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cemoses's review against another edition
3.0
This is a pleasant and relaxing book. The beginning is very slow. The book reminds me a bit of a Maeve Binchy book but generally the plots in Binchy's books are better.
positivewoman2013's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 It took me a bit to get into, but once I did the characters were great. She wove in a lot of characters and their backgrounds into lives I cared about. Was not a rushed story.
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
4.0
I read quite a few books by Rosamunde Pilcher when I was in my late teens and twenties but I haven't read much of her work since then. But somehow I stumbled on this title when I was looking for Christmas-y books that weren't too sentimental. That's just not my taste. But Rosamunde Pilcher seemed like a safe bet.
And she was.
I absolutely love books about found families and this fit the bill. Sure, some characters are extended family but they don't know each other very well. And they're all delightful.
Recently bereaved Oscar's grief, big heart, guilty conscience, and struggles to move forward felt real.
Exuberant, welcoming, spontaneous Elfrida was the friend/family member we all love.
Lucy was the unhappy, slightly neglected teenager who blossoms under tender care.
Sam and Carrie were heartbroken but caring career-types who needed the touch of metaphorical magic that Elfrida spreads around her.
The grief and loss were real and well-described but the most of it happened off-screen so that the book focuses more on hope and healing. There's a touch of insta-love, which normally bothers me, but the two characters were so perfect together, I just didn't care. I was pleased that, for the most part, romantic relationships were not really the point of the story; the building of this unique family unit took center stage. How refreshing!
Pilcher's descriptions of Creagan, Scotland have me ready to jump on a plane and see this beautiful little seaside town for myself--though not in the depths of a frigid winter.
I highly recommend this if you love well-written stories about characters with real problems forging healthy relationships and caring for each other. It was just the thing for this time of year.
And she was.
I absolutely love books about found families and this fit the bill. Sure, some characters are extended family but they don't know each other very well. And they're all delightful.
Recently bereaved Oscar's grief, big heart, guilty conscience, and struggles to move forward felt real.
Exuberant, welcoming, spontaneous Elfrida was the friend/family member we all love.
Lucy was the unhappy, slightly neglected teenager who blossoms under tender care.
Sam and Carrie were heartbroken but caring career-types who needed the touch of metaphorical magic that Elfrida spreads around her.
The grief and loss were real and well-described but the most of it happened off-screen so that the book focuses more on hope and healing. There's a touch of insta-love, which normally bothers me, but the two characters were so perfect together, I just didn't care. I was pleased that, for the most part, romantic relationships were not really the point of the story; the building of this unique family unit took center stage. How refreshing!
Pilcher's descriptions of Creagan, Scotland have me ready to jump on a plane and see this beautiful little seaside town for myself--though not in the depths of a frigid winter.
I highly recommend this if you love well-written stories about characters with real problems forging healthy relationships and caring for each other. It was just the thing for this time of year.
nixsticks's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at about 30%. Coming Home was enjoyable, although I never really felt the characters came alive, but everyone in this book is a roughly drawn caricature.
gwalt118's review against another edition
5.0
There’s a new addition to my “favorite books of all time” pile.
This book has been on my radar for quite some time. I found it on my Mom’s shelves last month and decided it was time to pick it up. Well, my goodness – I truly feel as though she has given me a gift, a hug, a treasure from her place in the sky. What an absolutely perfect – yes, I said it – novel.
It’s about grief and heartbreak, but it’s also about joy and falling in love. It’s about endings, but it’s also about beginnings. It’s about five people – Oscar, Elfrida, Carrie, Sam, & Lucy – who find themselves in a remote house in Scotland at Christmastime. I loved all of these people. Pilcher brought them to live in this novel. I didn’t want the book to end, because I didn’t want to leave them. I look forward to rereading this book and visiting them when I need comfort and solace.
Pilcher creates an immensely strong sense of place in this novel. What occurs in the pages of this book could only happen in that place at that time with those people. It’s essentially magic. The cyclical nature of the novel combined with Pilcher’s vivid description and absolutely beautiful writing results in a deeply poetic novel.
I really do believe this novel is in my new “favorite books of all time” pile. My goodness, I loved every single piece of it. Do yourself a favor and read it this winter, if you’ve never read it. And if you have, read it again. This was the best book to start off my 2022.
Thank you, Momma.
This book has been on my radar for quite some time. I found it on my Mom’s shelves last month and decided it was time to pick it up. Well, my goodness – I truly feel as though she has given me a gift, a hug, a treasure from her place in the sky. What an absolutely perfect – yes, I said it – novel.
It’s about grief and heartbreak, but it’s also about joy and falling in love. It’s about endings, but it’s also about beginnings. It’s about five people – Oscar, Elfrida, Carrie, Sam, & Lucy – who find themselves in a remote house in Scotland at Christmastime. I loved all of these people. Pilcher brought them to live in this novel. I didn’t want the book to end, because I didn’t want to leave them. I look forward to rereading this book and visiting them when I need comfort and solace.
Pilcher creates an immensely strong sense of place in this novel. What occurs in the pages of this book could only happen in that place at that time with those people. It’s essentially magic. The cyclical nature of the novel combined with Pilcher’s vivid description and absolutely beautiful writing results in a deeply poetic novel.
I really do believe this novel is in my new “favorite books of all time” pile. My goodness, I loved every single piece of it. Do yourself a favor and read it this winter, if you’ve never read it. And if you have, read it again. This was the best book to start off my 2022.
Thank you, Momma.
sandra_elaine's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Enjoyed this the second book I have read by Rosemunde pilcher
bns_books's review against another edition
I enjoyed the characters but found their connections confusing. And the plot felt stuck midway through with no hope that it might get moving again. Shame, I really wanted to like this book.
susylamb's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really really wanted to love this book. So many others have found solace and just a hunkering down to winter with her words and atmosphere. It felt like a Kate Morton book but no mystery. All the feels and atmosphere.
What didn’t work for me were the moral issues involved in the characters. I get it she isn’t a Christian author and her worldview is different, but for me that was a hang up when so much played off of that.
So go in with that caveat and savor the work of art, the feeling of safety and the beauty of words.
What didn’t work for me were the moral issues involved in the characters. I get it she isn’t a Christian author and her worldview is different, but for me that was a hang up when so much played off of that.
So go in with that caveat and savor the work of art, the feeling of safety and the beauty of words.
pegbooks's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0