Great concept but not executed as well as it could have been!
I absolutely judged a book by its cover in this instance. The gorgeous colour and font, as well as the cute Audrey Hepburn, had my attention from the minute I saw it. Then I read the synopsis and was equally intrigued to see how this dinner party concept would play out.
So the idea for this book is based on the conversation starter “if you could choose 5 people, past or present, to attend a dinner party - who would you choose?” Sabrina is asked this exact question by her house mate and many years later, on her thirtieth birthday, she finds herself attending a dinner party with her five picks.
Although the book is called The Dinner List, it’s really about Sabrina and Tobias. Everything is centred around them and their relationship and it was to the detriment of the dinner party element in my opinion. I feel like this book could have done so much more with the concept but unfortunately it didn’t. Now this wasn’t a bad read but because it failed to make the most of this dinner party theme it was just average for me.
There were elements I did enjoy however. For example I liked the writing style and the alternating time frames. I liked the all encompassing love story between Sabrina and Tobias, although it didn’t always bring out the best in either of them. I like the way it tackled grief and loss and how it can be hard to accept. I also liked how it represented relationships in an honest way and showed that not everything is perfect all the time.
Overall this was a great idea that wasn’t as well executed as it could have been. If you can get past that it is an enjoyable to read.
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to Readers First and the publisher (Allen & Unwin) for providing a copy that I won in a prize draw. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.
So the idea for this book is based on the conversation starter “if you could choose 5 people, past or present, to attend a dinner party - who would you choose?” Sabrina is asked this exact question by her house mate and many years later, on her thirtieth birthday, she finds herself attending a dinner party with her five picks.
Although the book is called The Dinner List, it’s really about Sabrina and Tobias. Everything is centred around them and their relationship and it was to the detriment of the dinner party element in my opinion. I feel like this book could have done so much more with the concept but unfortunately it didn’t. Now this wasn’t a bad read but because it failed to make the most of this dinner party theme it was just average for me.
There were elements I did enjoy however. For example I liked the writing style and the alternating time frames. I liked the all encompassing love story between Sabrina and Tobias, although it didn’t always bring out the best in either of them. I like the way it tackled grief and loss and how it can be hard to accept. I also liked how it represented relationships in an honest way and showed that not everything is perfect all the time.
Overall this was a great idea that wasn’t as well executed as it could have been. If you can get past that it is an enjoyable to read.
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to Readers First and the publisher (Allen & Unwin) for providing a copy that I won in a prize draw. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.