Scan barcode
jacksons_books_and_music's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
BOOK REVIEW of One Good Turn by Sarah Wallace
A lovely, character-focused story about a woman building a new life for herself and making or deepening emotional connections with others. It warms my heart!
One Good Turn is the second book in the Meddle & Mend series, though it can be read as a stand-alone! It comes after Letters to Half Moon Street and before The Education of Pip.
Due to long-CV and chronic fatigue, it took me over six weeks to read this book, even though most people would be able to get through it in an evening. The audiobook comes to about four hours long at average speed.
I listened to the audiobook via Libro.fm and read along with the paperback, which I bought through Left Bank Books, an indie bookstore in St. Louis, MO. I started reading on January 13th of this year and finished on February 26, with lots of long breaks in between.
CW/TW in the book: economic hardship, a side character in an abusive relationship (including grooming and s3x trafficking), characters who have chosen s3x work
This review contains some minor spoilers…
PROS
- Nell is a great MC! She is a working class woman who is fat, aromantic and sapphic. She has ambitions, loves her friends, and approaches magic with creativity and determination.
- The rest of the cast is just as memorable, is diverse in a myriad of ways, and (minus Jack) truly loveable. But as awful as Jack is as a person, he is also nuanced and has emotional depth. So basically, he’s well-written!
- It was great meeting new characters, but it was also nice seeing familiar ones from Letters to Half Moon Street return. I loved learning how Nell perceived them and watching her get to know them. And I’m so happy for Gerry!
- I love the world of Meddle & Mend and how we learn more about the magic system and how it impacts this regency-inspired society on every level. As a forever theatre kid, I especially loved every moment that had to do with the theatre!
- The depiction of grooming was uncomfortably realistic, as it should be. Well done.
CONS
- Whoever trained the audiobook narrator in RP English and Estuary/Cockney was not specific enough. This was especially clear in how Americanisms kept slipping into the narration. Examples of this are her saying “FRUstrated” (American) instead of “fruSTRATED” (RP English) or “privacy” pronounced with the American long “i” instead of the RP English short “i.” This really took me out of the story at times, unfortunately.
- I didn’t always agree on the narrator’s line reads or what words she chose to emphasize, including how she chose to emphasize a lot of “my”s and “your”s when I didn’t think it was necessary. Over emphasizing these words can sometimes make a powerful character, like Jack, sound petulant instead of threatening or dangerous.
- I wish the book had been twice as long! I felt that so many things could have been gone into more. I wanted more details and the nitty gritty on everything, from Nell acclimating to her new and happy life at the theatre with her amazing coworkers to Nell gaining a new and disturbing perspective on years and years worth of interactions with Pip after her conversation with Lino opens her eyes. And even little details I want to know more of, like what kind of toys Patience’s children are playing with. Basically, I feel greedy for more of (almost) everything!
- I really appreciate the content warnings, but I wish it had been more specific in terms of what was on page and what was not. Letters to Half Moon Street was so tame that I (incorrectly) assumed that the grooming and abuse alluded to in the warnings would be mostly off page. But it definitely wasn’t! I needed to take extra breaks from reading due to various interactions between Jack and Pip, some more explicit than others, that I was not emotionally prepared for at all. I appreciate this subject being addressed! I just wish the words “on page” had been used in the warnings so I could properly prepare myself.
OVERALL
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
- Four out of Five stars for this moving and enjoyable read! I am looking forward to the next book in the Meddle & Mend series, The Education of Pip! He definitely deserves a happy ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
The book contains content and trigger warnings for economic hardship, a side character in an abusive relationship (including grooming and sex trafficking), and characters who have chosen sex work. I would like to add: There is financial abuse of a few characters, including of the main character. There is also a scene where an older man pushes a young man, whom he groomed, against a wall in a public place and despite the pleas of the young man to stop, the older man continues to kiss his neck and sexually stimulate him.