Let’s Talk Bookish – How many POVs is too many?

Good morning afternoon or evening and welcome to another Let’s Talk Bookish post! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, created and hosted by me, where we discuss chosen topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: How many POVs is too many (suggested by Heran @ Be Frisky)

This is a really great question because I don’t think there is only one answer. It all depends on the kind of book that it is, how the characters fit into the story, and your personal preference.

First of all, POVs stands for point-of-views.

As a general rule, I think books shouldn’t have any more than 3 or 4 POVs. However, this can change, as long as each character has a distinct voice and it’s easy to tell who the character is.

One book that has several POVs that I loved, is Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom both by Leigh Bardugo. They both have 5 and 6 first-person POVs respectively, and that was fine. I loved each of the characters, and it’s easy to know who’s talking because it’s mentioned boldly at the start of the chapter. And anyways, each character has their own unique voice that differentiates them from the rest.

Other books that have multiple POVs, but not in first person, are also easy to follow because the name of the person that we are following is there. (ex. “Anna walked across the street, looking anxiously towards the store. | Walter watched Anna walk up to him, and smiled.”) i know this is absolutely horrible, but it’s just an example

What doesn’t work though, is having several POVs, with similar characters, and different timelines. That’s just a mess. An example of this is Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. I had no idea what was going on in that book. There were way wayy waaaayyyyy too many POVs going on, and I had no idea who was talking. I would start reading the chapter, and then flip back to the beginning to see who the person was and when they were narrating.

Not cool.

It disrupts the flow of reading, and it’s also no fun trying to keep track of 6 or 7 seven different narrators from different years. The different years annoys me the most. It’s hard to keep track of so many at once. Now you’re going to jump back and forth between the years as well???

Personally, I prefer having one or two POVs and I don’t mind if one of them goes back in time. It’s easy to follow, and it helps me get more attached to the characters. And in mysteries/thrillers, I think having a handful of different non-first person POVs is okay, as long as it makes sense and it is done right. It can add a lot of mystery to the story, and it helps to see things from multiple perspectives.

And that’s my two cents for today.

This Week’s Participants:

Aimee @ My Addiction to Fiction | Aria @ Book Nook Bits | Jane @ Blogger Books | Dani @ Literary Lion

That’s it! I had a horrible migraine on Wednesday that left me useless all day, and then I had to catch up on work Thursday. So my wrap-up post didn’t come as planned. But hopefully you’ll be getting it this weekend, or next week Monday.

What do you think? How many POVs should a book have? What’s your favorite book with multiple POVs? Do you think the amount of POVs should differ based on the type of book it is? Chat with me in the comments below!

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica – Review

Hello lovelies and welcome to another book review. I hope you are having a great day! Today’s review is of: The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. This is an interesting thriller which I originally gave five stars, but reduced to 2.5/three after analyzing the pros and cons of the story.

Challenge Criteria (Popsugar): A book told from multiple POVs /  A book with unusual chapter headings

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Book: The Good Girl

Author: Mary Kubica

Rating:★★1/2

Summary: One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life. 

When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of delivering her to his employers, Mia’s mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family’s world to shatter.

What I Liked:

*Colin. I don’t know, but from the start, I liked him even though he was a bad guy. When he decided not to turn Mia over to Dalmar, that was the moment in which I decided he was a good guy and didn’t deserve to go to jail at the end of all this. I mean, imagine if he hadn’t kidnapped her. Dalmar would have sent somebody else to do it and then she might have never gone home. But Colin saved her life. At least she’s alive and not in some dark hole, playing tightrope with death.

*The writing style. The writing style was OK. The chapters Eve Before, and Gabe Before were the most interesting, IMHO. There we learn more about Mia and how her family was coping (or didn’t really care) with her disappearance. Colin’s perspective was great, but I really wanted to get to the end and find out what happened. Note: At first, it’s going to be confusing with the way the chapters skip around, but you’ll get the hang of it eventually.

*The plot. The plot was okay, nothing groundbreaking or super unique.

“I’ve been following her for the last few days. I know where she buys her groceries where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I’ve never spoken to her. I wouldn’t recognize the sound of her voice. I don’t know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she’s scared. But I will.” 

What I didn’t Like:

*Stereotypical characters. Dalmar, the guy who hired Colin to kidnap Mia, is Somali. Judge Dennett and his family are white. The bad guy doesn’t have to be black, and the “good” guys don’t have to be white. When I read Dalmar was Somali, his body was, quote: ‘blacker than anything I’ve ever seen.’ , I rolled my eyes. Of course the bad guy is black. The evil makes his skin darker that anything ever seen. I was liking the book until I got there. Oh, and Colin is Mia’s savior. Guess what: he’s white.

*Mia. Honestly, I felt like she was spoiled brat, even though she’s the victim. She’s always whining about how her Dad was neglectful, how she was always the black sheep in the family. She thinks she’s not acting ‘superior’, but she’s kinda snobby at times. She sometimes acts as if the world revolves around her. The end made me hate her even more.

*The twist and the end. I have a love-hate relationship with the twist and ending. Once you get to the twist, you’ll (probably) be shocked, upset, in denial, and then outraged. I had to read it twice, before I could believe it. It’s good enough to make your emotions fly all over, and you will want to break something once you’re done. But that’s my opinion. You can read spoilers on Goodreads if you want!

“Teenagers believe they’re invincible—nothing bad can happen. It isn’t until later that we realize that bad things do, in fact, happen.”

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I originally gave this five stars. I thought it was amazing how the ending sucked all the emotions out of me. It sucker punched me in the gut and I thought it was great. But, after analyzing and realizing how the ending seriously upset me, I’ve decided to tune it down and give it two point five, rounded to three.

★★1/2

Have you read The Good Girl? What did you think about the story? Let’s chat in the comments!

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena – Review

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great start to your week. Today, I’ll be reviewing, The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. I liked the book because the mystery was intriguing, the characters had hidden secrets, and you couldn’t trust anyone. This gets a solid three stars.