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books_with_tutusandsons's Reviews (438)
3.5 stars
Overall, it is a good book. The only thing I minded is that the first half is so slow that I almost gave up. The characters seemed unlikable and boring and there was a lot of property talk. But then it picked up and got really good. All the drama came busting out and all of a sudden you have all the people cheating each other and fighting over a house....I could already see a Netflix movie happening in front of my eyes. I don't know why, but all that drama made me very happy. I've heard lock downs can do that to people :). Anyways, I found it quite delightful. ⠀
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So, if you're looking for a book settled in English countryside talking about people fighting over an old mansion, you can give this one a shot.
Big thnx to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.
Overall, it is a good book. The only thing I minded is that the first half is so slow that I almost gave up. The characters seemed unlikable and boring and there was a lot of property talk. But then it picked up and got really good. All the drama came busting out and all of a sudden you have all the people cheating each other and fighting over a house....I could already see a Netflix movie happening in front of my eyes. I don't know why, but all that drama made me very happy. I've heard lock downs can do that to people :). Anyways, I found it quite delightful. ⠀
⠀
So, if you're looking for a book settled in English countryside talking about people fighting over an old mansion, you can give this one a shot.
Big thnx to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.
Sometimes motherhood can be the most solitary thing ever. Yeah, you have the company of the kiddos, but you sleep in fragmets and days easily blend into one. If you dont have someone adult to talk to, life can easily become a set of to do lists and a blur of inner monologues. And this is what this book talks about. ⠀
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In a form of a monologue, we follow the days in life of a woman in the foreign country raising two little kids while her husband works days and nights. How easily the lack of sleep can make one delusional? Where is the boundary between imagination and reality? What is real and what isnt? ⠀
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So familiar are the daily things the main character goes through, but then again, so scary. Through the whole book you cannot escape the feeling that something will go wrong, and the dreadfulness of it just builds up. Even though you fear turning every page expecting that it all comes tumbling down, you cannot not hope for it to all resolve and end well. But, does it? One can never know. ⠀
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Even though its a short one, it could be shortened even a bit more - I think it would only add to the impact. All in all, a great debut novel I can easily recommend. ⠀
Big thnx to NetGalley and the publisher of an ARC of this ebook.
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In a form of a monologue, we follow the days in life of a woman in the foreign country raising two little kids while her husband works days and nights. How easily the lack of sleep can make one delusional? Where is the boundary between imagination and reality? What is real and what isnt? ⠀
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So familiar are the daily things the main character goes through, but then again, so scary. Through the whole book you cannot escape the feeling that something will go wrong, and the dreadfulness of it just builds up. Even though you fear turning every page expecting that it all comes tumbling down, you cannot not hope for it to all resolve and end well. But, does it? One can never know. ⠀
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Even though its a short one, it could be shortened even a bit more - I think it would only add to the impact. All in all, a great debut novel I can easily recommend. ⠀
Big thnx to NetGalley and the publisher of an ARC of this ebook.
I wish we all had a friend like Frederik Backman. Damn, I wish Backman was my friend. I presume you dont know this (and I know it because I am moderately stalking Mr.B), but he and this author have been sharing an office for many years now. Backman will never miss the opportunity to give praise to Niklas Natt och Dag and his work, and he even helped NoD to publish this particular book. ⠀
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So ofc I was intrigued, how could I not be? And what did I get? An interesting concept with slightly above moderate writing. I wont deny that this author has talent. Some parts were amazingly written, interesting, made me even hold my breath for a while. It is dark, raw, brutal, and you can almost see and smell the life of Stockholm in year 1793. The story with investigating a murder with two outcasts is also quite refreshing. But unfortunately, at some parts I felt really bored and just wanted to finish it as soon as possible (too much of name dropping and historical data tend to do that for me). ⠀
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So ofc I was intrigued, how could I not be? And what did I get? An interesting concept with slightly above moderate writing. I wont deny that this author has talent. Some parts were amazingly written, interesting, made me even hold my breath for a while. It is dark, raw, brutal, and you can almost see and smell the life of Stockholm in year 1793. The story with investigating a murder with two outcasts is also quite refreshing. But unfortunately, at some parts I felt really bored and just wanted to finish it as soon as possible (too much of name dropping and historical data tend to do that for me). ⠀
Travel, friendship, good vibes and bits of romance. There is absolutely right amount of everything. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the atmosphere. The main character works as a publicist that takes a group of journalists for a trip to Copenhagen, to get them to know the city, the culture, the history and the concept of hygge. I found that quite interesting cause I used to do that on my previous workplace, and those trips were my favorite part of the job. ⠀
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This is the first in the #romanticescape series, and except of this one I have read only the one set in Croatia (The Secret Cove in Croatia) - I to see how she portrayed my homeland. I love the author's concept and the way she gets to show not only landmarks of a country, but a bit of the atmosphere and the vibe of a certain place. I am definitely continuing with reading through the world with Julie Caplin.
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This is the first in the #romanticescape series, and except of this one I have read only the one set in Croatia (The Secret Cove in Croatia) - I to see how she portrayed my homeland. I love the author's concept and the way she gets to show not only landmarks of a country, but a bit of the atmosphere and the vibe of a certain place. I am definitely continuing with reading through the world with Julie Caplin.
4.5/5 *
Nothing can be more cruel and unfair than reality. People can invent all kinds of stories, but the worst ones come from the truth. And this book is a brilliant example. ⠀
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Told from different perspective and based on a true story about the last woman executed in Iceland in 1829., it talks about a woman's journey to the inevitable. And even though you know the way it ends, all through the book you just cannot stop hoping for a different kind of ending. Because its unfair, because its painful, because its wrong. ⠀
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I have mostly listened to the audio of this book and combined it with an ebook. And it was just beautiful. The writing itself was captivating, you could feel the life in Iceland at that time, and the characters were portrayed masterfully. It does start a bit slow, and with all the Icelandic names it does get a bit confusing, but as the story unravels, you just cannot not admire its beauty. I honestly can recommend this book to everyone.
Nothing can be more cruel and unfair than reality. People can invent all kinds of stories, but the worst ones come from the truth. And this book is a brilliant example. ⠀
⠀
Told from different perspective and based on a true story about the last woman executed in Iceland in 1829., it talks about a woman's journey to the inevitable. And even though you know the way it ends, all through the book you just cannot stop hoping for a different kind of ending. Because its unfair, because its painful, because its wrong. ⠀
⠀
I have mostly listened to the audio of this book and combined it with an ebook. And it was just beautiful. The writing itself was captivating, you could feel the life in Iceland at that time, and the characters were portrayed masterfully. It does start a bit slow, and with all the Icelandic names it does get a bit confusing, but as the story unravels, you just cannot not admire its beauty. I honestly can recommend this book to everyone.
3.5 / 4
When i saw the synopsis of A Burning on @netgalley, I knew I want to read it. It was a rough start with all the different characters and a whole new culture, so I tried transferring to audio. It worked perfectly, with three different narrators and Indian English, it gave me the background and atmosphere I lacked while reading it. In this story, we follow three different people presumably connected to a terrorist attack in modern day India. At moments I had trouble reading it cause some things reminded me on my own country. The brutality, the corruption, the feeling of hoplesness. ⠀
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This is a story about individuality in a country where a person is just a number. About the need for success and the sacrifices one must do to make it. How much of ourselves do we need to deny and what are the limits of our pride? And how in the end a personal gain comes always before compassion and humanity. ⠀
Big thnx to the publisher and NG for providing me a free eARC of this book.
When i saw the synopsis of A Burning on @netgalley, I knew I want to read it. It was a rough start with all the different characters and a whole new culture, so I tried transferring to audio. It worked perfectly, with three different narrators and Indian English, it gave me the background and atmosphere I lacked while reading it. In this story, we follow three different people presumably connected to a terrorist attack in modern day India. At moments I had trouble reading it cause some things reminded me on my own country. The brutality, the corruption, the feeling of hoplesness. ⠀
⠀
This is a story about individuality in a country where a person is just a number. About the need for success and the sacrifices one must do to make it. How much of ourselves do we need to deny and what are the limits of our pride? And how in the end a personal gain comes always before compassion and humanity. ⠀
Big thnx to the publisher and NG for providing me a free eARC of this book.
3.5/5*
With two povs, this books jumps through past and present, talking about young Mattie back in 1950's and her granddaughter Ashlee in today's America. I have to be honest and say that I didn't particularly enjoy the present day story, it was a bit bleak and I actually didn't get to care about the characters at all. But the past part was great. Interesting, touching and sweet and sad at the same time. It pointed out to a time of a history I knew not much about and I loved it. It was a story about love and family, and about life.
As I always repeat, the most horrible stories wrote the humans themselves, with their jealousy, ignorance and selfishness. So many hurt could be avoided in the world if we just learned to respect other people and be kind. But, maybe these stories should be written and read to teach us a lesson we mustn't repeat. I certainly hope so. ⠀⠀
With two povs, this books jumps through past and present, talking about young Mattie back in 1950's and her granddaughter Ashlee in today's America. I have to be honest and say that I didn't particularly enjoy the present day story, it was a bit bleak and I actually didn't get to care about the characters at all. But the past part was great. Interesting, touching and sweet and sad at the same time. It pointed out to a time of a history I knew not much about and I loved it. It was a story about love and family, and about life.
As I always repeat, the most horrible stories wrote the humans themselves, with their jealousy, ignorance and selfishness. So many hurt could be avoided in the world if we just learned to respect other people and be kind. But, maybe these stories should be written and read to teach us a lesson we mustn't repeat. I certainly hope so. ⠀⠀
