mymercurialnature's review against another edition

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

3.0


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thissagreads's review against another edition

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challenging sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I had high expectations for this book, and the Audio is what saved it. The storytelling was mediocre, and there was so much left at the end of the story that wasn’t answered or remedied. Not to mention how frustrating it was that
we don’t really know what Proctor and Althea did- were they stealing tax money? Or inflating their costs of goods at their restaurant and then skimming off the top? Something happened financially but it never becomes clear. EVEN MORE FRUSTRATING IS ALTHEA AND HER LACK OF DESIRE TO BE OPEN TO CHANGE AND TO BE A BETTER SISTER WHO’S HOMOPHOBIC TO HER SISTER VIOLA, TURNS A BLIND EYE TO HER BROTHER BEATING AND TORTURING THEIR YOUNGEST SISTER LILLIAN WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG, AND TO BE A BETTER MOTHER WHO TAKES ACCOUNTABILITY INSTEAD HER ATTITUDE IS “well that’s just how the world is so I’m preparing everyone for it” she has no remorse until the very end! And it’s a fraction of the remorse she SHOULD be feeling! UGH
I think what was also frustrating, was that the sisters didn’t have enough development, and the story went so back and forth from each sister AND from their past, to present, that there was just WAY too much to unpack and solve or figure out before the end of the book. I think if the author did a story for each sister, or made the book twice as long, it wouldn’t have felt like emotional whip lash while reading and seeing that maybe only 3 of the characters made actual steps towards real, permanent change.
It would’ve been nice for the author to go down the recovery journey of the sister Viola, with the eating disorder so the reader could really envision what that experience would be like. It would’ve also been nice to see the healing journey of the sister Lillian, while she works on her ptsd from her abusive big brother, AND TO SEE ALTHEA WORK ON HER HOMOPHOBIA AND FATPHOBIA! But everything felt so vague and that the surface of each sister’s life was just barely getting scratched.
I really wished the author took more time writing this because it had such good potential! But -in my opinion- there were so many characters, and not enough story to really dig into the the things that needed more than a few chapters.

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d_nice_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.0


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apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.5


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ksuazo94's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.5


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anna_0001's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.75


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lcronin0815's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

3.75


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katievh's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.5


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ldandridge's review against another edition

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emotional tense 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? Yes

3.5


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missprint's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense 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

4.0


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