Reviews - Lightning in a Mason Jar: A Novel

135 reviews for:

Lightning in a Mason Jar: A Novel

Catherine Mann

3.88 AVERAGE

dhb1964's review against another edition

4.0

emotional

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

I enjoyed this book due to the majority of the characters, the setting and the mysteriousness of it.

cwalters13's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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: Complicated

sejones's review against another edition

3.5

emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

tecanter's review against another edition

2.0

inspiring lighthearted 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: No

elleninkansas's review against another edition

3.5

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This novel takes place in the present with flashbacks to the early 70s and other points in the characters' history. I love the novel's plot: In a nutshell, it'a about a network of mostly women who, through courage and sacrifice, relocate women on the run from abusive relationships. There are also themes of acceptance and mixed-race marriage. All of this is a balm in our current atmosphere. But I couldn't help but feel that the writing didn't do the story justice. It skimmed the surface rather than digging deep. Many of the characters and story lines were underdeveloped, and I wanted to know more about the inner workings of the network and the logistics/difficulties of arranging new identities and finding safe havens. Most of those details were left to the imagination. That said, the story has heart, and sometimes fiction-light is just the thing.

jnmoody's review against another edition

4.25

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

syndrie's review against another edition

3.0

Overall, this is a story of resilience, new beginnings, and the power of found family—but I struggle to give this one a higher review due to one character's story being significantly more interesting than the other's.

This book mainly focuses on two different POVs told across a variety of years (note that there is a third POV, but it only shows up a couple of times).

First we have Winnie's story, told via flashbacks, about how she escaped her abusive husband and moved on to live a life helping other women do the same. (Not spoiler tagging since the official plot summary quite literally tells you all that already.) Then we also have the present-time POV of Bailey Rae, who came to live with Winnie in what ended up being more of an adopted daughter/niece relationship.

Winnie's story is where all of the action is, and although the plot is fairly predictable, it's still an entertaining read. In comparison, Bailey Rae's portions pretty much had nothing going on and were significantly more predictable. I especially wasn't interested in Bailey Rae's "romance" plot—it feels like the author wanted an enemies-to-lovers situation but immediately dropped that idea as we went from dislike straight into the two having "a moment" only within the next 2-3 chapters.

I'd say if you're looking for an easy read and the plot summary interests you, then this book isn't a bad choice to pick up at all. But I do also think it would've been a better read if the additional POVs had been cut out and Winnie's portions were expanded out to a full length novel instead.