This book is a light summer read with vivid characters, but not many surprises. I read it quite quickly since it’s a page turner. Meaning easy to read and easy to get into. But I did not enjoy it very much because it is not my type of book. There was an attempt to go into depth with a lot of tragedy and tough conditions, but I was not convinced by the story. One gets quickly into the personality of the characters which are at first nicely described, but then the writer does not go into depth and I felt it all remained superficial. If one is into beach stuff and tabloid stories this might be the right choice. But for me it was just ok. A nice short lived entertainment.
I totally agree!! I did not appreciate the new characters added with a very simple and superficial description that to my view served little purpose. In addition, yes! “it barely feels like we know the protagonist well enough!”. I got very bored during this second part. I was looking forward to going more into depth about the main characters, but the way the book continued, for me they became very shallow and uninteresting. I kept on reading and I now nearly finished, but I don’t like this book very much. It feels like the writer just threw things in to have a dramatic twist, and there is nothing too surprising. I saw June’s death coming…. and (I am going to be careful here not to spoil to some readers who haven’t reached this section *SPOILER ALERT*) also I totally saw the new sibling coming when the girl with the purple dress started appearing in the story. This is not my type of book, so that may be the reason why I am not enjoying it so much. All this hollywood celebrity life, and everyone being more beautiful than the next with no description of real personalities is not very interesting to read about. I have now reached some more interesting conversations within the family, so let’s see if by the end I am not too disappointed.
Fanny Hello Fanny, and the rest of the group. I was happy to find the book in my mailbox as I returned from holidays, and managed to finish the 1st part as per the plan. It is quite an easy read, so it has been easy to catch up. It is also quite a page turner, so I think I might finish it soon if I continue at this speed. I agree with some of the comments from the group. Having also been up in the mountains most of the summer, it is quite refreshing to feel in a completely different setting through this book. I also felt at first that there were many stereotypes, but appreciated how quickly one gets into the characters and how they became familiar. I also like the going back and forth through time, and how it shows a picture of the young characters versus what they lived as children and their ancestors. I understand the many comments about disliking Mick, but have to say that I am more in agreement with the comment that at an early age of twenty, he probably just got swept away by the fairy tale love story we are taught to seek, as did June too. And did not have a chance to discover who he really was and what he really wanted before he took on such a commitment. Similarly, June has been following this fairy tale love story dream, and even though she can be admired by raising all the children on her own and taking on such responsibility, she seems to be stuck with this young love that actually doesn’t exist. I get the feeling that she probably never really loved the man, but the idea of what she thought he represented. Naive at 20, and stuck there.. Let’s see what comes next. As for the cover of the book. It is nice and colorful, but I also don’t like the bestseller tab. It feels unnecessary and over done to attract attention. Once I finish the book I will probably have a better opinion whether the cover matches. On to the second part……….
Fanny Hello Fanny and group members. Soooo looking forward to reading this book together and discussing it! I am a native English reader, and very excited to start with this book. My email says that the copy of the book has arrived. I am currently on a trek, but will be home by thursday… so planning to dive into it immediately. It is my first book by this author, but I am already curious about the other books
. Chat soon! K