Stacy Kingsley
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Book Review - MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite

11/24/2019

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Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer is a fun book about a young woman, the dependable Korede and her younger sister, Ayoola, who murders people. This novel has both good and bad in it.

The novel starts off when Korede is cleaning up another murder her sister has done. The young man who was murdered, Ayoola, claims to have killed in self-defense. Throughout this novel this goes back and forth, with Korede continually cleaning up after her sister, and everyone else stating how beautiful and perfect Ayoola is, even Korede.

I liked this book, but I wanted to like it more than I did. There were moments when the story was stagnant and the pacing was slow. For a book about a homicidal maniac, there was not enough murder. Korede is a young woman who has taken on the life of her sister. She keeps the guilt for herself, feeling guilty and continually seeing and stalking the young man killed at the beginning of the book. She is the one worried about getting caught, while Ayoola continues to do as she does, going out with whoever she chooses, doing as she pleases, thinking that nothing is wrong. Their mother even thinks that all of the issues are with Korede, not Ayoola. In fact everyone seems to think that all of the problems are Korede's not her murderous sister.

This is where I didn't like the book. I think that Ayoola was given too much credit, and I didn't enjoy reading Korede be so down on herself and her looks all of the time. She, in her own right, was beautiful, even as described by the author. I eventually got a little bored by her covering and discussions of Ayoola's beauty and flaws. I wanted more. I wanted more death, and really a reason to care for the characters, which is something that was missing. Even that main love interest, Tade, became a dud.

I was not happy with the ending, but I will say it was fitting for the tone and plot of the book, it also was not a surprise. The most interesting aspects of this novel was the setting, as it was not set in a familiar place. Not only that it was not set in a country that a lot of novels have been set in, being in Nigeria. I enjoyed the setting, the things I had to look up because I had no idea what they were, and the culture that came about. So for that reason I gave this book three stars.

I can't say either way if you should or should not read this novel, but I can say it will likely be like nothing you have read before. It might also be something that someone else might get more out of than me.
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Book Review - THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND by Karen Hamilton

11/11/2019

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The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton was not the perfect book. Revolving around main character, Juliette, who is trying to win back her ex-boyfriend, Nate, this is a novel that is trying way too hard to be interesting and the next Gone Girl.

Juliette gets a job as a flight attendant to be close to her ex, Nate, who is a pilot. She has a plan, and she must stick to the plan, otherwise she might not get Nate back. The problem, Nate doesn't want her back, because she is totally psycho.

The characters are not delightful at all. I hated everyone, and those who were even a little developed were not interesting or fulfilling characters. Juliette, or Lily, or Elizabeth, is a narcissist, and nothing she does is reasonable. She is a boring stalker, who doesn't develop any characteristics to recommend her as a character to read this book. There was nothing to make her interesting as a main character, and I was actually bored with her obsession and the reasons for this obsession didn't seem like big enough reasons for her to do everything she has done. There were scenes involving her that didn't make me feel sorry or anything for her. In the beginning we learn that she is with her younger brother, Will, when he drowns in an accident, but this doesn't really get expressed later in the story. When she tells another character about it, it doesn't make any sense why she is telling the story, and there are no reasons for it to be expressed. We also don't get to learn enough about her relationship with her mother, or her aunt Barbara. Nothing is delved into, it is all just surface.

Other characters who could have used more and more interesting development were Nate, the love of Juliette's life, Bella, and Amy... especially Amy, who started out as an interesting friend, and could have been a more interesting character if she had been explored a little more. None of the characters had any redeeming values that made me want to read this book, or care about what happened to them.

I wish I hadn't spent the money on this novel. I usually don't post a review if I hate a book, but this one made me mad.  I didn't find any reason to finish it, and wish I hadn't wasted the time. I know there are people who will love this book, just like people loved Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, but I dislike books like this. I want at least one character to root for or enjoy. I want one character who isn't a despicable human being.

I don't recommend this novel, for anyone.
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    Stacy Kingsley

    Stacy has a lot on her mind, so sharing helps. She also has a great love of movies and books, so she decided to blog about it. Get her reviews here! 

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