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adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
adventurous
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Police brutality, War
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Torture
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, War
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well the ending left it wide open for a fifth book exploring the del Valle family where we will meet new family members explore more Chilean history and find out more about Eric and Emilie, Pauline and the rest of the family present and past!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A moving piece of historical fiction about a brave young woman (Emilia) who travels to Chile as a journalist in late 1800s to cover a civil war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, War
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, War, Classism
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
My Name is Emilia del Valle feels like a return to form for Isabel Allende. The House of the Spirits is one of my favorite books and I've enjoyed many of Allende's earlier works especially Of Love and Shadows but had struggled for a while to get invested in her more recent books in the 2010s. I'd been meaning to try her newer books as I'd heard good things about Violeta when I saw she was releasing a new book this year.
We're once again learning about another del Valle woman's life in one of Allende's books with Emilia del Valle offering an interesting glimpse into a period of Chilean history that you don't often find in Anglo-Western books. The beginning of this novel was a slow start for me and didn't quite hook me until about a quarter of the way through but by then it was a pretty quick read as I was sucked into her story once Emilia reached Chile. We follow Emilia, a strong willed woman trying to thrive in spaces reserved for men, as she's grows up to be a penny drama novelist and later a journalist, working hard to be taken seriously as a writer in a time period when typically only men were established as serious authors. The relationships she forms with the vast cast of characters she interacts with makes for a very compelling story as the world is fleshed out both as the civil war unfolds and during its aftermath. Many of the secondary characters became people I wanted to know more about and the way information about them is revealed, while still maintaining Emilia as the main focus of the novel, works really well. The final storyline that wraps up in the epilogue left me a bit underwhelmed after the scope of the rest of the book - the novel felt a bit unfinished but at the same time, I understand how that fit into Emilia's recounting of her life within the story.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eArc for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
We're once again learning about another del Valle woman's life in one of Allende's books with Emilia del Valle offering an interesting glimpse into a period of Chilean history that you don't often find in Anglo-Western books. The beginning of this novel was a slow start for me and didn't quite hook me until about a quarter of the way through but by then it was a pretty quick read as I was sucked into her story once Emilia reached Chile. We follow Emilia, a strong willed woman trying to thrive in spaces reserved for men, as she's grows up to be a penny drama novelist and later a journalist, working hard to be taken seriously as a writer in a time period when typically only men were established as serious authors. The relationships she forms with the vast cast of characters she interacts with makes for a very compelling story as the world is fleshed out both as the civil war unfolds and during its aftermath. Many of the secondary characters became people I wanted to know more about and the way information about them is revealed, while still maintaining Emilia as the main focus of the novel, works really well. The final storyline that wraps up in the epilogue left me a bit underwhelmed after the scope of the rest of the book - the novel felt a bit unfinished but at the same time, I understand how that fit into Emilia's recounting of her life within the story.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eArc for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Sexism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Death of parent
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love Isabel Allende but prefer her other books which are more plot driven. This was similar to Violeta—the detailed story of a life but without a mystery or something to keep me turning the pages. It’s always beautiful writing though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War