3.69 AVERAGE

lighthearted relaxing slow-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
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

janb59's review

3.0

This book was one that I shouted at repeatedly!
I wanted to like the characters but found that I didn't really, hence the length of time that it took me to read it. It was, as ever, well written but rather drawn out.

Good Read.
wretchedtheo's profile picture

wretchedtheo's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 31%

Bland, uninspiring style, uncompelling characters plus weird misogyny and racist/orientalist/fetishist descriptions.
emotional hopeful sad slow-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
emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Every woman in this book is just unable to resist good looking men and too stupid to notice anything beyond their looks. Every relationship has a 10 year age gap, including between a 15 year old boy and his 25 year old nanny. The book was long and could have been shorter as it repeated itself several times and gave the same events from different character's viewpoints. We had every detail of character's sex life detailed, but notably not the gay couple. The character of Ramon is irredeemable and never does anything to try and make up for abandoning his children and he just gets forgiven. The story implies that he was in the right because Helena's love was suffocating but doesn't seem to take into account that Helena was young and living across the world from her family being a single mother. It seems to imply everyone should just bend to Ramon's whims and that's how you love properly. The character of Sam is creepy. The book is also casually fatphobic several times. However, I did like the representation of the abusive relationship and it did make me want to go to Chile and to Cornwall.

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