msrichardsreads89's Reviews (2.64k)

 2024 Reread: This story centers around characters in the margins of British society in a rural community and the Methodists who reside there.

This year I have been buddy reading George Eliot's novels with friends, and this is my first George Eliot reread. The first time I read Adam Bede I was so caught up in the plot that I missed some of the smaller parts of the story. Each time I read one of her books, I am struck by how carefully and lovingly she portrays religion despite being non-religious herself. The characters are nuanced and when she does criticize an aspect of religion, it is usually those who are corrupt/in power and not the faith itself. I loved Dinah Morris a lot the first time I read this, but I appreciated her so much more this time. She is a Methodist preacher, but she shows that she is a good person of faith by her actions and kind words. There is a scene that has really stayed with me where she is visiting someone who is in the depths of grief, and instead of trying to use words or scripture to comfort them, Dinah sat with them and helped them through their grief with her presence and actions.

This book is emotionally draining but also uplifting. After finishing this book, I feel like I have experienced life with the characters, laughed and suffered alongside them. I appreciated Hetty more on reread. She is a very flawed character, but she was also a young, naïve girl who probably would not have gone through what she did if she had lived now.

The writing is simply beautiful, and I highlighted entire passages. This is a novel that is a joy to live in, and I look forward to returning to it again and again.

2022: This is one of those books that comes into your life at just the right time and makes you fall in love with it. I was so engrossed in this book that I finished it in less than two days. I loved the slow build of the plot as we got to know the characters. George Eliot's character work in Adam Bede is exceptional. They are nuanced, relatable, and human. I am not a religious person, and neither was Eliot, so I really love how she talked about religion so beautifully throughout this novel and in such a hopeful, uplifting way. I LOVE that Dinah is a female minister, which is something that I have never seen in a Victorian novel. I grew to love her, and I love that she practices what she preaches. The characters became my friends over the course of the novel, and I am sad to be leaving them.

Eliot's prose is gorgeous and vividly descriptive without feeling overly saccharine. I found myself rereading passages because they were so lovely. She has a talent for getting you to reflect on society and themes of patriarchy, pain, family/community, redemption, and morality with the plot and the gripping plot twists.

There are so many parts of this novel that will stay with me, and I look forward to rereading this in the future. 

I wasn't sure what to expect with this new cozy series given the subject matter. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how positive and uplifting the story was and how hopeful the book felt. I liked our protagonist, Rarity Jones, and I love that she was portrayed in a realistic, smart way. I loved her best friend, Sam, and I thought she provided the perfect amount of comedic relief. The mystery was fun, and I enjoyed trying to solve it with the characters. Unfortunately I feel like the love interest is a bit forced, even though I adored his actions at the end of the novel, and I feel like this is set up for a potential love triangle, which I do not like. The audiobook narrator did a great job, and I am looking forward to book 2! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

This was such a fun cozy! Most of this one takes place at a model train convention, which normally would not interest me, but Diane Kelly does a fantastic job of making the setting fun and including new characters connected with the convention. I loved the way our protagonist, Hattie, helped to solve the murder without being dense or irritating. I really enjoyed watching the development of her relationships with Marlon and Ace. Kelly does a great job of incorporating the history of moonshine into the story without being overbearing or making it feel like a history lesson. My one con is that I did get bored with Hattie's repetitive thoughts of the suspects and their motives. The ending was a wild ride (literally), and I am excited for book 3! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I was expecting to like this book, but I ended up loving it! I was not familiar with The Ramayana, so this was so fun and fascinating. I loved the exploration of motherhood, misogyny, and patriarchy. Kaikeyi was such a strong character, and I loved following her on this epic journey. She was so resilient, complex, empathetic, and so well written. The novel was very well paced and will stay with me for a long time! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

This book was a rough one for me. I started off kind of enjoying it, but the more I read the more my enjoyment waned. Normally with classics I can bear in mind the time in which they were written in regards to offensive depictions, but this one was so incredibly racist and misogynistic towards Indigenous people and women. It was horrifying and extremely uncomfortable. The characters were underdeveloped and fell flat on the page. Lucia was over the top and a wet blanket. The only character I enjoyed was Maurice, and he was absent for a good portion of the book. 

I was really looking forward to this installment of the Booktown Mystery series because the last few books have been page turners. However, I was a bit let down. I enjoyed being back with Tricia and her family and friends. I also really enjoyed that the new police chief is a character that we have previously met. Some of the dialogue and plot felt disjointed and forced, including tangents about gun control that came across as more preachy and less productive, and the conversation surrounding it never went anywhere. It is just dropped. It felt like there was a lot of filler content with mundane details and talk about happy hour and lunch. The resolution of the murder felt very abrupt. There wasn't a lot of investigating in this one as there is in other books in this series. The best part of the book was learning about Pixie's backstory, and it made me appreciate her even more. Even though I was disappointed with this book, I still plan to continue with the series. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.