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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
all over the place, was hard to keep up
I really enjoyed it. It’s the closest to a love story you’re gonna get from Stephen King and I love how he described grief and trauma. I also love the interactions of Lisey and her sisters—perfect describes sisterhood.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 63 of 2025 ✅
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 63 of 2025 ✅
No comment. I’m in a rut with picking books apparently.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
I almost gave up on this book about halfway through because I hated both the prose and depiction of Scott enough to make me pause the audiobook and contemplate whether or not to continue. My fondness of Lisey kept me engaged and I am so glad I continued on! The emotional payoff was worth every millisecond of annoyance I felt in the first half of the book. Such a beautifully riveting and emotional exploration of mental illness, trauma, love, grief, resilience, family, and much more. I had to sit down and ugly cry at some parts, then found myself tearing up remembering them throughout the week. I’m tearing up thinking about those parts now.
Lisey’s Story is a woman’s journey with grief told through the lens of her love for her late husband Scott. At times her love for this traumatized, complicated, and (imo) obnoxious man is so saccharine it makes you nauseous with irritation. This journey leads us to her strained relationships with her equally complicated (albeit slightly less obnoxious imo) sisters, as well as some horrifying experiences with selfish, shady, and incompetent men. King uses dreamy fantasy settings and prose to both highlight and contrast the nightmare of losing a loved one to mental illness, as well as the horrors of misogyny. I really appreciate Scott as a character because never have I ever wanted to bring back to life a man who I disliked so strongly. In the end, my dislike dissipated into a fondness of him through both sympathy and empathy. I absolutely adored Lisey and found a lot of love for her sisters because of it. Her relationship with Amanda and its parallels to her husband touched my heart profoundly. I cannot put into words how much I appreciate the ending of this book.
Just a beautiful, tragic, and heartwarming story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm
Moderate: Mental illness
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death
Moderate: Ableism