lipglossmaffia's Reviews (1.52k)

Plain Bad Heroines

Emily M. Danforth

4.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I had two false starts with this novel but the audiobook worked best for me. XE Sands is a wonderful performer. I'd listen to anything she narrates tbh.
It's s slow burn but it's so worth it. I liked everything, the plot, the twists, the characters, the ambiance. Yes, there is the ambiance, a very spooky one and it will be felt.

The Family Tree

Sairish Hussain

3.5

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed The Family Tree. There are some parts that kinda dragged, but when I got to the end, I could understand why the writer decided to write it that way. It didn't spoil the experience for me though. A pretty stellar debut.

How Beautiful We Were

Imbolo Mbue

4.0

emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

First of all, I'm so proud of Mbue's growth as a writer in this novel. I thought her debut was just okay but I had hope and she delivered in this one.
Though this book is set in a fictional village, the issues and things that happen make me think it might have been inspired by the Ogoni people of Rivers State in Nigeria vs Shell. So, it felt like a story I knew but with a fresh take.
The writing is lovely, easy to follow but it's also poetic. It's a well-paced novel, I especially love that the plot is unravelled through the multiple POVs, transitions are so smooth. The character development was good but the reason I'm giving this a 4 is because of how bleak the situation is. It's so close to real life, I know art imitates life but I prefer happier endings in these situations.