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hippiechick56's review
3.0
It wasn't a bad story but the main female character was a very unlikeable woman and the male character was torn between conflicting emotions for his wife and child. I was rooting for the mother of his child to make it and in the end the wife finally got what she deserved. But then you're left thinking "Doesn't that make them just as bad?"
marcies_8's review
5.0
I cannot wait to see what Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper do with these roles. This was an awesome book with a great ending! The writing was beautiful, the story and characters captivating, and I could just picture the scenery.
cherircohen's review
4.0
I really liked this and probably would give it 3.5 stars. It was really interesting, about a couple who move to North Carolina from Boston and their work running a lumber company that cuts down trees in what eventually will become part of the Smoky Mountain National Forest. It was a pretty quick read. The ending was a little tough, I don't want to give anything away, but I was a little disappointed.
colleenchabot's review
3.0
It was slow for me to get into at first, but it began to pick up halfway through, when I began to enjoy it more.
scorley6's review
2.0
I trudged through this book. I had to finish it even though the whole time you know what's going to happen. You just wanna get there already. I can see why people do like this book, I feel like I should have liked it more, but I didn't. The movie will have cinematography and everything to add some beauty, (though not sure how they're gonna include the Greek chorus that another reviewer pointed out) but seriously a downer.
nonnalita's review
4.0
Having first read and enjoyed Ron Rash's most recent novel[b:The Cove|11807189|The Cove|Ron Rash|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1340737438s/11807189.jpg|16760618], I decided I to read his previous work which had also received very favorable reviews. I was not disappointed. Rash's vivid descriptions of North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains were enough to draw me in to this tragic tale. I don't want to spoil it for anyone considering reading it, but I would definitely recommend it!
hodgesro's review
4.0
3.5 : I'll round up for an interesting story. I'm not sure why I didn't attach to this book. I enjoyed it & recommend it but didn't love it. Maybe it was the negative outlook towards animals & the environment that rubbed me the wrong way.
patsypoo's review
3.0
I loved and disliked this novel probably in equal measure.
While in life I'm all about the destination rather than the journey, when I read it's the opposite. In the case of Serena, the destination was excellent but many parts of the journey... Not so much.
I love reading horrible, greedy, selfish, nasty characters when they're done well, which these were. I also thought the writing was incredible. The descriptions were vivid and effective. It felt almost as if I'd been transported there.
The last couple of chapters were so enthralling I stayed at the gym about 20 minutes longer than I'd planned. Yes, that good!
Now on to what didn't work for me. I didn't like the flatness of a lot of the secondary characters which seemed to blend into one another.
It was also frustrating to get only glimpses of Serena's past but nothing more than that. I would've liked to have found out more about how she got to be so twisted.
Another area where I feel it fell short was how little was imparted about some of the characters' downfalls. The reader is just told that they happened and the story moves a little too swiftly on. I can sort of see why but at the same time I thought some of those characters deserved better.
I found Serena to be one of those stories you need to have some patience for. It'll be good in the end but at times I wished it had hurried up and got to the point a little faster.
While in life I'm all about the destination rather than the journey, when I read it's the opposite. In the case of Serena, the destination was excellent but many parts of the journey... Not so much.
I love reading horrible, greedy, selfish, nasty characters when they're done well, which these were. I also thought the writing was incredible. The descriptions were vivid and effective. It felt almost as if I'd been transported there.
The last couple of chapters were so enthralling I stayed at the gym about 20 minutes longer than I'd planned. Yes, that good!
Now on to what didn't work for me. I didn't like the flatness of a lot of the secondary characters which seemed to blend into one another.
It was also frustrating to get only glimpses of Serena's past but nothing more than that. I would've liked to have found out more about how she got to be so twisted.
Another area where I feel it fell short was how little was imparted about some of the characters' downfalls. The reader is just told that they happened and the story moves a little too swiftly on. I can sort of see why but at the same time I thought some of those characters deserved better.
I found Serena to be one of those stories you need to have some patience for. It'll be good in the end but at times I wished it had hurried up and got to the point a little faster.
smderitis's review
3.0
This book surprised me. I wasn't sure whether I was going to enjoy it or not when I started, but I ended up not being able to put it down after a while. The character of Serena is so chilling and formidable, and the plot twists and threat of danger on each page keeps you reading.