balkeyeston's review
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Drug use
Minor: Infidelity
theespressoedition's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
What did I just read? I'm not even sure. This book was beyond confusing to me. There didn't seem to be any actual plot and instead, it just followed the lives of several Cobble Hill residents as their everyday occurrences overlapped.
There wasn't the usual ebb and flow of a story and no real point of view. It was a third-person narrative that just sort of felt like you were hovering above the entire group of characters as they went about their overly dramatic lives. Tons of plot holes (because there wasn't really a plot), no climax or resolution, and there was even an entire newspaper storyline that started at the beginning and had no follow-through. I kept wondering if that was important for some reason or if it was just added for no reason whatsoever.
The only reason this got more than one star is because while I had no clue what was happening, I was still interested for some reason. The narrator of the audiobook was mostly great (aside from the fact that he doesn't know what an English accent sounds like) and I really was curious to know what would happen to each of the characters. Frustratingly, I never really found out? It was bizarre.
I went into this hoping for some Gossip Girl-esque drama, but wound up just feeling like I read a really long newspaper article... sort of. I don't even know.
There wasn't the usual ebb and flow of a story and no real point of view. It was a third-person narrative that just sort of felt like you were hovering above the entire group of characters as they went about their overly dramatic lives. Tons of plot holes (because there wasn't really a plot), no climax or resolution, and there was even an entire newspaper storyline that started at the beginning and had no follow-through. I kept wondering if that was important for some reason or if it was just added for no reason whatsoever.
The only reason this got more than one star is because while I had no clue what was happening, I was still interested for some reason. The narrator of the audiobook was mostly great (aside from the fact that he doesn't know what an English accent sounds like) and I really was curious to know what would happen to each of the characters. Frustratingly, I never really found out? It was bizarre.
I went into this hoping for some Gossip Girl-esque drama, but wound up just feeling like I read a really long newspaper article... sort of. I don't even know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Cursing, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content
More...