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jfortney23 's review for:
The Fourth Daughter
by Lyn Liao Butler
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was SO close to a 5 star. I loved learning about Taiwan. Also, there is a decent amount of talk about food, which often bogs down books for me, but this author handles it just right for my taste. The story is brutal and beautiful, and I love the grandmother/mother/daughter relationships.
Now for the reasons it didn't quite hit the 5 star mark for me:
-Simon did a couple of things that felt weird. The way he spoke to the child at the airport was overly familiar. Also, he knew Livia had so much trauma and was forthright with her. Why would he cancel plans with her and let her think that maybe he didn't really care about her? Also, why would he put her in a situation where she would be pressured to agree to a relationship with him because he had changed his life to be with her WITHOUT DISCUSSING IT WITH HER FIRST? It was done that way to amp up the drama, and it bothers me when that's done in books. It's fine in sily romances, but this book was better than that.
-The way Livia said "videotape" several times in one scene was jarring. I doubt anyone her age still calls it that. This is really minor, but I allow myself to be picky because I think so highly of this book that I am judging it against perfection.
Now for the reasons it didn't quite hit the 5 star mark for me:
-Simon did a couple of things that felt weird. The way he spoke to the child at the airport was overly familiar. Also, he knew Livia had so much trauma and was forthright with her. Why would he cancel plans with her and let her think that maybe he didn't really care about her? Also, why would he put her in a situation where she would be pressured to agree to a relationship with him because he had changed his life to be with her WITHOUT DISCUSSING IT WITH HER FIRST? It was done that way to amp up the drama, and it bothers me when that's done in books. It's fine in sily romances, but this book was better than that.
-The way Livia said "videotape" several times in one scene was jarring. I doubt anyone her age still calls it that. This is really minor, but I allow myself to be picky because I think so highly of this book that I am judging it against perfection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture