Lisa
Elin Hilderbrand books are brain candy for me -very light books that don't require a lot from you as a reader. This was plot driven without much character development. My biggest disappointment with this book is that I feel like the story could have been wrapped up in two books. At this point the characters are grating on my nerves a bit - I most likely will pick up the third (and hopefully final) book so I can find out how it all ends.
I really struggled with the rating for this book - wavered between 2 and 3 stars and settled with 3.
This was hard because I really like the author, will definitely read more and thought the writing was done well. I had more trouble with the story itself. It was a bit slow to start, secrets were kept for 3/4 of the book and then in a rush the speed picked up and everything resolved. I had trouble connecting with the sisters probably because my relationship with my sister is so different. I may have also suffered from my own personal hype - I loved Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows and was so excited to read this and my high expectations may have negatively influenced my actual enjoyment.
On a positive note - I enjoyed the look at India culture. Like Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, it gave me insights into a culture I don't know much about. The descriptions of place put you in India - I could feel the chaos, heat and discomfort felt by women in the street. Also, I like how she weaved the letter from Mum in with the chapters.
This was a fantastic book - I devoured it in 2 days. I read a Man Called Ove and loved it. While this is very different - a little darker and heavier - it is still a great examination of the human condition and community. Fredrick Backman is quickly becoming a favorite author and I can't wait to read the rest of his books.
I liked the writing in this book but it felt a bit long - I feel like the middle could have been shortened some. The last 30% of the book flew by and it seemed like it to forever to get there and then everything happened so quickly. I enjoyed the characters, their relationships and the sociological aspects of life on Raktar. Haven't yet decided if I will read the sequel.
I listened to this on audio and it was long. In fact I almost stopped listening to it around the 13 hour mark but wanted to understand what happened to all the characters. With 5 hours left to go the story really picked up and I loved every minute of it. The end is what pushed my rating from 3 to 4 stars.
My 3 star rating comes more from my oversaturation of reading psychological thrillers then from the writing / story. I read this one in a day so it obviously kept my interest - I figured out the twists and turns pretty early on but again I think that might be more from reading so many books in this genre as of late. If psychological thrillers are a favorite genre I think this is a good one to add to your list of read books.
I enjoyed this book better than Girl on the Train. I had read prior to starting it that there were a lot of character so I wrote down each character as I came upon them and it helped me track them - didn't get them confused. I found the family relationships interesting and it kept me guessing right up to the end.
