stories_of_the_soul27's reviews
309 reviews

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts

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

2.75

I don’t know what I am supposed to feel about this book. This book wasn’t tragic. It was just sad. Plain sad. We follow the story of three people, from two perspectives, with one perspective more dominant on the other. And both of them talk about Tom, their love of the life. This book is so much about Tom, yet at the end of it I don’t know who Tom is. To me he remained a deceptive and dishonest character, till the end. 
I guess we are supposed to hate Marion. But I don’t. I hate her actions. I abhor her decisions to actively choosing to ruin someone’s life. But I understand where it’s coming from. She didn’t know what kind of marriage she was getting into. You cannot convince that Sylvie’s one comment of how Tom isn’t like other guys is supposed to be a clue as to who Tom actually is. Moreover, this story is set when homosexuals used to be called inverts and people believed it was a choice to do unnatural acts (that idea is still prevalent though) and a woman could cure a man out of it. Till this date, often gay people get married to straight people to pass off as straight. Who should we sympathise with? Marion was deceived by Tom. And Tom was never honest with her. He never tried to make her understand his feelings. He knew Marion loved him to bits and he took every advantage of that love. He never stopped to understand how his actions have affected her. Instead he called her jealous, hysteric and made it a point that she’s the one making senseless demands for her husband, even though she’s the wife. Towards the end of the book and possibly Patrick’s life, there’s a scene where Tom asks Marion, ‘What about my silence, Marion? Did you ever think about that? You have no idea……’ Does Tom not realise that his silence has proved costly? You married the woman, sidelined her and expected her to go along with it. If anything, Julia telling her truth to Marion might have been the event that made her understand how homosexuality isn’t a choice or something to be cured. 
It was also never learnt how much Tom cared for Patrick. Not even Patrick’s diary shows us that. Tom never visited Patrick at the prison, not even with Marion at his side. He didn’t even write to him. Patrick risked and lost everything for Tom, yet I do not know if Tom was deserving of this love or not. Why didn’t Tom go around looking for Patrick after he left prison? There was so little of this relationship written for us to see and care for. This felt like a redemption story of Marion. 
I loved only Patrick and Julia in this story. They both showed kindness to Marion. I wish whatever anger she had, was directed at Tom and not Patrick. 
And maybe it is just me, but I feel Marion was purposely written like this. Her choosing to visit the prison just to see how much Patrick was suffering was cruelty at its finest. So her finally confessing that she did wrong and then seeking out Patrick is so out of the blue because we don’t know how the years brought this change in her. Is it purely out of regret? Or out of some kind of understanding? What led her to this choice? There’s a lot I simultaneously understand and don’t understand about the characters of this book. Anyway, at the end of it, I just felt sadness. 
Murder on Gramercy Park by Victoria Thompson

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mysterious medium-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

3.5

This the third book of the series and I am feeling underwhelmed by the mystery aspect of the plot. However, it still held my concentration and there were a fair bit of actions and dead bodies to keep the story flowing. Maloy and Sarah’s relationship is growing slowly but there’s hope I feel. It was a good read. 
দ্বি-বৈবাহিক কাঁটা by Narayan Sanyal

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

4.0

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

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

3.5

This wasn’t something new for me! Having read many domestic thrillers, the plot twists and storyline were predictable to me! Still I couldn’t put this book down. Sally Hepworth has this magic of writing unputdownable books. You just want to keep gobbling the book. 
I liked the characters too. There was depth there and the interactions and relationship building between the characters were so special. As usual I got to know new things from this book. I was uninformed about sensory issues and the challenges the people face because of it. 
I will keep reading her books.
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

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emotional funny mysterious medium-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? No

5.0

For now it’s a farewell to a book series I have come to love over the years. While Mr. Osman has said that he would definitely return back with these four, it still feels like an ending because we had to say goodbye to one of the favourite character. 
This book, like others in the series, felt kind and warm and funny. There was a different set of crime world involved this time and I will say that few characters didn’t feel new and there isn’t much to explore in terms of the mystery. 
This story was more about grief and love and the mystery was just a sub plot. It made me realise that your life could begin at any age, only if you have the right set of friends to accompany you. 
Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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

2.5

Sorry but this was an epic disaster! 
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

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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

4.0

I love it when a book makes my weekend chores easier. I listened to the audiobook of this and the narration was pretty good. It was fast paced, things kept on happening, the storyline was deceptive enough and yes it was predictable but still had the elements to grip a reader. 
This is my 2nd book of Samantha Downing and yep I love her! 
In Memoriam by Alice Winn

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

5.0

I think the line ‘If I loved you less, then I could have talked about you more’ should apply to one’s favourite books too. When it comes to my favourite books, I get so tongue tied. I know I could write an essay on why I loved this book but words fail me. 

In Memoriam was one such book for me. It didn’t make me cry or heartbroken but did left an empty space in my heart. If one isn’t living under the rocks or following ignorance is a bliss’ to their heart, then one would be very well aware of what war brings to a nation, which is a whole lot of nothing. War takes and takes and takes. And this story was just about that. War took away loved ones, innocence, dreams and false beliefs. Through Gaunt, Ellwood and their close knit group of friends, we saw public school boys who had ideals and false romantic notions about patriotism, develop hollow eyes after proving their patriotism. I liked how that story just wasn’t about Gaunt and Ellwood as an entity, but as separate beings with their own set of friends and trauma bonding and experiences. They lived together and grew and then they were separate and grew more. They weren’t perfect. They went through a lot which changed them, distorted them and made them more imperfect. 

I don’t know what else to say except that this book will stay with me. The letters the boys wrote to each other and their friends will stay with me. The constant push and pull between Gaunt and Ellwood will stay with me. The kindness of Devi, Archie, Bertie and Cyril will stay with me. Maud and Gaunt’s relationship will stay with me. David Hayes’ strong presence will stay with me. The boyishness of taking long strolls in countryside and reciting poetry in any given chance will stay with me. The sheer willpower to survive just to see the face of your loved one last time will stay with me. 
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

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

4.25

The book definitely creeped me out. Simultaneously I also loved the conversations and different topics that came up like the concept of spending the rest of your life with someone. I wasn’t able to grasp the ending completely on my own and had to rush to Reddit for that. Definitely going to reread soon and maybe I will be able to appreciate this book more. 
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

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

3.5

This is my 2nd Simon St. James book and I have come to appreciate how deeply she cares for her characters and painstakingly build up their stories. For me, the highlight of this book were its characters. The mystery and the horror aspects of the book didn’t wow me much. It felt predictable. But it was a good read.