Nell Stevens

Briefly, a Delicious Life

Helena Herruzo

i loved everything about this book. the atmosphere, i loved that it was set on mallorca, i could picture it so well. obviously the musical aspects, chopin and the preludes were cherry on top for me. and also the characters. george was so interesting and blanca’s pov made everything better in the book.

This was off to a promising start and had an excellent concept but it dissolved the further the story progressed. The biggest setback was perhaps that the jumping narrative, while compelling, seemed to stop us from truly immersing ourselves into either Blanca's or George Sand's characters (though my heart still breaks for Blanca but in the same way it would always break for any girl in her circumstances).

tina

3.5

this was one of those very melancholic and quiet but also strange type of books. i liked it a lot.

This was a fascinating read! Much different than the other "ghost" stories I've read. More contemplative and sensory. The way the ghost can inhabit the people in which she haunts is an experience. This is not a scary read, more atmospheric and I enjoyed how the story slowly reveals how our main gal reaches her demise. 

Last third of the book was okay, however and I found myself eager to find out how it ended. Is that good or bad? Not sure, it just is.  

Gisela Ayala 

This was a fascinating read! Much different than the other "ghost" stories I've read. More contemplative and sensory. The way the ghost can inhabit the people in which she haunts is an experience. This is not a scary read, more atmospheric and I enjoyed how the story slowly reveals how our main gal reaches her demise. 

Last third of the book was okay, however and I found myself eager to find out how it ended. Is that good or bad? Not sure, it just is.  

Carrington Kinslow

Briefly, A Delicious Life, is both a romantic ghost story and an exploration of the human experience. It is both fiction and fact, and as painful as it is beautiful. 

Briefly, A Delicious Life, is a story about love, yearning, lust, femininity, revenge, pain, and anger. It is horrific at times, and then so tender and inspiring. 

Nell Stevens’ prose was heart-wrenchingly gorgeous and often took my breath away. Stevens describes adolescence and womanhood in ways I never would’ve thought possible, drawing on metaphors that… just make sense when put in the context that Stevens provides. 

My heart broke for Blanca, a phenomenal main character with a powerful voice. I’d love to spend more time in her headspace. I especially love when she did everything in her power to punish the vile men she’d come across, and how she loved her family for generations after her death. George Sand was also an interesting character to explore, and Blanca’s connection to her was such a treat to read. I adored them. 

I thought that the switching between Blanca’s life and her ghostly experiences were done well, it didn’t feel like one timeline was being underdeveloped in favor of the other. 

I thought that the last 100 or so pages were the best, Blanca exploring the future lives of George, Chopin, Maurice, and Solange was so well done and really made for a wonderful conclusion to the story. The last page especially made the story feel so perfectly complete, I loved it.

But, I cannot give this book 5 or even 4 stars. That’s due to Nell Stevens’ bizarre creative decisions. There was absolutely no need for her to make pedophilia and over-sexualization such prominent themes. It was really uncomfortable and made it difficult to enjoy much of this book. There was no reason why Blanca had to be so young, this story honestly would have worked better had she been at least 18. There were also random instances of men in the village being predators, and it was just highly unnecessary. Authors should stop using sexual assault against women as shock value or as some poetic plot device for a revenge-arc. It’s gross, it’s disrespectful, and it ruins the story.

Thank you so much to Scribner for the free review copy in exchange for an honest review! 

Briefly, A Delicious Life - 3 Stars.

Briefly, a Delicious Life

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