A review by ryowl
Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Let me start by saying I don't objectively think this is a bad novel. I personally just didn't connect with it the way I was hoping, for some reason or another.

Maybe the translation was partially to blame? It made the story feel very flat, a very monotone and straight-laced translation. 

Additionally, a good chunk of the book being a story in a story didn't work for me, and didn't seem to be incredibly significant, but a way to pad the pages. 

Underwhelming is the best word I could use, not terrible, not good. Just there.