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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I understand that this is historical fiction and the author didn't choose the ages of the main characters, yet I had trouble getting past the ick-factor of a 47-year-old man pursuing a 17-year-old girl. Their relationship is so heavy on the perfect, true love, soulmates vibe that it doesn't ring true to me. I needed more depth to the characters and story to help me get over that age gap and didn't get it.
Yes, I may just be cynical. I always feel somewhat skeptical of historic fiction, wondering how close the characters actually are to their real-life counterparts. In this case, the characters were all so blissfully naive that it kept pulling me out of the story.
It was still an interesting and mostly enjoyable read. The highlight for me was their dog, Kitty. By the end of the book, I was more upset at the loss of Kitty than old man Astor. I also wanted to know more about what happened to Madeleine after surviving the Titanic.
There was so much attention on how she was hounded and shunned for marrying Astor, but then it resolves with her magically being embraced as a widow and new mother. Okay... that's believable (because people, especially "society people" can be awful) but I wanted to see more of how that played out. Did she go along with life in society as if she'd never been snubbed? Did she accept her place grudgingly and eventually make peace with it?
The timeline of courting to widowhood/birth makes sense on paper, but, for me, too much felt unsaid when I reached the end of the book. Still a good book, and I can easily see why others would love it more than I did.
Yes, I may just be cynical. I always feel somewhat skeptical of historic fiction, wondering how close the characters actually are to their real-life counterparts. In this case, the characters were all so blissfully naive that it kept pulling me out of the story.
It was still an interesting and mostly enjoyable read. The highlight for me was their dog, Kitty. By the end of the book, I was more upset at the loss of Kitty than old man Astor. I also wanted to know more about what happened to Madeleine after surviving the Titanic.
There was so much attention on how she was hounded and shunned for marrying Astor, but then it resolves with her magically being embraced as a widow and new mother. Okay... that's believable (because people, especially "society people" can be awful) but I wanted to see more of how that played out. Did she go along with life in society as if she'd never been snubbed? Did she accept her place grudgingly and eventually make peace with it?
The timeline of courting to widowhood/birth makes sense on paper, but, for me, too much felt unsaid when I reached the end of the book. Still a good book, and I can easily see why others would love it more than I did.
slow-paced
slow paced and boring start. I started skipping ahead after 30%. Didn’t get on the Titanic until 63% in. Sinking at 88%. And no epilogue about what happened to her or the baby in the years following
emotional
informative
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I’ve always been fascinated with the Titanic, and this book gave an interesting insight into one of the families’ lives. It gave the history headlines a human aspect.
Titanic...need I say more?!? Another layer revealed about the Titanic. Reading about the lives they lead and the lives they should have lead brings a new dimension to this tragic event.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A fairly smooth read and well-researched. I've never been a big Titanic nerd but this book definitely had me googling things and wanting more backstory/details!
I received a copy of this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway, but all opinions are my own.
I find myself going down a rabbit hole whenever I come across anything about the Titanic. And I was pretty intrigued to find out that this book was based off actual people. However, it is hard reading about a topic, in which you already know how it is going to end. That being said, I appreciated the viewpoint of Madeleine and how unruly paparazzi can be, even for that time period. I did fall for the love story between Madeleine and Jack and was bummed when I got to the end of the book. But after finishing the book, I am not quite sure how I feel about their relationship.
The way the author described Madeleine's feelings and reactions to her husband throughout the book, I developed this picture in my mind of a wife who worshipped her husband and lost her greatest love of all time. Reading the end of the book, made me really think that Madeleine would never get over her loss. However, I did some quick research on her and found that she ended up getting married and divorced 2 more times. Perhaps she divorced these men because they never could live up to Jack (I haven't researched THAT much), but it kind of put a damper on the everlasting love I felt emitting from the book. Also, taking her age into consideration when she married Jack, perhaps the author was overshooting a bit on describing Madeleine's devotion and over the top love for Jack.
After all that, I still rated the book 4 stars because who doesn't love a good romance and adding the Titanic as a setting, really helped to build the story. I did feel like the Titanic part of the book, could have been a little bit more developed, but alas, this wasn't a story about the Titanic, but about the love between Jack and Madeleine.
I find myself going down a rabbit hole whenever I come across anything about the Titanic. And I was pretty intrigued to find out that this book was based off actual people. However, it is hard reading about a topic, in which you already know how it is going to end. That being said, I appreciated the viewpoint of Madeleine and how unruly paparazzi can be, even for that time period. I did fall for the love story between Madeleine and Jack and was bummed when I got to the end of the book. But after finishing the book, I am not quite sure how I feel about their relationship.
The way the author described Madeleine's feelings and reactions to her husband throughout the book, I developed this picture in my mind of a wife who worshipped her husband and lost her greatest love of all time. Reading the end of the book, made me really think that Madeleine would never get over her loss. However, I did some quick research on her and found that she ended up getting married and divorced 2 more times. Perhaps she divorced these men because they never could live up to Jack (I haven't researched THAT much), but it kind of put a damper on the everlasting love I felt emitting from the book. Also, taking her age into consideration when she married Jack, perhaps the author was overshooting a bit on describing Madeleine's devotion and over the top love for Jack.
After all that, I still rated the book 4 stars because who doesn't love a good romance and adding the Titanic as a setting, really helped to build the story. I did feel like the Titanic part of the book, could have been a little bit more developed, but alas, this wasn't a story about the Titanic, but about the love between Jack and Madeleine.