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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-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:
N/A
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-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:
Yes
I didn’t like the narrator so I sped it up. The story was fine but didn’t really grip me or stand out to me in any significant way.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4
This book reminded me of The Vanishing Half and Evelyn Hugo, both of which are fantastic reads. The narrative unfolds across two timelines: present day story of Elise/the St. John Sisters and the past narrative of Kitty Karr. Midway through, I realized I was skimming through the Elise chapters trying to get back to Kitty's story. It's clear that the author put a lot of thought and energy into developing Kitty's storyline and all of the characters in that timeline; however, the Elise chapters felt almost like an afterthought, as if the author originally didn't originally intend to build out those characters and later decided to expand that storyline in an attempt to make the book more engaging. This wasn't necessary and almost made it feel as though it was written by two different authors. This book would have been a 5 star for me if it had focused solely on Kitty's story, with Elise's chapters being more about discovering her history, rather than attempting to build a secondary plot about the lives of the characters doing the discovering.
This book reminded me of The Vanishing Half and Evelyn Hugo, both of which are fantastic reads. The narrative unfolds across two timelines: present day story of Elise/the St. John Sisters and the past narrative of Kitty Karr. Midway through, I realized I was skimming through the Elise chapters trying to get back to Kitty's story. It's clear that the author put a lot of thought and energy into developing Kitty's storyline and all of the characters in that timeline; however, the Elise chapters felt almost like an afterthought, as if the author originally didn't originally intend to build out those characters and later decided to expand that storyline in an attempt to make the book more engaging. This wasn't necessary and almost made it feel as though it was written by two different authors. This book would have been a 5 star for me if it had focused solely on Kitty's story, with Elise's chapters being more about discovering her history, rather than attempting to build a secondary plot about the lives of the characters doing the discovering.
I really liked the perspectives on this story and was invested in the characters.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Classism
3.49
Hit so many talking points without feeling preachy or teachy. Id watch this as a series
Hit so many talking points without feeling preachy or teachy. Id watch this as a series
2.5⭐️ I liked the parts about Kitty but found every word about the St. John family to be excruciating to read. Entirely too Kardashian-esque, unlikeable, and uninteresting.