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xereads's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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
Flores and Miss Paula started a bit slow but I decided to give this ARC a chance and I'm glad I did. This book beautifully captures the strains, parallels, and challenges of ever-evolving mother-daughter relationships. The author did well at personalizing each character. At first, I was confused about why we needed people with different backgrounds, but it was important to highlight the different systems impacting and influencing both women. The author also did well highlighting how different grief can look when losing one person (husband/father). At a certain point, we all realize our parents were individuals first, and this story captures that along with adjustments parents make when their children are decision-making adults/caregivers. Themes highlighted through the story included: relationships, grief, minorities and immigrants, infidelity/relationship challenges, growth, and business. This book would be great for book clubs, parents, and teens of various demographics and I plan on passing it along for others to read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death
ukponge's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
cassidy_rain's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
“I hadn't considered the most fundamental factor in any plan: life happens.“
Flores and Miss Paula is a slow-paced, character driven novel that follows mother and daughter as they navigate life after the passing of their father/husband. It switches back and forth between both Flores and Paula’s perspectives.
I don’t typically read literary fiction, so do take this review with a grain of salt! Unfortunately I found the pacing to be really slow and I was quite bored from start to end. As much as I wanted to, I did not find myself invested in any of the characters.
I loved all the references to their Peruvian culture. That said, there’s lots of spanish words and phrases scattered throughout. I loved what this added to the story, however as someone who doesn’t speak spanish it was confusing at times. There was not always enough context to understand what the phrases/words meant in english and for the most part they were never translated. I found myself translating so I could better understand, but that eventually became cumbersome. If you can speak spanish then you’ll probably love this aspect!
I think the conversations and feelings about grief were so raw and relatable. Paula’s POV was really interesting to read; the way that she talks about and describes Flores as “you” in her perspective feels really personal and the reader is able to put themself right in her shoes. It’s a perfect example of “show, not tell” writing. I also loved that we got to see Flores and Paula on their own healing and transformative journeys. Though, Flores’ work storyline felt a bit dragged out and I had the hardest time keeping track of her different coworkers. The side stories were much more interesting than the main storyline and those were barely explored.
Overall, too slow for my taste, but if you like the genre it may still be a good fit for you!
Flores and Miss Paula is a slow-paced, character driven novel that follows mother and daughter as they navigate life after the passing of their father/husband. It switches back and forth between both Flores and Paula’s perspectives.
I don’t typically read literary fiction, so do take this review with a grain of salt! Unfortunately I found the pacing to be really slow and I was quite bored from start to end. As much as I wanted to, I did not find myself invested in any of the characters.
I loved all the references to their Peruvian culture. That said, there’s lots of spanish words and phrases scattered throughout. I loved what this added to the story, however as someone who doesn’t speak spanish it was confusing at times. There was not always enough context to understand what the phrases/words meant in english and for the most part they were never translated. I found myself translating so I could better understand, but that eventually became cumbersome. If you can speak spanish then you’ll probably love this aspect!
I think the conversations and feelings about grief were so raw and relatable. Paula’s POV was really interesting to read; the way that she talks about and describes Flores as “you” in her perspective feels really personal and the reader is able to put themself right in her shoes. It’s a perfect example of “show, not tell” writing. I also loved that we got to see Flores and Paula on their own healing and transformative journeys. Though, Flores’ work storyline felt a bit dragged out and I had the hardest time keeping track of her different coworkers. The side stories were much more interesting than the main storyline and those were barely explored.
Overall, too slow for my taste, but if you like the genre it may still be a good fit for you!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
amandalorianxo's review
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
I truly enjoyed this semi short novel about Monica Flores and her mother Paula Flores. It shows how turbulent mother -daughter relationships can be, particularly within the Latinx community. The Peruvian culture was prevalent with this one which I enjoyed also. The only part that I wish had been discussed a little more was how did Monica and her mom get to where they were in their relationship. I understand Monica’s day to day was needed for this character driven novel but sometimes the work discussions felt a little much at times
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity
bookdragon217's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse and Death of parent