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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel touches on many different family dynamics - both good and bad. So many secrets are kept that are slowly uncovered throughout the book. Starts off slow but ends well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape
ok but at times it just dragged on for me.
There were times my mind drifted and didnt even miss anything is the story. (audible book)
Glad the story ended on a happy note though. :)
There were times my mind drifted and didnt even miss anything is the story. (audible book)
Glad the story ended on a happy note though. :)
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent
emotional
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Maybe I'm being too harsh on this book, but it was really not for me.
This book felt like a combination between an ABC Family and Hallmark movie. For the first third of the book I thought "I guess this isn't bad for a debut novel." Then, around 38% of the way through we meet the romantic lead, and I finally Googled the author. It turns out she has written lots of romance novels, and I feel a little silly for not realizing what I was getting myself into until I was that far into the novel. That said, there is actually not a whole lot of romance in this novel. So I would say this book is best for someone who likes romance novels but is taking a break from reading anything steamy. There's a lot of nose flicking (friends, family, crushes, young, old... is that a thing a lot of people are doing? If so, what's wrong with my nose because no one is doing it to me?), lot's of "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" moments, and many hints that sex is best saved for marriage and adults who drink more than a very occasional glass of alcohol are horrible people (to be fair, the characters who imbibe regularly in this book are horrible... but they are actually, literally, raging alcoholics). The world this book takes place in is very insular and very binary.
The worst offense to me is that the death of the protagonist's teenage daughter is central to the story, and how it could have been avoided if the protagonist had simply told her daughter the truth about who her father was. Throughout the book, the main character keeps trying to find someone to blame for the accident, and at the end finally has to admit that it was just an accident, but if she and her daughter had been more open with each other it might not have happened. Then, she decides not to tell the other teenager in her care the truth that her daughter was actually his half-sibling and they are actually closer to being family than he realizes, because at the tender age of 18 "he's too young to handle it," which is exactly the same phrasing she used to excuse herself from telling her daughter (who was several years younger) the truth when she had the chance. Which she supposedly regrets now? So much for character development.
This book felt like a combination between an ABC Family and Hallmark movie. For the first third of the book I thought "I guess this isn't bad for a debut novel." Then, around 38% of the way through we meet the romantic lead, and I finally Googled the author. It turns out she has written lots of romance novels, and I feel a little silly for not realizing what I was getting myself into until I was that far into the novel. That said, there is actually not a whole lot of romance in this novel. So I would say this book is best for someone who likes romance novels but is taking a break from reading anything steamy. There's a lot of nose flicking (friends, family, crushes, young, old... is that a thing a lot of people are doing? If so, what's wrong with my nose because no one is doing it to me?), lot's of "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" moments, and many hints that sex is best saved for marriage and adults who drink more than a very occasional glass of alcohol are horrible people (to be fair, the characters who imbibe regularly in this book are horrible... but they are actually, literally, raging alcoholics). The world this book takes place in is very insular and very binary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness, Rape
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I found this book because the author is published by the same collective that publishes my good friend Elizabeth Laban. It’s definitely “chick lit” - set in Ohio, the story begins with a tragic death during Ohio’s White Hurricane - a real event, but here moved from 1978 to a more recent year. The main character, Rae, and her father are still grieving her mother’s death in the storm - but now are also trying to recover from a second accidental winter death; Rae’s teen daughter Lark. Despite their own grief, their home becomes a haven for Lark’s best friend, a boy fleeing his abusive parents. There is a romance, but it doesn’t factor into the story until the end, and mainly as a way to wrap up loose plot ends and move the book to a happy ending.
It felt more like 4 stars but since there aren't that many reviews, I'll give it 5 because I think it should be more popular. I expected a trashy thriller but it definitely wasn't that at all. It was a little bit slow for my taste and the beginning was a bit jarring since it felt like the reader was lacking context for anything happening. But later on, I connected more to the story-- I really appreciated the characters and felt for them.
Overall, decent read but not "wow"
I enjoyed this read overall. The story was interesting, even though I guessed early on what the end result might be. I found it a little clunky at times the way the book switched view points, since it was purely focused on Rae for about the first 20-30% of the book, I was thrown off when it started switching, especially jumping to characters who had hardly been mentioned so far. A few things more oddly worded, like "doing murder" just made me pause for a minute. Other than that, I did enjoy the story line! Rating 4 stars since it was a bit better than "meh" but also not "wow".
I enjoyed this read overall. The story was interesting, even though I guessed early on what the end result might be. I found it a little clunky at times the way the book switched view points, since it was purely focused on Rae for about the first 20-30% of the book, I was thrown off when it started switching, especially jumping to characters who had hardly been mentioned so far. A few things more oddly worded, like "doing murder" just made me pause for a minute. Other than that, I did enjoy the story line! Rating 4 stars since it was a bit better than "meh" but also not "wow".