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kimblefairy1989's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this novel - it was heart warming and heart breaking in equal measure.
I really enjoyed seeing all the characters as they went on their journeys of self discovery and seeing the people they had become at the end of the novel.
The only reason this gets 4 stars, and not 5, is because Bear's steadfast refusal to talk about her illness just felt a little grating.
I really enjoyed seeing all the characters as they went on their journeys of self discovery and seeing the people they had become at the end of the novel.
The only reason this gets 4 stars, and not 5, is because Bear's steadfast refusal to talk about her illness just felt a little grating.
booklover1974's review against another edition
2.0
I had a hard time connecting to this book, probably because I didn't like how Kay was portraited. She's a coward for just leaving everybody behind and don't even answer her phone when her children calls. Every thing she has done and do are just shallow actions for me. She talks about her best friend Rose, that she loves ,but it turns out Kay doesn't even know what's going on in her life, because it's all about Kay.
I'm not a fan of the dialogue either, it felt unbeliveable and stiff. Unfortunately, this is not a book for me.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not a fan of the dialogue either, it felt unbeliveable and stiff. Unfortunately, this is not a book for me.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.
maz403's review against another edition
3.0
A gentle story about taking chances to live the life you want. Kay leaves her husband of thirty years , much to the bewilderment of her family, and sets out to fulfil done of her early dreams. Along the way she makes discoveries about herself. Interspersed with the story of her daughter’s current life and letters written to a childhood friend over the decades. An enjoyable read.
jaded618's review against another edition
5.0
This book was wonderful from start to finish! The writing was well done and the story was very enjoyable.
I liked how the book followed both Kay and her daughter Stella, while each of them were going through an important part of their lives. The relationships in this book felt real and relatable. The book started with Mrs. Bright (Kay) making the decision to leave her husband, the rest of the book is what follows. It had heart wrenching moments as well as times that made me so happy for the growth of the characters.
I will be recommending this book to others! Thank you @netgalley and @Bookouture for the change to read this ARC.
I liked how the book followed both Kay and her daughter Stella, while each of them were going through an important part of their lives. The relationships in this book felt real and relatable. The book started with Mrs. Bright (Kay) making the decision to leave her husband, the rest of the book is what follows. It had heart wrenching moments as well as times that made me so happy for the growth of the characters.
I will be recommending this book to others! Thank you @netgalley and @Bookouture for the change to read this ARC.
anneduff's review against another edition
4.0
A very enjoyable read full of love, warmth, sadness and real life. It brought me close to tears then made me laugh. A precious message to be true to yourself and follow your heart.
The dropped star is for the liberal use of 'amazing' - my pet peeve. One chapter featured it 5 times, although I admit it wasn't used in EVERY chapter.
The dropped star is for the liberal use of 'amazing' - my pet peeve. One chapter featured it 5 times, although I admit it wasn't used in EVERY chapter.
vnorman23's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
sharalc's review
1.0
Did not enjoy this book at all. It was cheesy, the characters were predictable, I felt there were alot of plot holes and overall really did not enjoy it, would not recommend.
toasted_owl's review
2.0
I thought Kay was absolutely infuriating, and the book was full of half baked ideas and "twists" that were telegraphed right from the start.
1. It absolutely is selfish to just walk out on your husband of thirty years without having a real conversation with him about your feelings, especially after he helped raise your kid as his own despite you nursing a grudge for thirty years that he wasn't "the love of your life". Speaking of which, the book didn't go into that relationship at all, so it seemed really weird that she spent thirty years pining over it when the only thing we know is he left when she told him she was pregnant.
2. HOW DID SHE NOT FIGURE OUT HER FRIEND WAS SICK IMMEDIATELY.
3. The daughter was much better, but still a bit of a wet blanket. She really thought she could keep working and living with the girl who blatantly had an affair with her boyfriend?
4. Why act like it was a big mystery who the father of her son was? Again, it was telegraphed from the start.
The side characters were all great, but the two main characters were total self involved drips.
1. It absolutely is selfish to just walk out on your husband of thirty years without having a real conversation with him about your feelings, especially after he helped raise your kid as his own despite you nursing a grudge for thirty years that he wasn't "the love of your life". Speaking of which, the book didn't go into that relationship at all, so it seemed really weird that she spent thirty years pining over it when the only thing we know is he left when she told him she was pregnant.
2. HOW DID SHE NOT FIGURE OUT HER FRIEND WAS SICK IMMEDIATELY.
3. The daughter was much better, but still a bit of a wet blanket. She really thought she could keep working and living with the girl who blatantly had an affair with her boyfriend?
4. Why act like it was a big mystery who the father of her son was? Again, it was telegraphed from the start.
The side characters were all great, but the two main characters were total self involved drips.
yvo_about_books's review
3.0
Finished reading: December 4th 2019
"I wanted to try whatever life I had left without that net. Close my eyes and take a leap of faith."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
I know I don't read contemporary romance all that often, but I like mixing up my genres every once in a while and there was just something about The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright that made me want to read it instantly. I think it was a combination of the blurb itself and the comparison to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and A Man Called Ove; two of my favorite books with characters I absolutely adored. And the blurb definitely sounded like main character Kay was going to have the same vibe, so I was superexcited to finally meet her. I might have set my expectations a tad too high, because somehow I didn't end up enjoying this story as much as I thought I would... I'll try to explain why.
First of all I have to stress that The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright is by no means a bad read, and the rating reflects my personal reaction to this story and its characters rather than the quality of the story. There is a lot to love in The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright, and depending on how you react to the main characters your reading experience might just be completely different from my own... First of all, we have the bookish elements. Not only does main character Kay's husband own multiple bookshops, but we see other references as well throughout the story. I always love those little references in my books, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Another element I loved was travel related; not only that Kay wants to spread her wings and start seeing the world, but also those descriptions and chapters set in Australia and especially those in Venice. This Italian city really came alive for me in the descriptions and was one of the highlights of this book for me.
I also loved the idea behind the letters, and some actually being incorporated into the plot between chapters. This most definitely added an original touch! The plot itself is intriguing enough and uses multipe POVs to help us understand how different people react to Kay's decision to leave her husband of twentynine years and start doing things she has always wanted to but never has. There is the underlying worry and mystery around Bear of course as well, and it was interesting to see things develop and secrets slowly coming to light. The writing was easy on the eye and superfast to read, and in many ways this is the perfect contemporary romance read.
What went wrong for me then? I still can't put my finger exactly on the why, but part of the reason is pretty clear: the main characters. Sadly, I wasn't able to connect to the characters as I thought I would. I had issues with various decisions and personality traits of more than one character, and this really put a damper on things... I won't go too much into details to avoid spoilers, but I wasn't a fan of Kay and her selfishness after her decision. I fully get she has the right to a life of her own, but she truly only thinks of herself and doesn't seem to care too much of what her children and friends are going through... And that was not the only thing that annoyed me about her. I wasn't able to warm up to Stella,Edward or Richard either, although I did like Newland, Rose and even Piet. What I absolutely detested was the whole cheating angle, but that is just a personal reaction as I never respond well to this element in a story...
I did love the food element in The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright though. The descriptions of the food really made me crave those dishes and I actually prepared my curry recipe as a result afterwards. There were a lot of other things I enjoyed as well, like mentioned above, but as a whole something just didn't click for me and I ended up having mixed thoughts about this story. Fans of the contemporary romance genre might just have a fantastic time with The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright though! Definitely give this story a chance if you think it might be your cup of tea, because it seems like I'm in the minority with this one.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
maz403's review
3.0
A gentle story about taking chances to live the life you want. Kay leaves her husband of thirty years , much to the bewilderment of her family, and sets out to fulfil done of her early dreams. Along the way she makes discoveries about herself. Interspersed with the story of her daughter’s current life and letters written to a childhood friend over the decades. An enjoyable read.