readclever's reviews
337 reviews

Kristina Hagman offers a healtfelt look at Larry Hagman's life with little apology or acceptance of moments of betrayal. Instead the story of a hard life full of highs and lows, extravagance and cruelty, and abandonment and fear fill the pages. Unlike a biography, there are no areas with careful deliberation. What Kristina illustrates with careful deliberation is a life full of painful triumphs, not only her famous father and grandmother, but her own. Readers sit in the middle of a family discussion without feeling intrusive.

The world may have known Hagman as Major Nelson or J.R. Ewing, but the complicated lines of bonding show more of a complete man. Adultery, drug use, and an aversion to therapy weave a narrative where characters the public knows show up in real life. Even as a close family, there were many hidden parts to the actor and Kristina takes the time to pull every string.

I wish there had been more about her mother, however. Maj, a fearless Swede who conquered loan sharks and Hollywood alike, felt incomplete. And without complete picture, some of Larry's actions didn't feel entirely explained. I wanted to know more about what inspired a woman to move from London to California over decades. And why she loved her husband so fiercely.

It's clear that Kristina is a mashup of her parents while facing the actions of an addict parent. A repeat of history where she chose to break the cycle. Heartbreak seemed to be a calling card in her early years, but the love of family seemed to balance as she grew into the determined artist. She made her own legacy while living in her family's.

This is a book for people who want to know more about Hollywood, the underside of life in the public eye. Not everything is good. Some incidents made me teary-eyed but you learn to believe in the power of dreams. And acceptance. You also learn what friendship is really like among the elite.

I hated these two characters, so much. Gia and Jake had little to no development, only seemed to exist to have mediocre sex, and he was way too possessive of her. Nothing worked. Not even the sub-sub plots. The ending felt trite, too.

Liz and the island really worked as a group. I was invested in the plot, in her character development, even the tritest parts. It worked. Solid read, good knowledge of the area and Lowcountry attitude about strangers. I especially liked the Talbot family relationships. Solid book. Been on my To-Read pile for years. Found it at a library sale. So glad. Liz is smart but fallible. That's a definite plus. Her weaknesses help round out rather than be cutesy. Can't wait to read more.

Amelia was an amazing leading character. She reminded me of Jo Bev's Rothgar in the omnipotence but held a little more solidness. Definitely a great Christmas heroine. Was a little less enthused with hero, but that's okay. Amelia made up for it.

I legit hated everyone but Daisy. I enjoyed her immensely but the high-handedness men in her life and clear villainous women to set up the toxic culture. Everyone was one-dimensional except Daisy, who was given the worst treatment. Normally, I love SEP. But I absolutely loathed this book. It wasn't nearly as nuanced. Felt like a ghostwriter, actually.

I tried so hard to finish this book. But I couldn't. The female protagonist, Miranda, was nothing more than window dressing for male authoritarianism. First, a former suitor. Then her twin brother. Clever with money at a genteel poverty level yet both men treat all those tricks as nothing more than useless. Give up after less than 1/3rd way through. McClymer dropped the ball on the entire premise by not highlighting her intelligence or knowledge. I don't foresee giving the author another chance. Too many disbelieving notes on this book.

Dystopian future where people die in large swathes because airborne is the fastest way to kill. A military industrial complex you never wanna meet, but fear in the daylight hours, anyway. And two friends working their way across the world to find each other with dangerous chasing them at every corner.

Engaging plot if you read the piece as character driven. The authors focus on the friendship. The only really deep flaw I've found is the romance and that's why it's got a full star off. The romance felt forced, like it was shoe-horned to fit into the genre. Dani getting over Cam in a couple days made me pretty angry. It was too quick and it gave too much away about Chris, who started out as an interesting character.

Everyone matched up in weird little situations, too. Like Zoe and Jake, the whole prophecy and everything. Too pat and too easy. That should be lasted several books. Not 1/3rd into the first book of the series. Rushed. Like Sarah's pregnancy. Sanchez and Jason's past. Too many connections.

I didn't expect the mindrape with Mindy. It felt too real, too palatable, and rather in poor taste after dealing with CeCe. It's a terrible plot device that I hope changes through the next follow up books. The romance felt like YA, not NA. That was another star knock-off, too. The inability to decide if the characters were younger grown ups or young adults in high school. That might go back to the romance subplots, though.

Overall, a solid 3-3.5 star book. I would have liked to give it a little higher number since I read the book in a matter of 30 hours or so. But the glaring repetition and romance issues kept it lowered.

DNF.

I made it about 2-3 chapters in before having to give up. Here's the thing: first person POV didn't work when it's referencing a well-established, 3rd person show narrative. It misses the nuance and the relationship building in setting up the atmosphere. I'm sad, too. I wanted to love the book, but no. Not even worth it to dig inside Cabot Cove.