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ariellesbooked 's review for:
Corinne
by Rebecca Morrow
Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Gonna be honest here: I'm rounding up. This is not a 4-star book all the way through. In fact, it is 432 pages, which I would argue is longer than most books ever need to be. Definitely longer than this book, specifically, needs to be. And yet, I thoroughly enjoyed so many different aspects of reading this. Can confidently say it is unlike anything I've ever read.
The story begins in 1992, as a near-adult Corinne finds herself living under the same roof as Enoch Miller, a boy she knows from the fundamentalist church their families both attend. It is there that a budding romance begins between the two of them, ultimately to Corinne's detriment. After news of their shared "scandal" surfaces, she finds herself essentially disowned by her family, friends, and church community.
Jumping over a decade forward in time, we find Corinne back in the community that banished her. After her mother experiences a health scare, she moves closer to home to be with her family. Yet, she is never fully welcomed back into the fold. She doesn't attend church. Enoch Miller is a taboo topic. However, inevitably, the two of them cross paths again and, from there, are forced to reconcile with what happened in the past and how they plan to move forward with their feelings in the future.
The first section of the book (the 1992 portion) was excellent. In fact, I felt like I had a 5-star read on my hands. There was something so incredibly sad, yet precious about the way their relationship developed. And the author's writing was so engaging that I practically flew through the pages. Some of that magic remained when they were reacquainted. Using religion as a point of contention between them was very interesting. I didn't expect to find myself as invested as I was, but it really worked for this story.
My main grievances are that it became gratuitously sexual, to the point where I no longer felt it contributed to the story. I also felt like some of the momentum was lost towards the end. It was ultimately too long for my liking. But I would definitely check out this author again in the future. Her writing style is very much my vibe. I really cared about these characters. And I think that with just some slight changes, I would have enjoyed this even more.
Gonna be honest here: I'm rounding up. This is not a 4-star book all the way through. In fact, it is 432 pages, which I would argue is longer than most books ever need to be. Definitely longer than this book, specifically, needs to be. And yet, I thoroughly enjoyed so many different aspects of reading this. Can confidently say it is unlike anything I've ever read.
The story begins in 1992, as a near-adult Corinne finds herself living under the same roof as Enoch Miller, a boy she knows from the fundamentalist church their families both attend. It is there that a budding romance begins between the two of them, ultimately to Corinne's detriment. After news of their shared "scandal" surfaces, she finds herself essentially disowned by her family, friends, and church community.
Jumping over a decade forward in time, we find Corinne back in the community that banished her. After her mother experiences a health scare, she moves closer to home to be with her family. Yet, she is never fully welcomed back into the fold. She doesn't attend church. Enoch Miller is a taboo topic. However, inevitably, the two of them cross paths again and, from there, are forced to reconcile with what happened in the past and how they plan to move forward with their feelings in the future.
The first section of the book (the 1992 portion) was excellent. In fact, I felt like I had a 5-star read on my hands. There was something so incredibly sad, yet precious about the way their relationship developed. And the author's writing was so engaging that I practically flew through the pages. Some of that magic remained when they were reacquainted. Using religion as a point of contention between them was very interesting. I didn't expect to find myself as invested as I was, but it really worked for this story.
My main grievances are that it became gratuitously sexual, to the point where I no longer felt it contributed to the story. I also felt like some of the momentum was lost towards the end. It was ultimately too long for my liking. But I would definitely check out this author again in the future. Her writing style is very much my vibe. I really cared about these characters. And I think that with just some slight changes, I would have enjoyed this even more.