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booksare42's Reviews (608)
I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury takes place in the 1950s, and it follows a young woman named Alice, who works as a perfume maker, and Mr. Daldry, her grumpy neighbour across the hall. A few days before Christmas, Alice finds herself in a fortune teller’s tent, and even though she’s a skeptic, she’s haunted by what the fortune teller tells her. Seemingly out of nowhere, Mr. Daldry and Alice become close friends, and they travel to Istanbul together to see if there’s any truth to the fortune teller’s words.
My favourite thing about this book is that the author incorporated scent into almost every page. I enjoyed reading about the scents and smells of Istanbul, and it helped me imagine being there with the characters. I also liked that Mr. Daldry was an artist who painted cross-walks because I enjoyed reading about all the life he saw while watching people cross the street. I found that these descriptions added a unique element to the story that makes helps make it a memorable read.
Another thing that I liked about this book is that it takes place in a time and location that I haven’t read much about. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that takes place in Turkey, and I haven’t read many books that take place in the 1950s. I enjoyed seeing Istanbul through Alice’s eyes, and the descriptions made me feel like I had been there before. I also liked that this book mentions the Armenian Genocide, which is an unfortunate period of history that often gets overlooked.
Another reason why I liked this book is that I liked Alice. I admired her determination to find out more about her past and her drive to keep learning and perfecting her perfume making. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of Mr. Daldry, but I was amused enough by his stories that I was able to keep reading and enjoying the book.
My biggest complaint about this book is that it was fairly predictable. However, even though I was able to guess what was going to happen, I still enjoyed watching it all unfold. I liked following Alice, and she followed the steps to find out the truth about her path, and I enjoyed the characters that she met along the way.
The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury takes place in the 1950s, and it follows a young woman named Alice, who works as a perfume maker, and Mr. Daldry, her grumpy neighbour across the hall. A few days before Christmas, Alice finds herself in a fortune teller’s tent, and even though she’s a skeptic, she’s haunted by what the fortune teller tells her. Seemingly out of nowhere, Mr. Daldry and Alice become close friends, and they travel to Istanbul together to see if there’s any truth to the fortune teller’s words.
My favourite thing about this book is that the author incorporated scent into almost every page. I enjoyed reading about the scents and smells of Istanbul, and it helped me imagine being there with the characters. I also liked that Mr. Daldry was an artist who painted cross-walks because I enjoyed reading about all the life he saw while watching people cross the street. I found that these descriptions added a unique element to the story that makes helps make it a memorable read.
Another thing that I liked about this book is that it takes place in a time and location that I haven’t read much about. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that takes place in Turkey, and I haven’t read many books that take place in the 1950s. I enjoyed seeing Istanbul through Alice’s eyes, and the descriptions made me feel like I had been there before. I also liked that this book mentions the Armenian Genocide, which is an unfortunate period of history that often gets overlooked.
Another reason why I liked this book is that I liked Alice. I admired her determination to find out more about her past and her drive to keep learning and perfecting her perfume making. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of Mr. Daldry, but I was amused enough by his stories that I was able to keep reading and enjoying the book.
My biggest complaint about this book is that it was fairly predictable. However, even though I was able to guess what was going to happen, I still enjoyed watching it all unfold. I liked following Alice, and she followed the steps to find out the truth about her path, and I enjoyed the characters that she met along the way.
I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this book from Net Galley because it sounded like a funny, feel-good story, which is something that I’m always in the mood for. When I decided to finally pick it up, I was instantly hooked on the story, and I couldn’t stop reading it. I’m happy to say that this book had a lot more depth than I was expecting, and that it had a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and that I enjoyed every page of it.
The reason why I liked this book so much is that I fell in love with the main character. I found Agnes Parsons to be a lot of fun, and I enjoyed reading about her journey to discover herself again after everything fell apart around her. She had a lot of moments that made me laugh-out-loud, especially when she discovered processed baby snacks. I also liked that she genuinely cared about the boys in her classes and that she wanted them to succeed and to get through middle-school unharmed. I liked her character development, and I enjoyed reading about her transition from Santa Monica trophy wife to a single mom trying to get by and forge her own path.
I also liked the supporting characters in this book. Beeks is an amazing friend, and I loved how supportive she was of Agnes, and how she helped Agnes realize what it is she had to do. I also genuinely laughed at a lot of the phone conversations between the two characters, which made the book so much more enjoyable. Stacy Figgs, the teacher who lives next door, is another character that I liked; I enjoyed her Christmas sweaters, and I liked watching her grow along with Agnes throughout the story. I wasn’t a huge fan of Jack, I found him to be way too controlling, and he said a few things to Agnes that I would not have been able to forgive. Finally, I liked the boys in Agnes’s class because they had genuine problems and fears that they were trying to sort through.
The other thing that I enjoyed about this book is that it takes place at a middle school. I think middle school is the perfect setting for this book because Agnes and the boys are both going through big changes. Agnes is adjusting from having everything she could ever want to surviving pay cheque to pay cheque and the boys are dealing with transitioning from being kids to being teenagers.
This book was somewhat predictable in the sense that I knew what Agnes was going to decide to do very early on. Fortunately, I don’t have any problems with predictable books because I enjoy finding out how the character is going to get to the ending that I predicted. In this case, I enjoyed going on this journey with Agnes and I spent the whole book rooting for her to make the right decision.
Overall, I found this book to be fun and heartwarming. I liked the characters, the friendships, and the setting. I enjoyed reading about Agnes’s journey of rediscovering herself, and I recommend this book to anyone looking for a funny, fast-paced read.
I requested this book from Net Galley because it sounded like a funny, feel-good story, which is something that I’m always in the mood for. When I decided to finally pick it up, I was instantly hooked on the story, and I couldn’t stop reading it. I’m happy to say that this book had a lot more depth than I was expecting, and that it had a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and that I enjoyed every page of it.
The reason why I liked this book so much is that I fell in love with the main character. I found Agnes Parsons to be a lot of fun, and I enjoyed reading about her journey to discover herself again after everything fell apart around her. She had a lot of moments that made me laugh-out-loud, especially when she discovered processed baby snacks. I also liked that she genuinely cared about the boys in her classes and that she wanted them to succeed and to get through middle-school unharmed. I liked her character development, and I enjoyed reading about her transition from Santa Monica trophy wife to a single mom trying to get by and forge her own path.
I also liked the supporting characters in this book. Beeks is an amazing friend, and I loved how supportive she was of Agnes, and how she helped Agnes realize what it is she had to do. I also genuinely laughed at a lot of the phone conversations between the two characters, which made the book so much more enjoyable. Stacy Figgs, the teacher who lives next door, is another character that I liked; I enjoyed her Christmas sweaters, and I liked watching her grow along with Agnes throughout the story. I wasn’t a huge fan of Jack, I found him to be way too controlling, and he said a few things to Agnes that I would not have been able to forgive. Finally, I liked the boys in Agnes’s class because they had genuine problems and fears that they were trying to sort through.
The other thing that I enjoyed about this book is that it takes place at a middle school. I think middle school is the perfect setting for this book because Agnes and the boys are both going through big changes. Agnes is adjusting from having everything she could ever want to surviving pay cheque to pay cheque and the boys are dealing with transitioning from being kids to being teenagers.
This book was somewhat predictable in the sense that I knew what Agnes was going to decide to do very early on. Fortunately, I don’t have any problems with predictable books because I enjoy finding out how the character is going to get to the ending that I predicted. In this case, I enjoyed going on this journey with Agnes and I spent the whole book rooting for her to make the right decision.
Overall, I found this book to be fun and heartwarming. I liked the characters, the friendships, and the setting. I enjoyed reading about Agnes’s journey of rediscovering herself, and I recommend this book to anyone looking for a funny, fast-paced read.
I received an advance copy of this book from Net Galley and Farrago in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fun little read, full of an older, more gentle kind of humour. Mr. Finchley is a solicitor’s clerk who goes on a vacation for the first time in his life. He was expecting to spend his vacation relaxing in a typical vacation town but ends up on a cross-country adventure full of unexpected situations and interesting characters.
My favourite thing about this book is Mr. Finchley. I enjoyed watching him grow as a person as he discovered England. I liked that he became more confident with each situation he faced and that he kept on pushing himself to experience new things.
My only complaint about this book is that it was all repetitive. Mr. Finchley finds himself in a new situation, usually a bad one, he meets someone, and they help each other, and then he goes off on the next part of his adventure. Fortunately, the cast of characters that he met were all unique and interesting, so the repetitiveness didn’t bother me too much.
Overall, this was a fun little read. It made me laugh a few times, and it left me curious enough to want to read the second and third books. I recommend this to someone who is looking for something quick and lighthearted.
This was a fun little read, full of an older, more gentle kind of humour. Mr. Finchley is a solicitor’s clerk who goes on a vacation for the first time in his life. He was expecting to spend his vacation relaxing in a typical vacation town but ends up on a cross-country adventure full of unexpected situations and interesting characters.
My favourite thing about this book is Mr. Finchley. I enjoyed watching him grow as a person as he discovered England. I liked that he became more confident with each situation he faced and that he kept on pushing himself to experience new things.
My only complaint about this book is that it was all repetitive. Mr. Finchley finds himself in a new situation, usually a bad one, he meets someone, and they help each other, and then he goes off on the next part of his adventure. Fortunately, the cast of characters that he met were all unique and interesting, so the repetitiveness didn’t bother me too much.
Overall, this was a fun little read. It made me laugh a few times, and it left me curious enough to want to read the second and third books. I recommend this to someone who is looking for something quick and lighthearted.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
MJ is smart, driven, and focused on getting the grades required to fulfill her mother’s dreams of her becoming a surgeon. She thinks that tutoring her brother’s roommate, Luke, in chemistry is a waste of her time. She thinks that Luke is a deadbeat drummer and she’d rather focus on impressing her science partner, Jason. As the story unfolds, MJ discovers that people are so much more than they seem and that first impressions are often very wrong.
My favourite thing about this book was the characters. I absolutely loved MJ and Luke because even though they’re meant to be opposites, they’re quite similar. They both have drive and determination, and a voice in their head that won’t leave them alone. They’re both incredibly caring, and they help each other face some difficult demons and to make the decision that is best for them, not for everyone else. They’re both cinnamon rolls, and I will ship them forever.
I liked that this book was so much more than the bad boy and the good girl falling for each other. It’s a book about facing hard truths and making difficult decisions that might end up hurting people. It’s about re-examining your decisions and deciding to put yourself first. It’s about learning to believe in yourself when you’ve spent your entire life doubting everything. It’s about a brilliant group of kids with developmental disorders rocking out because someone took the time to believe in them.
The other reason why I loved this book is that it hit painfully close to home for me. MJ’s true interest is genetics because she discovered that there’s a genetic disorder in her family. When I was a little bit younger than MJ, I discovered that there was a genetic disorder in my family, and ten years later, I still haven’t dealt with it. This is the first book that I’ve read that deals with a teenager discovering something like this. I was able to relate to MJ because of her mixed reaction and emotions.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who likes books with cinnamon roll characters, a shippable pair, and dramatic realizations and love confessions.
MJ is smart, driven, and focused on getting the grades required to fulfill her mother’s dreams of her becoming a surgeon. She thinks that tutoring her brother’s roommate, Luke, in chemistry is a waste of her time. She thinks that Luke is a deadbeat drummer and she’d rather focus on impressing her science partner, Jason. As the story unfolds, MJ discovers that people are so much more than they seem and that first impressions are often very wrong.
My favourite thing about this book was the characters. I absolutely loved MJ and Luke because even though they’re meant to be opposites, they’re quite similar. They both have drive and determination, and a voice in their head that won’t leave them alone. They’re both incredibly caring, and they help each other face some difficult demons and to make the decision that is best for them, not for everyone else. They’re both cinnamon rolls, and I will ship them forever.
I liked that this book was so much more than the bad boy and the good girl falling for each other. It’s a book about facing hard truths and making difficult decisions that might end up hurting people. It’s about re-examining your decisions and deciding to put yourself first. It’s about learning to believe in yourself when you’ve spent your entire life doubting everything. It’s about a brilliant group of kids with developmental disorders rocking out because someone took the time to believe in them.
The other reason why I loved this book is that it hit painfully close to home for me. MJ’s true interest is genetics because she discovered that there’s a genetic disorder in her family. When I was a little bit younger than MJ, I discovered that there was a genetic disorder in my family, and ten years later, I still haven’t dealt with it. This is the first book that I’ve read that deals with a teenager discovering something like this. I was able to relate to MJ because of her mixed reaction and emotions.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who likes books with cinnamon roll characters, a shippable pair, and dramatic realizations and love confessions.
