Helpful Score: 3
I had high hopes for this novel- the plot seemed wonderful and the reviews were mostly very good. Sadly the book really fell short for me. The prose itself was lovely, but the plot sort of introduced itself then stalled. The characters didn't come alive- the main character was very flat, and the vibrant ones (like her infamous slum lord relative) were built in an interesting way but didn't seem to be used to their full potential. The book slowed down in the middle, and even though it's a relatively short book I had to force my way to finish it. I would recommend the library if you really want to read it- otherwise you're not missing anything if you skip it altogether.
