gbmillar2002's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Shafak beuatifullly weaves narratives and prose to create Tequila Lelia’s story. This is a story that blends her experience of death and her life, whilst also exploiting the affects on her found family. The plot, characters and word choice is excellent, however i the reason why I have not given this novel 5 stars is because strong emotion was not evoked eg sadness, happiness etc.

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sakisreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

2.5

As striking and vivid as some of the imagery was, I unfortunately found this book disappointing 🥺 I think it had such an incredible concept (e.g. someone passing away and seeing parts of their life flash before their eyes) but it wasn’t well executed. I felt that Elif Shafak was rushing through some vital parts and slowing down some others. I am intrigued by Shafak’s walk of life and might venture to try her other books, but am not rushing to do it 🥲 Overall, I gave it a 2.5 out of 5 stars ✨

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irenemarie's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Whew. My heart is filled and aches at the same time with this novel. The first half your admiration grows for someone whose fate you know is death. It is truly bittersweet. Tequila Leila is the friend you want to have, compassionate, accepting and courageous. Through her last minutes of life, you are introduced to her people, the five, whom she was fiercely loyal to, in return through the second half we learn how much she meant to them. I will reiterate what others have said, Elif Shafak is a phenomenal storyteller. Learning more about her voice through this novel and subsequent browsing on her, she is solidified as an auto-buy author for me. I am excited to explore her back catalogue.
 

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sydneyjn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

What a beautifully written, stunning book.  I loved the structure of the novel, with Leila remembering her friends and how they all met, and then the second half being her friends coming together.  The idea that, after you die, you're still remembering and piecing your life together - I loved it.

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ollie_again's review against another edition

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

5.0


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moonchildjuli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5


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milliminal's review against another edition

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

3.75

What I liked:
The concept, the narrative, the cast of diverse characters and stories, the vivid and immersive descriptions of Istanbul

What I disliked:
The sheer amount of trauma, which almost started feeling like sensationalism, especially when accompanied with little to no reflection on it. (I wish I had read the trigger warnings before hand.) How much the first part slogged in comparison to the second and third parts. 

It was a good read but does not make me motivated to read other works by Shafak.

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hiba_biba's review against another edition

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4.75


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linguisticali's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

I liked the writing, but, as other reviewers have pointed out, this becomes a different book halfway through, which is odd - it felt like the main premise of the book (based on the blurb and title) should have been most of the story, and the rest could have been covered in an epilogue. The second part onwards was interesting at first, but ended up dragging. It was nice to see some joy and hopefulness in the midst of the relentless tragedy, but so much of it was only really clear after her death. 

It felt like the book was leaning into the idea of sex work as inherently tragic, and I was also uncomfortable with the way the trans character's physicality was constantly foregrounded (her size! her hands! her surgeries! her breasts!).

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filo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad 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


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