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ellieb_reads's Reviews (186)
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Charmaine Wilkerson is a brilliant writer and I’ll certainly still pick up her next book, but this one just didn’t land the way Black Cake did. There were too many POVs, a few characters that didn’t add much to the story, and a couple subplots that felt super out of place. Honestly, the entire Ebby/Henry/Avery part of the plot could have been left out and this might have been a really beautiful book about a family’s journey with trauma and grief. The 1800s storyline was really well done, and the overall premise of the book anchored in the jar was captivating. There was a lot of potential here, but it was just “okay” for me.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There were components that I liked here, but this just wasn’t very good. The writing seemed really overworked, and several characters felt like 2D stereotypes or caricatures instead of real people. We got so little time to see Ezra and Ricki’s romance develop, and even less with Ezra’s backstory. Several threads ended up abandoned, and on the whole it felt like the author tried to shove multiple books-worth of content into one story. I did love the 1920s Harlem scenes, and I adored Ms. Della’s relationship with Ricki, but those bits weren’t enough to make this a winner for me. Also, the piano??? Nope.
I love Ira, so I loved this. Highly recommend the audiobook because I think it added to the experience to hear him read it himself.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
I struggled with this one. On one hand, I found the concept really compelling (albeit frightening), and I thought the writing was quite good. I enjoyed that the story was told from the perspective of a young girl, and I appreciated the backstory of how the climate crisis gradually built. But I just didn’t connect with the characters, and the book jumped around timelines every few pages, making it hard to really get into the setting. In the end, it took me forever to get through a fairly short book because I just didn’t want to pick it up.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
A bit too slow to start, but once things picked up, this was a pretty solid third installment in the series. The writing is still cringey (more so in this one than the first two, IMO), but whatever I am not here for impeccable vocabulary. I think Violet and Xaden’s relationship needs a lot more development, and can we stop adding new side characters because I cannot keep up! There was also a ton of filler that I just didn’t need, mostly of Violet’s internal monologue about Xaden (girl, we get it). But I liked the new settings and overall had a great time. And that ending…oof, it’s gonna be a long wait for the next one.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Probably should’ve been a DNF, but it was quick read so I powered through. The plot was fine, but I simply couldn’t suspend disbelief enough to buy that four girls at the same small college could disappear and *no one* suggests they might be connected until a podcast 25 years later. That’s not a spoiler, it’s literally the premise of the book! Also why is every male character is described as being “ridiculously good-looking.” Is this town exclusively hot creepy men??? One female character is waaay too attached to her dad (also hot, she tells us) and the other repeatedly has a thought, then immediately says or does the opposite without explanation (usually something a hot creepy guy wants). The writing was weird and trying too hard, and the theme was “girl is dumb because guy is hot, so murder.” No thank you.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was really lovely! I adored Eddie and his friendship with Bella. Marianne Cronin is a fantastic writer, and I found the letters and poems in the book especially beautiful. I did think the plot was a little too predictable, and overall it was just missing something for me. I think I would’ve liked to hear more of Eddie’s story between 30 and 90, or more about Bella’s life before meeting Eddie. Even so, this was a unique concept and a very sweet book about love - a wonderful way to start my February reads!
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Hear me out: this is Kristin Hannah’s best book. They’re all stunners, but this one stands out in a big way. I loved The Nightingale (and tbh it’s close to a tie for the top spot). But when I read The Women and The Great Alone, I felt that they followed a formula that matched The Nightingale. If you’ve read all three, think about the similarities in the endings. The Four Winds is different. I loved Elsa, and I loved that her story didn’t get the same conclusion. The setting is one I haven’t read often, and Hannah’s writing is descriptive enough to transport you to the Texas dust storms. Bawled my eyes out a few times, absolutely loved it.
I found this to be a good overview of the types of climate disasters that people in the U.S. are facing. The individual stories were heartbreaking and a compelling way to stress the importance of the issue. The last chapter was my favorite, as it focused on policy recommendations. But I felt the balance of the stories and the policy was off. The stories were organized by location rather than type of disaster, so they started to feel a little repetitive after a while and I wished that time had been spent digging deeper in the politics of climate change and potential policy solutions. I think this is a really good starting point for someone who needs to be convinced that climate change is urgent and action is needed, but doesn’t contain a lot of new information for folks who’ve been tuned in for a while. Still worth the read for me because of the personal experiences, and I was impressed by Bittle’s writing in telling their stories.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I wanted more from this. Admittedly my expectations were set high (perhaps unfairly so) after reading The Unmaking of June Farrow last year. It was a slow burn, and the vibes were perfect for an emotional thriller. But there was a lot of build up to big reveals that then were not fully explored the way I wanted. The romantic subplots felt like added fluff, and one in particular felt very odd given a 20 year hiatus. Adrienne Young is a beautiful writer, and this really was a gorgeous novel. But I just didn’t like the story enough.