Penelope in Retrograde by Brooke Abrams

3.87 AVERAGE

marykillian_'s profile picture

marykillian_'s review against another edition

3.25
emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
Very slow at the beginning (I feared the whole book was going to be in the ride share car!) but a great reflection on parenthood and family acceptance. 

birdfeet0129's review against another edition

3.75
emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
pyxis_'s profile picture

pyxis_'s review

4.25
funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
themelleh's profile picture

themelleh's review against another edition

3.5
emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
I really did like parts of this because it wasn’t like everything else. There was a uniqueness about the writing style but it was also trope-y which annoyed me. I would def read more by the author though.

goroskiju's review against another edition

3.0
lighthearted reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
georgiamcw's profile picture

georgiamcw's review against another edition

4.0
challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

andrearbooks's review against another edition

4.0
emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Well, this book was just a treat. Penelope is headed home for Thanksgiving after many years away. Her career as a romance writer is definitely different than what her family had expected, and life in general hasn't gone how she planned either. And then, she ends up in airport shuttle with her ex-husband to really start off her holiday in a completely unexpected way. This book was just a great blend of humor, of reflection, of heartbreak, and of figuring out new directions. I loved Penelope as a main character, and I loved the way her story unfolded. It wasn't what I expected in the best of ways. This was just an all-around joy of a read. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent October 2023 release!

cloeliz's review

3.5
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-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

niestein's review

3.0
emotional funny 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

abientot's review

3.75
emotional funny lighthearted