Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
I thought this book was so interesting the way it was narrated! It kind of reminds me of The Book Thief in some ways. I liked that we learned things about Pearl and her life along the way even though she wasn’t our classic “main character”. This book felt like a slice of life from Chicago during WWII and I really enjoyed getting that view. A lot of this story is just quiet and slow, but it’s so well-written (even though I think the imagery with doors kind of went over my head). The ending made me want to go straight back to the beginning to reread the prologue. I would definitely recommend this book, but it may be something that you have to be in a specific mood for. With that being said, I think these fall/winter days coming up will create the perfect atmosphere for this book.
Overall Rating: 4
Language: Mild
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Mild
Order: Hardcover | Paperback | eBook
Mexican Gothic
This book felt so slooooow to me even from the very beginning. For a long time, I just felt like nothing was happening and it didn’t seem like Noemi was learning anything important. So that goes on for like the whole book until the last 20 pages which end up being super intense. I don’t want to give anything away, but it ended up being so different from what I expected and just really weird. It wasn’t scary or even that thrilling, though I’d probably still classify it as horror. Lastly, some uncomfortable topics were touched on that I didn’t love (incest, infanticide, and cannibalism).
Overall Rating: 3
Language: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: Moderate
The Lion’s Den
I didn’t LOVE the story itself, but I thought it was written well and it successfully kept the suspense and mystery high. I think that’s tough to do, so kudos for that. Part of what helped with that was that it was really difficult to know who the “good guys” are throughout the book–there was a moment where I was even contemplating how reliable a narrator Isabelle was. Despite not loving it, it did make me want to reread some sections after I finished to pick up on the things that I missed the first time. I think another reader would really enjoy this book, it just wasn’t totally for me.
Overall Rating: 3.5
Language: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: Moderate
What's She Reading? 