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A review by amandas_reading_nook
Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm not sure how Olivie Blake managed to take everything I constantly say I don't care for (slow-paced, character-driven, unanswered questions), shove it all into one book, wrap it in her equally beautiful and funny prose, and make me love it, but here we are.
The Wren siblings, Meredith, Arthur, and Eilidh, are brought together by their father's sudden passing. Keeping the peace between them is difficult enough without the added tension of waiting to see who will inherit Wrenfare Magitech, the billionaire's actual favorite child. Throw in the fact that Meredith is being investigated for fraud, Arthur is losing his re-election campaign, and Eilidh has a penchant for causing small apocalypses, and they'll be lucky to last long enough for the lawyers to decide which will is Thayer's actual final testament.
I was hooked from the very first sentence- and can now attest to the fact that Meredith Wren is indeed an asshole. The ridiculous sibling antics were enough to keep me reading, but with God's added snarky narration, I was audibly laughing throughout the entire book. I don't understand how I can hate a cast of characters so much and still root for them endlessly. They are entitled, privileged, whiny, and varying degrees of bad people, and yet there was also something so humanly relatable about being a burnt-out, previously-labeled-gifted child turned depressed adult that made them almost endearing to me (Meredith especially, damn her). I genuinely wanted each of them to find their version of happiness. Which is what I think this book is really asking- what does it mean to be happy, and how do we get there? I loved watching their journey through grief, and I don't think I could ask for anything more from a family drama.
This story perfectly suits Blake's writing style. If you've read any of her previous novels and didn't enjoy the writing, then this one may not be for you as it's much of the same. But if you, like me, know that you love her prose and the way she structures her narratives in a not-so-linear fashion, then I cannot recommend enough that you pick up a copy of this immediately. There's something special in this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, TOR Books, for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.
The Wren siblings, Meredith, Arthur, and Eilidh, are brought together by their father's sudden passing. Keeping the peace between them is difficult enough without the added tension of waiting to see who will inherit Wrenfare Magitech, the billionaire's actual favorite child. Throw in the fact that Meredith is being investigated for fraud, Arthur is losing his re-election campaign, and Eilidh has a penchant for causing small apocalypses, and they'll be lucky to last long enough for the lawyers to decide which will is Thayer's actual final testament.
I was hooked from the very first sentence- and can now attest to the fact that Meredith Wren is indeed an asshole. The ridiculous sibling antics were enough to keep me reading, but with God's added snarky narration, I was audibly laughing throughout the entire book. I don't understand how I can hate a cast of characters so much and still root for them endlessly. They are entitled, privileged, whiny, and varying degrees of bad people, and yet there was also something so humanly relatable about being a burnt-out, previously-labeled-gifted child turned depressed adult that made them almost endearing to me (Meredith especially, damn her). I genuinely wanted each of them to find their version of happiness. Which is what I think this book is really asking- what does it mean to be happy, and how do we get there? I loved watching their journey through grief, and I don't think I could ask for anything more from a family drama.
This story perfectly suits Blake's writing style. If you've read any of her previous novels and didn't enjoy the writing, then this one may not be for you as it's much of the same. But if you, like me, know that you love her prose and the way she structures her narratives in a not-so-linear fashion, then I cannot recommend enough that you pick up a copy of this immediately. There's something special in this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, TOR Books, for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.