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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall meh. It was predictable and unexciting to me. Simon was the best part of the book.
soooooooooo boooooooring. but the writing was fine I guess? I give it a solid "meh."
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First book of Willig's not connected to the Pink Carnation series I've read and it was pretty good!
More like 3.5. Definitely picked up at the ending. I enjoyed the twists but felt it took a long time to get there.
Started and finished this book in one day - an amazing indulgence given the craziness of pre-holiday school work! I liked the premise of the book, and the historicity of it was interesting (post-WWI Britain). The plot twists were enough to keep me reading, and some of it was a bit unexpected along the way. However, I felt the writing was contrived in terms of seeming like every chapter had to end with a cliffhanger, and the next page or two would solve the conundrum. The pattern felt like a beginning writer using fiction conventions but in a very blatant way. There was not much extension of some of the twists, except for the one with Rachel's family. Things were tidied up much too easily or quickly and didn't sustain disbelief for long. I wanted to finish the book and find out who Rachel/Vera ended up with in the end, and it wasn't much of a surprise that the man who seemed to dislike her the most was the one who ended up being in love with her.
I was looking forward to this as Lauren Willig usually writes quick fun reads that make you wish for a sequel. Not so much here. The premise was pretty flimsy and mostly the book just felt underdeveloped. Characters were very shallow, except for the heroine, but really I still couldn't understand what she saw in her love interest. Ending and the twist was quite predictable. Not a satisfying Pygmalion story. Not a satisfying story about the roaring twenties. No satisfaction with regards to the other characters. Quite a letdown overall compared to her other work. I won an advanced reading copy of this book through goodreads.