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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I am so dense that I didn't realize until about 50 pages in to this book that it was a sequel to "Love Walked In". I really like these characters and reading this author. A perfect end of summer read.
I love the way Marisa de los Santos writes. It has been a long time since someone has been able to write something to just engulf me and take me out of real life and into a story. I don't think you need to have read Love Walked In to have loved this book, but it helps. Since you already know you love Cornelia, Teo and Clare.
*sigh* finally finished it!! This book was a selection for my non-GR bookclub and not my choice. I'm not going to describe the story line because I suck at that so all you are getting, as usual, is my opinion.
The first half is difficult to read. The author loves to embellish everything. Paragraph upon paragraph of description of something that is not even that important to the storyline. I'd say she spends the first half of the book just describing the characters. I put the book down about halfway through, because I was not enjoying, and picked up something else. Since it is for my book club I tried again after I read a more leisurely book.
Once I started again, it finally got a little more interesting. There was more actuall conversation between characters and a little less description. I still found myself skipping paragraphs when the author went on another unnecessary descriptive tangent.
The story, once you found it was nice enough. VERY sad through-out the book, a lot of death talk with I could do with out. Though when it comes down to it she could have completely eliminated one set of characters and made the book a lot more enjoyable to read, at least for me.
The first half is difficult to read. The author loves to embellish everything. Paragraph upon paragraph of description of something that is not even that important to the storyline. I'd say she spends the first half of the book just describing the characters. I put the book down about halfway through, because I was not enjoying, and picked up something else. Since it is for my book club I tried again after I read a more leisurely book.
Once I started again, it finally got a little more interesting. There was more actuall conversation between characters and a little less description. I still found myself skipping paragraphs when the author went on another unnecessary descriptive tangent.
The story, once you found it was nice enough. VERY sad through-out the book, a lot of death talk with I could do with out. Though when it comes down to it she could have completely eliminated one set of characters and made the book a lot more enjoyable to read, at least for me.
Read Belong to Me without realizing that this was a sequel to Love Walked In. However, I don't think I needed to read it first, as this book stood alone. This was a quick easy read. I thought it was a realistic "this is life" book. Some funny parts but mostly sad and I'm not a big fan of sad.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read her 400-page book in less than a week in preparation for her visit to our local library and my subsequent interview with de los Santos. It was very quick and "Desperate Housewives"-like; toward the middle it got a bit predictable but not so much that I stopped reading.
I was worried when I started reading this, because it seemed a bit too much like "fluff" or "chick lit," but it really turned out to be a lovely book. Her writing is lyrical and she uses some of the most beautiful and visual metaphors I've ever encountered. Her characters - even the ones you're not supposed to "like" - end up likable because they're so multidimensional and realistically drawn. This is a nice, fast, entertaining, feel good read without being too fluffy or overly sentimental.
I had no idea this was tied to her first book (Love Walked In) but now that I know that, I will make a point to pick it up and give it a whirl.
I had no idea this was tied to her first book (Love Walked In) but now that I know that, I will make a point to pick it up and give it a whirl.
I was enamored with this book in the beginning chapters. I thought I had stumbled upon a witty new author. Instead the book meandered painfully and was headed in an obvious but snail paced direction. Gave up about 1/3 of the way through and read the last chapter just to be sure and sure enough....everything fell in place as so obviously indicated early on. This could easily had been a short story.
The book was a disappointment.
The book was a disappointment.