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A review by kristi518
The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
3.0
I requested this book from NetGalley based on the cover which I thought was pretty and the fact it had something to do about books. I didn't read the description so I went into reading this book a bit blindly. This book was nothing like I thought it might be.
The author starts out with Sarah and Grace as young girls and we get to know a bit about who they are. Then fast-forward to present day and we see Grace and Sarah meet for the first time when Grace moves her family to Dove Pond. Grace's family consists of her mom and her niece. They have moved back to Dove Pond because Mama G has dementia and a move back to her childhood home might make things easier on everyone. I thought the author did a fantastic job of portraying what it was like for Grace and Mama G as her dementia progressed and things became more difficult for each of them. Next door neighbor Travis Parker was a nice addition to the story and the fact that he had just gone through the same thing with his father made him a very believable character and support for Grace. I liked Sarah more though and I think that's because she came across as more dimensional than Grace. Sarah was a softer character and one that I just thought I would have more in common with.
While I enjoyed the story I thought the pace was a bit slow at times and it seemed like the story was stuck. Things were repeated over and over and hopefully were edited out before the story was published. The book is 368 pages and could probably be trimmed down to 300 and not lose any of the story's substance. At times I had a difficult time staying interested in the story and I think with some editing this wouldn't have been an issue. One other thing was the rushed ending that wasn't really an ending at all. I know there are more books to come in the series but it would be nice to have had some closure on the main part of the story (which isn't about Sarah, by the way).
All in all, this isn't a bad read and I was interested enough in the story and the characters that I would strongly consider reading the next book in the series. I don't like unfinished endings and would like to know what happens next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and wasn't required to write a review. All opinions are mine.
The author starts out with Sarah and Grace as young girls and we get to know a bit about who they are. Then fast-forward to present day and we see Grace and Sarah meet for the first time when Grace moves her family to Dove Pond. Grace's family consists of her mom and her niece. They have moved back to Dove Pond because Mama G has dementia and a move back to her childhood home might make things easier on everyone. I thought the author did a fantastic job of portraying what it was like for Grace and Mama G as her dementia progressed and things became more difficult for each of them. Next door neighbor Travis Parker was a nice addition to the story and the fact that he had just gone through the same thing with his father made him a very believable character and support for Grace. I liked Sarah more though and I think that's because she came across as more dimensional than Grace. Sarah was a softer character and one that I just thought I would have more in common with.
While I enjoyed the story I thought the pace was a bit slow at times and it seemed like the story was stuck. Things were repeated over and over and hopefully were edited out before the story was published. The book is 368 pages and could probably be trimmed down to 300 and not lose any of the story's substance. At times I had a difficult time staying interested in the story and I think with some editing this wouldn't have been an issue. One other thing was the rushed ending that wasn't really an ending at all. I know there are more books to come in the series but it would be nice to have had some closure on the main part of the story (which isn't about Sarah, by the way).
All in all, this isn't a bad read and I was interested enough in the story and the characters that I would strongly consider reading the next book in the series. I don't like unfinished endings and would like to know what happens next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and wasn't required to write a review. All opinions are mine.