ellemnope's Reviews (2.4k)

I enjoyed this story for several reasons. The narrative is good and the characters are well done, but I also found that I have some sort of high interest in the Coney Island scene. Apparently, I will be looking for more books on this subject because I was super interested.

The narrative style is a little tricky and could cause some readers issues. There are essentially four narratives at play. There is a first person view of both Coralie and Eddie, but then there are also omnicient narrator versions of both of their styles. It wasn't the easiest thing to become immersed in, but I found myself comfortable with it over time. Hoffman does truly do a good job approaching the story this way.

Ultimately...good book. I liked it a lot and it reminded me of something I'd read before, but I really can't put my finger on it. I loved the historical aspects and how they are woven into the narrative so well. Historical fiction seems to be my thing this year.

3.5 stars. Good stories, but the layout gave me trouble. I couldn't keep track of who everyone was. If I were to do a reread, I think I would read the stories by mother/daughter group. That may ease my ability to follow the story and make for a better read.

4.5 stars. I am really enjoying these cute little Oz reads. I'm wishing I would have known about them when I was younger. I think they would have been a fantastic set of reads for me in elementary school. Good books for a whimsical read, but would also be good pair reads with younger children or solo reads for newish readers (probably around grade 2 and up).

** Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review. **

Technically this is a 2.5 star. I typically round up in the event of a half star, but in this case I didn't feel like it really reached that solidly to a 2.5 to justify an upround.

I liked the premise for the story, as this was a topic I had not prior heard of. I enjoyed the setting as well. Wales is not a place I frequently see in historical fiction. I started out with a great amount of interest in the narrative and looked forward to learning about a new bit of history (though I expected quite a bit of author latitude in the details as this is historical fiction rather than non-fiction).

However, I struggled to make my way through the book. The writing was very dense, which gave me terrible issues. There are frequent run-on sentences and there were several times where I had to stop to go back and reread passages in order to understand what was going on. There were long sections where things would improve steadily and I felt that it have been a small blip in the quality of the writing, but then there would be another portion of the story that left me confused.

The story felt very dichotomous, with the meshing of Christine and Sarah's stories feeling a bit rough. While I thought that Christine was a fairly well-developed character, I think I just struggled with the vacillating point of view. A direct narrative may have worked better for me rather than using Christine as a conduit.

I could have seen past a lot of this if I had felt satisfied with the ending. The history of this story has a lot of merit and, as stated earlier, did pique my interest. However, it felt like there were a lot of questions left unanswered and some situations that remained rather unclear. Ultimately, I didn't feel fulfilled after what was a fairly long read.

This is a great historical fiction read with a lot of historical merit. I listened to the audiobook version of the text and really enjoyed the flow of the narrative and the organization of the facts and events. The story seems so far-fetched, but has an incredibly strong basis in reality that just left me shaking my head at the craziness and injustice of it all (even though I truly expected it beforehand). I love historical fiction stories that are creative and focus on small niche pieces of history. This story of Truman Hunt and the Filipino Igorrotes of the early 20th century is intriguing and enjoyable, despite the horrid circumstances wrapped up in its construction.

This was my first Krueger read and it was great! I will be starting with #1 and reading my way through the series. The characters are fantastically written and I really enjoyed that his books are set in Minnesota, in an area I recognize and with Ojibwe characters who reflect some of our local culture. The plot was good, but somewhat predictable (which lent to the 4 star rating). However, there were a few twists I didn't expect and it absolutely held my attention. His books may just sway my reading more towards the mystery genre this year.

*Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

1.5 stars. I very rarely rate a book so low. There was some good in this book, don't get me wrong. But the ending just destroyed everything for me. The writing is alright, but not super gripping. The premise is good and I was very interested in its potential. The biggest issue I had was that, when things finally reached a point that should have been the peak of the narrative, it just stopped. There was no ending, it just ended. I was incredibly frustrated by this and would have thrown the book across the room had it not been on my e-reader.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Despite the obviously serious nature of the subject matter, Spalding manages to move the story along with quite a bit of wit and sarcasm. I laughed out loud more than once at the narrative. The main character was very well developed and the supporting characters were developed enough to feel they had importance without them detracting from the plot. This was my first Nick Spalding, but there will definitely be more.