Being upfront, I can’t deny I have mixed feelings about this book. There’s a lingering feeling I have where I really, really wanted to love it [not sure why I feel this way so deeply]…alas, I just didn’t.
The main character, Cherry, at first lured me in – I enjoyed her detailed outfit descriptions, her family commentary & observations, and honesty around her feelings of her body & image. But…there is a lot of repetition here. I understand hammering home certain aspects, especially for us [the readers] to truly assist in building characters as well as storylines, however it felt…tiresome? [harsh, Sammi] at points.
Cherry, for me, was likeable. Worth noting, I definitely don’t need to ‘like’ characters to enjoy a book [cue The Secret History]. She was not quite fully rounded to me, but I had a pretty clear understanding of who she was, her moral compass, her depths. Tom, her ex-husband, felt very lost to me – did I really have a grasp on who is was by the end of the book?? Not really. I actually felt I understood Russ, her college friend, better than Tom. I can be so drawn into a book by characters alone, so for me this was a very noticeable negative. I struggled to deeply connect with any of them.
As someone with deep scars from family alcohol abuse, I expected to potentially have triggering moments when Tom’s father was brought onto the scene [as well as Cherry’s tbh]. However the lack of development here meant I really felt quite a disconnect from feeling ~feelings~ I feared I may [tbh quite glad about this – insert sniggering emoji – I had to stop a book a couple of months ago as the connection was far too strong & I couldn’t handle it…side note, I HATE STOPPING BOOKS!!]
Whilst I didn’t have a major love for this book, I did enjoy aspects of Rainbow’s raw & somewhat colloquial, ‘easy-read’ writing. Definitely a read I could have taken on holiday for a few days & sped through. I certainly don’t need every book to be life-changing – sometimes a quick read is a not only enjoyable, but also a requirement.
Final note: it has to be said…major shout out to the cover. WHAT A STUNNER.
Would love to hear your thoughts on CHERRY BABY below…did you feel connected to Cherry? How did you feel about Tom? Out of 5?
Next up for TDS Book Club: Hunger Stone: Kat Dunn
happy reading,
Very well put! I agree with everything you’ve said, whilst it left me wanting more for some of the characters, it was very easy to read and I really appreciate that in a book. The whole reading experience was fab, the pages, the font and the cover-stunning , very aesthetically pleasing. 🍒
Front Cover IS a stunner 🍒
Admittedly, I haven’t read the book yet. It just came in the mail 🙃 I did, however, download on my Kindle and start Hunger Stone and love it so far. Especially coming off of reading Dracula this summer. I am excited to pick up Cherry Baby one day. I read reviews that said that it’s ’spicy’ , and I haven’t read anything like that before 💃🏻