Baby by Annaleese Jochems

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Scribe UK in exchange for an honest review.

It feels almost criminal to give a book like this 3 stars because it is anything but average, but I am not sure how else to represent my feelings about it.

Baby is the very weird story of two women who spontaneously decide to run off together. One of them is a 21 year old named Cynthia, who acts more like an 18 year old. This boat is sort of her dream, and most of the book focuses on things from her perspective. Anahera is her older ex-yoga instructor turned mother figure turned inappropriate crush. The book focuses on this very uncomfortable relationship dynamic, as well as what happens when they are joined by a mysterious man who upsets their dynamic.

This book is incredibly unique and not entirely coherent. I think I wanted a more coherent experience to be honest; I love stories about dark female friendships, and this had a lot of promise, but it remains a little too out there and disconnected from reality for any of the unpleasant elements to hit right. Cynthia is a deeply disturbed woman who is emotionally juvenile. You never quite learn what Anahera's deal with, which I think is a real shame. There are hints that Cynthia's viewpoint is skewing things at various points, but it's missing that other side which would really make the horror-esque elements hit home.

The other thing to mention about this book is that it's incredibly disgusting with its description. I get nauseated quite easily and large passages of this book were deeply unpleasant, with no real reason for it. There's a lot of stuff revolving around physical description or bodily fluids that I could have done without.

Finally, the ending was the most disappointing aspect of this book for me. If it had a punchier ending, I think I would have given this book 4 stars despite its flaws. But it just kind of ends with no real bite, and while I get what it was going for, I wanted something more.

Overall, I think there are books which do this concept better (Social Creature springs to mind) but I can't say I regret reading it. It's a bizarre time and I think it will stand out in my memory for that fact alone. Some people will absolutely love this book because it's not the kind of story you can be 'indifferent' to really. If you think you might be one of them, give it a try

Overall Rating:

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Books UK in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book unlike any I have ever read before, but the premise sounded so promising that I couldn't resist giving it a go. I am so glad I did. If I Had Your Face is the story of four Korean women, living in a society where plastic surgery is the norm and everyone earns a lot but saves nothing. This is not a plot-heavy book truth be told, but it is driven forward by the characters and the writing, which is incredibly compelling. It follows the typical format of having several narrators and plotlines and rotating through them, although most of the characters are close friends.

There are some flaws to this book sadly holding it back. I was 40% through the book before I reached the fourth narrator and by that point, I was slightly alarmed by the amount of time we were going to get with each storyline. As I mentioned, this is not a plot-driven book and honestly, there isn't really a plot to speak of. This is not something I consider a flaw because the book itself is still very engaging and has a lot to say. However, I would personally have cut the parts about Wonna (the pregnant neighbour) as her plot didn't go anywhere and she didn't really interact much with anyone else, so I can't say she added a lot overall. I did also find keeping track of some of the characters confusing, but that could be due to my own unfamiliarity with Korean names. In particular, I struggled to keep up with what was going on with Miho's boyfriend.

Overall, this was a refreshing and unforgettable read for me. I wish more time had been dedicated to building up the character's plotlines into a satisfying climax but putting that aside, I'm so pleased I picked this up. Frances Cha feels like an author who will go very far and I can't wait to read her next book.

Overall Rating:

The Other's Gold by Elizabeth Ames

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pushkin Press in exchange for an honest review.

I read an extract of this book aaaages ago and was instantly intrigued, despite it not being my usual genre at all. As a rule, I dislike more literary books and I try to stay away from them. But something about The Other's Gold just drew me in and I was very happy when I finally got the chance to finish the story.

This is the tale of four women spanning several decades, who meet in college and form very tight friendships. Each of the four women will make a 'mistake' throughout the course of the story and the plot structure is built around that. This is literary fiction as I stated so you are kept almost at a distance from the four characters throughout the book. You get a strong sense of who they are but I never quite felt close to them and I think that's because of the writing style. Having said that though, I found them a varied and interesting group to read about.

One thing I wasn't expecting about this book is that it is remarkably refreshing. I had a rough idea of what the mistakes might entail before I started reading it and I was surprised by the nature of almost all of them. Two of them are very weird in an almost off the wall way and these were my favourite to read about (although that's an odd phrase given they're not pleasant haha). The first mistake is pretty pedestrian and I actively disliked the nature of the second one.

The main problem of this book is that there are several things which don't feel fully explored, despite the length and the entire plot basically being a character study. Each mistake is focused on in turn but then the feelings that caused those mistakes aren't really resolved for anyone. This isn't as big a detriment as it sounds but it particularly stood out at certain moments and was a bit of a shame.

Overall, The Other's Gold is a compelling and expertly-told tale of four women and the lives they build together. Is it perfect? No. But I found it both enjoyable and extremely hard to put down. The story and characters sucked me in and I know this is a book I will remember for a long time.

Overall Rating:

.5