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imsarah_moran 's review for:
My Name Is Emilia del Valle
by Isabel Allende
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Blurb
"In San Francisco in 1866, an Irish nun, abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia del Valle. Raised by a loving stepfather, Emilia grows into an independent thinker and a self-sufficient young woman.
To pursue her passion for writing, she is willing to defy societal norms. At the age of seventeen, she begins to publish pulp fiction using a man’s pen name. When these fictional worlds can no longer satisfy her sense of adventure, she turns to journalism, convincing an editor at The Daily Examiner to hire her. There she is paired with another talented reporter, Eric Whelan.
As she proves herself, her restlessness returns, until an opportunity arises to cover a brewing civil war in Chile. She seizes it, as does Eric, and while there, she meets her estranged father and delves into the violent confrontation in the country where her roots lie. As she and Eric discover love, the war escalates and Emilia finds herself in extreme danger, fearing for her life and questioning her identity and her destiny.
A riveting tale of self-discovery and love from one of the most masterful storytellers of our time, My Name Is Emilia del Valle introduces a character who will never let hold of your heart."
My Thoughts
I am not going to lie...I'm so disappointed. 😭
Before I go through what I disliked about this book, I will try to be positive and share what I did like about it. First off, the cover is literally SOOO pretty! 😍 It's one of the things that drew me in. Next, the first...I'd say...30% of the book was quite interesting, and I was excited to see where it was going. Emilia's story and fearless nature were a great foundation for a captivating story.
But, honey, I read a book to be shown and not told!! This alone knocked a star off. I get it. It's supposed to be a memoir-type book, but I'd like some prose, just some...thing! Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the author's style of writing, but I think it's safe to say that I did not like it. It felt more like a newspaper article rather than a moving novel.
Do I think Isabel Allende is a bad author? Absolutely not. I think if I read another one of her more notable books, then maybe I'll feel differently about her writing style. I don't think this book is for me.
The characters were also kinda bland. 🫣 Emilia annoyed me at times with her girl-boss attitude, the other characters felt disconnected from the story, and Eric...who even was Eric? I need character development! Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly so I can feel like I am reading about real people. The characters had flaws and trials, sure, but why did they have them? How do these attributes and circumstances contribute to the story? If there is no reason, then it is all completely unnecessary. What the characters needed was depth, and if they had it, then this book would have been a million times better!
And the romance? We don't know her. There was no reason for Emilia to fall in love because there was no evidence of it ever blossoming whenever she was with her lover. She just said she was in love. Okay. Great. When, where, how, and why? Her love for a certain someone-someone is baseless. Does Emilia even have feelings at this point?
As a history-lover, you would think that all the information and events surrounding the Chilean civil war would interest me, but it didn't. I could have watched a Crash Course video about the conflict, where I'd be at least a little bit entertained.
Do I hate this book? No. Would I recommend it to you? Yes, because your taste in books could be completely different from mine, and I honestly hope you love it. This book just wasn't for me, but I'm glad I got to read from an author I am not familiar with.
Content Warnings
death, war violence, nudity, mentions of classism, sexism, and misogyny
Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing an e-arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and statements are my own.
#MyNameisEmiliadelValle #NetGalley
"In San Francisco in 1866, an Irish nun, abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia del Valle. Raised by a loving stepfather, Emilia grows into an independent thinker and a self-sufficient young woman.
To pursue her passion for writing, she is willing to defy societal norms. At the age of seventeen, she begins to publish pulp fiction using a man’s pen name. When these fictional worlds can no longer satisfy her sense of adventure, she turns to journalism, convincing an editor at The Daily Examiner to hire her. There she is paired with another talented reporter, Eric Whelan.
As she proves herself, her restlessness returns, until an opportunity arises to cover a brewing civil war in Chile. She seizes it, as does Eric, and while there, she meets her estranged father and delves into the violent confrontation in the country where her roots lie. As she and Eric discover love, the war escalates and Emilia finds herself in extreme danger, fearing for her life and questioning her identity and her destiny.
A riveting tale of self-discovery and love from one of the most masterful storytellers of our time, My Name Is Emilia del Valle introduces a character who will never let hold of your heart."
My Thoughts
I am not going to lie...I'm so disappointed. 😭
Before I go through what I disliked about this book, I will try to be positive and share what I did like about it. First off, the cover is literally SOOO pretty! 😍 It's one of the things that drew me in. Next, the first...I'd say...30% of the book was quite interesting, and I was excited to see where it was going. Emilia's story and fearless nature were a great foundation for a captivating story.
But, honey, I read a book to be shown and not told!! This alone knocked a star off. I get it. It's supposed to be a memoir-type book, but I'd like some prose, just some...thing! Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the author's style of writing, but I think it's safe to say that I did not like it. It felt more like a newspaper article rather than a moving novel.
Do I think Isabel Allende is a bad author? Absolutely not. I think if I read another one of her more notable books, then maybe I'll feel differently about her writing style. I don't think this book is for me.
The characters were also kinda bland. 🫣 Emilia annoyed me at times with her girl-boss attitude, the other characters felt disconnected from the story, and Eric...who even was Eric? I need character development! Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly so I can feel like I am reading about real people. The characters had flaws and trials, sure, but why did they have them? How do these attributes and circumstances contribute to the story? If there is no reason, then it is all completely unnecessary. What the characters needed was depth, and if they had it, then this book would have been a million times better!
And the romance? We don't know her. There was no reason for Emilia to fall in love because there was no evidence of it ever blossoming whenever she was with her lover. She just said she was in love. Okay. Great. When, where, how, and why? Her love for a certain someone-someone is baseless. Does Emilia even have feelings at this point?
As a history-lover, you would think that all the information and events surrounding the Chilean civil war would interest me, but it didn't. I could have watched a Crash Course video about the conflict, where I'd be at least a little bit entertained.
Do I hate this book? No. Would I recommend it to you? Yes, because your taste in books could be completely different from mine, and I honestly hope you love it. This book just wasn't for me, but I'm glad I got to read from an author I am not familiar with.
Content Warnings
death, war violence, nudity, mentions of classism, sexism, and misogyny
Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing an e-arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and statements are my own.
#MyNameisEmiliadelValle #NetGalley