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erincataldi's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the concept of this book. Three adult cousins come together to save one of their grandma's old houses from being condemned. Over the course of the year they all confront their various problems. Lizzie, a star soccer player, is benched after she tears her ACL and is desperately trying to go through rehab and be better in time to try and make the Olympic team. She's also struggling with the fact that she is 28 and still has no idea who her real father is. The only reason she agreed to try and save the house was to try and get some leverage on her overly religious mother and stepfather. Isobel, a former child star and struggling actress, is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. As the youngest in her family she craves attention, but is it what she really wants? Elyse is falling apart at the seams. Her younger sister is marrying the man she's in love with and she just can't cope. Together these three cousins share up and downs as they come together to save the weird, three story, spite house and they find themselves changing in ways they never could have imagined.
Like I said, cool concept but... I still didn't really love any of the characters. I was more intrigued with the house to be honest. Not a bad read, but not one that will stay with you. Good for the beach though.
Like I said, cool concept but... I still didn't really love any of the characters. I was more intrigued with the house to be honest. Not a bad read, but not one that will stay with you. Good for the beach though.
lyrareadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Some lovely descriptions, particularly of the Spite House, but I didn't care for the structure of the book in the sense that once the next section started, the story timeline moved forward from a different point of view. Two of the three point of view characters failed to hold my attention enough for me to want to be in their headspace. One of those two seemed interesting until the book shifted to her point of view. Not bad, but not great.
mellabella's review against another edition
1.0
It took me two weeks to finish this book. Maybe longer. A book that would have typically taken me a day or two. I was picking up other books and reading them. I wasn't on a reading hiatus. It was probably a 1.5 though. The story of Lizzie, Isobel, and Elyse opens as Lizzie, her mother and "step father" are driving to meet her step dads family for the first time. Isobel and Elyse are her age. They are immediately drawn to each other. That starts their friendship. I can't really put into words what I disliked about this book. The way it was written. It was split into three parts. One for each point of view. That was fine. I don't have a problem with books written that way. But, I don't even feel like the reader is given a lot of information on who they are reading about. Then, at certain points it's written like there are things you should know. But, don't. I guess there's no cohesion. I didn't care about the characters. Then, there were things (like Lizzie's relationship with TJ, her teenage soccer team, her relationship with her parents, Isobel's relationship with Tom, Elyse's feeling for Landon, etc.) that are left unresolved. The biggest question in the story is who Lizzie's dad was. I wasn't even surprised when I found out. The storyline with Benny was unnecessary. But, I guess a little racism and alcoholism spiced things up. I can't say I wouldn't recommend. It might be great to someone else.
kdurham2's review against another edition
5.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Three cousins choose to move to a very old home in Memphis to fix it up and help each other get all of their lives back on a better track. They each are having some speed bumps in life, so this is the perfect pause and reset.
Divided into three parts to allow for each cousin to tell their own story, I loved how the full story kept moving as they each took turns to tell their parts, it was so different. I loved how the chapters that took the reader back into the past for a supporting story were clearly labeled and didn't add any sort of confusion. I can't even pick a favorite cousin because they were so perfectly different that each was so unique that I liked them for their own story.
Three cousins choose to move to a very old home in Memphis to fix it up and help each other get all of their lives back on a better track. They each are having some speed bumps in life, so this is the perfect pause and reset.
Divided into three parts to allow for each cousin to tell their own story, I loved how the full story kept moving as they each took turns to tell their parts, it was so different. I loved how the chapters that took the reader back into the past for a supporting story were clearly labeled and didn't add any sort of confusion. I can't even pick a favorite cousin because they were so perfectly different that each was so unique that I liked them for their own story.
susanthebookbag's review against another edition
5.0
I love reading stories about women who are friends, or become friends because of the situation they find themselves in, and who lean on each other to help get through the tough times. Three Story House is such a story.
These three women, who are thrown together as young girls and became fast friends, all come together when Lizzie has to go back home to try and save the family home. While she is there, can she uncover her mother's secret and find out who her father really is? Her best friends, who also happen to be her cousins, Elyse and Isobel, join her there, lending her both physical and moral support. But it ends up that they are all there offering support to each other.
The story is written in three parts, with each part being the story of, and told in the voice of, one of the main characters. The Triplins, as the three girls as a group are called, each have their own issues to work through and they discover they are right where they need to be, working on the house, and working on their lives.
I absolutely loved Courtney's first book The Roots of the Olive Tree when I read it and I loved that she connected that story to this one. It made me want to go back and read it all over again.
Once again, Courtney has written a story that I will remember and think about long after I leave that world. It is a great thing that she continues to write such amazing and beautiful stories.
These three women, who are thrown together as young girls and became fast friends, all come together when Lizzie has to go back home to try and save the family home. While she is there, can she uncover her mother's secret and find out who her father really is? Her best friends, who also happen to be her cousins, Elyse and Isobel, join her there, lending her both physical and moral support. But it ends up that they are all there offering support to each other.
The story is written in three parts, with each part being the story of, and told in the voice of, one of the main characters. The Triplins, as the three girls as a group are called, each have their own issues to work through and they discover they are right where they need to be, working on the house, and working on their lives.
I absolutely loved Courtney's first book The Roots of the Olive Tree when I read it and I loved that she connected that story to this one. It made me want to go back and read it all over again.
Once again, Courtney has written a story that I will remember and think about long after I leave that world. It is a great thing that she continues to write such amazing and beautiful stories.
iamnotacentipede's review against another edition
2.0
This was an ok book. The conflicts in the book didn't really seem to be much, and were almost kinda forced. In the end I wanted more light shed on what I thought were the more interesting parts of the girls lives instead of what we did end up getting which seemed like a luke warm ending without much development going on.
kendra_bc's review against another edition
3.0
I give this book 2.5 stars. It was not written very well, so I had to reread paragraphs to understand their meaning. The dialogue was especially confusing because it was hard to tell who was talking at times. I did like how the story was told from the perspective of each girl individually.
leafingthroughlife's review against another edition
3.0
Three Story House is the story of three cousins who are closer than sisters. Each is stumbling through her own life on her way to an uncertain destination. First, there is Lizzie, professional soccer player and would-be Olympian, but another knee injury has threatened to sideline her for good. Then there is Elyse, whose bold aspirations accumulate a mountain of failures. Lastly, there is Isobel, a has-been sitcom actress whose true self, if she could find it, might be wrapped up in restoring houses. When Lizzie discovers that her grandmother's oddly shaped Memphis mansion has been condemned and is in danger of being sold at auction, the three cousins drop everything and head to Memphis to see if the house can be rescued and whether it holds the answers to all of Lizzie's questions about her missing father.
All in all, I was disappointed with Three Story House. I loved the idea of the three women finding healing for themselves while restoring a house to its former glory, but the execution was a little bumpy. Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Santo's writing. It flows well, does a good job of describing the house the three cousins are trying to save, and Santo puts a good effort into drawing out her three protagonists. The problem is, I didn't particularly like them or dislike them or feel much of anything for them at all. They wavered between seeming less than genuine and making me feel weirdly uncomfortable, neither of which is great when it comes to relating to characters. Lizzie was almost too vulnerable, crumbling at the least provocation. Too much of the cousins' bond seems to revolve around protecting overly fragile Lizzie from the difficult stuff life has to dish out. The heart of Elyse's storyline was so desperate and selfish that I was mostly embarrassed for her. Isobel alternates between being the strong and supportive ring leader to being staggeringly self-centered, and I felt that Santo struggled to get at the heart of her character.
I'm okay with an ending that leaves some matters unresolved, but Three Story House seemed like it wanted to tie everything up, but finished with a lot of ends that were still pretty loose. Instead of giving Elyse and Isobel proper endings for their story lines, Santo allows the end of the story to meander back to tying up Lizzie's loose ends leaving the other cousins' stories to peter out unsatisfactorily. Three Story House touches on some big themes but doesn't dig quite deep enough to fully unearth them, leaving the book marooned in the uncertain territory between fluffy women's fiction and something a little more profound.
All in all, I was disappointed with Three Story House. I loved the idea of the three women finding healing for themselves while restoring a house to its former glory, but the execution was a little bumpy. Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Santo's writing. It flows well, does a good job of describing the house the three cousins are trying to save, and Santo puts a good effort into drawing out her three protagonists. The problem is, I didn't particularly like them or dislike them or feel much of anything for them at all. They wavered between seeming less than genuine and making me feel weirdly uncomfortable, neither of which is great when it comes to relating to characters. Lizzie was almost too vulnerable, crumbling at the least provocation. Too much of the cousins' bond seems to revolve around protecting overly fragile Lizzie from the difficult stuff life has to dish out. The heart of Elyse's storyline was so desperate and selfish that I was mostly embarrassed for her. Isobel alternates between being the strong and supportive ring leader to being staggeringly self-centered, and I felt that Santo struggled to get at the heart of her character.
I'm okay with an ending that leaves some matters unresolved, but Three Story House seemed like it wanted to tie everything up, but finished with a lot of ends that were still pretty loose. Instead of giving Elyse and Isobel proper endings for their story lines, Santo allows the end of the story to meander back to tying up Lizzie's loose ends leaving the other cousins' stories to peter out unsatisfactorily. Three Story House touches on some big themes but doesn't dig quite deep enough to fully unearth them, leaving the book marooned in the uncertain territory between fluffy women's fiction and something a little more profound.
maeve_the_bookaholic's review against another edition
Tell not show, it didn't grab my attention and on top of that i didn't like the main charakter. Maby i will give it another chancev but there are so many other books to read.
cocoanut7's review against another edition
4.0
Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo is a delightful book that I thoroughly enjoyed. This book reminded me of old movies: the beginning can be a bit slow and the plot isn’t really action packed, but it was heartwarming and honest. The story explores issues that felt authentic and relevant and the main characters were realistically flawed but still loveable. Initially I found myself not very invested, but as the book progressed and stories developed it became very engaging. The plot is very basic. Mostly it’s about three cousins and their attempt to fix and repair an old and collapsing quirky home – the home of one of their grandmothers. All three struggle with identities and familial and social relationships but they have a strong bond together which pulls them through. Their character development is mostly believable though slow and not quite as fulfilled as I was hoping for (Spoiler alert: it ends without resolving their struggles, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it’s probably more realistic. It’s just a bit anticlimactic). This book actually occurs from the perspective of each girl in a linear way – the plot is never repeated, but the point of view just changes. I was reluctant to change from the main character because I was invested in her story and frankly the other girls seemed kind of shallow and uninteresting, but then I became attached to each cousin as their story progressed and I learned more about their internal struggles. It also is a heavier book; it’s not as lighthearted and uplifting as I was expecting. Still, the book is heartwarming, and there are definitely some plot twists I didn’t expect. I would definitely recommend this book to people especially if they’re looking for something that isn’t as cliché or high intensity as some books are nowadays; it’s honest and wants to relate more emotionally.
Fair warning: there’s a fair amount of swearing (with some f-bombs) and sexual references including a scene that’s pretty sexually driven.
Fair warning: there’s a fair amount of swearing (with some f-bombs) and sexual references including a scene that’s pretty sexually driven.