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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I was going into this book with thought of a similar vibe of Me Before You, but it was not like that. I admire the valiant effort made by the author, but it was more slow paced than I care to read. I found myself reading just the conversations between characters at times and missing what occurs because it happens too swiftly. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the best either.
I inhaled this book. It has all of my favorite components in a thriller: slowly developing tension, family secrets, flashbacks and compelling characters. I strongly recommend this book!
You didn't have to use my heart as a punching bag!
Filled with interesting medical detail and remarkable, well-developed characters, Gemini is a beautifully written and heartbreaking novel. Although it was deeply emotional and a definite tear-jerker, I didn't cry but felt so damn sad. I highly recommend this!
Filled with interesting medical detail and remarkable, well-developed characters, Gemini is a beautifully written and heartbreaking novel. Although it was deeply emotional and a definite tear-jerker, I didn't cry but felt so damn sad. I highly recommend this!
Enjoyed this medical story about a Jane Doe and flashback to some of the characters childhood/teenage years. There was a medical/genetic plot twist that I did not see coming.
The jacket description led me to believe that this book is about Charlotte, an ICU doctor who with her writer boyfriend is trying to uncover the identity of a Jane Doe patient, the victim of a hit-and-run. And for the first chapter at least, that's true. However, the second chapter and alternating chapters throughout the book are about a young girl named Raney growing up in the sticks, struggling to cobble together a living with her aging grandfather. Although Cassella makes it clear fairly early on who Raney is and what her connection to Charlotte's narrative will be, I couldn't suppress my irritation at the publisher for the misleading blurb.
So let me be clear: Dr. Charlotte Reese is not the central character of this book. And it's a shame, really, because I found her far more compelling than the hardscrabble Raney with her exhaustingly terrible taste in men. I waded through the lengthy chapters detailing Raney's ups and downs (mostly downs), impatiently waiting for Cassella to get back to Charlotte and what the jacket indicated was the primary narrative. I thought I was getting a book about a doctor who has to make tough choices about end-of-life care, who risks over-investing in a patient by trying to find out who she is. There's some of that, sure, but mostly this is a book about a girl who grows up poor and can't find a way out of poverty as an adult.
Expectations, clearly, are powerful. I would have enjoyed the reading of this book far more if the publisher had been more honest about the focus and structure. If I'd gone in expecting a storyline alternating between two very different women, one a privileged and educated physician and one a talented but self-defeating artist, I wouldn't have spent so much time distracted, waiting for the novel suddenly to conform to the jacket's claims. I would probably be praising the contrast between Charlotte and Raney and lauding Cassella's well-timed revelations. I'd probably say I couldn't wait for the mystery of Jane Doe's identity to unfold, and beyond that, the series of choices and actions that landed her in Charlotte's ICU ward, comatose and apparently missed by no one.
It may be too late for me, but it's not too late for you! May my misfortune be your gain. You can have the experience that I wish I'd had. Read this book, by all means, but for the love, ignore everything the publisher said about it. Just listen to the sound of my voice: This is a book about two women. One a doctor, the other a mystery. Seemingly strangers, but their lives are entwined in ways they could never have imagined. That's really all you need to know.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
So let me be clear: Dr. Charlotte Reese is not the central character of this book. And it's a shame, really, because I found her far more compelling than the hardscrabble Raney with her exhaustingly terrible taste in men. I waded through the lengthy chapters detailing Raney's ups and downs (mostly downs), impatiently waiting for Cassella to get back to Charlotte and what the jacket indicated was the primary narrative. I thought I was getting a book about a doctor who has to make tough choices about end-of-life care, who risks over-investing in a patient by trying to find out who she is. There's some of that, sure, but mostly this is a book about a girl who grows up poor and can't find a way out of poverty as an adult.
Expectations, clearly, are powerful. I would have enjoyed the reading of this book far more if the publisher had been more honest about the focus and structure. If I'd gone in expecting a storyline alternating between two very different women, one a privileged and educated physician and one a talented but self-defeating artist, I wouldn't have spent so much time distracted, waiting for the novel suddenly to conform to the jacket's claims. I would probably be praising the contrast between Charlotte and Raney and lauding Cassella's well-timed revelations. I'd probably say I couldn't wait for the mystery of Jane Doe's identity to unfold, and beyond that, the series of choices and actions that landed her in Charlotte's ICU ward, comatose and apparently missed by no one.
It may be too late for me, but it's not too late for you! May my misfortune be your gain. You can have the experience that I wish I'd had. Read this book, by all means, but for the love, ignore everything the publisher said about it. Just listen to the sound of my voice: This is a book about two women. One a doctor, the other a mystery. Seemingly strangers, but their lives are entwined in ways they could never have imagined. That's really all you need to know.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
I have mixed feelings about this book. I found the first half quite interesting and there were a couple of really good twists. The second half I found depressing. I felt like Raney/Renee couldn't make a good decision to save her life and so the more I read the more frustrated/sad I felt for her. It was like watching a train wreck. I feel like there were parts that were really good but the second half was really discouraging.
This book was a hit with me for three main reasons: the location, the medical dilemma at the heart of the plot, and the structure of the novel (with chapters alternating points of view and times).
I like to read books set in a location when I'm traveling, and the author did a great job of describing Seattle and Bainbridge Island! In addition, the medical details were fascinating, and I feel like I learned something.
As the book progressed, the plot grew in intensity, so that by the end, I couldn't wait to see what would happen. It doesn't give any spoilers away to admit that I thought I predicted the outcome several times, only to have another complicating development thrown into the mix. Some might say that there were too many coincidences, but for me, the book was compelling, informative, and evocative of the Pacific Northwest.
I like to read books set in a location when I'm traveling, and the author did a great job of describing Seattle and Bainbridge Island! In addition, the medical details were fascinating, and I feel like I learned something.
As the book progressed, the plot grew in intensity, so that by the end, I couldn't wait to see what would happen. It doesn't give any spoilers away to admit that I thought I predicted the outcome several times, only to have another complicating development thrown into the mix. Some might say that there were too many coincidences, but for me, the book was compelling, informative, and evocative of the Pacific Northwest.
Very engaging, haunting story. Unique characters and story line that was pleasantly unpredictable.
Some books that switch between different times don't do so smoothly, and just wind up confusing a lot of readers. I found that Gemini moved between time periods seamlessly, and it didn't confuse me at all. The narrative drew me in, and the characters were so real that I kind of felt sorry to close the book when I was done, and not have them with me anymore. :-) I don't want to speak about the book itself too much, because I don't want to give anything away. A good story.