stories_of_the_soul27's reviews
309 reviews

Onam in a Nightie: Stories from a Kerala Quarantine by Anjana Menon

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

3.25

I liked the first part of the book. The second part was more like info dumping and too much of it made me zone out quite often. 
But this was a good book focusing on Covid, Keralites, their culture. Still I felt it missed some of that personal touch. 
The Teacher by Freida McFadden

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

4.0

There’s a pattern to Frieda McFadden’s stories. It becomes quite easy to spot the bad guy and you know the ending would be justice delivered in an unconventional way (because let’s be real, in real life it’s becoming harder to get justice the correct way). The bad guys in her books are despicable and you’d almost never root for them and endings are also mostly happy. 
This book was based on that same formula. Yet everything was so much better than any of her other books! The twists after twists towards the end was chef’s kiss. I was laughing too seeing the ingenuity of McFadden building up the story like that. She left enough red herrings for us to believe that we know what the plot would be (and many could have perfectly guessed all that was going to happen) but still she dropped some good bombs! A good one! 
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The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

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

4.25

Back in 2022 when I saw this book being announced, I became so intrigued. I have loved Agatha Christie’s books since my childhood but I wasn’t aware of this particular time period of her life. So a reimagined story from the POV of her husband’s mistress seemed like a good start. So I came for AC but stayed for Nan O’Dea. Nan O’Dea had a perfect blend of storytelling. She never shied away from showing her imperfections and how she harboured a little resentment towards AC for having an upper hand in life even though AC had her own struggles. Even though the story was told & remained mostly focused on Nan O’Dea, she still included lots of POVs of AC. 
The story grows on you. It unfolds slowly and I was quite surprised to see the story span across faraway lands infused with loss, grief, heartbreak, sadness and love. There’s a lot of love in this book. Love of a mother, friend, lover and for a fellow woman. Nan O’Dea will stay with me. 
The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I picked up this book because I wanted to read something over the weekend. Freida’s books are always fast paced and easy to read. I like her books just for that. But this book made me mad because of the insufferable FMC! 
Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell

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dark funny informative medium-paced

4.25

I had a jolly good time reading this book. I am not a true crime junkie like the author. But I have loved thrillers/murder mystery/detective stuffs since I was a kid. I love that genre and in my fictional books also I veer towards stories where the protagonist, themselves, are a true crime junkie. Occasionally I dip my toes in a true crime book now and then. And the movies are always there. They are so easy to get into. While reading this book I watched the Boston Strangler. 
Coming back to this book, I found the author very well informed and empathetic. She covered all aspects of why someone (here, a woman) would love true crime and I found the discussions funny, relatable and interesting. I loved how she and her mother are so close and always talking about murder. And what sealed the deal for me is the sensible discussion regarding how the women victims are perceived by the media during any crime, how justice remains undelivered so many times and the empathy with which a true crime writer/podcaster/director/ author should report a story. I loved how the whole discussion was around women. 
This reminded me of my university days. One day me & my roommate started talking about true crime, serial killers etc and how women get targeted and so many had to die before the case gets taken seriously. We fell into a rabbit hole with this conversation and needless to say we kept on talking late into the night. Finally when we switched off the lights, we realised we were scared. We don’t know still where the fear came from. But in that small room we joined our beds and slept close to each other. We got so spooked just talking about murders. Imagine living with that. Women all over the world understand this fear. We live through it. And maybe that’s why we are so fascinated and intrigued by true crime. We remember our sisters whose lives were cut short unjustly. 
Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Adiba Jaigirdar

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

3.5

A story of friendship, loss, growing up, faith, community and family. There’s something about teenagers coming together to do something for the community that I find really heartwarming. To have such a strong sense of justice and compassion for one’s own community and faith goes a long way. Added to that is a little bit of miscommunication between two long term friends (who have little crushes on each other) and grief of losing someone and you get a story which teaches you a lot about the importance of the people in your life. 
Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

Easy to read. You’ll finish it quite fast. But I was expecting something more. 
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

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

3.75

Another Sally Hepworth book about a dysfunctional family. I was able to guess quite early what this would be about. Let’s take it one by one. The dysfunction of the characters in this book was fairly grave and needed a lot of care in addressing them. In that sense it felt like making the book a bit longer would have done the job just fine. Next we come to the family and their dynamics with each other. As usual sisters take the front seat. I loved how they bonded. But again it felt somewhat lacking compared to how sisters’ relationships are portrayed in Hepworth’s other books. Here, adult sisters trauma bonded in their later life. They weren’t close in childhood and suddenly just because their father was getting married to a younger woman, the sisters became each other’s confidante. But I loved the characters individually. They were all so different and had their own issues and responses towards life. I loved Rachel more but I liked Tully’s development better. Heather was an interesting character too. Sonny and Darcy (love interests of both the sisters) were so good too. The way they were supportive of the women in their lives, understanding towards them and helped them was amazing. 
Lastly, the DV issue, on which the book is built on. In relation to that, I will address the ending. In my opinion, I don’t think it was meant as an open ending. We are sure that Stephen was an abusive and manipulative asshole. It left no rooms for that discussion. Maybe the ending meant that sometimes women are broken down so much by their abusers, their confidence is taken away bit by bit, that they are left with only confusion and hurt. It takes time to process and even accept the fact that you have being abused. Because society still links abuse with shame. Having said that, I would love Hepworth to give her own explanations regarding the epilogue.
The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Daaaamn!!! This was one of a ride! Such a fast paced and an engaging storyline! Loved the twist in the end! I would have loved if there was more happening in the story.