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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
slow-paced
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
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
For what this book was, it was great. A messy family held together by the oldest sister trying to make sure they will all end up okay, a grumpy old man with a broken heart next door, and a series of books with a love story enfolding on their margins.
I loved the mix of POVs, especially within the audiobook. Through Chloe, the main POV, we get to see her finding the novels, seeing her struggles, her care for her siblings, branching out to the man next door, and having a minuscule dip into her own chance at love. We also get to see Jasper and Catherine in both the present day and the 1960s when they fell in love (how they met, how the relationship grew, and how it fell apart), along with how they viewed the relationship years and years later. We also got Noodle and Zac (Chloe’s love interest), seeing how they meandered through these complicated relationships.
The big thing that hit home from me was how everything started to come together. Zach as Catherine/Jasper’s grandson? Him bringing the first book to Chloe to have something to discuss? Noodle finding him in the woods? Jasper standing up to their mother that left them high and dry and taking up space as a grandfather figure? It made my heart melt in the good way.
My one complaint was that it ended very abruptly. It didn’t necessarily end with a HEA tied in a neat bow, but a commentary on what it means to be okay with the harder things in life and that you can push through them. I loved the characters so much though (and wanted what was best for them) that I wished we could see them get through this rough patch and flourish on the other side.
But I am a total sucker for a love story told in the margins…and the mystery about finding out what happened…I love.
I loved the mix of POVs, especially within the audiobook. Through Chloe, the main POV, we get to see her finding the novels, seeing her struggles, her care for her siblings, branching out to the man next door, and having a minuscule dip into her own chance at love. We also get to see Jasper and Catherine in both the present day and the 1960s when they fell in love (how they met, how the relationship grew, and how it fell apart), along with how they viewed the relationship years and years later. We also got Noodle and Zac (Chloe’s love interest), seeing how they meandered through these complicated relationships.
The big thing that hit home from me was how everything started to come together. Zach as Catherine/Jasper’s grandson? Him bringing the first book to Chloe to have something to discuss? Noodle finding him in the woods? Jasper standing up to their mother that left them high and dry and taking up space as a grandfather figure? It made my heart melt in the good way.
My one complaint was that it ended very abruptly. It didn’t necessarily end with a HEA tied in a neat bow, but a commentary on what it means to be okay with the harder things in life and that you can push through them. I loved the characters so much though (and wanted what was best for them) that I wished we could see them get through this rough patch and flourish on the other side.
But I am a total sucker for a love story told in the margins…and the mystery about finding out what happened…I love.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book even better than the first Lucy Gilmore I read. Both comedy and tragedy, it covers the complexity of relationships in so many different ways. And the characters spoke to me, both in the past and the "present" in ways that I didn't know I really needed to hear until I was reading it. I don't have time to write a more in-depth review but suffice to say that despite the "slow" movement of this story, I adored so many of the characters. I would read this again.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
I cried a couple of times near the end, I read reviews and thought I’m probably going to be disappointed. But it just reminds me that we all have different takes on stories. If you are looking for an easy story this book will probably not be for you. Community, family, friendships, hardships, lost love and abandonment. More realistic than I knew or thought I wanted but every bit as lovely. The story and characters are complex with their personalities well thought of. I loved jasper every part of his personality. Chloe a young woman who loves her family does her best to keep them afloat. Having to deal with the pressure and knowing the neighbor she’s thought hated them, to be a lot like her. Not once was I able to stop myself from reading I was hooked, I needed to know what happened between Jasper and Catherine. It’s stated that she does something for him for his own interest, because she cared enough for him. But if the circumstances were different would it have changed anything? No I don’t think so. At the end all I felt was her a young, well off, rebellious girl who did what she wanted, how she wanted it and it annoyed me. It’s her right and even if they had this romance it didn’t mean she owed him anything but damn. Why did it make me feel so shitty and cheap. I loved that Jasper did find happiness with Chloe and her family. He fit so well with them, as if it was always meant to be.
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
NetGalley
Livro fofo!!! Chloe precisa cuidar dos 3 irmãos mais novos enquanto trabalha em uma biblioteca após o abandono da mãe, enquanto estava na universidade. A jovem abandona o curso e precisa lidar com a rotina e a falta de dinheiro. No trabalha encontra numa parte abandonada um exemplar de Trópico de Câncer com conversa entre dois jovens. Ao chegar em casa, ela precisa lidar com o vizinho mal-humorado que sempre guarda os freesbees coloridos do irmão mais novo que ficam no seu quintal. Ela tenta pedir e argumentar, mas sem sucesso. Até que comenta o livro achado na biblioteca e ele oferece para comprá-lo. Após algumas pesquisas, ela descobre que a história dos diálogos acontece com Jasper, o vizinho, e Catherine. Ele pobre, muito leitor e frequentador assíduo da biblioteca, precisa sustentar a família. Ela, rica que trabalha na biblioteca para se ocupar. Percebe o rapaz e seu interesse aumenta ao ponto de analisar os livros que ele pega, chutar o próximo livro a ser escolhido e escrever um recado para ele. Ele responde, o diálogo vai acontecendo por escrito, mas o que poderia ser falado em minutos é dito em semanas. Ele tenta se afastar, mas ela é insistente. Há um romance, ela engravida. Catherine é muito racional e diz que precisa se casar com outro homem, Jasper deve esquecê-la. Só que percebe que não será feliz com o noivo e pede ajuda da mãe para se mudar para NY para ter o bebê. Para que Jasper não vá atrás dela, para que possa conseguir sustentar a família, faz com que ela receba a notícia falsa de sua morte. Anos se passam, Chloe encontra os livros enquanto se aproxima de Jasper, que assume ficar com os brinquedos para ter alguma cor em sua vida. Ela também tenta lidar com suas próprias questões, como o reaparecimento da mãe – que continua pensando em si, apesar de gostar dos filhos, e do novo crush que ela descobre que é ninguém menos que NETO DE JASPER. Ele foi para a cidade dela por curiosidade e coincidiu de ir trabalhar na escola do irmão dela e de também encontrar um exemplar de diálogos entre J e C na biblioteca. Catherine vai ao encontro de Jasper para se explicar, ele a perdoa, pois sabe que apesar da infelicidade profunda, não havia outra saída. Chloe encontra em Jasper uma nova família e Catherine volta para NY.
"Just don't be surprised if he starts quoting Edgar Allen Poe at you," Jasper said by way of warning. "And don't..." She glanced up at him, her head tilted in an innocent query. "Don't what?" she asked It had been on the tip of his tongue to tell her not
to fall for it - not to fall for William - but he knew better than to make the attempt. He'd read enough of the books to know how the real stories ended."
Livro fofo!!! Chloe precisa cuidar dos 3 irmãos mais novos enquanto trabalha em uma biblioteca após o abandono da mãe, enquanto estava na universidade. A jovem abandona o curso e precisa lidar com a rotina e a falta de dinheiro. No trabalha encontra numa parte abandonada um exemplar de Trópico de Câncer com conversa entre dois jovens. Ao chegar em casa, ela precisa lidar com o vizinho mal-humorado que sempre guarda os freesbees coloridos do irmão mais novo que ficam no seu quintal. Ela tenta pedir e argumentar, mas sem sucesso. Até que comenta o livro achado na biblioteca e ele oferece para comprá-lo. Após algumas pesquisas, ela descobre que a história dos diálogos acontece com Jasper, o vizinho, e Catherine. Ele pobre, muito leitor e frequentador assíduo da biblioteca, precisa sustentar a família. Ela, rica que trabalha na biblioteca para se ocupar. Percebe o rapaz e seu interesse aumenta ao ponto de analisar os livros que ele pega, chutar o próximo livro a ser escolhido e escrever um recado para ele. Ele responde, o diálogo vai acontecendo por escrito, mas o que poderia ser falado em minutos é dito em semanas. Ele tenta se afastar, mas ela é insistente. Há um romance, ela engravida. Catherine é muito racional e diz que precisa se casar com outro homem, Jasper deve esquecê-la. Só que percebe que não será feliz com o noivo e pede ajuda da mãe para se mudar para NY para ter o bebê. Para que Jasper não vá atrás dela, para que possa conseguir sustentar a família, faz com que ela receba a notícia falsa de sua morte. Anos se passam, Chloe encontra os livros enquanto se aproxima de Jasper, que assume ficar com os brinquedos para ter alguma cor em sua vida. Ela também tenta lidar com suas próprias questões, como o reaparecimento da mãe – que continua pensando em si, apesar de gostar dos filhos, e do novo crush que ela descobre que é ninguém menos que NETO DE JASPER. Ele foi para a cidade dela por curiosidade e coincidiu de ir trabalhar na escola do irmão dela e de também encontrar um exemplar de diálogos entre J e C na biblioteca. Catherine vai ao encontro de Jasper para se explicar, ele a perdoa, pois sabe que apesar da infelicidade profunda, não havia outra saída. Chloe encontra em Jasper uma nova família e Catherine volta para NY.
"Just don't be surprised if he starts quoting Edgar Allen Poe at you," Jasper said by way of warning. "And don't..." She glanced up at him, her head tilted in an innocent query. "Don't what?" she asked It had been on the tip of his tongue to tell her not
to fall for it - not to fall for William - but he knew better than to make the attempt. He'd read enough of the books to know how the real stories ended."