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vvsmydiamonds's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I read nearly 400 pages in hopes of a satisfactory ending for each of the hopeful protagonists— I was disappointed. As always, I wanted to love this book but it appears it wasn’t made for me.
Also, I strongly dislike the untranslated Swedish conversations, specifically those between Jonny’s family. How are you gonna publish a book in English and not make it a point to translate arguments between secondary characters? I had to pull out a pencil, paper, and good ol’ google translate multiple times.
Also, I strongly dislike the untranslated Swedish conversations, specifically those between Jonny’s family. How are you gonna publish a book in English and not make it a point to translate arguments between secondary characters? I had to pull out a pencil, paper, and good ol’ google translate multiple times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Sexual content, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicide attempt, Infertility, Abortion, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
dodosbookcorner's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thesoaresprotocol's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I had very high expectations for this story. As a champion for diversity and black women in literature myself, I was hoping this would be another addition to ambitious and multidimensional portrayals of black women all across the globe.
This wasn't. It was more of a marketing push riding that wave through a colorful cover and mainstream coverage/distribution.
At times, this novel felt like a bad TUBI joint. Stereotypical black characters (Jamal, the wealthy and short-tempered lawyer from Atlanta, a flight attendant that failed to pursue modeling, a powerful executive with the emotional intelligence of a 7-year old...) brought nothing new to diverse literature and proved once again harmful to our cause.
Both main black women were portrayed as unfaithful and lustful... The men in the story all have some form of mental illness or condition yet possess the charisma of James Bond in his prime.
Coming from a marketing background, I laughed at the fictional marketing campaign for the Bachmann account, set in motion by Kemi... "Dare to be different" This caption is so cliche and lacks subtlety; it would have never made it through the preliminary brainstorming stages in real life. And the symbolism was awkward and elementary.
Last but not least, the linguo... Oh my god. I grew up in the hood, raised by black folks, and we would never shout stuff like "I gotta represent" or "Gurrrlll"... This ain't TikTok! Those are grown women in their 30s, 40s...
The other black woman (Muna, a refugee) ends up being wanted for involuntary manslaughter in a far-fetched development. The ending lacked closure.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is proof that we have to support novels for their content and not their packaging, and champion the voices that truly contribute to improving diversity in the literary landscape (show some love to your indie authors as well).
This wasn't. It was more of a marketing push riding that wave through a colorful cover and mainstream coverage/distribution.
At times, this novel felt like a bad TUBI joint. Stereotypical black characters (Jamal, the wealthy and short-tempered lawyer from Atlanta, a flight attendant that failed to pursue modeling, a powerful executive with the emotional intelligence of a 7-year old...) brought nothing new to diverse literature and proved once again harmful to our cause.
Both main black women were portrayed as unfaithful and lustful... The men in the story all have some form of mental illness or condition yet possess the charisma of James Bond in his prime.
Coming from a marketing background, I laughed at the fictional marketing campaign for the Bachmann account, set in motion by Kemi... "Dare to be different" This caption is so cliche and lacks subtlety; it would have never made it through the preliminary brainstorming stages in real life. And the symbolism was awkward and elementary.
Last but not least, the linguo... Oh my god. I grew up in the hood, raised by black folks, and we would never shout stuff like "I gotta represent" or "Gurrrlll"... This ain't TikTok! Those are grown women in their 30s, 40s...
The other black woman (Muna, a refugee) ends up being wanted for involuntary manslaughter in a far-fetched development. The ending lacked closure.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is proof that we have to support novels for their content and not their packaging, and champion the voices that truly contribute to improving diversity in the literary landscape (show some love to your indie authors as well).
quenchy_cactus's review
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I really enjoyed reading a book about three black powerful woman. I know this might sound bad but I actually enjoyed that each ending was sad, it was the most realistic one 🤷♀️ I absolutely adore Muna and want to protect her with whole my heart. She just wants to get a friend and fika. 😭
cerisearies's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book frustrated the fuck out of me in a way I did not think it would upon starting it. I can sort of see what the vision was going for but the characterization of Kemi and Brittany and their choices was fury-inducing and Muna was done so dirtily in a way that was almost trauma-porn like. I wish it had gone a different way. I hate finishing a book disappointed.
Also I immediately clocked that the author was trying to write Johnny as autistic but mannnn did that portrayal read sourly. I can think of a plethora of psychological disorders that provide better explanation for his fuckass behavior that can coexist in conjunction with his autism instead of using it as the sole reason for his struggles & shortcomings, it just did not work at all. All of the characters desperately required more nuance
But am I going to read the sequel I just found out about? Yes.
Also I immediately clocked that the author was trying to write Johnny as autistic but mannnn did that portrayal read sourly. I can think of a plethora of psychological disorders that provide better explanation for his fuckass behavior that can coexist in conjunction with his autism instead of using it as the sole reason for his struggles & shortcomings, it just did not work at all. All of the characters desperately required more nuance
But am I going to read the sequel I just found out about? Yes.
dregina's review
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
dre_3's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
booktalkswithregina's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Three women all connected through one man, but barely interact.
I enjoyed how their lives were extremely different and represented different struggles of being a black woman in a foreign country.
It tried to tackle a lot, but I struggled to find the meaning and message the author was trying to convey.
tatyanavogt's review
2.0
Part of me wanted to give this three stars because it shows the black expeirence. But I hated it. I was woundering when things would switch up, when things would happen, WHY are they doing this or that, I HATE all of these people around them.. it just wasn't an enjoyable experience and then it ended and I was like, wait.. I went through all of that... for that..
I feel like the ending could have been powerful in a different book, in this one it was just... ughh.. I feel bad that I didn't like this book, but I just didn't. I did find the womens lives to be interesting at first and I was exciting to see where things went but.. I just.. ugh..
I feel like the ending could have been powerful in a different book, in this one it was just... ughh.. I feel bad that I didn't like this book, but I just didn't. I did find the womens lives to be interesting at first and I was exciting to see where things went but.. I just.. ugh..