Reviews - Brightly Shining

557 reviews for:

Brightly Shining

Ingvild H. Rishøi

4.0 AVERAGE

kristinurb's review against another edition

4.5

emotional sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

katriana85's review

3.5

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

westdk's review against another edition

2.0

dark sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

synfje's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

laceroni's review against another edition

5.0

emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bmedvid's review against another edition

3.5

emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

beautifulshell's review against another edition

3.0

This is marketed as a Christmas tale, and despite the setting in a Christmas tree stand, a typical holiday story this is not. If the Cratchit family eventually get their goose (and raise), the two sisters here have much less reliable family bonds and no Scrooge-like amends to enjoy. Unsurprisingly, the themes of addiction, loneliness, and insecurity are pretty bleak, and the warmer, optimistic scenes in the first part of the book eventually give way to a darker, if ambiguous, ending. I do think there's an audience that would enjoy this a lot; the writing and particularly the narrator's voice are well done, and it addresses familiar problems in a literary way. But the packaging/marketing clashes (probably intentionally) with the outcome in a way that I suspect might be off putting for some readers looking for a more traditional Christmas-cozy vibe.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!