REVIEW: Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi

Source: Borrowed

Publish Date: March 5th 2013

Publisher: Penguin Press HC

ASIN/ISBN: 9781594204494

Format: ebook

Genre: Adult, Literature

Pages: 310

Date Read: December 22, 2013

Description

Kweku Sai is dead. A renowned surgeon and failed husband, he succumbs suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban Accra. The news of Kweku’s death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before.

Ghana Must Go is their story. Electric, exhilarating, beautifully crafted, Ghana Must Go is a testament to the transformative power of unconditional love, from a debut novelist of extraordinary talent.

Moving with great elegance through time and place, Ghana Must Go charts the Sais’ circuitous journey to one another. In the wake of Kweku’s death, his children gather in Ghana at their enigmatic mother’s new home. The eldest son and his wife; the mysterious, beautiful twins; the baby sister, now a young woman: each carries secrets of his own. What is revealed in their coming together is the story of how they came apart: the hearts broken, the lies told, the crimes committed in the name of love. Splintered, alone, each navigates his pain, believing that what has been lost can never be recovered—until, in Ghana, a new way forward, a new family, begins to emerge.

Ghana Must Go is at once a portrait of a modern family, and an exploration of the importance of where we come from to who we are. In a sweeping narrative that takes us from Accra to Lagos to London to New York, Ghana Must Go teaches that the truths we speak can heal the wounds we hid

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Review

For all the hype, Ghana Must Go is terribly underwhelming.

It is not "electric" or "exhilarating". The narrative is not "sweeping".

There are interesting moments, heart warming words and great use of words but they're easily forgettable in the midst of all the "poetic" stuff.

The technique is terrible and leaves you confused for the most part.It's a great idea but it didn't work. It felt disorganised sometimes.The first part of the book is tedious and difficult to follow. I had to reread pages several times to get the point.It got better after half of the second part.

It's a great story, there are some nice characters (Olu & Kehinde are my favourites) but for all the hype, I expected more.

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Amazon || Audible || BN.com || Book Depository || Goodreads || iTunes || Kobo 

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Rating

3 stars

Recommended

to no one really. If you think you can get past all the "poetic" nonsense

REVIEW: Chances by Jackie Collins

Source: Bought
Publish Date: August 6, 1982
Publisher: Warner Bros Inc
ASIN/ISBN: 9780446322492
Format: Paperback
Genre: Adult, Thriller
Pages: 800+
Date Read: November 24, 2013
Description
The book that made Collins one of America's favorite authors sweeps readers from the sophisticated playgrounds of Europe to the glittering gambling palaces of Las Vegas, plunging into the world of the Santangelo crime family. The book introduces street kid Gino Santangelo, who makes it all the way to the top, and his beautiful and daring daughter, Lucky.

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I love love love Jackie Collins and I love this book.

Jackie Collins is an amazing writer. She creates these amazing connections between her characters and you're just wowed.

I loved the characters. The ones I didn't even like.
She doesn't just add characters and throw them away. Every character that appears has a role to play in the story.

Some people will say her books are trashy. I'd say to them: "This is well written, enjoyable and interesting trash".

800+ pages of action, amazement, sitting-on-edge suspense.

I'd recommend this to anyone who is not averse to strong language

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Rating
4 stars

Find Book Amazon || BN.com || iBookstore || Kobo || Jackie Collins

REVIEW: Shades Of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom

Source: Free copy from Author
Release Date: August 21, 2013
Publisher: Rustic Studio Publishing
ASIN/ISBN: B00ED0FETK
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Romance
Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
Finished: October 26, 2013

Description Former Union soldier Radford Grayson returns to his small hometown, looking for a stable and comforting place to raise his young, motherless daughter. Despite his troubled past, his hopes are to reconcile with his family and put his dark secrets behind him. But he doesn't count on falling in love with Evelyn--his brother's financee...

When Evelyn Tucker accepted her childhood friend Kyle Grayson's marriage proposal, she thought it was the best way to make her ailing father happy. But after Radford arrives home, the fiery and independent Evelyn realizes that the comfort and friendship Kyle gives her will never hold a candle to the instant, undeniable passion she feels for Radford. Now their forbidden desire threatens to shatter family ties and destroy newfound dreams--unless their love has the power to overcome all obstacles...

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Review

This was my first audiobook.

The narrator (Julia Motyka) was a bit too slow for my taste. I also feel like she was overly dramatic in some parts.

The storyline is clichéd. But this one was overly sugar-coated, which made it slightly boring sometimes. The book was too long. It could have been shorter if they'd taken out some unnecessary parts and had too much (and unnecessary) foul language.

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Amazon || Audible || BN.com || Goodreads || Kobo

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Rating
3 stars