they're doing (horror movie style, where you're screaming internally DO NOT DO THAT THING!, and then they do it anyway).
Pub date is early next year, so mark it on your to read list now!
Let's start here: I fucking LOVED this book. Straight up. This is a story about a dysfunctional (aka: mostly normal) family and their life. You see a glimpse of a childhood scene, and then the remainder of the books are the three children as adults and their aging mother as they go on a cruise together.
What I most appreciated about this story was that literally every one of them was fucked up in some way. They felt like real people, rather than those characters you sometimes get in a novel, where it's fun to read but not super realistic. This was realistic, with lots of character flaws and bad decisions and moments that leave you wondering why someone is doing the thing they're doing (horror movie style, where you're screaming internally DO NOT DO THAT THING!, and then they do it anyway).
Pub date is early next year, so mark it on your to read list now!