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tetcha's Reviews (211)
Picture it: One morning at the exact same time every person on the planet over the age of 22 wakes up to find a box on their doorstep that holds a string measuring the exact number of years they have left to live. Do you open your box? Would you want to see the length of your string? How would knowing yours or someone else’s string length change your decisions about who you hired, married, voted for, or whether you have children, or trying something dangerous? While the whole world is thrown into instant chaos, this speculative fiction novel closely follows what happens next to eight strangers as they grapple with this new world and how they learn to live with whatever choice they made.
When I started this book I had no idea my mind was about to be completely thrown for a loop and I am dying to talk about it with anyone and everyone! I loved every second of this thought provoking, unforgettable, heartwarming yet terrifying, and unique debut novel - is it too early to call this my favorite book of 2023? Please read this immediately and then let’s chat!
When I started this book I had no idea my mind was about to be completely thrown for a loop and I am dying to talk about it with anyone and everyone! I loved every second of this thought provoking, unforgettable, heartwarming yet terrifying, and unique debut novel - is it too early to call this my favorite book of 2023? Please read this immediately and then let’s chat!
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A story about Five Chinese-American university students that get offered $50 million to steal priceless Chinese art back from museums around the word… count me in! Sad to say I thought I would like this a lot more than I did, the story premise and characters were great but I felt it got bogged down by endless minute details. I heard it was making it’s way to Netflix, so wait for a condensed Oceans Eleven style movie or show instead!
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I was disappointed by the “mystery” in this story but it wasn’t really about the theft of a priceless violin, it was about Ray’s family history and the struggles he overcame to achieve his dream of becoming a concert violinist. I loved that despite how he was treated, he stayed kind to others, true to himself and never gave up.
Instead of for mystery lovers, I would recommend this to anyone who like a good family saga or coming of age drama instead.
Instead of for mystery lovers, I would recommend this to anyone who like a good family saga or coming of age drama instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery
This book was just okay for me... Interesting, very relevant for the times, had a great audiobook narrator but definitely not a thriller. It dragged a bit but I enjoyed the ending.
I am a little torn on what star rating to give this one. As a rom-com I think it deserves 5 stars for sure if you are looking for something in the contemporary romance genre but when I compare it to my favorite books from all genres over the last few years, I would say it’s probably a 4 star at best for me. Having said that, it made laugh out loud and I will definitely read Emily Henry again.
I always get more from my reading when I can discuss books with fellow mmd book club members so I am glad I read this early and get the whole month of June to dive in a little deeper before our live chat with the author on June 22nd.
I definitely would recommend this book as a hilarious and fun summer beach read with a little more substance than your typical cheesy rom-coms.
I always get more from my reading when I can discuss books with fellow mmd book club members so I am glad I read this early and get the whole month of June to dive in a little deeper before our live chat with the author on June 22nd.
I definitely would recommend this book as a hilarious and fun summer beach read with a little more substance than your typical cheesy rom-coms.
This MMD book October Book Club read was a tough one for me, it was very dark and violent (although not overly graphic) with very little hope for a positive ending. I pushed through and am glad I did as I was pleasantly surprised by the ending; however, I am not sure I know anyone personally that I would recommend this too, frankly no one needs to add more darkness to their lives with the current climate we are living in now.
A question from our book club was asked if we were an optimist or a pessimist and could we see a future like this ever happening. It made me realize that if I had read this back in 1993 when it was first published I probably would have said no - this Dystopian future world portrayed here was unimaginable... but given the current post covid world we are living in, the amount of false information fed to us on a daily basis, the unfiltered hate and racism displayed and the divisiveness among people over the last several years... now I'm not so sure.
On the positive side, following a journey that showed how challenging times creates unexpected leaders, brings out peoples strengths they didn't know they were capable of, and of course remembering we are always more likely to triumph working together than just worrying about ourselves made this novel worth finishing.
A question from our book club was asked if we were an optimist or a pessimist and could we see a future like this ever happening. It made me realize that if I had read this back in 1993 when it was first published I probably would have said no - this Dystopian future world portrayed here was unimaginable... but given the current post covid world we are living in, the amount of false information fed to us on a daily basis, the unfiltered hate and racism displayed and the divisiveness among people over the last several years... now I'm not so sure.
On the positive side, following a journey that showed how challenging times creates unexpected leaders, brings out peoples strengths they didn't know they were capable of, and of course remembering we are always more likely to triumph working together than just worrying about ourselves made this novel worth finishing.
I do not generally have an interest in Shakespeare so that element of the book did not add anything extra for me, however the author had me hooked from the beginning by starting with the main character being released from prison then flashing back to learn how he ended up there. It was an okay mystery with mostly despicable characters but none the less it had me reading to the very end.