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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
DNF at 30%. The writing wasn't very good and all four of the main characters are insufferable. These grown women are so immature with no conflict resolution skills, all dealing with their problems by pretending they aren't happening.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While the premise of this book was compelling, I just found the execution of it lacking. I found myself disliking every single one of the main characters at some point-some more than others. There was far too much petty and catty remarks from 30-something year old women for it to make sense to me. These women are grown!!
I like how they brought attention to some core issues, however, it just fell flat for me :(
I like how they brought attention to some core issues, however, it just fell flat for me :(
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was hoping for a book about four friends opening a bookstore together. Instead, it was 93% women making terrible, terrible financial decisions and suffering almost no consequences for them. (The most egregious moment: (moderate spoilers) a character has lost money in the stock market, but then she sits down and "studies the numbers" and just magically earns all the money back, plus some. Hey, poor people: have you considered just studying the numbers and becoming rich? Offensive is a strong word to use, but these privileged characters put me on edge.
The events of the book overall felt incredibly contrived (multiple major life events happen to all four friends in the span of a few weeks?!). The longer the book went on, the less I liked the characters. And the bookstore itself is pretty much an afterthought.
Finally, look, I love that the author wanted to lift up other authors. That's really nice. But it leads to all of these unnatural passages where it reads things like "Leslie picked up her cell phone, which was sitting on top of Danielle Smith's book Strangers Meeting. She walked down the hall, thinking that she might want to sit down and read Emilia Rogers' Free Fall for a while before bed."
The cute cover was the best thing about this book.
The events of the book overall felt incredibly contrived (multiple major life events happen to all four friends in the span of a few weeks?!). The longer the book went on, the less I liked the characters. And the bookstore itself is pretty much an afterthought.
Finally, look, I love that the author wanted to lift up other authors. That's really nice. But it leads to all of these unnatural passages where it reads things like "Leslie picked up her cell phone, which was sitting on top of Danielle Smith's book Strangers Meeting. She walked down the hall, thinking that she might want to sit down and read Emilia Rogers' Free Fall for a while before bed."
The cute cover was the best thing about this book.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
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:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found this a really lovely book to read. However it started so slow. I feel like the actually aim / ending of the book and building of the shop got lost in the lives of the characters. I think I wanted to hear more about the building and creating of the actually bookshop itself. Overall it wasn’t a bad book, I enjoyed the characters stories and they were built up and created so well as well as being beautifully written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Pregnancy
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes