Reviews

Desperada by Sofia Mostaghimi

jan11th's review

3.0

I have so many thoughts on this book I can’t possibly put it all into a review but honestly after a few weeks of finishing it and thinking about it, I think it kinda fell flat.

I wish more of it was set in Toronto, and got into how grief is handled in the persian culture.. there was so much more this novel could’ve worked with.

daniellejp16's review

2.5

Honestly I struggled to finish this book. It started off very promising as Kora is grieving the death of her sister, quits her job and jumps on a plane to Iceland.

I had been expecting more of healing journey instead of a destructive sex journey. I understand that people grieve in different ways but there was to much focus in the book about describing the sex scenes rather than focusing Kora’s journey. It just didn’t feel like it was very well balanced.

yasminreads444's review

5.0

this was such a beautiful book about grief and escapism

dnllbchr's review

4.0

eat pray love’s younger grief-stricken, sexually liberated sibling. 

(got to meet sofia at a writer’s event and asked her what it felt like to release her debut. she signed my book with something she knew i needed to hear)

kiki_charlatan's review

No thank you

celltheory's review

5.0

This book was incredible and blew me away. It took me a while to get into it and I had no idea what to expect, but Mostaghimi’s writing is beautiful and haunting. She created an entire world of characters that felt believable and real. It follows Kora who is struggling after the loss of her younger sister who drowned when they were on a family vacation. She quits her job and goes to Iceland on a whim, then begins traveling. Desperado feels extremely internal and tightly follows Kora’s point of view. I found her delightful as a main character, which feels odd to say in a book that deals with such heavy topics. She might come across as unlikeable to some, but I appreciated being inside of her head. She was complicated and messy and lost, but she was interesting, genuine, and forgiving. I was fond of multiple side characters - Zo, Kat, and Carly especially. I thought the structure of the book, split through each place Kora visits, worked really well. The pacing was steady and Kora’s journey of avoiding her grief, dealing with it, and accepting it was beautiful. I was surprised by how much I liked the ending and would definitely recommend it.

reallyintoreading's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

theoceanrose's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It's not the worst book I've ever read, but I did not have a good time. This is not a happy book. There is no joy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Drug use

bookalorian's review

3.0

This book was just ok for me. One of those books that is pretty unmemoriable once you are finished. Nothing wrong with it per se, just a little lifeless. Some real talented writing but it just seemed to hit this pace and never changed. Real shame, I really wanted to love this one.

ennilepo's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5