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deborah1's review against another edition
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
hisdarkmaterials's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.0
ali___cat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
paulineerika's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book had a lot of potential and at times, it seemed like it would live up to it. Ultimately, though, the MC was too unlikeable for me to get behind. I really disliked how fixated she was on her ex-husband and how she basically felt like her life might be over (and she's not even 30 yet). More than that, though, I hated the way she talked about Frankie and Frankie's appearance. It was borderline fatphobia and fat-shaming and it completely turned me off from her. Gretchen is self-centered, immature, and honestly undeserving of what she has for most of the book, IMO. The redemption she eventually found came too late in the book for me to really care. It's a shame because I thought this book could have been so good.
nicolesnook's review against another edition
4.0
Gretchen Lin is separated from her family when she leaves her San Francisco home to return to Singapore to work for her family's artisan soy sauce company. The story is a somewhat typical story of self discovery. What I found more fascinating was the behind the scenes information about the making of soy sauce, which I knew nothing about.
krismoon's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written, although the book seemed to drag.
I think the main character of the story was too one dimensional. She never did anything wrong, and everyone around her wronged her. No responsibility was taken on her part, and the author didn't give us anything that she did do wrong. I think this book would've been great if Gretchen had some good, deep character flaws. Instead she seemed just spoiled and like she was justified in every action and word.
I think the main character of the story was too one dimensional. She never did anything wrong, and everyone around her wronged her. No responsibility was taken on her part, and the author didn't give us anything that she did do wrong. I think this book would've been great if Gretchen had some good, deep character flaws. Instead she seemed just spoiled and like she was justified in every action and word.
jengiuffre's review against another edition
2.0
Finished this in a few hours. Ok read, characters were shallow and not well developed. Knowing this is a debut novel, I would most likely read the authors next book. It wasn't terrible, it just lacked a connection and certain aspects needed to be explored that weren't.
mbattiest's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. That was all I could think with this book. It started off fairly well and had a lot of potential. But the ending made it a little boring. I felt like only one thing-her choice in a home and a career was all that was complete.