freddie's reviews
295 reviews

Clichéd writing with strange and ineffective metaphors. Said metaphors are everywhere. The women in this book are remarkably mean to one another. Multiple POVs but they sound like the same angsty person. The main characters have "complicated" relationships with one another but the reasons why are not well explored (the only solid reason I could think of is "poor communication skills" - which is a cheap way to create drama).

The main character is needlessly edgy and angsty. She gets a tattoo and a piercing because she wants to experience "pain". She is also involved in some questionable sexual relationships. That's all there is to it. The book is supposed to feel dark but the writing (or translation? I'm not sure) is just abysmal, it's nearly amusing.

Changed my rating from 2 to 4 stars because I'm in a better mood now lol

Lovely descriptive and lyrical writings and lovely retelling concept too. But something about the way the story unfolds makes the reading feel draggy. The main character is an utterly deplorable person (and so well-written that you'll surely hate him). Overall I did not *enjoy* reading it but the novel's ideas are quite interesting.

The first half feels like pages and pages of aimless exposition, and I would have DNF'ed it were I not reading it for the Booktube Prize. The latter half is when this novel really takes off, and not gonna lie, I do feel for the main character Casey with all the worries and dilemmas - money, career, relationship, health - that she has to deal with.

This novel is vibrant - the characters and the settings are colorful. It also has a decent plot with a fair amount of suspense plus a flashback side narrative that explores the origin and childhood of the main character Bridie Devine. The novel tiptoes the line between the fantastic and the realistic and does not care to emphasize which side it belongs to.

Superbly gorgeous story about the intense friendship between a boy of a Jewish family and another boy of a German aristocratic family set in the dawn of the Nazi era. A very sad book.

Miss Brodie and her students, particularly Sandy, are quite complex characters. The book explores motivations quite well and I feel I could see where Miss Brodie and Sandy are coming from in regards to their actions.

Definitely a mixed bag - the strongest stories are "A Woman Asleep on Her Bundle" and "Stray Steps". While the stories are generally intimate, most of them tend to be forgettable. There are some clichéd phrases and dialogues - although that's probably due to the translation.

Great that it subverts the theme of "finding love" and instead shows the growth in the protagonist Maya's character, from her days in the US and when she's in hiding in Chiloé, Chile.

The dialogue is a bit... weird. Somehow it makes almost everyone in Chiloé sound like wise sages, mentor-ish figure to Maya. Not sure if it is due to the book being translated from English. However it does lend an otherworldly feel to the novel when those characters talk like that.

Engaging narration (from multiple POV's) with distinct voices; moderately fast pacing that makes this book a page turner; beautifully developed characters with layers - overall, a lovely book.