Reviews

The Sunset Crowd by Karin Tanabe

laceystairs's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This was a book about how Fame and Fortune does not mean that life will go as planned. Although a lot of the story revolved around privileged people, it was a book where you just loved to get sucked in. I did not feel emotionally attached to these characters as most of them actually were not great people, but there was such an atmosphere and setting of laid back, Sunkissed luxury that I enjoyed being there as a reader. This book did touch on some more serious topics, such as sexual assault and suicide, but overall was a glossy look at the "it" people of the time. 

life_full_ofbooks's review against another edition

5.0

4.5

read12345677's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

kerasalwaysreading's review against another edition

3.0

I think I am one of the few who doesn’t hate nepo babies and still thinks that even with their privilege, they can provide worth to society. We are all just humans here on this floating rock after all… with that said, I wanted to love this. I think that part of me did, too. I liked the writing. I enjoyed the strong character building and the hazy 70s LA atmosphere.

This book follows Bea, a well known photographer, and her group of friends, the young and beautiful people in Hollywood. Running in the crowd of actors, writers, directors, musicians, and more, this book is filled with eye catching drama.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that I particularly liked any characters, considering they were all so BLIND!!!! It infuriated me to no end. From the first scene where the character who truly shakes everything up, I knew they were bad freaking news and through the entirety of the book, nobody seemed to catch on, not enough to do anything about it anyway.

You would think that in a world of spotlight, people would be much more wary of sharing it with others, but no… they all allowed this one person to waltz in and take everything from them.

So, while I could see so much good in this book, I read it with a rage that kept me turning pages just to laugh at these characters.

janet's review against another edition

medium-paced

The comparisons to Daisy Jones & the Six hold up: The Sunset Crowd tracks a group of entitled, wealthy, and often untrustworthy beautiful people as they navigate their social and professional worlds in L.A. and beyond. The Libro.fm/AvidBookshop version of Tanabe’s novel makes for a good road-trip or while-tackling-chores listen. 

haileylm's review against another edition

3.25

i normally love books like this, but i thought the pacing of this one was super strange. everything started happening all at once at the end. also, i really didn’t care for any of the characters… theodora was objectively the most interesting to me

mwillmon's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jennifer_charbo's review

adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

maryelizab3th's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring fast-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

4.0

heidirgorecki's review against another edition

3.0

The writing was ok, albeit a bit wordy and on the slow side. The biggest detractor for me is I found I really did not like any of the characters or the setting. Everyone was superficial, self-absorbed and self-serving. Even Bea, who at least cared about her friends some of the time was obsessed with her friend’s boyfriend non-stop. Yes she honored the relationship but it didn’t stop the obsession and the laying in wait till the second it was going to implode. And I was annoyed that even after the odd and off interactions with the friend in question (trying to avoid spoilers) she ignored them and everyone just continued in the self-absorbed and superficial way of life cuz why wouldn’t you dive into whatever entertained you or made you feel good about yourself.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.