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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
More like 3.5. Definitely picked up at the ending. I enjoyed the twists but felt it took a long time to get there.
A cross between The Great Gatsby and Jane Austen about classes in 20s England. A little predictable but still enjoyable.
I really liked it! I think Willig does a great mix of chick lit and historical fiction. Great audiobook.
What a lovely book. I don’t think there’s a better word for it than that. Lovely. I really enjoyed myself reading it.
Rachel is an endearing character who finds herself with her world crashing down around her ears as she discovers her father is still alive and has another family while she and her mother lived from paycheck to paycheck in as respectable a manner as possible. Rachel goes through varying degrees of feelings spanning love, guilt, vengefulness, and forfeiture. She wars with herself constantly as she wants to hate her half-siblings but finds that she can’t because they’re merely products of their environment (which isn’t all money and parties). She wants to hate her father and she does for a while, but after more information surfaces about the whole situation she finds herself waffling on that cause too, and rightly so. What I liked even more about all this is that the situation isn’t neatly tied up in a pretty bow at the end. Rachel hasn’t come to terms with her feelings, has just barely accepted everything that’s happened, but the end note is one of growth and progress. What she does isn’t necessarily a problem-solver, and could actually pose quite a few more problems of its own, but it was the best of the options she had before her and it kind of kills me a little to say that and if you’ve read the book you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s a decision that I could kick back my inner feminist a bit (considering the setting and people involved) and take it for what it was meant to be, which is a really solid, positive ending. I wish there would have been even more independence for Rachel but all things considered it is nice to have someone to lean on.
The story itself was gripping and I had a hard time putting it down when I had to. It didn’t help that the chapters would often end with some kind of exclamation point moment that, in order to find out reactions or what happened, you needed to read the next chapter. And it wasn’t just a few of them. It was pretty much all of them. So much difficulty walking away from the book when I wasn’t finished with it.
I liked the world Willig painted, all glitter and glam on the surface but underneath, and what Rachel saw, was the sloshing, the drunkenness, the vulnerabilities hiding behind facades. Rachel starts off the book thinking money equals having it all but by the end she has a very different opinion of that, watching people like Cece and her step-mother and her half-sister’s fiance and how they maneuver, and react, through life. She had a very narrow view of this world before going incognito and infiltrating their parties but once she was in she had a hard time maintaining her facade. Even the most put-together people had dirt under their nails in some fashion, despite all the show they talked and had unappealing leanings and ended up viewing Rachel as Vera as someone beneath them, even with the guise. It made it all the more real and brought a realistic perspective to a situation that would have otherwise been glamorized.
As the story really picked up I found myself rooting for the best possible outcome and, shock to my black heart, a truly happy ending. I got close. Like I said before the book had a sense of closure at the end without everything being so final. There’s a lot of room left there to explore but Rachel reached her objective and she came to terms, in her own way, with how it all ended up. There were heart-rending moments and points of tears (because I really am a sap) but it was all so satisfying that I had nothing left in me but joy for THE OTHER DAUGHTER.
It’s such a good story. It does the period justice and gave me such wonderful characters that I was ensnared by all of them. Even Simon, who was so aloof and barbish with his words to the point that he must have been hiding from something. There were even characters not to like but they were so richly developed that it was hard not to admire, at the very least, their presence. So I don’t think I have anything bad to say about this book because at this point I’m rambling and fangirling and just read the book, okay?
5
I received this book fro the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rachel is an endearing character who finds herself with her world crashing down around her ears as she discovers her father is still alive and has another family while she and her mother lived from paycheck to paycheck in as respectable a manner as possible. Rachel goes through varying degrees of feelings spanning love, guilt, vengefulness, and forfeiture. She wars with herself constantly as she wants to hate her half-siblings but finds that she can’t because they’re merely products of their environment (which isn’t all money and parties). She wants to hate her father and she does for a while, but after more information surfaces about the whole situation she finds herself waffling on that cause too, and rightly so. What I liked even more about all this is that the situation isn’t neatly tied up in a pretty bow at the end. Rachel hasn’t come to terms with her feelings, has just barely accepted everything that’s happened, but the end note is one of growth and progress. What she does isn’t necessarily a problem-solver, and could actually pose quite a few more problems of its own, but it was the best of the options she had before her and it kind of kills me a little to say that and if you’ve read the book you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s a decision that I could kick back my inner feminist a bit (considering the setting and people involved) and take it for what it was meant to be, which is a really solid, positive ending. I wish there would have been even more independence for Rachel but all things considered it is nice to have someone to lean on.
The story itself was gripping and I had a hard time putting it down when I had to. It didn’t help that the chapters would often end with some kind of exclamation point moment that, in order to find out reactions or what happened, you needed to read the next chapter. And it wasn’t just a few of them. It was pretty much all of them. So much difficulty walking away from the book when I wasn’t finished with it.
I liked the world Willig painted, all glitter and glam on the surface but underneath, and what Rachel saw, was the sloshing, the drunkenness, the vulnerabilities hiding behind facades. Rachel starts off the book thinking money equals having it all but by the end she has a very different opinion of that, watching people like Cece and her step-mother and her half-sister’s fiance and how they maneuver, and react, through life. She had a very narrow view of this world before going incognito and infiltrating their parties but once she was in she had a hard time maintaining her facade. Even the most put-together people had dirt under their nails in some fashion, despite all the show they talked and had unappealing leanings and ended up viewing Rachel as Vera as someone beneath them, even with the guise. It made it all the more real and brought a realistic perspective to a situation that would have otherwise been glamorized.
As the story really picked up I found myself rooting for the best possible outcome and, shock to my black heart, a truly happy ending. I got close. Like I said before the book had a sense of closure at the end without everything being so final. There’s a lot of room left there to explore but Rachel reached her objective and she came to terms, in her own way, with how it all ended up. There were heart-rending moments and points of tears (because I really am a sap) but it was all so satisfying that I had nothing left in me but joy for THE OTHER DAUGHTER.
It’s such a good story. It does the period justice and gave me such wonderful characters that I was ensnared by all of them. Even Simon, who was so aloof and barbish with his words to the point that he must have been hiding from something. There were even characters not to like but they were so richly developed that it was hard not to admire, at the very least, their presence. So I don’t think I have anything bad to say about this book because at this point I’m rambling and fangirling and just read the book, okay?
5
I received this book fro the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I almost cried at the end??!?
3.5/4 stars. Not my favorite Lauren Willig stand-alone, at least for the first 75% of the book, but the ending is somewhat satisfying. I love Lauren, she is a good writer and a great storyteller, but there was something not quite fleshed out enough about this book... I can't put my finger on it. All that being said, it did hold my interest.
Audio book was excellent.
Audio book was excellent.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's!
I did enjoy this book and at the end, I wanted to find out what happened to Simon and Rachel when they went to New York. I wanted to hear more of Simon's Mother's story - what an intriguing background character! All good stories leave me wanting more. I enjoyed the references to the gilded age. I also like a book that makes me feel the need to do some non-fiction research so that I can get more of a background story. I
Unfortunately, I did not like this as well as the last two Willig books I read: That Summer (my favorite so far) and The Ashford Affair. I think it is because I did not feel much for Rachel. I felt far more sympathy for Olivia, and I would have loved to see her break free from her apathetic father and overbearing mother and run off with Simon! Simon called Rachel brave, but I see her merely going along with circumstances and opportunities. instead of actually breaking with convention and going after what she wanted. Even going off with Simon at the end seemed like simply a better opportunity for her rather than something she felt passionately about. And maybe that is the key for me - I didn't feel that Rachel had much passion at all.
I cared more about Simon and Olivia's characters. Even the peripheral characters of Simon and Rachel's mothers seemed to have more passion than did Rachel/Vera.
Still, the beautiful description of the Gilded Age and the story kept me reading till the end. If you like this time period and this author, I recommend you read this book.
I did enjoy this book and at the end, I wanted to find out what happened to Simon and Rachel when they went to New York. I wanted to hear more of Simon's Mother's story - what an intriguing background character! All good stories leave me wanting more. I enjoyed the references to the gilded age. I also like a book that makes me feel the need to do some non-fiction research so that I can get more of a background story. I
Unfortunately, I did not like this as well as the last two Willig books I read: That Summer (my favorite so far) and The Ashford Affair. I think it is because I did not feel much for Rachel. I felt far more sympathy for Olivia, and I would have loved to see her break free from her apathetic father and overbearing mother and run off with Simon! Simon called Rachel brave, but I see her merely going along with circumstances and opportunities. instead of actually breaking with convention and going after what she wanted. Even going off with Simon at the end seemed like simply a better opportunity for her rather than something she felt passionately about. And maybe that is the key for me - I didn't feel that Rachel had much passion at all.
I cared more about Simon and Olivia's characters. Even the peripheral characters of Simon and Rachel's mothers seemed to have more passion than did Rachel/Vera.
Still, the beautiful description of the Gilded Age and the story kept me reading till the end. If you like this time period and this author, I recommend you read this book.