Harisa
3.5 stars.
The writing is beautiful, the characters are well developed, and I absolutely loved both sets of parents. I see what was done with Aristotle, that the “darkness” and angst and anger inside him came from him not accepting himself and it was nice to see him realize how good he actually has it. His parents were so loving and supportive, and I loved that we went through the journey to him finally admitting that he is “crazy about them.” It was sweet, and you don't typically get that in YA novels so it was definitely appreciated.
Dante was also a wonderful character. However, I personally thought a bit too much time was spent on Ari's thoughts and often I felt he was being unfair to others by thinking what he thought. Still, this was a well written novel and the overall arc and development was beautifully done.
I liked this for what it was. I appreciate that they mention that all we need is God and we do not NEED marriage and I even liked the -very brief- mention of how young women can idolize marriage to the point of making it an idol and put it before pursuing God.
That being said, I GOT why the girls compared a lot of “what God is like” to “what my husband/fiancé/boyfriend is and was like” but it felt more like brief autobiography that quickly at the end said “BUT YOU DON'T NEED TO BE MARRIED TO BE LOVED” but after 200+ pages about romantic love with another person it just didn't come off as strongly as it should have (IMO).
Anyway, I also am bias because I REALLY don't get the whole “writing letters to my future spouse/praying for my non-existent husband daily” thing. Sorry. I just really don't get it. And one of the authors wrote a an entire other book about that so you can see why I disagree with some of the things said.
Still, the Biblical truths were there and the Gospel message was proclaimed and I got some good practical advice that I can use.
Not my cup of tea (haha get it? Because SO MUCH TEA DRINKING THIS THIS NOVEL).
It was slow, there were a lot of characters and a lot of sub-plots that took away from the story and ultimately I was not invested in the two characters very much, or in the main character for that matter. I never really quite “got” her.
Ultimately, this wasn't a romance novel but more of a modern “coming of age” novel. However, for me, it never quite reached that wow factor that some well written “coming of age” novels accomplish.
I think like many reviewers of this book, I had mixed feelings.
Ultimately, I think its important to note that you can forgive someone but NOT bring them into your life in the same role they were before. I think the main character should have considered that at some point.
This was a story of a marriage gone wrong, and while the main character, Sierra, was rude and whiny and a brat for way too long she ended up blaming herself for the falling apart of her marriage. While there are great lessons to learn through Sierra's brattiness, I found it appalling that the book did not explore how Alex's manipulation, emotional abuse, desertion of both her and the kids, and his own transgressions could not ALL be explained away as a response to Sierra being “unsupportive.” I think Sierra thought about it all wrong and it pains me to think that she thought her only choice was to a) blame herself ENTIRELY and b) accept Alex back in her life to be a good Christian.
There were a lot of times when I got extremely angry with Alex, it was really painful to read Sierra beating herself up so much.
WHAT MADE IT UNACCEPTABLE WAS: I went through this book thinking that maybe Alex would have a “Come to Jesus” moment and ok then I can (possibly) forgive all of this screw ups and see how he could be “changed.” HOWEVER, when asked about his faith, Alex said he had been a Christian ALL ALONG and when he screwed up he just “walked away from God.”...and it was left at that. The entire explanation of why he acted the way he did was pride and walking away from God. Red. Flag. I understand that Sierra was the main character so we focused more on her character development but it would have helped me more as a reader to understand Alex's.
Anyway...
The story within the story of her ancestor Mary Katherine was interesting but...weird. I didn't really get the point of it and found her conversion and her romantic relationships lacking as well. Her voice always seemed very young and naive and it made it made the romance seem a little creepy at points.
The writing style and overall quality is what made me not rate this any less, not the actual storyline.
3.5 stars. Unfortunately, without the mystery element (even the minimal ones the other books had) this one just ended up being...less than satisfying.
Still made me laugh out loud, and I enjoyed it. Also, Kyle is the farthest from my type there could be...personality wise, so there is that too. And I never really got over the fact that her name is Rylann. Annoying.
What I found interesting and impressive about this, is that its a Romance novel that I absolutely loved featuring a leading man that I would never date if he was a real life person. I enjoyed the main characters so much together, was incredibly charmed by them, and loved the story all together.
A really well done chick-lit/romance novel that was funny, had a bit of suspense, and overall is a quick fun read.
Also got a lot of points because a fight they had over miscommunication did NOT get dragged out, thankfully. Well done. No pointless drama.
I love that she is a former attorney. I think that is so cool and her career is #goals for me. I like her as an author, and am excited to continue to read and listen to her novels. Hopefully she doesn't disappoint :P.
With that being said, I really enjoyed this novel. It is a regular romance novel. No real mystery involved but still fun, cute, light hearted, and extremely entertaining.
Didn't give it 5 stars because it really did bother me that her friends were so fawned over by her but her best friends fiancé then husband was so not in the picture. I found that weird.
Extremely strong start, but it fizzled by the end. I think this may be the last novel in the Porter family series...and that's why there was so MUCH of the family and just extra characters/scenes in this novel, because I don't remember that happening in the first novel as much. It took away from the story and I would rather have had more character development for Gray (who I always mistakenly read as ‘Gary' in my head lol) as he overcome his childhood issues.
But still a very fun novel, I just found myself skimming when the author discussed the main characters' family a bit too much.
2.5 stars.
Ultimately, I was disappointed. Her mom was really weird. The methods of punishing (by grounding and having things taken away) was stupid and ineffective. Essentially, her parenting style really alarmed and bothered me, and I was incredibly disappointed that this was never truly referenced. Sure, I get the whole, “I love you and want whats best for you and that's why I'm ultra-controlling and also I can't believe you're growing up so I'm trying to hold onto you by being way too in your face”. That's normal. That's fine, but ultimately I would have liked the resolution to NOT be one quick sentence and actually have some insight in the mothers growth as she learned she was being crazy. I do not believe we ever really got a resolution out of that, and it was disappointing. Because a big part of coming of age is learning how to process from a parent child relationship to one that will soon transition into what that is almost friend and friend. I like that the novel touched on the issue of respecting your parents while not following their desires/wishes for you, and that's really important for kids 16-20ish to know and learn how to do but ultimately this plot line was not followed through and it really took away from the story.
As a child of immigrants who was never grounded (I'm pretty sure being grounded is only an American thing) this book just further showed me that “grounding” is just about that most worthless stupid form of discipline I've ever encountered. While I understand “time-outs” because you can't reason with a 2 year old, I think an 18 year old is really logical and if her mother just sucked up her pride and talked to her instead of saying “stop talking back” a lot of the back and forth in the novel could have been prevented. AGAIN, it is understandable because of the growing pains of Whitney leaving the house, but I just would have liked to see this issue explored till the very end instead of basically ignored in the end.
Sorry for the mini-rant. This touched on a nerve for me a bit.
Anyway.....onto the Romance? Lol
I loved Taylor and his entire family and the texting and speaking in Spanish, very cute. I liked that they were friends first and their friendship was very believable and very sweet. All well done.
The faith aspect of the novel was...ok. Not deep enough by any means, and again could have been explored more.
This book was short to begin with, so I think adding like 50 pages to really flesh the issues out instead of focusing only on the romance would have made this book much stronger.
Finished this book in one day (two counting the fact that I finished it at 2 am). So, obviously, I liked it.
Once we figured out what the mystery really was, I felt the book was much better. However, I was disappointing with the build-up regarding the “ghost” of the manor.
What I was NOT disappointing about though was the twists and turns this book took. I thought I had the whole book figured out like 30% through but I was pleasantly surprised I was wrong. I think better organization would have definitely put the book to a 5 star mark.
3.5 Stars. Being generous.
The author is a great writer, and I liked the characters–all of them. A lot. What I had trouble with is the SUPER RUSHED ENDING. SUPPPPPERRRR rushed. Kate didn't even MEET Nick's family but she's comfortable with his brother marrying them? Or has she been attending his congregation this whole time? I DON'T KNOW.
Furthermore, I found her conversion horribly lacking. Not sure if it is just a difference in opinion between me and the author though. There was little Bible verses mentioned (only one, Jeremiah 29:11 used wonderfully out of context) and lots of “Well, I WANT God to be real because then I can be happy like Leona and Nick are happy.” I don't know, I would have liked it to be based on Bible verses that helped her, maybe a good sermon and not birds and “feelings.”
Also, the bird asides were weird. Did not work for me at all.
This was incredibly disappointing, but happily the shortest book of them all.
Ultimately, I appreciated the stupid James stuff being put to rest (and Tandy learning a very important lesson that she 100% needed to learn). Hopefully she learned it well and she can stop being ridiculous.
I appreciate the plot moving a bit with the mystery of her sister and the pills and her family in general, but it was way too in the backdrop for me to fully appreciate this book. Hopefully the last one ties it up well, and James goes away forever.
I am incredibly confused when thinking about past scenes and reconciling it with how characters acted in this book as well. Almost feels like a fan fiction written that should have had a huge OCC (out of character) disclaimer before hand.
2.5 rating, not 3.
It was entertaining, I like that she got a girl friend. I liked Jacob and the family love and all that kind of stuff in the novel.
But, all the lovey dovey stuff with James seemed really weird. Out of character for her to be so...almost obsessed with I'm and the idea of being in love. She kept referring to him as “the only person I ever loved.” I realize she means “the only person I have ever been IN LOVE WITH” but it was just annoying because I was hoping she would be a bit stronger once the family love and support became more present.
Also not quite sure why she accepts Officer Caputo as a decent person when he was such a jerk in the first book. That was never quite explained...at all. I will keep reading because they are quick audiobooks and I know something is going to happen with Katherine and I am curious about THAT but I am also nervous about the next book being very James-heavy.
