Scan barcode
A review by mags13
My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong
2.0
I had really high hopes for this book due to it's description but unfortunately it just fell a bit flat for me.
The descriptions of Beijing and the food the characters were eating were both very strong. My mouth was watering thinking of the pork buns, dumplings and even the insects, which I've always been interested in trying. I also thought the plot in the last 1/4 of the book was fairly strong, as everything was finally coming together. The "twist"/revelation and resulting action was quite compelling.
Unfortunately that's somewhat where my enjoyment ended. A lot of the side-characters felt like caricatures of how people act and I was confused by their often contradictory personalities. Iris was definitely the most frustrating of the characters. I often love reading stories about unlikable characters, whether they have a redemption arc or not but I just found Iris' character to be so unrealistic that I was more frustrated than anything. Iris was self-centered and materialistic - yes, but what annoyed me was her having no knowledge on things she should have an understanding of (such as what museums are or what her Chinese name was). I also didn't understand how she could have made it into AP classes, let alone failed them if she had a panic attack every time she entered a learning environment.
I also took issue with the usage of metaphor and similes within this book. I understand that we were inside Iris' head but phrases like "Frank's accusations burn like to much Nair Wax on my upper lip" just seemed too over the top juvenile, and detracted from the seriousness of these moments.
Finally, I felt like the character progression was a bit too sudden, and often contradictory. In one section near the end, Iris is reflecting on how she is viewed as spoiled and how she can change this. However, in the next paragraph when her grandparents suggest making dumplings (something that would be a family activity, and would teach Iris about her culture) she comments that that seems like too much work and opts instead for everyone to get mani/pedis. Yes, this is a relaxing activity, but I feel like Iris missed an opportunity here.
I really wish that I had loved this story, as it's premise and framework were very interesting. I would still be willing to give the author's other book and future stories a try though.
Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book which I received in exchange for my honest review
The descriptions of Beijing and the food the characters were eating were both very strong. My mouth was watering thinking of the pork buns, dumplings and even the insects, which I've always been interested in trying. I also thought the plot in the last 1/4 of the book was fairly strong, as everything was finally coming together. The "twist"/revelation and resulting action was quite compelling.
Unfortunately that's somewhat where my enjoyment ended. A lot of the side-characters felt like caricatures of how people act and I was confused by their often contradictory personalities. Iris was definitely the most frustrating of the characters. I often love reading stories about unlikable characters, whether they have a redemption arc or not but I just found Iris' character to be so unrealistic that I was more frustrated than anything. Iris was self-centered and materialistic - yes, but what annoyed me was her having no knowledge on things she should have an understanding of (such as what museums are or what her Chinese name was). I also didn't understand how she could have made it into AP classes, let alone failed them if she had a panic attack every time she entered a learning environment.
I also took issue with the usage of metaphor and similes within this book. I understand that we were inside Iris' head but phrases like "Frank's accusations burn like to much Nair Wax on my upper lip" just seemed too over the top juvenile, and detracted from the seriousness of these moments.
Finally, I felt like the character progression was a bit too sudden, and often contradictory. In one section near the end, Iris is reflecting on how she is viewed as spoiled and how she can change this. However, in the next paragraph when her grandparents suggest making dumplings (something that would be a family activity, and would teach Iris about her culture) she comments that that seems like too much work and opts instead for everyone to get mani/pedis. Yes, this is a relaxing activity, but I feel like Iris missed an opportunity here.
I really wish that I had loved this story, as it's premise and framework were very interesting. I would still be willing to give the author's other book and future stories a try though.
Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book which I received in exchange for my honest review