THE MAIN CHARACTER
Jaclyn Goldis
Are you THE MAIN CHARACTER in your life?
Invited on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, a leisurely train ride across Italy with planned idyllic stops, and promised relaxation amidst the ultimate in luxury land travel on the revamped ORIENT EXPRESS, Rory cannot wait. She wants to be THE MAIN CHARACTER in her life, and she thinks this trip is the beginning of being just that.
She’s looking forward to sipping tea window side, people watching, and maybe losing herself somewhere between the pages of a great book.
But when she shows up it is obvious that someone has something else in mind entirely. Shortly after her arrival other passengers, and familiar passengers start to arrive. Her brother, ex-fiancé, and best friend. Something is underfoot, and we follow along as Rory figures out exactly what that is.
THE MAIN CHARACTER was straightforward, and I can’t imagine it’s going to surprise many readers. The storyline is used without enough of a deviation from the original to be warranted.
The writing is not inspiring and combined with a storyline most people know well (considering the famous novel and several following adaptations) it just didn’t work. Without plot or language, there isn’t much left except for THE MAIN CHARACTER by Jaclyn Goldis.
Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advanced copy!
THE MAIN CHARACTER…⭐⭐
SLOW DANCE
Rainbow Rowell
What I wanted was romance. I wanted true love and happily ever after, what it ended up being was a slow burn that went out before it even got started.
SLOW DANCE by Rainbow Rowell (secretly one of my favorite authors) stars Shiloh and Cary. It feels like they’ve known each other forever. They were friends in school and grew up to live separate lives. Now adults, Shiloh wonders if there might be something more to their connection, Cary has always known there is.
We follow as the years go by and their relationship morphs and changes over time. Will they put their feelings first and permanently change their status? Or will they stay friends forever?
Will they-won’t they can take you a long way but without a little bit of sizzle every once in a while the fire will go out. This romance pairing didn’t work for me, unfortunately. I did not connect with either of the main characters. Even though I didn’t connect with the characters I enjoyed the writing and carriage of the story.
As the book went on, I grew frustrated with how slowly everything moved, and I wished the characters were more in the driver’s seat of their lives, rather than observing from the passenger seat. My biggest problem with SLOW DANCE was the pace of the relationship between Shiloh and Cary.
I love Rainbow Rowell and will probably check out everything she publishes. Oddly, it seems although I don’t often read young adult literature, I prefer Rainbow’s novels for young adults.
Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy!
SLOW DANCE…⭐⭐⭐
PRIVATE RITES
Julia Armfield
A trio brought together by blood. The only thing holding them together. The only thing holding them accountable. If not for blood, they wouldn’t be here now. They would’ve gone long ago.
Isla is a therapist, unconvinced she has a purpose. Even as she is helping her clients, she feels invisible and ineffective. She spends her days dreaming in her therapy sessions of clients that recover, clients that move on, clients that don’t need her.
Irene is angry and has always been. Frustrated with herself, more so with others, despondent and full of conviction. She is oftentimes accused of being angry even when she feels she isn’t. There is a hardness to her that makes loving her difficult and altogether not worth the effort.
Agnes the youngest, born of a different mother. Unattached, unmoored. Bends with the wind and sets sail on rocky waters, which is at this very moment, a detriment.
The earth is in a moment of watershed. It’s been raining for what feels like years. The sisters gather at the hospital bed of their dying father. Who to them has died at least once before. All the sisters grieve more for the living than the dead. His passing, merely a rainy day in June.
Beautiful writing. In the beginning, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the words. The sentences were too rich to absorb. I read the beginning several times thinking the entire text would be in a way, indigestible. But Armfield moved on and so did I. The poetry of the beginning lasted throughout the novel. But was interlaced with easier-to-manage latent words. Which is the only way I was able to finish the book.
Armfield has been telling the same story in all the books written by her that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Simply changing the characters’ names and introducing settings that mirror her intention. It is a story of grieving those who are still living. Missing the ones who are near you but somehow somewhere far away. Not seeing the ones in front of you because you’re too busy wishing they were someone else. Not loving and accepting yourself because you’re too busy trying to be anyone but you.
Ghosts. Living.
I find that I appreciate Armfield’s novels more than I enjoy them. They almost feel inert. Unalive. A little selfish, taking more than giving. They are contemplative, and thoughtful, and I’ll always recommend them. This one is no different.
Out tomorrow! Make sure you pick up your copy where books are sold or borrowed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook!
PRIVATE RITES…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
