Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

3 reviews

kimveach's review

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book has all the elements for it to be great, but its uneven pacing left me disappointed.  The first half of the book was too slow and didn't feel like it had much substance.  When the secrets are revealed in the second half, it was too many too quickly.   

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Cancer

fuguballoon's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I was looking for something lighthearted, funny, fast-paced, and a little quirky. I really wanted to like this book, but in the end, it did not tick those boxes for me. The story had a fun concept, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. It's not terrible--I just did not enjoy the writing after awhile and struggled to finish it.

• The first half was slow. I think the whole book could have lost a few thousand words without negatively impacting the story progression.
• Near the middle, the stakes rose and the tone got a bit darker, which I wasn't expecting (should have read the content warnings). I particularly didn't like how glib
  Louise was about Tanner's fear of guns. Trauma from years of active shooter drills is legit. It felt like the author wasn't talking it seriously by dispensing with Tanner's apprehensions so quickly.
• The author's choices for how to to deepen the relationship between Louise and Tanner felt kind of phony. Ditto the ending, which was a little too rushed and neat for me.
• Initially, I liked the dual POVs. But over time, the back and forth became tedious because each character just repeated events that had already happened in the other's voice. It slowed the action down so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gun violence and Grief

Minor: Dementia, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Murder

imstephtacular's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Dementia

Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Animal death, Death, Cursing, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Murder, Grief, Classism, Cancer, and Body shaming