A review by carlysgrowingtbr
My Train Leaves at Three by Natalie Guerrero

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A grieving Broadway star has to hit rock bottom incthr industry before soaring to new heights.

Audiobook Stats:

⏰: 8 hours  

🎤: Rae De Vine  

Publisher: Penguin Random House  

Format: Singular POV  

I enjoyed this audiobook. I loved the voice and tempo of the narrator. The narration was clear and concise. I never had to adjust my speed. The narrator was fantastic at making the FMC shine! 

Themes:

🎵: Grief 

🎵: Family relationships 

🎵: Explores sexuality and various forms of love  

Representation:

🎤: Strong female lead 

🎤: Afro-Latina FMC Dominican 

🎤: Conversational Spanish   

Tropes: 

💗: Broadway star 

💗: Woman succeeding in a man's world  

🥵: Spice: 🌶️ 

Potential Triggers: domestic violence **check authors page/socials for full list. 

Short Synopsis:

Xiomara is dealing with the immense grief of losing her sister any way she knows how. Unfortunately, this means, jumping from man-to-man, self-destructive behavior and the eventual demise of her Broadway career. After witnessing the ugly side of the industry, the Xiomara decides that she's going to start living for herself, setting boundaries and moving forward in life.

General Thoughts:

Talk about a messy protagonist and an even messier plot line. But in the absolute best way possible. We watch Xiomara make bad decision after regretful decision and all the while wishing we could save her from herself. Watching Xiomara deal with immense grief amid the decline of her personal and family life is absolutely devastating in so many ways. But you also can't help but love her spunk and tenacity, and it makes her so easy to root for. Even though you basically just wish the entire book that she would just get a small break.

Xiomara was a relatable and layered character. She felt realistic and relatable in almost every way. She really was not just the center of the story but a showstopper as well. Watching her grow and developed throughout the book was extremely compelling and endearing.

This book did have some hard to read areas that I would suggest getting trigger warnings for. We do have to watch Xiomara hit rock bottom within the Broadway industry by putting her trust in the wrong people and making some decisions that absolutely were not in her best interest. This was done very well and felt very organic and added depth to the plot line. It definitely got the reader emotionally invested.

The only criticism I have during my read was I felt like things were resolved a little too simply between her and her mother. But this was a minor annoyance that was probably just personal to my reading and I don't feel affected the overall novel too deeply.

I would definitely read more by this author in the future. Her character work is immaculate.

Disclaimer: I read this audiobook via free ALC through the Penguin Random House Audiobook Influencer Program. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.