This was extremely easy to listen to and I really enjoyed learning a bit more about Kahlo! The narrator was smooth and easy to understand. Perfect for doing chores and wanting to learn something new.

I'm not sure what I expected from this book. I like the balance of Frida's biography and advice but the author didn't share anything about Frida that I think the public doesn't already know.

I am a long time admirer of Frida Kahlo and have been fortunate enough to have seen an exhibit of her art in person. This book evoked so much of that art and the passion and pain that inspired Frida to become the woman and artist that she was. It’s a love letter to Frida, raw, and honest. I found myself haunted by Frida while listening to this audiobook, not by her ghost but by the life she lead and how she lead it. Wonderfully narrated by Marisa Blake.

I wanted to listen to this audiobook to find out more about this iconic woman and her life, as well as how she was as a person. Let me be upfront: I am not a fan of Frida Kahlo’s. Frankly, I have always found her work terribly haunting and unnerving. I just knew the very basics of her life, and very little more. Hence me wanting to listen to this audiobook to learn more about the iconic artist.

This book did very little to help me in this regard. Plus, I genuinely struggled to even finish it to be able to give this promised review. Honestly, it was painful to listen to. 

I felt throughout that the writing of this book was like a like a high school essay that hasn’t been edited enough to fit on ten pages! The author repeatedly says the same things over and over and over again, with a little theme-related conjecture on the side. 

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
* the cover art

WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
* Let's talk about Frida as a disabled person. The author commends Frida’s BRAVERY and says how STRONG she is and how “nobody else has ever lived through such a horrible life” when millions actually do right this minute. Further, those of us living with disabilities as absolutely not your "inspiration porn". We are all simply humans who are going about our own complex human lives while also sustaining some kind of disability that is often only remarked on in order for us to become inspirational models for others. The vast majority of us do not want this added responsibility. (If you wan to know more about the movement to stop this from happening, please google #notyourinspiration and #stopdisabilityinspirationporn). I felt like this entire book was an ode to the "inspiration porn" that Frida provided by simply surviving a life fraught with trauma and injury while being a well-known painter. It made me incredibly uncomfortable, disappointed and upset. I would have quit the book much, much sooner had I not promised to provide a review in exchange for the ARC copy.

* The author says the same things over and over and over again. How many times can one book reiterate the same bus crash, multiple surgeries, allude to different extramarital affairs, disability-sourced infertility and loneliness? In this case, multiple times per section and there are 13 sections. It. Was. Painful. (Also see above section on "inspiration porn").

* This book is like a celebrity-crush blog post with so little depth, imaginings based on minuscule fragments of truth that are such pure conjecture that it might well have been the complete opposite. 

* Author clearly has zero interest in or knowledge of either the creative process or painting. 

* Keeps alluding to the fact that we only know Frida more intimately today because of the diaries and letters to family and friends that were left behind. I learned that these were locked in the bathroom of her house until years after her death. Beyond that, the author reveals very, very little of what might have been said in these beside the fact that many of her most famous quotes originate from them. I expected so much more. I expected that her research would have included reading what she could have of these.

Nope. Just Nope.

I wanted to learn about Frida from this book, but all that I learned was that the author idolizes her. Plus, as a disabled woman who has experienced several violent traumas in my life, I found this book actually offensive in its continued and repeated use of Frida's life/physical challenges as "inspiration porn".

I would like to thank the author Arianna Davis, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my (probably too) honest review.

What would Frida do? was a vert great read. I enjoyed the author and how she made it all so interesting and exciting to hear about Frida's life and what she had been through.

Interesting information, but repetitive. I enjoyed hearing about her life and learned more about her both her art and her many physical struggles, but failed to make a connection to the present day and her supposed advice to “Live Boldly.”

This book is like a love letter to Frida Kahlo from an author, who seems like, one of her biggest fans.

If you love Frida Kahlo or have a strong desire learn more about her life this is the book for you.

I was not very familiar with Frida Kahlo going into this book and as such was not as drawn into this book. To me it felt kind of like a dissertation on Frida's life choices and then the end of each chapter had some tips for how Frida would live given that chapters topic.

Frida Kahlo did have a very interesting life and I'm glad I learned more about her but may have been more intrigued to read it as a linear biography. In this books set up some events in her life popped up several times and so some things felt a bit redundant hence my desire for a more linear telling of her story.

oh oooo ugh.. I really didn't like this!

I appreciate the intention of honoring Frida, and the feminist content, and the self-help advice and all that

BUT

This felt MORE than a little forced!

As if a list of self-help tips had been made and then similarities were searched and found in Frida's life.

At the end I was left with the feeling that more of a disservice was done to Frida's memory than really honoring it!

What Would Frida Do? is such a unique genre-bending mixture of self-help and biography. I’ve known who Frida Kahlo is for as long as I remember, and I’ve known of her trademark unibrow, bright red lips, and flower crowns, but I never really knew much else. So learning about her from an author who is Latina was really powerful.

Unlike a typical biography, this book is a guide not only to some major points in Kahlo’s life but also a guide to her best traits and how to use those in your own life too! It was such an incredibly unique twist to a general biography. I would love to read more hybrid biographies like this for other pop culture figures.

What I did find about this book is that it’s incredibly repetitive. I often thought I had somehow slipped back to an earlier chapter because so much of the information from one chapter to the next was virtually the same information. It made for a very confusing experience while reading/listening to the book. It seemed chapters could’ve been combined, or better yet, chapters that seamlessly flowed together, one setting up the next chapter and that one setting up the next. It made the storytelling messy and difficult to grasp at times, unfortunately more often than not. It’s those things that made me not enjoy the book as much as I would’ve liked. As mentioned, I really liked that the book was formatted as sort of life guide, but it almost seemed like the author didn’t have enough Frida info to share this falling back into the same knowledge again and again.

What Would Frida Do? is a wonderfully fun style of book with a totally unique twist on what the biography genre could entail. But unfortunately the writing on this one just missed the mark for me.

Eh. this is disappointing. I truthfully can't get past the vaguely homophobic comments by the author about Frida's "same-sex liasons". Just not the book for me unfortunately.

Great quality and a great book to listen to if you want to know more about Frida Kahlo and the ways in which you can emulate her way of thinking.

Part pop guide book, part biography-- all homage to Frida Kahlo. I've been wanting to read more about Frida Kahlo the past few years and have shelved multiple biographies, and I think this has made me want to read them even more. I learned lots of details about her art and life I didn't know, but because of how this book is framed, it doesn't read at all like a biography. Also a bit repetitive for that same reason--especially since facts about her life and her experiences are told out of order and sometimes more than once (in varying amounts of detail) as they relate to the life lessons Davis is pointing out. Still, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

What Would Frida Do? by Arianna Davis was a really fun and inspiring read.

I honestly didn't know much about Frida other than her art going into reading this. I learned so much about her life and the incredible amount of obstacles she had to overcome. So much happened to her in such short life. Makes me sad to think that so much more admiration and celebration of Frida has happened since her death.

Loved the writing style of this book. It was easy to digest and pull life lessons and inspiration from. If you are interested in learning more about Frida Kahlo, I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for the opportunity to review this book. This book fell short for me. I was hoping for more Frida background not just life tips.

Frida Kahlo was undeniably one-of-a-kind and incredibly talented. People who are not familiar with Frida's life, or somewhat familiar, will learn a lot from this novel. The author, Arianna Davis, does an excellent job of bringing Frida back to life, where readers will be captivated by her tragedies, culture, love life, art, politics, and lifestyle.

The narrator, Marisa Blake, was easy to listen to as she read aloud Frida's biography combined with excerpts from the author's life and self-help tips. However, I thought the narrator's interpretation and dialogue of Frida was a little distracting.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and getting to know Frida more personally. Some parts of the story would have worked better without the repetitiveness of information, and a couple of the self-help tips could use a reevaluation. However, Frida's story is inspiring, and this novel is a nice reminder of how she may have handled life as we know it.

I found the narrator's voice pleasant and easy to listen to. Unfortunately, I felt that much of the book was repetitive throughout. If you know anything about Frida beyond the movie, you may feel the same way. If you are just starting your Frida journey, then this book would probably appeal to you.

The title is a bit misleading as the book is mostly a biography of Frida Kahlo with scattered pages devoted to what Kahlo would do if...
... she needed a dose of self-love?
... she needed to find her inner strength?
... she needed a spark of creativity?
... she needed a little style inspiration?

You get the gist. It is a good book, but it was not what I was expecting based on the title.

Marisa Blake made this an enjoyable read.

Arianna Davis shares her appreciation and admiration for Frida Kahlo. You become familiar with some of the challenges and context surrounding Frida Kahlo's tumultuous and creative life. Each chapter has a theme, and it helps to keep this in mind as events recur in the narrative to support that point.

If you don't have much insight into Frida's life, you gain a newfound appreciation for her ambition, boldness to be who she was - many decades ago. It makes you consider what can be for you, now.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Dreamscape Media/Seal Press for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Some of the reviews for this book are confusing, the author mentions very early on that this is not meant to be a biography but rather an opportunity for us to learn lessons from Frida’s life experiences. Each chapter explores how Frida approached different things in life, from confidence to pain to love to sex to identity. The love the author has for Frida bleeds into every page, the admiration and respect with which the author writes about Frida was a big reason why I liked this book. I feel like I know so much about Frida and have so much more love for her after having read this.

Only thing I didn’t like was the amount of unnecessary repetition, I feel like 10-15% of the book wouldn't have existed without it. But overall, really enjoyed this!

What would Frida do is a part biography and part self help book. Author David has compiled the painful and joyous facts in Frida’s life and has given us a book, that was amazing on audio.

I am a big Frida Kahlo fan and I have read several books on her life and paintings. So naturally many facts that were said in this book weren’t new to me and I felt that the second half of the book was iterative w/facts in the first half! It was still short and enjoyable. I read/listened to this in a day.

3.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley, Dreamscapes Media for the audiobook in exchange for an honest opinion.