Sweet Sorrow

Sweet Sorrow
By: Wairmu Mwangi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

( I received this book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review )

I wanted to like this book, I honestly did. But more times than not, you don't get when you want.

I'll start with the writing style.

It was flat, lacked emotion, and frankly, it was boring. There were a lot of sweet words, cheesy lines, and all that fluff romances have. There are even some plays at title, but my heart wasn't in it.

Think of like going on a date you’re excited about, only to realized after ordering the first drink, you got stood up.

I wanted to feel for the charters, I wholeheartedly did; but there was no character building, development, or proper description. The only reason I even had an image of Ida is because of the book cover, and in truth I don’t even know if that's even Ida on the cover. (Beautiful cover BTW)

There's so much about Ida I wanted to know. I wanted to know how her teaching career was going, did her student like her, did she hate her students, was she getting prised for being amazing, outstanding, ect….

( I didn't care when she died, it was more of a meh moment, then heart shattering. Though I wasn’t expecting her to die, so props on the plot twist)

It felt like I was reading a book report rather than a story. There was no spark, or points of connection.

As the story moves forward, it's rushed, pieces are left out, and it started to turn into narrative. Like a third person was telling me the story but couldn’t remember all the details, so they’re skipped over, leaving you confused.

There is another issue, but it will spoil the story. So into a spoiler it will go, read at own risk.

( Ida and Malvis have a son, Ronald. After Ida's death, he’s left to be raised by Malvis and his set-mother Mary. She hates him, wants him gone. She beats him, and uses Malvis love for her agents his son. My issue, where the blue blazing hell did Ida's parents go? At the beginning of the story they're very present and have strong personalities. Ida marries and poof they’re gone. So, did they disown her? Are they dead? What the hell... plot whole is what it is, plot whole. P.S. Mary's a Bitch )

So the question is why am I giving this book a three star instead of a two?

The ending.

A book is about its ending. It’s the breaking point, or it’s the light in the darkness.

When I mean ending, I mean the very last paragraph. In the last few words I felt something, a flicker of what the title is, and it was perfect. It shocked me, because I wasn’t expecting it. Bravo!

Though I did not enjoy this read as much as I wanted, please don't be deterred from reading it. You may find out that you like it, and think me a fool for not. So I recommend this book, in hopes that it will reach others, even if it's only in thoes last words.

Happy reading

-Emily