corinth113's reviews
92 reviews

This book absolutely wrecked me. I wasn’t blown away by The Nightingale so when this book was recommended to me I was hesitant to try it out, but multiple people said it was amazing and it really was. The painful dynamic of what it really means to love and also resent the deeply problematic people in your life was so well done, the villain was impeccably infuriating, the nuance of all these layered themes—UGH, chef’s kiss. It made me feel the way Laura Ingalls Wilder books made me feel as a kid, except darker and more adult, and a lot more moments of profound, profound, FELT heartbreak towards the end. Also, towards the latter part of the book, I kept thinking I knew what came next, but Kristin Hannah kept one unexpected thing coming after another and that is another sign of a job well done. Bravo, KH! Beautiful novel.
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PS: If you like books like Educated or The Glass Castle or even Where the Crawdads Sing, I feel like you’d like this.

The whole time I was reading this I thought “3 out of 5 stars…” Then I got to the twist and I was like “FIVE OUT OF FIVE! FIVE OUT OF FIVE!” x)

VERY good twist. Simply written, and a very enjoyable read—not what I would’ve called “gripping” but certainly enticing and intriguing enough that I got through most of it in an afternoon. Great job to this author on some very clever, accomplished storytelling!

I don’t crave reading a lot of books twice, but I wasn’t even done reading this book and I knew I wanted to read it again. Friends of mine dissuaded me from reading the Shadow and Bone series because the first book felt “too juvenile” but I’m going to try them after reading this book. I loved Leigh Bardugo’s writing in this, and I adored her characters. The banter is clever and the heist is so winding and adventurous. I gasped, I laughed, and I even got up early one day just so I could read more (and I am NOT a morning person). Didn’t even feel like a YA read except for the characters’ ages. A very fun read and a captivating universe!

I really enjoyed this book and probably could’ve finished it in a day. One timeline was very intriguing and the other did a good job showing what it meant for one woman to discover herself after years of putting her own needs aside. The threads that weave the two timelines together (especially the more climatic one in the present day) were really well done.

If I had to put it in apothecary terms, this book was one part dark history, one part fun mystery, and the tiiiniest pinch of magic—all mixed together with the various friendships of women. :) If you liked this book, I would recommend Things in Jars by Jess Kidd!