Review Shots
- Published on
- Shalini
- in Book Posts, Book Reviews, Digital Reads Media, Digital Reads Reviews, Fiction
Review shots are the mini-reviews for the books that I have read over the last week or so. What book didn’t work for me might just be apt for you.
The Exes by Jane Lythell
Publication Date: March 2, 2023
Book Links
Blurb
What was it all about
Holly had inherited a derelict house at Brighton and wanted to share her good fortune with people you would never believe – her exes. Why oh why?? You have broken up with them for a reason.
One floor for each ex with nominal rent
How it made me feel
Do I recommend this book?
NO
Shopping with the Enemy by Carmen Reid
Publication Date: March 17, 2023
Book Links
Blurb
The opponents: mothers vs. daughters
The battle scene: a boutique changing room
Fashion-guru Annie’s well-dressed world is falling apart – first she has lost her legendary sense of style, and now her daughter Lauren seems to have become her worst enemy. Even her multi-millionairess friend, Svetlana, is having daughter trouble – she’s at war with Elena over their business in New York.
A trip to a luxurious Italian spa seems like the perfect way for Annie to forget her problems. But celery juice and Pilates can’t solve the disasters that are about to strike . . .
Will Annie rescue her passion for fashion?
And can mothers and daughters ever truly be friends?
My Review
What was it all about
How it made me feel
On the other side of the globe, the lives of the girls in NY are not interesting.
The writing drags at times and tries too hard to be romcom. The different side stories feel to be disjointed. I don’t know why the title is Shopping with the Enemies. Till the end I don’t come to know who the enemies are.
Do I recommend this book?
Only if you have read the first five books of this author and enjoyed it.
My Sister's Secret by Diane Saxon
Publication Date: January 2023
Book Links
Blurb
Four sisters, four secrets. Who has the deadliest of them all?
Something happened to me when I was nine.
My childhood memories before that fateful day are gone. Extinguished.
The aftermath has become a living nightmare with a guilt that runs so deep that I’m not sure I can ever tell anyone. I fear I’ve left it too late…
The burden of my secret and the hurt and pain that silence cost each and every member of my family is too overwhelming.
But you can’t avoid fate and now I have the opportunity to right the wrongs inflicted on us.
There was no justice. Not then. Not now. But I can change that.
The big question is, how far am I willing to go?
What was it all about
Four sisters and a secret smoldering in their lives. Only one of them got to do something about it. Was it wrong, or had justice been served?
How it made me feel
The book had absolutely no trigger warnings, and I wished the publisher/author thought about us readers enough to ensure that it was mentioned somewhere. This was all about child abuse. And it bloody hell triggered me. I went into this book, thinking it to be a domestic/psychological thriller. And I got this.
The whole atmosphere of the book was dark, even when the four sisters seemed to have a bond with each other. The warmth of their love couldn’t manage to infuse the words in the book with lightness to counter the things that happened in it.
Too many characters in the beginning and not a strong structure to the first few chapters made it quite cumbersome to get through them. I almost DNFed the book, only sheer persistence made me continue.
The book had nothing much going for it except for the abuse and one of them doing something to right the wrong. Overall, not my favorite read by this author.
Do I recommend this book?
Others have enjoyed the book. You might too. I would have if I had read it on my strong day. Unfortunately, wouldn’t be reading this author anytime soon.
I borrowed the paperback version of the book from a library, and this is my journey down its pages, straight from the heart. STRICTLY HONEST and UNBIASED.
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One Response
oh ouch. you’ll never get that time back either.