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bringmybooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
Review: One of my favorite authors, Kristin Hannah continues to prove that she has an unbelievable way with words. It's unbelievable how quickly she sucks you into a novel and makes you care so much about all of the characters. There are parts of her books (especially her more recent ones) that are a bit melodramatic and require a bit of suspended disbelief, but to be honest I don't know that it bothers me so much.
While there is a bit of heightened drama on the interpersonal side, the research and care that Hannah provides to the historical aspects of her novels is top tier and so welcomed. I feel like I learned a ton about the Vietnam War that I was not aware of before (mostly the women's experience of it), and I was very grateful for this book so that I could do more of my own research.
I did really enjoy the characters in this novel, even when they're making the most piss poor decisions - but my favorite part of the novels, and pretty much all of Hannah's novels, is the way she writes relationships between women. I do think this book is her penultimate example of that, and the relationships between the Frankie and her two best friends will stick with me for a long time.
Overall Rating: ★★★★★ / 4.63
Rating each element of the book out of 5★
Characters ★★★★
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Writing ★★★★
Plot ★★★★
Intrigue ★★★★
Logic ★★★★
Enjoyment ★★★★
Pacing ★★★★
Dialogue ★★★★
★ did not like / ★★ it was okay / ★★★ liked it / ★★★★ really liked it / ★★★★★ loved it
Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Torture, Miscarriage, Murder, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Pregnancy, War, Alcoholism, Cancer, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Self harm, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
esjackson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Grief, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Gore, Gun violence, Cursing, Suicide, Addiction, Child death, Alcohol, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, War, and Self harm
Moderate: Classism, Vomit, and Cancer
Minor: Torture, Hate crime, Abortion, and Police brutality
ashdoesalot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Body horror, War, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Medical trauma, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Self harm, Torture, Gun violence, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
seasonofreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Vomit, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Miscarriage, and War
thebookaddict's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Antisemitism, Infertility, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Vomit, War, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Cursing, Death, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical content, Chronic illness, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body horror
kimveach's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Vomit, Child death, Classism, Excrement, Gore, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Misogyny, Self harm, Abandonment, Addiction, Gun violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
ashleyjean6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
*ADDITION*
The longer I thought about this book, the less I liked it. I've never gone back and changed a rating, but I am now. The romances, yes plural, bugged me. But honestly at the end of the day I think it was the thin, disingenuous characters that threw this whole thing off for me. It was almost a good book, but there are some major flaws here. The author is good at smoke and mirrors though, so it takes a minute to see all the gaping holes.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Blood, Death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Gore, Grief, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child death, Mental illness, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Cancer, Classism, and Drug abuse
thereadinggradstudent's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: War, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Violence
alisonluongo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Gore, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Violence, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Body horror, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Death, War, and Alcoholism
woodventures's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Blood, Murder, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, Violence, War, and Pregnancy