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There are currently 36 member reviews
for Pieces of Blue
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Ruth F. (San Francisco, CA)
Got better if you keep reading
At first, I felt like it was a very light read but as I continued, I became absorbed in the book and was eager to keep reading. The plot was involving and the characters interesting. I felt at the beginning that it should be YA fiction and that the vocabulary was not sophisticated. Overall, a good story.
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Doris
Pieces of Blue
I was sent this book as a member of the First Impressions. This book is a good story about Lindsey, a widow with three children, Sena a gifted seven year old, Carlos a reliable 12 year old and Olivia described as “fourteen going on twenty four.” The story starts with a car rental being one of their biggest problems but as it progresses it reaches different levels. It ends up to be a well written book with major surprises. I would recommend Pieces of Blue to anyone looking for a good story.
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Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ)
Paradise lost and found
A widow with three kids impulsively buys a rundown motel in paradise (Hawaii) after the presumed death of her husband. A somewhat slow beginning soon leads to serious dramatic action with some strong plot twists. You'll root for the family and even if the ending is slightly contrived, you'll still enjoy it.
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Cynthia A. (Grand Rapids, MI)
PIECES OF BLUE
Pieces of Blue has special meaning for me because as in the story, my husband died suddenly and I was left with 3 children about the same ages as those in PIECES OF BLUE. I can say the feelings, thoughts and road to healing were so similar to the characters in the book.
I enjoyed this book because it is a very good story with no extra fluff. I read it in two sittings.
It could have a better title.
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Dorothy M. (Maynard, MA)
I thought I knew where the author was going with this book - I was wrong
Lindsey Hill is dealing with the loss of almost everything in her life. Her husband is dead leaving the family bankrupt and in disgrace because of his illegal actions. What she has left is her three children and a determination to start over when she receives his insurance settlement - by buying sight unseen a small motel in rural Hawaii. And, of course, it is in terrible shape and you think you know where this is headed. But Holly Goldberg Sloan takes this book in a totally unexpected direction. It was a page turner for me and one that I quite liked.
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Victoria S. (Great Falls, VA)
A little bit of this, a little bit of that
An easy read with some flaws. The plot was what intrigued me, but a number of elements didn't quite feel fleshed out and the ending was nonsensical. In characterization, the children were the most well-developed—though I've grown weary of the precocious child trope—with the adult characters never fully realized, especially the main character. I didn't get a true sense of who this woman was (how did being Welsh serve the character or narrative?) and her motivations still elude me. And while the writing was straightforward, it could have been more descriptive. I never got a true sense of place, the setting could have been any rundown motel property, anywhere, instead of a lush island paradise.
As the author's first foray into adult fiction, it's logical that the children's characters would be the most fully formed and the writing style, simplistic, but the comparison to Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a stretch as it lacked the cleverness, humor and, especially, the pluckiest of heroines. Overall, this story felt like a grab bag of ideas that needed a little more work to mesh into a whole.
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Kathy W
Pieces of Blue
I was really excited to receive this as a First Impressions book and expected that I would love it because the plot intrigued me and I love Hawaii. But I didn’t love it and am hesitant to recommend it to serious readers.
The book had all of the elements that I look for in a book but I just couldn’t connect with the characters other than Chris, who seemed too hood to be true, and the youngest daughter, who never failed to amuse and delight me. I wish the mother would have had some of that sparkle.
Lindsey’s decision to buy property unseen and to sink everything she had into a business that she knew absolutely nothing about did not fit with her being highly educated and devoted to her three children. Perhaps this poor decision could be attributed to the shock of her husband’s death/disappearance,
I loved the descriptions of the land and of the family’s struggles to fit in. The writing was well crafted but I felt like I was reading a screenplay that would be fleshed out by the actors making it real. I wouldn’t be surprised if the movie rights were already sold; the plot and characters were made for the big screen.
I was happily surprised by the unexpected twist that the book took and this saved the book for me. Before this event, the plot seemed predictable and even a bit contrived I wondered if the handsome stranger who just happened to do all of the necessary electrical work and give solid business advice would be the savior of this impulsive decision to run a business that she knew absolutely nothing about.
I’m happy that I read the book first, but am looking forward to seeing the movie version.
