Hand luggage is a feature where we give quick, 30 second reviews of books we've been reading. They're short, (hopefully) sweet, and the perfect way to check a book out before you dive in! This time Caroline is reviewing Sia by Josh Grayson and The Pentrals by Crystal Mack.
Rating: 1/5 Not good guys!
Source: Received an ARC from NetGalley
There’s not a lot of good to say about Sia I’m afraid. The premise - girl wakes up in a park and has no idea who she is, spends a week homeless before being found by her ridiculously wealthy parents - sounds intriguing, if a little clichéd. Unfortunately, the book sticks with the cliché and gets rid of the intriguing. Everything in the plot is telegraphed from the word go, so much so that it’s probably one of the most predictable books I’ve ever read. Every plot point that comes up, like Sia’s mother being an alcoholic, is resolved within a couple of chapters. There’s just no conflict anywhere.
When she goes back to school, Sia is confronted with with the horrible person that she was before, which sparks a desire to change herself. That’s a really noble goal, and maybe a book about Sia being woken up to her faults without needing to go through traumatic amnesia (the reason for which is never fully explained) would be worth reading.
That’s before I’ve even got to the fact that every POC in the novel, from Carol the friendly homeless african america, to Beatriz, the mexican housekeeper, is basically just a stereotype, a foil there to help Sia on her journey. Although, to be fair to the writer, so is every other character. In short - I wasn’t a fan!
Rating: DNF
Source: Received an ARC from NetGalleyGoodreads
Next up is another novel from NetGalley, this time I didn’t even finish it! The Pentrals again has an interesting premise, narrated by a young woman’s shadow, it follows the story of Violet. And that’s about as far as I got. I just couldn’t handle the narration by Antares, Violet’s shadow; it was just SO BORING. So many descriptions of what it’s like to be a shadow, and how she had to adapt to being a shadow on different surfaces...... no thanks.
I’m kind of disappointed because the synopsis sounded so interesting, but I just couldn’t handle any more. I used to feel very guilty about not finishing books but somehow reading it on Kindle makes it easier to just click out, and not click back in again. Sorry!
Have you read either of these novels? What did you think?
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