Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
I liked this family story that’s fractured at the seams. Small towns, lies, secrets, marriages, siblings and more in this one.
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eh this was interesting but won’t really stay with me, i think i might just be tired of reading about terrible people doing terrible things for a while.
Interesting story that held my attention the whole time. It has some twists that I didn’t see coming and some that I did. I felt it was a little disjointed than I would have liked in parts but overall held together well. A story about the secrets we’re keeping, the secrets we think we’re keeping and the lies we tell and the weight of all of them. The audio narration was absolutely excellent. with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is more like a 2.5 star read for me. It was WAY WAY too long and also not nearly as interesting as the reviews and blurbs made it sound. If it were a lot less long, maybe it would have been a higher rating for me. It was so long that by the end, I didn’t really care enough about the story or to find out the full truth.
i read all the sanctuary books back to back. I knew nothing about the author but the third book was available in netgalley and they looked to be highly rated so I started them without much information. If I knew this was Christian fiction I might have not picked it up but I am glad I did. This wasn’t didactic and the plot and characters are well developed. By the third book I was fully hooked into the story and really wanted to know what happened to Paradise’s parents. This was another intense journey with one disaster after another for poor Paradise but the story wrapped up beautifully and Karen Peakes does an incredible job narrating the book! with gratitude to netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
i read all the sanctuary books back to back. I knew nothing about the author but the third book was available in netgalley and they looked to be highly rated so I started them without much information. If I knew this was Christian fiction I might have not picked it up but I am glad I did. I liked the storyline enough to read three books back to back and i thought it was a fun read!
i read all the sanctuary books back to back. I knew nothing about the author but the third book was available in netgalley and they looked to be highly rated so I started them without much information. If I knew this was Christian fiction I might have not picked it up but I am glad I did. I liked the storyline enough to read three books back to back and i thought it was a fun read!
I think I’ve read too many of these novels where the main character becomes unhinged and does insane things one after the other. For me, the ending sort of could turn this novel into a whole story about the stories we make ourselves believe etc etc but by then i was so disconnected from the main character and her ridiculous choices that nothing could really redeem it for me.
Rowley’s books are sweet and fun and full of heart. This one was not my favorite but it was still full of heart and funny.
This story is about Susan and Eliza. They meet in 2005, and the moment is lost before it even becomes a thing. With the exception of a brief exchange from afar in the subway, they don’t reconnect again for 10 years. Finally they get the chance they never had and they dive right in. all the way. But before it’s even a thing, things implode. After another ten years, they meet again. And Susan realizes that her whole life has been about chasing the dream of Eliza. All the questions that came from the “what if” that never got answered put her life on hold and let the yearning take over everything else. This story is about love, friendship, home, belonging, identity, music, NYC, LA and so much more. It’s about growing up in the 00s and losing parts of yourself that were taken from you without permission and giving up other parts of yourself willingly. It’s a beautiful story that was narrated exceptionally well. with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 stars on this novel for me. Even though there are some twists towards the end, most of the novel was too boring and slow moving for me.
Excellent historical fiction novel that was partly made up, partly true. A great reminder of unlikely allies and creative thinking when the obvious paths are not accessible. All the details matter and it pays to think outside the box, especially when others don’t. |
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