angieoverbooked's reviews
485 reviews

Second read, with the audio this time. Loved revisiting this story. Perfectly narrated.

This has the makings of a book that could be a favorite for me- I love historical fiction, and the Harlem Renaissance is my favorite setting and time period within the genre. While the setting, story concept and real-life characters of Harlem Rhapsody are 5 stars, for me the  execution was more like 3 stars. The actual writing just wasn’t super compelling to me. But the true stories are!

So, I have to emphasize how glad I am that this book introduced me to Jessie Fauset and inspired me to learn more about her.  She’s like the Berry Gordy of the literary world during the Harlem Renaissance! This novel is heavily centered on her relationship with W.E.B. DuBois, and I wanted to go beyond that. I found myself racing through the book simply because I wanted to go find additional sources to learn more about her career and writing. 

I understand that her affair with DuBois really happened, and that people are complicated, but the almost incessant focus on this just didn't do anything for me.

And since we're taking the liberty to color in fiction the lines of real life, did almost every meeting about great literary work and every accomplishment Jessie reached have to conclude with "Will's" invitation to a hotel room? Not really.

I found the constant use of specific days/dates unnecessary - Sunday, December 1, 1920, then Monday, December 2, 1920, vs just saying December 1920. It feels like a small thing to note, but this was the start of every chapter, and I started thinking the detailed timeline was really going to mean something, but it didn't- and on top of that, Victoria Christopher Murray was altering the real-life timeline anyway.

The literary icons who appear in this book, such as Nella Larsen and Langston Hughes, were a true delight especially as they are at the very beginning of their careers and dreaming of the success that we now know they went on to achieve. All of those scenes made me sit up a little straighter in my seat. Like Hughes sharing his idea for Not Without Laughter, a book I love and now want to reread. 

So… I love where this book took me, but I didn’t actually love the book on its own.

It's also worth noting that it’s extremely similar in tone, style and themes to The Personal Librarian, so I expect many readers who liked that, to enjoy this overall. Thinking of both books, I do appreciate Murray's efforts to highlight real Black women in history that deserve to be more well known. 

Ratings
Story Concept 5/5
Quality of Writing 3/5
Pacing 3/5
Plot Development 3/5
Character Development 4/5
Overall Enjoyability 3.5/5

I really enjoyed this, especially as a fan of ice skaters/dancers, and their events being my favorite thing to watch at the winter Olympics. I could picture everything! I loved the description of the costumes, performances, music and competitions. My heart was racing while they waited for their scores, too! Fargo really gets you invested in the characters, specifically The Favorites, Kat and Heath. 

Okay, enough about that. There was so much drama in this book! Forget about the pretty costumes- these people were cutthroat and obsessed with their skating careers. And each other. And Kat and Heath have such a tumultuous relationship, which makes you even more interested in them. Talk about ups and downs. 😮‍💨 

So, it's no surprise that, 10 years after the events of the book occurred, a documentary is now being made about them. I liked the aspect of a documentary/oral history within the book. This was a smart way to get perspectives from a variety of key people and witnesses. It provides lots of quotes and insight from others without having to have full chapters from their perspective, which weren't needed. And the descriptions of videos that are being shown in the documentary were very cool too. Fargo succeeds in creating what feels like a real documentary.

But the best part is the alternating chapters told from Kat's perspective, hearing the whole story in her voice and growing to understand her motives and choices. She does not try to be likable or beg anyone to be convinced, she just tells her story the way it was. 

This would make a really great TV series!

Ratings
Story Concept 5/5
Quality of Writing 4/5
Pacing 4/5
Plot Development 4/5
Character Development 4/5

Overall Enjoyability 4/5

I was curious enough to finish this and was mostly waiting for the payoff of getting all of my questions answered and the twists that Feeney is known for.

I did get the answers and twists but unfortunately the payoff just wasn’t satisfying or even as surprising as I expected. Sadly, this one wasn’t a win for me.

The narration/audio production was great though. (Added .5 ⭐️ for that)

The premise and set up of this were right up my alley. I appreciate any story concept that makes you consider what you would do if you knew when you'll die and a message of making the most of the time you have. 

Starting this story on an airplane was smart because when Cherry, who will later be known as "The Death Lady," starts predicting when and how every passenger will die, they can't escape her. It was a compelling opening. The rest of the book allows you to follow everyone and see how they are coping after their predictions, alternating with chapters of Cherry's life leading up to the day of the flight. One thing Moriarty knows how to do well is write a LOT of characters. 

But ultimately, I didn't love the overall execution of this. I became weary of Cherry's chapters- I did like learning her background but the point came where I wanted a more concise telling of that, and more time spent with the other passengers. And even that could have probably been shorter. I didn't enjoy the second half as much as the first. I didn't love the conclusion, but I appreciated the epilogue, so it was all a toss-up.

Ratings
Story Concept 5/5
Quality of Writing 4/5
Pacing 3/5
Plot Development 3/5
Character Development 4/5
Overall Enjoyability 3.25/5

When Chanel Miller’s victim impact statement was published in 2016, after the conclusion of her sexual assault trial against Brock Turner, it went viral. 

Messages of support poured in for her and, of this, she writes in her book: “Almost every message I received opened with someone telling me the location of where they were crying. They were enraged and then devastated, and then they said thank you, said everyone must read it.”

That sums up my take on KNOW MY NAME. It’s a hard but absolutely stunning read. I’ve now read it twice, this time with the audio as well. And it is sealed as one of the best memoirs, best books in general, I’ve ever read. 

This was fascinating. Fans of true crime, especially fraud and con stories will enjoy this. Kari, formerly known as the "Hipster Grifter" tells the story of how she found herself scamming those who were the closest to her. (Before moving on to total strangers who shouldn't have trusted her at all.)

As an adopted Asian queer girl, in a White Mormon family and community, it makes sense that she would start stealing not for the goods but to fit in. It's wild how that grew into scams of thousands of dollars and getting a job at Vice in NYC with totally made up credentials. But honestly, she comes across as pretty funny and charming in this book, so I kind of get why people fell for her schemes! Fingers crossed that I CAN believe her when she says she's a different person now.