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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
This one was tough to rate. The story itself, if you could piece your way through it, was fascinating. The writing was beautiful, but the format was terrible. The Lioness had the old Hollywood feel of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and a bit too much of the oscillating between timelines that was expertly executed in Daisy Jones and the Six. The author jumped right into the story, without much background. It made both the characters and the storyline difficult to follow. That being said, it was action-packed, and the safari setting was exciting and dangerous. This is more like a 3.5 for me, but could have been a 4 or 5 if it were easier to follow.
I just realized after finishing this book that I've read this author before (The Sandcastle Girls, which I enjoyed). This book wasn't what I was expecting but I really enjoyed it. Even though it's historical fiction, I would put it more in the survival thriller category. It was hard at first to keep all of the characters straight as the story flipped between them. It would've been easier if I wasn't reading an ebook and could flip back to the character selection more easily. Over all I really enjoyed it and plan to read more by this author but subtracted one star because there is so much going on and to keep track of.
This was fine. I liked the premise but I think it was just too many character to keep everyone straight. I was relieved when a character would disappear because it was one less person to try to remember when I didn’t get enough time or description of anyone to keep them straight. By the end I was sort of just trying to finish the book but I wasn’t very interested anymore. It might have been a case of the timing of when I read this book.
Well written, so violent! Love the structure of each chapter: present, back story, present often leaving you hanging, but not in a cheap way.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Lioness is about a young starlet on her honeymoon with her friends in the Serengeti for a safari. It's set in 1964, so you get a real sense for old Hollywood and shifting time in history. Things start going wrong soon after they arrive in Africa when the group is abducted.
There is a lot of action, which made it very captivating and I had no idea what would happen next. There are a number of characters, so it's a little confusing to keep backstories straight and it could be hard to really connect with each character. The settings are really vivid, giving me a great picture of each location and action.
I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated masterfully by January LaVoy. She did a wonderful job building suspense. My only complaint about the audiobook, is that since the book switches from present-tense to past-tense frequently, it can be a little confusing. Overall, a very exciting story.
Thank you Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.
There is a lot of action, which made it very captivating and I had no idea what would happen next. There are a number of characters, so it's a little confusing to keep backstories straight and it could be hard to really connect with each character. The settings are really vivid, giving me a great picture of each location and action.
I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated masterfully by January LaVoy. She did a wonderful job building suspense. My only complaint about the audiobook, is that since the book switches from present-tense to past-tense frequently, it can be a little confusing. Overall, a very exciting story.
Thank you Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.
I picked this book up with a friend from Barnes and Noble, looking for a good vacation read. While in theory, I thought this book would be a great fit, it turned out to not be quite for me. Not sure if it’s the type of thriller or something deeper about how this book was written.
A thought that comes inevitably from the plot of this book: “would it be written in the same way if a POC wrote it? Especially with it taking place in Africa. Especially with one of the main characters being black?” The answer: of course.
From the beginning, I was wondering how much research has gone into the history of leisurely travel + colonialism in Tanzania and Kenya. Further, how much research went into the character of Terrence Dutton as an African American actor living in the 60s amid the civil rights era and where Hollywood was still actively referencing minstrelsy in movies (while no longer usually explicit). I think in his (and tbh Katie Barstow’s case as well) there just wasn’t enough nuance to the characters to feel believable.
While I don’t doubt that the author did quite a bit of research while working on the novel, I think the character would come across differently (and perhaps more nuanced) from an author with a perspective more aligned with some of the minorities represented in the novel.
A thought that comes inevitably from the plot of this book: “would it be written in the same way if a POC wrote it? Especially with it taking place in Africa. Especially with one of the main characters being black?” The answer: of course.
From the beginning, I was wondering how much research has gone into the history of leisurely travel + colonialism in Tanzania and Kenya. Further, how much research went into the character of Terrence Dutton as an African American actor living in the 60s amid the civil rights era and where Hollywood was still actively referencing minstrelsy in movies (while no longer usually explicit). I think in his (and tbh Katie Barstow’s case as well) there just wasn’t enough nuance to the characters to feel believable.
While I don’t doubt that the author did quite a bit of research while working on the novel, I think the character would come across differently (and perhaps more nuanced) from an author with a perspective more aligned with some of the minorities represented in the novel.
“Well, this safari sure as hell went to pot,” she said dryly. “Remind me never to use that travel agent again.”.... I loved the book but I may think twice before going on a safari!