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kaitsteak's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
harrietmarydean's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
ewhitneym's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
matthewkeating's review against another edition
3.0
Eimear Ryan’s debut, Holding Her Breath, is a great start for an author with a lot of potential. I'm very picky about prose and a few times something really stuck out to me as gorgeous. For example, a line at the very end that I loved: “She hits the water, plummeting into those dark blue folds that always looked to her like another country, impossible to come back from.” I enjoyed the novel but found it a little bit slow at the beginning; in general the characters are quite likable.
There were parts of the novel I wasn’t crazy about. I didn’t love the mystery aspect, and I wished that swimming played a larger part. I think Beth’s relationship to her sport is fertile ground for a lot more philosophical exploration than Ryan does. In general, I would say the novel has less of a focus on interiority than the writing I tend to love the most, but I also don’t think the book was necessarily aiming for that goal, of being a creature of interiority. I will say that I found the comparisons to Rooney and Batuman to be a bit off-base in that particular area. That being said I think a lot of people will really enjoy this book and it will probably do fairly well! It just ended up not being quite what I thought it was going to be. I tend to focus really hard on books with a more philosophical bent, and this wasn't quite that, in my mind; but as I said, I'm not convinced it was trying to be what I thought it was and I think many people who aren't as insufferable as I am will really enjoy it.
All in all a read that I ultimately found enjoyable, if not something squarely in my comfort zone, genre-wise. I’ll look forward to future books from Ryan; I think this is a solid debut and as she grows as a writer her work has the potential to go great places.
There were parts of the novel I wasn’t crazy about. I didn’t love the mystery aspect, and I wished that swimming played a larger part. I think Beth’s relationship to her sport is fertile ground for a lot more philosophical exploration than Ryan does. In general, I would say the novel has less of a focus on interiority than the writing I tend to love the most, but I also don’t think the book was necessarily aiming for that goal, of being a creature of interiority. I will say that I found the comparisons to Rooney and Batuman to be a bit off-base in that particular area. That being said I think a lot of people will really enjoy this book and it will probably do fairly well! It just ended up not being quite what I thought it was going to be. I tend to focus really hard on books with a more philosophical bent, and this wasn't quite that, in my mind; but as I said, I'm not convinced it was trying to be what I thought it was and I think many people who aren't as insufferable as I am will really enjoy it.
All in all a read that I ultimately found enjoyable, if not something squarely in my comfort zone, genre-wise. I’ll look forward to future books from Ryan; I think this is a solid debut and as she grows as a writer her work has the potential to go great places.
hayleycollea's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
kayla_graph21's review against another edition
3.0
The narrator of the audio book has the most soothing voice. I was mostly surprised the ending wasn't predictable!
amber_hastings's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A literary novel that feels like a blend of Sally Rooney and other coming of age novels, dark academia stories, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
I was pretty compelled by main character Beth, and I felt like she was believable and relatable.
It took me a while to get past the disparity between Beth's rich inner world described by the narrator versus the very minimalist dialogue that Beth has with other characters. I wasn't quite convinced she was a psych student, but I was pretty convinced by all the other decisions she made. Other reviewers mention thay too much attention was paid to Justin, but I think that was deliberate. I think Beth needed to have gone through that experience to really relate to her grandmother and grandfather. Without experiencing love and rejection in that way, I don't think she'd have been so generous in understanding Julie. I was gobsmacked when she learns the truth about Justin, and related a lot to that, though I'd like to have seen a bit more emotion in Beth as a response to it.
I loved Beth's uneasy transition from competitive to varsity swimmer and felt this was convincing. The swimming completion towards the end was a bit of a letdown, though. I know that her lack of discipline and focus and practise was meant to reflect that she had other things finally going on in her life, but I'd have liked to see her engage with her poor performance, and to see that play out with her dad. But I guess we're meant to know that her withdrawal from swimming competitively at elite level was still an ongoing sticking point with her dad.
The ending with Julie was unexpected but a good way to add a twist to the Ben mystery. I didn't feel particularly compelled by Ben throughout and so having a bit more detail about Lydia via Julie was helpful in keeping up the interest about his life.
It was also interesting to form a parallel between Beth and Marina with Lydia and Julie. I don't think it was quite necessary, or perhaps was pulled off, given that Beth appeared to have no emotional response to Marina, but I do like the ambition — Beth and Marina understood each other in the same way Lydia and Julie could, and it's something others on the outside couldn't.
I think what let the novel down for me was that everything (the plot, the character development, the connection between plotlines) felt about 90% there but could have perhaps been tied together more strongly.
Regardless I enjoyed reading it.
I was pretty compelled by main character Beth, and I felt like she was believable and relatable.
It took me a while to get past the disparity between Beth's rich inner world described by the narrator versus the very minimalist dialogue that Beth has with other characters. I wasn't quite convinced she was a psych student, but I was pretty convinced by all the other decisions she made. Other reviewers mention thay too much attention was paid to Justin, but I think that was deliberate. I think Beth needed to have gone through that experience to really relate to her grandmother and grandfather. Without experiencing love and rejection in that way, I don't think she'd have been so generous in understanding Julie. I was gobsmacked when she learns the truth about Justin, and related a lot to that, though I'd like to have seen a bit more emotion in Beth as a response to it.
I loved Beth's uneasy transition from competitive to varsity swimmer and felt this was convincing. The swimming completion towards the end was a bit of a letdown, though. I know that her lack of discipline and focus and practise was meant to reflect that she had other things finally going on in her life, but I'd have liked to see her engage with her poor performance, and to see that play out with her dad. But I guess we're meant to know that her withdrawal from swimming competitively at elite level was still an ongoing sticking point with her dad.
The ending with Julie was unexpected but a good way to add a twist to the Ben mystery. I didn't feel particularly compelled by Ben throughout and so having a bit more detail about Lydia via Julie was helpful in keeping up the interest about his life.
It was also interesting to form a parallel between Beth and Marina with Lydia and Julie. I don't think it was quite necessary, or perhaps was pulled off, given that Beth appeared to have no emotional response to Marina, but I do like the ambition — Beth and Marina understood each other in the same way Lydia and Julie could, and it's something others on the outside couldn't.
I think what let the novel down for me was that everything (the plot, the character development, the connection between plotlines) felt about 90% there but could have perhaps been tied together more strongly.
Regardless I enjoyed reading it.
naoisepanda's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
tgaines12's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
2.75