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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Gun violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
#readingchallenge2025 (my book with short chapters)
I feel completely let down by this one. To start, the first issue I had was how misleading the book was. The description gave no indication that it would delve into religious themes, yet it’s filled to the brim with Catholic guilt, moral preaching, and religious undertones. Had I known this was going to be a religiously driven narrative, I might have approached it differently. But it felt less like a thoughtful examination of faith and more like judgmental, preachy storytelling. The characters often came across as self-righteous and hypocritical, which made it hard to engage with them.
Another major problem was the pacing. It seemed like the story was rushed, especially certain plot points. For example, Cooper’s PTSD is mentioned, which makes sense in the context of the story, but then he suddenly becomes an alcoholic without any real explanation or gradual development. It felt like a major shift that wasn't properly set up.
The core plot—the stolen money—seemed to fade into the background. It wasn’t treated with the seriousness it deserved, and the story lost its focus. Sure, it’s set in the digital world, where tracking someone down can be difficult, but that doesn’t mean the main conflict should be brushed aside. The story lost its direction completely.
Overall, I’m really disappointed, especially considering this came from a library recommendation. It was a huge letdown and missed the mark in many ways.
I feel completely let down by this one. To start, the first issue I had was how misleading the book was. The description gave no indication that it would delve into religious themes, yet it’s filled to the brim with Catholic guilt, moral preaching, and religious undertones. Had I known this was going to be a religiously driven narrative, I might have approached it differently. But it felt less like a thoughtful examination of faith and more like judgmental, preachy storytelling. The characters often came across as self-righteous and hypocritical, which made it hard to engage with them.
Another major problem was the pacing. It seemed like the story was rushed, especially certain plot points. For example, Cooper’s PTSD is mentioned, which makes sense in the context of the story, but then he suddenly becomes an alcoholic without any real explanation or gradual development. It felt like a major shift that wasn't properly set up.
The core plot—the stolen money—seemed to fade into the background. It wasn’t treated with the seriousness it deserved, and the story lost its focus. Sure, it’s set in the digital world, where tracking someone down can be difficult, but that doesn’t mean the main conflict should be brushed aside. The story lost its direction completely.
Overall, I’m really disappointed, especially considering this came from a library recommendation. It was a huge letdown and missed the mark in many ways.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very compelling story! I’m religious myself so that didn’t turn me off but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Interesting way to discuss PTSD and how it affects both the individual and their loved ones. Lots of complicated family relationships.
dark
emotional
reflective
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:
N/A
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
emotional
funny
tense
medium-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
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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
Half of this book is a delightful community story of a group of ladies that have cooked for every funeral in their North Woods WI parish for decades, as their mothers did before them. It’s a story of grandmothers and granddaughters and a community cookbook fundraiser to replace money scammed out of one of the ladies. It explores neighborliness and devotion, small town values and generational Catholic faith and forgiveness. I loved it.
The other half is CW galore, it delves into the family of a food network chef whose kids insist on returning to his estranged wife’s hometown to bury her as she wished. That story involves neglect, PTSD, a pretty graphic description of a mass shooting (with repeated mentions bc of the OTSD episodes), generational patterns of losing yourself trying to manage a loved one with PTSD, including a couple of near DV scenes (both involve beating the crap out of someone outside the family), depression and some suicidal ideation. It was a LOT.
It’s a good book and I’m glad I read it… but marketing it as a light hearted book about quirky old ladies and their cookbook is misleading.
The other half is CW galore, it delves into the family of a food network chef whose kids insist on returning to his estranged wife’s hometown to bury her as she wished. That story involves neglect, PTSD, a pretty graphic description of a mass shooting (with repeated mentions bc of the OTSD episodes), generational patterns of losing yourself trying to manage a loved one with PTSD, including a couple of near DV scenes (both involve beating the crap out of someone outside the family), depression and some suicidal ideation. It was a LOT.
It’s a good book and I’m glad I read it… but marketing it as a light hearted book about quirky old ladies and their cookbook is misleading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship