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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
This was my first book by Lisa Taddeo and I didn't really like it. I thought with it being a collection of short stories that it would be a quick and easy read but it wasn't. Some of the stories, made me lose interest quite quickly and that I read it slowly or even leave the book for days. It felt like reading was a chore instead of a hobby. All the stories was mostly the same, nine variations of marginally suicidal, lonely, weight obsessed women who is going after a man who is either not interested at all or only pays attention when he is bored. The book had the potential to be good for me but it just let me down.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Taddeo’s trademark biting prose, now in short story form. As with her other books, her writing is fiercely addictive, but this collection was heavy and I got a little drained with the back-to-back depression.
The highlight for me was definitely the titular Ghost Lover, centred around a woman who runs a dating service which generates responses to texts. This was an interesting concept from the off and I was gripped in her savage world.
Stories that followed were mostly built around unhappy, struggling women. Women who have dealt with abuse and neglect, grieving mothers and rebellious teenagers, women who are desperate for the attention of men. It’s a sad, difficult read, but one that brutally uncovers the ingrained need to be loved, or desired.
No holds are barred in Taddeo’s stories. She scrapes the ugly inner emotions from her characters, dragging them out for readers to see. There’s something so refreshing about the honesty, but horrifying in its darkness.
A book full of fierce, captivating reads, but overall I wish there had been more variety— a few times I felt like I was reading the same thing—themes of suicide and family death bleeding across the pages. I’d definitely recommend reading one story at a time, breaking with something lighthearted in between!
The highlight for me was definitely the titular Ghost Lover, centred around a woman who runs a dating service which generates responses to texts. This was an interesting concept from the off and I was gripped in her savage world.
Stories that followed were mostly built around unhappy, struggling women. Women who have dealt with abuse and neglect, grieving mothers and rebellious teenagers, women who are desperate for the attention of men. It’s a sad, difficult read, but one that brutally uncovers the ingrained need to be loved, or desired.
No holds are barred in Taddeo’s stories. She scrapes the ugly inner emotions from her characters, dragging them out for readers to see. There’s something so refreshing about the honesty, but horrifying in its darkness.
A book full of fierce, captivating reads, but overall I wish there had been more variety— a few times I felt like I was reading the same thing—themes of suicide and family death bleeding across the pages. I’d definitely recommend reading one story at a time, breaking with something lighthearted in between!
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing style while novel is confusing and unpleasant to read