Reviews - Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

4.24k reviews for:

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

Clare Pooley

4.19 AVERAGE

jsweatt82's review against another edition

4.0

lighthearted medium-paced

readnqu33n's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed all the characters in this novel set

initially on a train. I liked how the story occurred between

those ten stops. I was happy that Iona, who really needed some

friends, brought the people on the train together. It great that

she became their pseudo therapist. Belonging or having a

friend was exactly what all these characters needed.

The only thing that I questioned was how Emmie was able to

get away from her controlling fiancé so quickly and easily. It

just didn’t ring true that he also quit stalking her after the fake

lawyer call. Otherwise is was a quiet read with loveable

characters that I was rooting for the best for each of them.

Iona was the hub and we were the spokes.

I call Iona Mohammad Ali because she is elegant but fierce.

You said it’s not over until the fat lady…. She singing, Sanjay,

interrupted Iona. Can’t you hear her? She’s rehearing for her

gig at the wedding. Sometimes life doesn’t work the way we

want it to. I know that better than most. Believe me. Anyhow

you shouldn’t use the word fat. It’s body shaming.

Emmie’s left hand felt empty without the ring on it. She

mentioned this to Iona who said, it’s not empty, dear

heart. It’s light. That ring was weighing you down. It wasn’t a

declaration of love. It was a symbol of ownership.

If you give up, they win, darling,” she’d said. “They want

us to be small, so we have to stand tall. They want us to be

invisible, so we have to be seen. They want us to be quiet,

so we have to be heard. They want us to surrender, so we

have to fight.

No woman is anyone’s “other half”. We are all entire

people. Completely whole, and totally unique. But

sometimes when you put two very different whole people

together, a kind of magic, an alchemy, occurs.

most endings turned out to be beginnings in disguise.

But sometimes when you put two very different people

together, a kind of magic, an alchemy, occurs. Bea said I

was like eggs and sugar, and she was flour and butter, and

when you mixed us together, we were more than just the

combination of our ingredients, we were the whole damn

cake.

Your anxiety is the other side of the coin of your empathy.

Your past experiences, she’d explained, are the

foundations on which you build your future. Build them

on pride, not shame. Denying your history leaves your

house standing on sand, always in danger of collapsing.

Why had it taken her so long to see her train carriage as a

fascinating portal into other people's stories, rather than

just a way of getting from A to B?

If you’re going to get it wrong, Martha, make sure you get

it wrong with PANACHE! Surely they’ll give you a mark

for style, at least?

Did all that shock and grief seep into the soft furnishings?

He imagined it oozing out of the cushions and curtains, a

toxic, viscous sludge gradually filling the room and

drowning him.

She loved being able to touch these photos, rather than

having them floating around in the cloud, mingling with

millions of other memories exiled by thousands of

strangers. All those holidays, weddings, and birthday

parties jumbled up together in the ether, just waiting to

be called down for their moment in the sun, or thrown up

as a random Facebook memory.

hannah_shiff's review against another edition

5.0

Aww this was so lovely! At first I was annoyed that I had to get to know so many characters, but then I ended up loving them all. That’s unique for me — typically there are characters I like to follow more than others, but in this I truly loved everyone. Each character’s arc was a delight. Some were more predictable than others, but delightful all the same. No notes ❤️