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scrappyhooker's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcoholism
Minor: Death
sea_tea_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
The judgements — and misjudgments — about the people we briefly encounter, and an experiment into social engineering.
This story started off strong, yet eventually fell back into the tired tropes of miscommunication, assumptions, and missed connections.
Audiobook-specific issue: the narrator didn't leave a pause between time jumps so two different timeframes blended into one.
Quite the coincidental plot twist — why would Mary go to an art class that Julian was teaching and expect to have a chat while he's clearly preoccupied? Why wouldn't Mary have gone to the cottage she lived in all those years with Julian?
I deducted a star whenmultiple characters suggested that Monica should pursue a relationship with a relapsing addict (Hazard) so she could be his pseudo-babysitter, responsible for keeping him in line and thereby absolving him of taking accountability for his choices.
3 ⭐
This story started off strong, yet eventually fell back into the tired tropes of miscommunication, assumptions, and missed connections.
Audiobook-specific issue: the narrator didn't leave a pause between time jumps so two different timeframes blended into one.
I deducted a star when
3 ⭐
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Death
stormeno's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Outing, and Mental illness
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Death
sarahaustinf's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
I love this authors writing style and the coziness of reading a heart warming slice of life.
Took off one star because didn’t like the last ~20% of the book so much. Will look forward to reading anything else she writes!
Took off one star because didn’t like the last ~20% of the book so much. Will look forward to reading anything else she writes!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
Minor: Death of parent
viwilliams's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Cancer, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Grief
books_withblooms's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Grief, Alcoholism, Drug use, Death, Cursing, Cancer, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
elieska's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Drug use
Moderate: Alcoholism
amyvl93's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I was enjoying this as a cute and fluffy read, but that ending!? The Authenticity Project hinges around a notebook, originally written by Julian Jessop, a one-time famous artist and womaniser who has become incredibly lonely since the death of his wife. The notebook encourages people to capture their inner thoughts and feelings and to be truly honest - it is then picked up by Monica, a former lawyer turned cafe owner who harbours a deep desire to have children, and then Hazard, a City banker who is finally confronting his addictions. As the novel progresses, it also makes its way to an Australian surfer, a Mummy blogger and a charity volunteer.
Whilst this is a novel that explores some meaty issues; loneliness in all its guises at all ages, addiction, recovery, mental health, grief, failing marriages - all of this is done is a pretty bright and breezy way. However, for the most part it feels like quite a cosy drama that you can envision being a short Christmas film or similar. We see communities being created with nudging from the book through art classes and shared dinners - giving us almost found family vibes. Yes, there are mildly improbable relationships and characters managing to go from bigoted to campaigners in the space of 50 pages; and yes, all these characters inhabit a very specific type of London - the type where everyone can comfortably live in West London despite having either no or low income jobs. Pooley (an ex-advertising director who has also taken a sobriety journey) is clearly very committed to writing what she knows about.
This was looking to be a 3 star read, a sweet little palette cleanser after finally completing A Suitable Boy until the ending 'twists'. Whilst one was clearly bound to happen, the other had me close to throwing the book across the room. As other reviewers have said, it feels like Pooley couldn't quite trust the reader to draw conclusions and had to really hammer home what she thinks authenticity is. I honestly felt a bit cheated.
Whilst this is a novel that explores some meaty issues; loneliness in all its guises at all ages, addiction, recovery, mental health, grief, failing marriages - all of this is done is a pretty bright and breezy way. However, for the most part it feels like quite a cosy drama that you can envision being a short Christmas film or similar. We see communities being created with nudging from the book through art classes and shared dinners - giving us almost found family vibes. Yes, there are mildly improbable relationships and characters managing to go from bigoted to campaigners in the space of 50 pages; and yes, all these characters inhabit a very specific type of London - the type where everyone can comfortably live in West London despite having either no or low income jobs. Pooley (an ex-advertising director who has also taken a sobriety journey) is clearly very committed to writing what she knows about.
This was looking to be a 3 star read, a sweet little palette cleanser after finally completing A Suitable Boy until the ending 'twists'. Whilst one was clearly bound to happen, the other had me close to throwing the book across the room. As other reviewers have said, it feels like Pooley couldn't quite trust the reader to draw conclusions and had to really hammer home what she thinks authenticity is. I honestly felt a bit cheated.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Outing, and Addiction
toves_bokhylla's review against another edition
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
3.5
Tyckte om den på det stora hela, men blev frustrerad över slutet!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Outing
rockshaw22's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Minor: Death