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A review by xena_p
Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown
2.0
We have all heard the saying do not judge a book by its cover. I hate to admit it but I often do judge a book by its cover or title. As soon as I read the title I wanted to read it. I had high hopes for it, but spoiler alert it did not live up to my expectations.
We have our two leads, Alice and Nellie, in two different time periods living two different but somewhat similar lives. Alice moves into Nellie's house almost 60 years after Nellie's stories took place there. Even though Alice does not want to leave the city, she follows her husband's plan as she does not work anymore and thinks this is the "least" she could do.
Nellie grew up poor, fell in love and married a rich man who had inherited a gum factory. Seemed like a fairytale until it doesn't.
Both of them are stuck in a life that does not entirely feel like their own.
All four characters are terrible in their own way but that's not something I hate in a book after all characters are supposed to be people like us. These characters although well-written have this half-baked feeling to them.
Yet my biggest disappointment with the book was the detonating plot as the story progressed. The beginning was promising and building up well. As the book progressed it seemed like much of the plot building was unnecessary or could have been conveyed through a better incident, phrasing, or anything that did not feel like the book was being dragged.
The plot was somewhat predictable, that's fine though I attribute that more to myself than the author. Even so, the book failed to deliver the plot twists, it simply seemed they had bad timing or did not fall with an impact heavy enough.
It was easy to read and somewhat fun, but I would not suggest it. I learned a few new phrases and words, and what I do not like in a book. Mostly it felt like a waste of time.
Overall 2.5/ 5 stars
We have our two leads, Alice and Nellie, in two different time periods living two different but somewhat similar lives. Alice moves into Nellie's house almost 60 years after Nellie's stories took place there. Even though Alice does not want to leave the city, she follows her husband's plan as she does not work anymore and thinks this is the "least" she could do.
Nellie grew up poor, fell in love and married a rich man who had inherited a gum factory. Seemed like a fairytale until it doesn't.
Both of them are stuck in a life that does not entirely feel like their own.
All four characters are terrible in their own way but that's not something I hate in a book after all characters are supposed to be people like us. These characters although well-written have this half-baked feeling to them.
Yet my biggest disappointment with the book was the detonating plot as the story progressed. The beginning was promising and building up well. As the book progressed it seemed like much of the plot building was unnecessary or could have been conveyed through a better incident, phrasing, or anything that did not feel like the book was being dragged.
The plot was somewhat predictable, that's fine though I attribute that more to myself than the author. Even so, the book failed to deliver the plot twists, it simply seemed they had bad timing or did not fall with an impact heavy enough.
It was easy to read and somewhat fun, but I would not suggest it. I learned a few new phrases and words, and what I do not like in a book. Mostly it felt like a waste of time.
Overall 2.5/ 5 stars