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popthebutterfly 's review for:
Astrid Sees All
by Natalie Standiford
Disclaimer: I received the e-arc and arc of this from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Astrid Sees All
Author: Natalie Standiford
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: women's literature fans, contemporary readers
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
Genre: Women's Fiction
Recommended Age: 18+ (sex, drugs, romance, alcohol, slight gore)
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 272
Synopsis: New York, 1984: Twenty-two-year-old Phoebe Hayes is a young woman in search of excitement and adventure. But the recent death of her father has so devastated her that her mother wants her to remain home in Baltimore to recover. Phoebe wants to return to New York, not only to chase the glamorous life she so desperately craves but also to confront Ivan, the older man who painfully wronged her.
With her best friend Carmen, she escapes to the East Village, disappearing into an underworld haunted by artists, It Girls, and lost souls trying to party their pain away. Carmen juggles her junkie-poet boyfriend and a sexy painter while, as Astrid the Star Girl, Phoebe tells fortunes in a nightclub and plots her revenge on Ivan.
When the intoxicating brew of sex, drugs, and self-destruction leads Phoebe to betray her friend, Carmen disappears, and Phoebe begins an unstoppable descent into darkness. She may have a chance to save herself—and Carmen, if she can find her—but to do it she must face what’s hiding in the shadows she’s been running from—within her heart and in the dangerous midnight streets.
A love letter to gritty 1980s New York City, Astrid Sees All is an irresistible, original novel about female friendship, sex and romance, and what it’s like to be a young woman searching for an identity.
Review: For the most part this was a great read. The story is compelling and it draws you in immediately. The characters do as well and the interactions between each other is well written. The world building is great too and I really liked how the story flowed.
However, I did feel like there were a lot of topics that could have used some trigger warnings at the beginning of the read. The book was also slow and it felt too slow in a lot of areas. The book, at the end, had a feeling of incompleteness and I felt like there should have been more.
Verdict: It was good, but I needed more.
Book: Astrid Sees All
Author: Natalie Standiford
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: women's literature fans, contemporary readers
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
Genre: Women's Fiction
Recommended Age: 18+ (sex, drugs, romance, alcohol, slight gore)
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 272
Synopsis: New York, 1984: Twenty-two-year-old Phoebe Hayes is a young woman in search of excitement and adventure. But the recent death of her father has so devastated her that her mother wants her to remain home in Baltimore to recover. Phoebe wants to return to New York, not only to chase the glamorous life she so desperately craves but also to confront Ivan, the older man who painfully wronged her.
With her best friend Carmen, she escapes to the East Village, disappearing into an underworld haunted by artists, It Girls, and lost souls trying to party their pain away. Carmen juggles her junkie-poet boyfriend and a sexy painter while, as Astrid the Star Girl, Phoebe tells fortunes in a nightclub and plots her revenge on Ivan.
When the intoxicating brew of sex, drugs, and self-destruction leads Phoebe to betray her friend, Carmen disappears, and Phoebe begins an unstoppable descent into darkness. She may have a chance to save herself—and Carmen, if she can find her—but to do it she must face what’s hiding in the shadows she’s been running from—within her heart and in the dangerous midnight streets.
A love letter to gritty 1980s New York City, Astrid Sees All is an irresistible, original novel about female friendship, sex and romance, and what it’s like to be a young woman searching for an identity.
Review: For the most part this was a great read. The story is compelling and it draws you in immediately. The characters do as well and the interactions between each other is well written. The world building is great too and I really liked how the story flowed.
However, I did feel like there were a lot of topics that could have used some trigger warnings at the beginning of the read. The book was also slow and it felt too slow in a lot of areas. The book, at the end, had a feeling of incompleteness and I felt like there should have been more.
Verdict: It was good, but I needed more.