mcbeezie's review
3.0
This book started off really fast paced and very interesting. Somewhere in the middle I got lost in the main characters thoughts, and it lagged. She is amazingly capable of surviving any situation! I loved all the art history information. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
kelroka's review
2.0
Promising premise, but at times book reads more like an outline than novel. Major plot points are glossed over or happen elsewhere. Overall, I found the book disjointed and perplexing.
Full disclosure: I was provided an ARC of this book from Alibi/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure: I was provided an ARC of this book from Alibi/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
yetanothersusan's review
2.0
I would have liked to have given this book at least 3 stars, but by the end I just couldn't. I realize this is fiction so I realize I have to accept a bunch of otherwise questionable events and of course the main character, Stella, is going to survive, but she shouldn't have survived that many near death encounters. At least one of them should have stuck, so to speak. The story line bounced around a lot without any indication that the story was changing time, location, etc. Stella possibly began a relationship with a person in the book (trying not to give spoilers here) but there was nothing to tell the reader that until they were basically in bed together. And while I did enjoy learning a bit about the art world, there was just too much detail. I almost felt like I might get tested on it later. This feeling didn't make me enjoy the book any more.
A preview copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Random House - Alibi in exchange for an honest review.
A preview copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Random House - Alibi in exchange for an honest review.
literarilythrilling's review
2.0
https://thebookcoverjudge.wordpress.com/2016/12/26/review-white-lead-by-susan-daitch/
The Book Cover
I love this cover. This is definitely a cover that would stand out to me while browsing a book store — and the cover was the reason I decided to check it out while browsing the NetGalley website. I enjoy reading books that deal with art, so the art brushes in and of themselves are enough to get me to look twice at this book. That pop of red with the fourth brush fascinated me.
The Review
I had high hopes for this book. I was so excited about this book when I was approved to review it, I sat another book aside so I could read this. I love art history and reading about the art world, both fictionalized and non. I like books that feature strong female protagonists. This should have been a hit for me!
I did not like this book.
I found the story to be fascinating — that is my main positive. What the synopsis promises still sounds so great to me. However, this book is a mess.
It appears that there are multiple — and by multiple, I mean like 15 different — story lines going on and sometimes, it felt like reaching to figure out how each one intertwined with each other. The characters are not believable, the conversations between them are even less believable. I never felt like I was rooting for any character and none of the characters seemed completely thought out. All of them, main character included, felt like throw away characters.
I had to force myself to read this. I started it at the end of October and finished it this past weekend. Almost two months of reading when this should have been a weekend read.
I will say, I did finally get interested in the last few chapters, when the story seems to be coming to an end and it appears we are finding out the truth behind all of this. But even the ending isn’t satisfying.
To say I was disappointed with this read is really an understatement. I feel like this was a very rough draft to what could have been a lovely, interesting book.
The Book Cover
I love this cover. This is definitely a cover that would stand out to me while browsing a book store — and the cover was the reason I decided to check it out while browsing the NetGalley website. I enjoy reading books that deal with art, so the art brushes in and of themselves are enough to get me to look twice at this book. That pop of red with the fourth brush fascinated me.
The Review
I had high hopes for this book. I was so excited about this book when I was approved to review it, I sat another book aside so I could read this. I love art history and reading about the art world, both fictionalized and non. I like books that feature strong female protagonists. This should have been a hit for me!
I did not like this book.
I found the story to be fascinating — that is my main positive. What the synopsis promises still sounds so great to me. However, this book is a mess.
It appears that there are multiple — and by multiple, I mean like 15 different — story lines going on and sometimes, it felt like reaching to figure out how each one intertwined with each other. The characters are not believable, the conversations between them are even less believable. I never felt like I was rooting for any character and none of the characters seemed completely thought out. All of them, main character included, felt like throw away characters.
I had to force myself to read this. I started it at the end of October and finished it this past weekend. Almost two months of reading when this should have been a weekend read.
I will say, I did finally get interested in the last few chapters, when the story seems to be coming to an end and it appears we are finding out the truth behind all of this. But even the ending isn’t satisfying.
To say I was disappointed with this read is really an understatement. I feel like this was a very rough draft to what could have been a lovely, interesting book.
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