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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book pulled me in two different directions. The first was that I got sucked into the Josephine character's story. However, while she was a well-written character, I almost felt scolded(?) at times about the injustices of the past. Overall, though, I enjoyed the history portion of the book--I almost wish the entire book was focused on the past, because...
...I wasn't a fan of the "thriller" portions of the book. At times, I thought the dramatic turns were less exciting and more... silly? In many ways, it feels like the author's knowledge of the history of music was the strength, but the attempt at creating a page-turning mystery took away from what could've been a strong story.
Final verdict: Pretty good, not great.
...I wasn't a fan of the "thriller" portions of the book. At times, I thought the dramatic turns were less exciting and more... silly? In many ways, it feels like the author's knowledge of the history of music was the strength, but the attempt at creating a page-turning mystery took away from what could've been a strong story.
Final verdict: Pretty good, not great.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.25 stars. Switching back and forth between the 1920s and present day, the author tells a story of a prolific composer and one of his pieces of music recently uncovered. I found myself equally interested in how things were unfolding with Bern & Eboni’s investigation and Freddy & Josephine’s friendship/collaboration. Freddy was one of those characters I felt for in the beginning and I kept rooting for to do the right thing.
fast-paced
3.25 ⭐️ I would have so preferred the story of Fred and Josephine without the detective work of Ebony and Bern. Josephine was a wonderful, dynamic, character and I loved her story. The rest felt like filler.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I could not put this down! I loved both timelines, which doesn't always happen in dual-timeline books like this. I kept wanting to reach for my phone and hear the music being described in the book.
I think it was interesting that the author chose to portray an abusive relationship between Josephine and Fredwhich never turns romantic. . On the other hand, I was disappointed that Bern and Eboni get together. You're too good for him, Eboni!
I think it was interesting that the author chose to portray an abusive relationship between Josephine and Fred
This was oh so well written and it made me oh so angry. I love going starting books without knowing much about them beforehand these days, and man was this just a ride. I didn’t manage to really get into it until the halfway mark but after that it was just rage-powering through it bc what the flipping heck. What the fricking flip.
To think that there are so many minority group musicians and artists and authors of all kinds that never got the recognition they deserved bc of people like Frederic. And not only did he steal!!! (Read the book to find out all the other reasons why we hate him). And the stupid Foundation. And those cartoonish goons?!
All books that bring light to an important topic (racism! sexism! abuse!) are a win for me, and this one did an exceptional job at it as well! (Otherwise, the final quarter of the book was a banger but it didn’t have the final mic drop moment I was hoping it would have).
Justice for Josephine
To think that there are so many minority group musicians and artists and authors of all kinds that never got the recognition they deserved bc of people like Frederic. And not only did he steal!!! (Read the book to find out all the other reasons why we hate him). And the stupid Foundation. And those cartoonish goons?!
All books that bring light to an important topic (racism! sexism! abuse!) are a win for me, and this one did an exceptional job at it as well! (Otherwise, the final quarter of the book was a banger but it didn’t have the final mic drop moment I was hoping it would have).
Justice for Josephine