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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a strange little book about grief with something much larger looming over it. In my notes, I compared it to an episode of Tales From The Darkside, or Amazing Stories. I had no idea where it was going and that, alone, was enough to keep me turning pages. I started to develop all of these weird theories. Josie is a hard character to love, but she is very relatable. She has suffered a great deal of loss: her father, her husband, and her mother (in a way). She has chosen to self-isolate, but fate has larger plans for her. Truthfully, had this been any longer I would have lost patience with it, but just when I was starting to squirm, things begin to be revealed. I highly recommend this, and as a spring read because foliage and flowers play a large part. Also, every reader will fall in love with Po, the chihuahua.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
For as unique and intriguing as this book was, I'm finding I don't have a lot to say about it. The premise was a lot of fun, the cast was kooky in a great way, the idea of a story-within-a-story is always something I'm here for, and the fantasy elements were intriguing. I also found myself relating with Josie at times, whether it be her apathy for customer service or her small dog who is always hungry. But somehow, all of the elements didn't come together to make something I loved, and I don't know why!
"Little Bird" is very different from what I normally read. I love the strong powerful message of the book regarding change. It is a short book that would be good for all to read, but many may not like or understand it. This is not a traditional horror book, but is atmospheric and has creepy elements. The book is dark, but really well written. It's not for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it to those that are amused by unusual topics. I personally really enjoyed it.
This story is about a middle aged woman named Josie. She has recently divorced and lost her dad who was her world. Since her dad's passing Josie's alcoholism has escalated. She has a dead end job and feels lost. She loves her adorable little dog named Po. She has a new neighbor named Sue that Josie perceives as a pain. Josie also has a lady skeleton living in her back yard named Skelly. As crazy as this plot sounds it is full of humor and it works!
"Little Bird" will be published June 7, 2022.
Thank you NetGalley and Black Spot Books, for allowing me to review this thought-provoking e-book. It is a great read!
This story is about a middle aged woman named Josie. She has recently divorced and lost her dad who was her world. Since her dad's passing Josie's alcoholism has escalated. She has a dead end job and feels lost. She loves her adorable little dog named Po. She has a new neighbor named Sue that Josie perceives as a pain. Josie also has a lady skeleton living in her back yard named Skelly. As crazy as this plot sounds it is full of humor and it works!
"Little Bird" will be published June 7, 2022.
Thank you NetGalley and Black Spot Books, for allowing me to review this thought-provoking e-book. It is a great read!
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
Little Bird is a book I badly wanted to love but ultimately, ended up struggling too much with it. It has a very promising premise—I mean, how can you not be intrigued by a talking skeleton making it’s new home in your backyard with sentient vines? Plus, you apparently only have a few days to figure out why it’s there or you’ll end up in a catastrophe. Adding onto these is the fact that this book is about “found family, no matter how bizarre” and you’ll have a book that sounds like a sure winner.
Unfortunately, no matter how in love I am with the idea of the book, the execution of the plot is a different matter altogether. The narrative is incredibly long-winded. It describes everything and half of it isn’t even necessary because it neither moves the story forward nor build character.
As for the characters, while I find Josie relatable enough despite her many flaws and lack of redeeming qualities, Skelly the talking skeleton and Sue, Josie’s new neighbour got on my nerves more often than not. They were really pushy and annoying, though I understand that some of this stems from the story being character-driven and that they were tight on time. Nevertheless, all of the characters are flat even though they had strong characteristics.
Other than that, I couldn’t find a meaningful point to having stories within this story. It just dragged the book on, and my interest was gone at this point. It also didn’t help that the conversations between Josie and Skelly were very much 21-questions-game style and that there’s an abundance of telling instead of showing. Honestly, because of this, I believe Little Bird would’ve faired better as a play than a novel.
Anyway, after losing my interest, I started skimming the book and that turned out to be a good decision because there’s way less horror than expected—like, so little horror that even Skelly isn’t scary. In fact, Little Bird would perhaps be more accurately categorised as a book with elements of dark magical realism than horror.
All in all, a lot of nothing happened throughout the 60% of the story that I did actually read, which is disappointing because I was hoping for more. Nevertheless, I did like the ending and Josie’s overall journey to acceptance.
Little Bird is a book I badly wanted to love but ultimately, ended up struggling too much with it. It has a very promising premise—I mean, how can you not be intrigued by a talking skeleton making it’s new home in your backyard with sentient vines? Plus, you apparently only have a few days to figure out why it’s there or you’ll end up in a catastrophe. Adding onto these is the fact that this book is about “found family, no matter how bizarre” and you’ll have a book that sounds like a sure winner.
Unfortunately, no matter how in love I am with the idea of the book, the execution of the plot is a different matter altogether. The narrative is incredibly long-winded. It describes everything and half of it isn’t even necessary because it neither moves the story forward nor build character.
As for the characters, while I find Josie relatable enough despite her many flaws and lack of redeeming qualities, Skelly the talking skeleton and Sue, Josie’s new neighbour got on my nerves more often than not. They were really pushy and annoying, though I understand that some of this stems from the story being character-driven and that they were tight on time. Nevertheless, all of the characters are flat even though they had strong characteristics.
Other than that, I couldn’t find a meaningful point to having stories within this story. It just dragged the book on, and my interest was gone at this point. It also didn’t help that the conversations between Josie and Skelly were very much 21-questions-game style and that there’s an abundance of telling instead of showing. Honestly, because of this, I believe Little Bird would’ve faired better as a play than a novel.
Anyway, after losing my interest, I started skimming the book and that turned out to be a good decision because there’s way less horror than expected—like, so little horror that even Skelly isn’t scary. In fact, Little Bird would perhaps be more accurately categorised as a book with elements of dark magical realism than horror.
All in all, a lot of nothing happened throughout the 60% of the story that I did actually read, which is disappointing because I was hoping for more. Nevertheless, I did like the ending and Josie’s overall journey to acceptance.
Thank you so much Black Spot Books and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a beautifully weird and wonderful book.
A thought provoking story which also conjures up a plethora of emotions.
This was my first read by Tiffany but it certainly won't be the last.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy.
A thought provoking story which also conjures up a plethora of emotions.
This was my first read by Tiffany but it certainly won't be the last.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes