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A review by jensreadinglife
The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
3.0
Review of the audiobook.
So many people love this book. It has wonderful reviews. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite work for me though I can see why so many people enjoy it.
This is the story of Edith and Helen, two sisters who were never close and become estranged as young adult women when their father leaves Helen their entire inheritance. This sounds like an intriguing premise but it had a few problems for me. First, while the story is told from alternating viewpoints, I felt it spent too much time with each of the characters before moving on. I also could not stand the character of Helen. Her reasonings behind her actions just left me cold. I resonated more with Edith but especially with Edith's granddaughter, Diana. I would have preferred the entire book be from her point of view and, unfortunately, she doesn't even enter the story until you are well into it.
I did enjoy learning about the beer making process and the world of small, craft brewers. It is not at all a world I am familiar with. Diana's journey down this path was my favorite part of the book. I was wondering if I might have enjoyed this more as a physical book, and I might have given the narrator's voice was not my favorite. If you like family dramas set in the Midwest and would like to learn about beer brewing, then you should pick this one up.
So many people love this book. It has wonderful reviews. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite work for me though I can see why so many people enjoy it.
This is the story of Edith and Helen, two sisters who were never close and become estranged as young adult women when their father leaves Helen their entire inheritance. This sounds like an intriguing premise but it had a few problems for me. First, while the story is told from alternating viewpoints, I felt it spent too much time with each of the characters before moving on. I also could not stand the character of Helen. Her reasonings behind her actions just left me cold. I resonated more with Edith but especially with Edith's granddaughter, Diana. I would have preferred the entire book be from her point of view and, unfortunately, she doesn't even enter the story until you are well into it.
I did enjoy learning about the beer making process and the world of small, craft brewers. It is not at all a world I am familiar with. Diana's journey down this path was my favorite part of the book. I was wondering if I might have enjoyed this more as a physical book, and I might have given the narrator's voice was not my favorite. If you like family dramas set in the Midwest and would like to learn about beer brewing, then you should pick this one up.