Reviews

Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens

alexander_hi's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.5

anirue's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

julienbakerstan69's review against another edition

5.0

“what a thing it is, to fall in love, to want to know everything there is to know about a person and yet, at the same time, to find the smallest detail—a blade of loose skin peeling from the lowest corner of the fingernail—entirely overwhelming, too lovely to bear.”

“what were the chances that, aged eighteen and eating apricot ice cream on a drizzly evening in paris, she would look up and see the man she was going to marry? one hundred percent, she thinks. it seemed to her that she and casimir had known each other all along, that the time she spent yearning and lusting after other people was simply rehearsal. she thinks of herself as an animal following a desire line through a meadow, unwittingly guided forwards.”

“sometimes, she thinks, you just know that someone has something to do with you.”

zimtschnecke's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

caitrinhughes's review against another edition

5.0

I just loved this. It was such an interesting concept that I thought was executed so beautifully.

lovesmhc's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.5

ohlilacbees's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

celltheory's review against another edition

4.0

3.5. This one took me ages to read and I never really connected with it. The writing was beautiful and I liked being inside of Blanca's head, but there was nothing in the story that really held my attention. I expected more of a gay love story, but it was mostly a ghost vaguely pining for a woman who dated shitty men after shitty men.

Spoiler

I know it's based on real life so I'm assuming this was included because of reality, but the whole plot with Chopin and George's daughter was so quick and so weirdly unnecessary.

Most of the book is slow and meandering and then it suddenly picks up and so much happens in quick succession that it lowered the impact of it. I wish that the George and Marie section was given more weight, it really felt to me like all the relationships between women were short cut and not given a lot of attention compared to the ones between women and men. Maybe my expectations were off but this one was kind of a disappointment from how excited and intrigued I was based on the summary and the author.

mariannesandoval's review against another edition

1.0

sorry but i really did not enjoy this. i expected a sapphic love story but i wasn’t sure what i got because at 40% into this book i was so, so bored i actually fell asleep with my ipad (where i read my books on) on my chest. i don’t usually fall asleep while reading books so this explains just how bored i was reading this book. i finished it but very begrudgingly

abigailjkurtz's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0