Reviews

The Rose Petal Beach by Dorothy Koomson

khairun_atika's review against another edition

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3.0

I have read several Koomson books. So by now, I understand how the whole whodunnit aspect of the plot would unfold. However, it is the unexpected plot twists, and how the characters carefully conceal their misdemeanours, that really impressed me. This books is sort of built along the same lines as The Ice Cream Girls, with intrigue reminiscent to that of The Woman He Loved Before, two of my favourite books by Koomson. I think Koomson really understands both the purity and conceit in a woman's heart, which makes her a magnificent writer. An awesome read!

fordec26's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Great traffic as always from Dorothy, 663 pages is a lobg one for me but I enjoyed every page 

lucy_qhuay's review against another edition

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3.0


This book was just crazy.

Koomson's writing is good and the beginning of the story was actually interesting, but the characters soon spoiled it all for me.

First of all, Tamia is supposed to be a strong woman, capable of taking any blow, but the truth is she's just a naive, foolish woman.

She thought or pretended to think her life with her husband Scott was perfect, but there were tons of clues that wasn't the truth.

First of all, it was plain to see he was a sick man.

He was addicted to disturbing porn where women were raped. He was narcissistic, selfish and disrespectful. She knew deep down he had affairs. There was one awful night in particular when he pretty much violently raped her too. Then he was arrested for attempted rape of her best friend Mirabelle.

What did Tamia do? She ignored all the serious vibes she was getting, automatically blamed her best friend and pretty much shamed her for all.

When she had a bitch slap from reality and realized she couldn't run from the truth anymore, she didn't dump his ass or ran to the police. Still she delayed the separation.

She only told him to get out when she found out he was cheating on her with her other best friend, Beatrix.

This woman was totally delusional, raving about how they were desperately in love, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then she has cancer, Scott doesn't give a damn and she's afraid to be alone.

Guess what? Yes. Tamia takes her into her own house and takes care of her. Her backstabbing friend. One of her husband's whores.

Seriously, I don't know if Tamia is a saint or really stupid. I'm inclined to stupid.

They're all crazy.

lostinthepages20's review

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emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

memita's review against another edition

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3.0

Gostei da história no geral, mas não me prendeu como as anteriores que li da autora. Fiquei um pouco desiludida, nenhuma personagem me tocou como estava à espera. Acho que tinha muitas expectativas para este livro e isso acabou por me privar de desfrutar da história.

hk0603's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow what a twist of a book wasn't expecting who it was or the reason at all , fantastic read

bruna24dias's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

   Ok, então. Não vou mentir, eu fui para este livro a achar que não ia amar quando apercebi que era um mistério, mas sinto que não foi esse o real problema do livro.
   A tradução do livro foi super funky e estranha. Imensas palavras estavam escritas em PT-BR e pior que isso foi mesmo o diálogo entre personagens. As personagens tinham cerca de 35 anos, no entanto falavam como um adolescente escrito por um homem de 50 anos 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️
   Eu li o livro na base do ódio, not gonna lie. A personagem masculina enervou-me do início ao fim, a Beatrix foi uma desilusão durante a história e a resolução do mistério não foi nada do que eu estava à espera. (e sim fiquei desiludida)
   A Tami foi uma boa personagem de seguir, apesar de ser "clueless" e super naive. Gostava de ter lido alguns Gostava de ter tido capítulos só com a Mirabelle. Sinto que ela teria num ponto de vista totalmente diferente de toda a gente. A Fleur foi um "fresh air" no livro.
   Acho que eu para já não me identifico com personagens com este estilo de vidas (casadas, com filhos, uma carreira profissional já formada, etc) e talvez daqui a uns anos este livro seja mais impactful.

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characters: 8 | atmosphere: 5 | writing: 3 | plot: 5 | pacing: 4 | world-building: 4 | enjoyment: 5
2.4 ✨

emma_jade91's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

dualportaldestinies's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

pancakesandpaperbacks's review against another edition

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4.0

You can really feel Tami’s prejudices and as the plot progresses, many things will be revealed. The plot was nicely layered and I liked how many people were heard in the story. The writing style was also to my taste. I am positively surprised of this book that I found in sale for 1e. I will definitely read more from Koomson!