Reviews

Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias

reaujacque's review

challenging 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

2.25

Found this hard going. Too much tell, not enough show. I couldn't care about any of the characters, who for me lacked dimension. His prose is very often wonderful, but there's no story, when there really could have been, given the subject matter. Maybe with a better editor, this could have been a great read, but it doesn't develop

nahanarts's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

ojbigbooks's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

kayann's review

challenging emotional mysterious sad medium-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? Yes

3.0

ps2's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

kthompson19's review

emotional reflective

4.75

An absolutely beautifully written book that weaves together historical tragedy with the complicated lives of the women who have to deal with the fallout. I wish the ending had a little more time to reflect, but otherwise this book is simply phenomenal. 

brimnms's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

belkis_ce's review

4.0

“What does forgivenes sound like? Look like?What does it feel like inside the chambers of the heart?”
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A debut novel about the story of the Cepeda Valverde Family that’s tied up with an American Fruit Company’s banana plantation. The secrets, the lies, what happened to Teresa and Lyra that caused them to distance themselves for so many years?
Where There Was Fire is a well written, fast paced book with an unpredictable plot (for me).

slash's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

3.5

hannahhaworth's review

emotional medium-paced

3.5