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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
This book gave me a good (bad?) feeling of being in New York City on 9/11. Halfway through the book, though, it turned a little soap-opera-ish, when it could have been a very different book. I did feel like I knew the characters; Ms. Giffin does that very well. I liked it, and will recommend it.
Ugh! Definitely a page turner but so many emotions. Frustrated. Excited. Annoyed. Shocked. I, as the reader, can’t even decide whose team I am on and what I want for Cecily. Feeling a little torn about the ending, but this book was definitely enjoyable and kept me interested every page.
Not her best. It was fine, and I stuck with it hoping the end would redeem it somehow (it did, slightly) but I was hoping she would follow All We Ever Wanted with one that was as good, if not better.
medium-paced
After her engagement ends, she finds herself falling fast for a new man. A tragedy strikes, 9/11, and he is presumed dead. Her journey to find information about him leads her to his wife. As shocked as she was to find out he was married, once the ball unravels, so many secrets/lies come to light.
This was one of those "un-put-down-able" books for me. I read it in one sitting in about 4 hours. Loved everything about it!
I don’t always love this author’s books, and there’s at least one I couldn’t even finish, but I LOVED this one. It reminded me a bit of “The Light We Lost,” one of my all-time favorites.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book has lots of cringey moments and bad dialogue, but hard to put down if only because it was so ridiculous and I needed to see where the characters wound up.
Would not recommend. I agree that the whole 9/11 story line was trivialized, which was disrespectful. However, this book had so many other story issues and lacked relatable characters as I think they all made horrible decisions.
I’ve read some other Emily Giffen books and enjoyed them. I cannot say the same for this. I listened to it on Audible and felt compelled to complete it, because surely it was going to get better, but nope.
The characters were awful. The plot was so convoluted and unbelievable that it was ridiculous. The only characters who were likable at all were Matthew (who was undoubtedly the better choice) and Jasmine. That Cecily didn’t seem to learn and change from her choices was infuriating.
Add that the narration was terrible and I just can’t do more than one star. The primary narrator was ok for everything but any scenes that were romantic at all. She gushed and sighed over those scenes more dramatically than a middle school girl on TikTok. Then there were the chapters with emails that suddenly were narrated by men. Why suddenly have new narrators for email? The man who did Scottie’s voice didn’t match the tone the primary narrator used for his dialogue anywhere else in the book and the man who did Grant’s voice sounded like George Clooney, but on downers - no emotion at all. The primary narrator should’ve been allowed to do all of those for continuity’s sake.
The characters were awful. The plot was so convoluted and unbelievable that it was ridiculous. The only characters who were likable at all were Matthew (who was undoubtedly the better choice) and Jasmine. That Cecily didn’t seem to learn and change from her choices was infuriating.
Add that the narration was terrible and I just can’t do more than one star. The primary narrator was ok for everything but any scenes that were romantic at all. She gushed and sighed over those scenes more dramatically than a middle school girl on TikTok. Then there were the chapters with emails that suddenly were narrated by men. Why suddenly have new narrators for email? The man who did Scottie’s voice didn’t match the tone the primary narrator used for his dialogue anywhere else in the book and the man who did Grant’s voice sounded like George Clooney, but on downers - no emotion at all. The primary narrator should’ve been allowed to do all of those for continuity’s sake.