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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Confession: I've only read one other James Patterson book. I'm not a huge fan. There's no shame in this either way. As a librarian, he's kind of the bread-and-butter of our work, his works for all ages are hugely popular. Also, not every book is going to be enjoyed by every reader, and that is fine, because there are plenty of books out there.
This one I did enjoy, and I can tell you right now the whole reason I enjoyed it is that diamond in a rhinestone world, the patron saint of Tennessee, Dolly Parton! This woman can truly do no wrong, and she shines in this book. I listened to the audio and enjoyed hearing her read the sassy country music queen Ruthanna. I also enjoyed the playlist of songs Dolly wrote and recorded based on the book, giving the text a lovely dimension. The story itself was all right, a good concept with some interesting characters, and I enjoyed all the references to classic country music. But the storyline jumped in weird places, and the ending was way too soap opera and didn't make much logical sense to me (something I experienced in the other Jame Patterson book I read). Honestly, if Dolly wrote a pamphlet on car maintenance I would probably read it, and if she wrote songs to go with it I'd give it at least three stars.
This one I did enjoy, and I can tell you right now the whole reason I enjoyed it is that diamond in a rhinestone world, the patron saint of Tennessee, Dolly Parton! This woman can truly do no wrong, and she shines in this book. I listened to the audio and enjoyed hearing her read the sassy country music queen Ruthanna. I also enjoyed the playlist of songs Dolly wrote and recorded based on the book, giving the text a lovely dimension. The story itself was all right, a good concept with some interesting characters, and I enjoyed all the references to classic country music. But the storyline jumped in weird places, and the ending was way too soap opera and didn't make much logical sense to me (something I experienced in the other Jame Patterson book I read). Honestly, if Dolly wrote a pamphlet on car maintenance I would probably read it, and if she wrote songs to go with it I'd give it at least three stars.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars - I didn't dislike this, it was pretty fun to read, I'm a sucker for a music industry story and this delivered. It also has a pretty cute found family dynamic. The writing is simple and direct and just conveys images to your brain. That's probably a James Patterson thing but Idk if I've ever read anything else by him so cannot confirm.
The "mystery" though as the secondary plot element trying to masquerade as the primary plot - it was... lame. Or rather - the emotional journey for AnnieLee was, I think, fine. Her trauma and desire to keep secrets was not bad, I was into it. What flopped was how this then manifested in
The "mystery" though as the secondary plot element trying to masquerade as the primary plot - it was... lame. Or rather - the emotional journey for AnnieLee was, I think, fine. Her trauma and desire to keep secrets was not bad, I was into it. What flopped was how this then manifested in
Spoiler
physical danger multiple times, in a way that didn't make any sense, wasn't fully explained in the tell-all at the end, and ended when our plucky heroine makes one last stupid hitchhiking choice, now sans convenient weapon, and ends up tied up in a basement and big dumb nice Ethan has to rescue her - not even just show up for emotional support right after she's rescued herself. So the ending brought a totally fine book down, I didn't like it at all. Then when I flipped back through to put the music mentioned on a playlist (music industry sucker) I realized how unexplained the rest of the thing was. Did D have goons all over the place? What were they actually trying to DO? It doesn't make sense that the story proceeded as it did with a few lucky bashings then D comes himself to Vegas and.... the cops want to talk about her jump off her balcony but never went into her hotel room?? And so never saw the VERY OBVIOUS SIGNS of struggle including a BLOOD AND VISCERA STAINED STILETTO? Like, huh? And D went away but what about his goons? What about her sister-wives? If you're going to make up such a (possibly) juicy backstory, GIVE US THE STORY. Otherwise, this would have been a nice easy novel where the main character has to work through her trauma to lead a successful life as a country music star. Which would have been better. The violence was really just a nothingburger.
I really loved this. It's a bit cliche and corny at times and the characters could do with more depth but I loved all the details about Nashville and references to music industry. I didn't really care for the thriller aspects that much and the ending was a bit rushed but I still really enjoyed it and was almost sad when I finished it. It reminded me it's nice to read more simple but fun books sometimes.
I really liked this one, and am especially glad I listened to the audiobook :)
4⭐️
I waited what seemed like forever for this audiobook to become available from my local library. I’m a (Knoxville) Tennessee native who grew up going to Dollywood most weekends and is slightly obsessed with Dolly Parton, and let me tell you, this was worth the wait. I absolutely loved hearing her play Ruthanna Ryder, the firecracker mentor to Kelsea Ballerini (also a Knoxville native)’s AnnieLee Keyes.
I felt like the plot itself was unevenly paced- very slow until about 60% of the way through, then the ending seemed rushed. However, it was a fun story with a plot line unlike anything else I’ve read. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.
I waited what seemed like forever for this audiobook to become available from my local library. I’m a (Knoxville) Tennessee native who grew up going to Dollywood most weekends and is slightly obsessed with Dolly Parton, and let me tell you, this was worth the wait. I absolutely loved hearing her play Ruthanna Ryder, the firecracker mentor to Kelsea Ballerini (also a Knoxville native)’s AnnieLee Keyes.
I felt like the plot itself was unevenly paced- very slow until about 60% of the way through, then the ending seemed rushed. However, it was a fun story with a plot line unlike anything else I’ve read. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced