bethbarron's reviews
477 reviews

Reading this felt like... A bad hangover. 
And the ending ... I'm sure there was a point, but it was lost on me.

I haven't read anything else by Emma Cline, but other r aders have recommended her previous work. I may give something else a try, but I don't recommend this one. 

I still really enjoy this one. Intros to Master Raymond and Mother Hildegard are my favs, of course. 

I mostly hated all the male characters in this because they are so lame and controlling, but I think she wrote it that way on purpose. The male gaze is fierce.

Overall the story was incredibly interesting and kept me going until the last chapter. The author changes perspectives for the first time and it kind of threw the whole thing out of whack for me.

All of that being said, I really enjoyed this and I will definitely be reading the next in the series. 

The friendships in this are what make the book, in my opinion. 

The romances really fell flat. 
A good summer read anyway! 

I am no longer a church member, but I still have mad respect for Mrs. Beth. This is a beautifully written memoir, heartbreaking, but full of laughter and sweet anecdotes.

Some parts of this are desperately sad, but overall it's a really wonderful read. 

Some plot holes, but I really loved how the author made maps magical (and the inspiration behind the story)! 
Makes me want to research phantom settlements. 

I love Stradal's books! This one was a multigenerational story about family legacy. While great, the time jumps were a little difficult and some of the character stories felt insignificant in the grand scheme. Still a nice read, though. 

I enjoyed this as a kind of... Low-ask novel. I didn't know we had great female rum runners, so that was fun to learn. However, there were so many characters that I got confused by the end (maybe because I listened on audio instead of reading the physical book or ebook?) And I felt like the plot got lost a little in the middle. The main character is lovable, though. She's a firecracker! 

This is brilliant and BLEAK and true and awful. Kingsolver did such a wonderful job. Well deserving of her pulitzer.

It took me probably a month to read this - it is brutally dark and full of trauma. Do not read this expecting happiness at all. But, damn, a story that needed to be told (do we have another novel this compelling about the opioid crisis?), and what a way to do it with a retelling of David Copperfield.

I haven't read Dickens since high school and I'm sure having some distance from Copperfield helped this feel original for me. I had my doubts about a retelling, but I think Kingsolver created a masterpiece and (further) cemented herself as a great Southern author.