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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
I just love J. Courtney Sullivan’s writing style and character development. However, I felt like this story could have had more of an arc / climax. I enjoyed familiarizing myself with this family of dynamic women, each facing various challenges / conflicts, but my reaction by the end was a bit of “so what?”. Oh well - at least she painted a cozy little picture of summertime in Maine (one of my favorite states!).
This book was frustrating. The author created interesting characters, but then the ending felt abrupt and unsatisfying.
I enjoyed this book - it was good. Maybe I just didn't 'get' a lot of the humor in it, but I didn't really find any. Two of the four major characters were completely unlikeable...one was sort of 'meh' and the other grew on me...but honestly, there was no real change in these women by the end of the book. I suppose this is realistic, and I did enjoy the story - the change in narration kept me engaged. I enjoyed the mystery of finding out what happened to Alice's sister - but really, after that - the book just sort of feebly meandered to a lukewarm ending.
Ugh. I don't want to waste even more time on this book explaining why it is so bad. It is poorly written and edited. It is the epitome of telling - not showing - and falls so short of characterization I hate to include the word in my review in case SEO might pick the term and title up together. I am sorry that I didn't put it down as soon as I realized I would hate it this much, but my competitive self wouldn't be beat into not finishing something I'd started. This is one time I wish I'd been OK losing - I did anyway.
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ridiculous women making poor choices abound in this book. Alice is the delusional matriarch of the family. Kathleen the daughter, Ann Marie the daughter-in-law. Maggie is the granddaughter. By luck, a Massachusetts family has come into owning a pristine plot of land in the heart of Maine's vacationland. The story really doesn't go much of anywhere.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love J. Courtney Sullivan’s writing style, but I didn’t love this one as much as Saints for All Occasions