kthrasher's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.0


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m_moon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5


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kris_tea516's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Book 81 of 2024
“The Henna Artist” by Alka Joshi
5/5 ⭐️ 

Set in Jaipur, India in the 1950’s, this is the story of a woman who left her abusive husband to make herself a better life. The unexpected arrival of a sister she never knew existed upends life & disrupts her plans. The years of work she spent building up a reputation of an expert henna artist & medicine woman is on the line. 

This was a beautifully written story of how life never goes the way we plan but it also a redemption story for almost every character involved. It is also a story of how none of us build a life outside of community. Through our journey people help us along sometimes in a benevolent spirit & sometimes with evil intent that leads to growth in character. No one in this story is entirely good or entirely bad…well, maybe one character…

I loved this book but I will warn that it may not be for everyone. There is some pretty intense scenes & topics discussed that are definitely not for kids but also many adults might prefer to skip this book so I will list some trigger warnings:
  • emotional, mental, physical, & sexual abuse (at least one horrifyingly graphic mention of sexual abuse)
  • Heavy discussion & focus at times around abortion
  • One very descriptive sex scene
  • Prostitution
  • Abandonment
  • Infertility, miscarriage & still birth
  • Death of a parent
  • Arranged marriages
  • Depression
  • Suicide
  • Infidelity
  • Sexual harassment 



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tehstorm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5


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oproy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed the book but felt that the character development overall could have been better. For Radha,
 I understand she’s a teenager but her mood swings were, to me, the antagonist of the book. Also, Laxmi also seemed one-sided in her stubbornness. 

Overall, it was an interesting read and the author did a wonderful job of setting the scene of Jaipur, the Pink City, during the birth of a new nation. But, the story just fell a bit flat for me overall.

I would recommend the read. 

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

I liked this, but it moved a little bit slowly for me, which usually I don't mind. But it was one that felt like many more hours than it actually was. Was it because
the younger sister was so fucking annoying? Perhaps. She just seemed REALLY DUMB. Which might not be nice, but yeek.
I thought it promoted interesting ideas about how women can keep their independence through birth control, which is an important conversation to be having right now. (Is it ever not an important conversation in this hellscape?) Would give this author another try. Oh also -
for someone who knows so much about pregnant people - for the main character to not know her sister was preggers for so long seemed a bit far-fetched.

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joopa09's review against another edition

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

3.5


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tinkithesquirelll's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

4.5 stars.
This was a phenomenal book. I loved the inside on how india operated and the families. This was a beautiful book about hardship , love , guilt, and starting over. I love Lakshmi and respect the hardship she had to endure throughout this book. 

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jrow's review against another edition

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hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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croseklotz's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Atmospheric story that is told through moving and matter of fact prose. Follows an Lakshmi, a woman who has given up more than just her current life to build her dream home, but her past confronts her on a terrifying but eye opening adventure. She learns who and what truly matters. Set in 1940s India. 

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