Book Review – Page 16

Throwback Thursday (Book Review) “Anxious People” By: Fredrik Backman

It is another Throwback Thursday book review post. this week I am going to be posting what will probably be a very unpopular opinion. This is my one star review for Fredik Backman’s book “Anxious People”.

I originally gave this book a three star review however, after I redid my reviewing scale it got bumped all the way down to just a single star! Check out how I got to this point in this previous article https://worldofbaiblog.com/2021/06/14/my-rating-system/

Synopsis

🚫 Possible Spoilers 🚫

This book is about a bank robber, a man on a bridge and a hostage situation, But mostly a group of mysterious people with many secrets.

What would you do if your kids were about to be taken away from you because you are missing just a few thousand dollars? Maybe you would beg for help, ask your ex for a little more time or maybe choose to rob a bank.

When your plan goes unexpected you run across the street and take hostages in an apartment. How will you get yourself out of this situation?

The biggest question the cops have is who is the suspect in this room full of strange and suspicious people?

Rating

⭐️/ 5 Stars

Review

This book took me about 200 pages to get into, which is more than half the book by the way. I really wanted to love this book because of how highly everyone else rates it but this really let me down. I honestly forced myself to finish this book just to say that I read it which is a lot of the reason I gave it only one star.

I felt this book was just a bunch of hypothetical questions each chapter that led you to a very small clue. I didn’t really get into the story because of that. It wasn’t a very interesting story until close to the end when you start putting two and two together. However, the ending did have a nice twist which I feel is why everyone loves this book.

This was my first Fredik Backman book and I kind of feel like it will be my last. If I were to read another one of his, which one should I read?

Photo Credit: Google

“Not THAT Rich” By: Belinda Lei (Book Review)

“Not THAT Rich” by Belinda Lei is a debut young adult novel which I received a free copy of for an honest review. Lets just say I now own three copies of this book because I LOVED it that much! If you would like to see more raving reviews about this book check out her website here https://notthatrich.com/#testimonial-section

Synopsis

Enter a world of a handful of Private High School students born into rich families with extreme expectations. Will they get into their desired colleges? Will they find love in their relationships? Will they fight their drug addictions? Who is “The Stranger”? But most importantly does being rich really make you happy?

This dramatic and mysterious novel will leave you speechless as it takes you through every twist and turn but will also have you feeling sympathy for their misfortunes. Maybe being rich isn’t all that it is cracked up to be.

Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 Stars

Review

Belinda’s writing is so captivating, she is able to tell her story in such a powerful way that you can envision every detail as it plays out. This is the day and age for diverse books, and with it coming out in December of 2020, it really shows some of the social and cultural struggles Asian-Americans are facing in this country.

I know you will fall madly in love with this book as you learn about each of these teens backgrounds and struggles. Maybe along the way you will even learn a thing or two yourself.

Links

Belinda’s Website https://notthatrich.com/#author-note-section

Buy the book (free on kindle as of 06/20/21) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P3MS8SN/

Make sure to leave a review when you finish the book! I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

Throwback Thursday (Book Review) “The Lost Apothecary” By: Sarah Penner

This is a Throwback Thursday (Book Review) post. Because I am a new blogger I will be posting my previous book reviews every Thursday afternoon! So to start off with lets dive into “The Lost Apothecary” By: Sarah Penner, which I gave a solid 5 star review!

This book was a Historical Fiction debut release from Book Of The Month Club that I had to grab! The cover alone is just absolutely gorgeous. I started this book March 7th, 2021 and finished March 11th, 2021 which would probably make this the the fastest I have ever read a book to be completely honest.

Synopsis

The Lost Apothecary Follows a Non-Linear storyline bouncing Back and forth between the late 1700’s and modern day London.

Nella, an apothecary owner in the late 1700’s is keeping her mothers shop open after her passing but with a slight twist. Where her mother only used potions to heal Nella uses potions to heal but also to use against men. She has two rules: the poison must never harm another woman and second the names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the register. When she meets an unexpected friend something goes wrong but where does that leave the apothecary?

Caroline, an aspiring historian on vacation, stumbles upon a small blue apothecary jar. While sorting out her damaged married life she starts to unravel the mystery of the lost apothecary and finds her true self in the process.

Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 Stars

Review

I normally don’t find myself loving non-linear storylines because they can get jumbled and confusing at times. However, with this book it worked! I found myself craving to know more about each character and kept me guessing what was going to come next. With every turn of the page I was completely invested and it made the book fly by!

Just a few small issues, if you can even call these issues, probably not.

I want to learn more about Nella and Eliza’s lives.
(Possible spoiler I suppose) At the very end of the book Caroline wrote her dissertation and there is a small inconsistency but I can forgive that.
I could have used a longer book so it didn’t feel “rushed”

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think for it being a debut novel Sarah Penner did a really great job!

Have you read this book? What are your overall thoughts and feelings?

Photo Credit: Google

My Rating System

When I started reading and rating my books I had no reference to look back on to base my scale. I mostly went off of what I felt. Some of my 4 or 5 star books probably could have been lower ratings but I feel bad giving an author who worked so hard to write a book anything below a 4 even if the book truly deserved a lower rating. I feel like everyone rates books differently so what I think is a 4 star read might be a 3 star for you based on our different criteria, I do wish that there was an official rating scale everyone followed but sadly that will stay a dream. With that being said I am FINALLY giving myself an official rating guideline to follow.

One to two star reads are books that I could barely finish.

Three star reads are books that are good but wouldn’t be recommended.

Four and five star reads are books I am left thinking about and would recommend.

If I don’t finish a book I will not rate it because I feel like that is unfair to the author in my personal opinion.

Let’s dive in deeper!

One Star

⭐️

This book did not keep me interested, I found myself struggling to finish the book and had to practically force myself to get through it. I did not feel connected to the characters or they did not build as much as I feel they should have. I found the book too predictable and drawn out. Maybe there wasn’t enough showing but too much telling of the story.

Example

Two Stars

⭐️⭐️

I finished this book but really did not enjoy what I was reading. A character really got on my nerves, the plot felt unoriginal or boring and maybe parts of the book just felt distracting such as; many grammar/spelling errors, plot holes and things just got too jumbled.

Example

Three Stars

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This was a good book but I wasn’t in love with it. I probably won’t be recommending this book to anyone because it didn’t leave me with something amazing to talk about. I might have found something about it that left me wondering why it was even there in the first place. Maybe it was a slow build and left me underwhelmed, these are probably books that were overhyped.

Example

Four stars

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This is a book that I would recommend however there were probably just some small details that were missing or the ending was just kind of meh. I was left wanting just a little more from this read or it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for and had played out in my mind. This book played out more like a movie in my head and the characters stood out.

Example

Five stars

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I absolutely loved this book and either found nothing wrong with it or there were minor issues that I can live with and forget about. This is a book that I can’t stop talking about and I find myself recommending it to everyone I come across. Maybe I can’t put the book down and I fly through it or throughout the day I find myself thinking of the book and craving to sit down and read.

Example

In conclusion, one and two star reads I will not be recommending to anyone and I will probably be unhauling them soon, a three star read was good but if I see someone posted a three star rating I might be questioning the book on my TBR pile, and last but not least four and five star ratings will be getting recommended and I might just talk you ear off about them!

Do you use a similar rating system or is yours different? Do you rate DNF books? What are some of your overall thoughts?