en-US Sun, 15 Dec 2024 07:59:17 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7086832056 Sun, 15 Dec 2024 07:59:17 -0800 /review/show/7086832056 Sarah gave 1 star to Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy (Southern Reach, #1-3) by Jeff VanderMeer
bookshelves: currently-reading
DNF. I really tried. And I admit that I gave in and checked some of the reviews here to see if I could validate my feelings about the book. An abundant confirmation here that DNF is AOK. ]]> Review7038712473 Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:54:39 -0800 /review/show/7038712473 Sarah gave 3 stars to The Blue Hour (Hardcover) by Paula Hawkins
Very disappointed. I guessed the murderer very early on. There was nothing particularly interesting about any of the characters so the rest of the book, while I waited for a denouement, was an abysmal eternity.

Self-absorbed, abstract artists with doe-eyed hanger-ons and shifty lovers are not my thing. So there's that. The setting was interesting although I had a hard time picturing an island off the coast of the UK with tidal dependent access that had any trees left standing..I mean, I got hung up on the whole historical accuracy of the idea. Would trees be left standing [ones claimed to be 300 years old] on a UK island? Anyway, it side-tracked me enough so I went down a rabbit hole about the deforestation of the UK before and after WW2. Message me if you're interested. Might be more compelling than Paula's book. Cheers! ]]> Review6865127142 Sat, 21 Sep 2024 14:36:48 -0700 /review/show/6865127142 Sarah gave 2 stars to The True Life Adventures of Irene in White Tights (Kindle Edition) by Lynn Doiron
]]> ReadStatus8329208086 Sun, 25 Aug 2024 13:21:11 -0700 /review/show/6790310456 Sarah is currently reading Beautiful Days: Stories by Zach Williams
]]> Review6790308457 Sun, 25 Aug 2024 13:21:00 -0700 /review/show/6790308457 Sarah gave 3 stars to My Soul to Take (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir, #2) by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
]]> ReadStatus7766132492 Sun, 31 Mar 2024 15:04:36 -0700 /review/show/6390387028 Sarah started reading Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp
]]> Review6349286202 Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:32:57 -0700 /review/show/6349286202 Sarah gave 3 stars to The Hunter (Cal Hooper, #2) by Tana French
It took about 300 pages for this book to get going for me. Out of 467 pages. And even at p.300, I was already considering the unheard of "DNF" label. But I don't do that and write a review. So I finished it. Barely.
Oh, I thought it was a charming study of a little village and the lives of those living in rural Ireland. I mean, French has the language down and the nuances. She's mad for her Cal Hooper..that's easy to see. He got under her skin but I think maybe that might be it for him. He's come full circle for her and whatever mystery there was about him is gone for me.
It's a bit of a whodunit but by the time the dunit is "who'ed" I didn't really care. Another reviewer called it a "twist". By a long stretch, maybe. It's a thin premise for a crime: gold, "salting" gold, cheating the locals and revenge for being skimmed. French does such a
But I'm stymied: I really want to understand what French was after here. Maybe she wanted to develop Cal Hooper into a different kind of character to use in subsequent books. Maybe she found herself Covid-bound in a little Irish village and just decided to write about it..and to hell with all of youse who wanted a mystery! I have looked forward to her books more than just about any other author and I even pre-ordered this one months in advance. Never did that before. I am disappointed, I admit it. The Dublin Murder Squad books were delicious...and I gave her a chance when she left them behind. Writers are certainly entitled to flex their muscles and go down new paths. French has done so with great success apparently. I'm just not sure I will join her on this path next time. ]]> ReadStatus7616822553 Wed, 21 Feb 2024 13:31:31 -0800 /review/show/6283074176 Sarah is currently reading THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURE OF JANE SMITH by Patricia Wentworth
]]> ReadStatus7596298342 Fri, 16 Feb 2024 13:48:36 -0800 /review/show/6268411177 Sarah is currently reading Matrix by Lauren Groff
]]> ReadStatus7541356916 Fri, 02 Feb 2024 14:59:15 -0800 /review/show/6229425981 Sarah is currently reading Helle & Death by Oskar Jensen
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