Reviews

The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick

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stateofgrace's review

3.25

The set-up was interesting but the mystery elements weren't enough to save the boring plot. The characters were difficult to relate to. I could tell that the author wanted Liv and Essie (and Georgia) to come across as charming and quirky, but I just wasn't charmed by any of the characters. Liv's relationship troubles is one of the strongest plot threads throughout the novel, but I hated the way that it was wrapped up. I never got the sense that Liv's husband or sons ever actually learned to respect her.

The writing itself wasn't great. There were a lot of grammatical errors and at least two occasions where the wrong character's name was used. There was also a lot of telling rather than showing, which makes me wonder how this book made it through the editing process.

alyabbs's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

katelynfox's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

prettypious's review

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I was bored and it didn’t hold my interest so I saved my life and abandoned it

hirvimaki's review

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2.0

Sadly a DNF for me. I tired, I really tried. It was just...boring. A wonderful premise, great title, beautiful cover art. And that's where it stopped. I had no investment at all in the characters and what they did or didn't do.