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sarah984's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I did not like this book at all.
This is a dual time period story about an American teen attending a summer journalism program at Oxford (though this is barely referenced and comes to nothing) who meets a bunch of extremely stereotypical British people including her scholarship benefactor. The benefactor claims to have some information about the teen’s dead father but dies herself before she can reveal it. This leads to the teen somehow becoming trapped in the benefactor’s house reading a very shallow and annoying girl’s memoir of surviving the sinking of the Titanic, which is full of more ethnic stereotypes, stupid psychic powers and moustache-twirling revolutionaries.
The resolution of the Titanic story is frankly unbelievable and the resolution to the story in the present isn't much better. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
This is a dual time period story about an American teen attending a summer journalism program at Oxford (though this is barely referenced and comes to nothing) who meets a bunch of extremely stereotypical British people including her scholarship benefactor. The benefactor claims to have some information about the teen’s dead father but dies herself before she can reveal it. This leads to the teen somehow becoming trapped in the benefactor’s house reading a very shallow and annoying girl’s memoir of surviving the sinking of the Titanic, which is full of more ethnic stereotypes, stupid psychic powers and moustache-twirling revolutionaries.
The resolution of the Titanic story is frankly unbelievable and the resolution to the story in the present isn't much better. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, and Suicide
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and War
okthislooksbad's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I was here for the Titanic and all my Titanic-needs were satisfied. A lot of that part of the POV seemed very based on the movie with little cameos from actual people who were on board, but it never felt cloying, and I really got the feel for the atmosphere and surroundings and grandiose living of the upper-class and the fright of the sinking and, just, the whole shebang. Quite enjoyed the plot surrounding that POV, too. That part was fun.
My low rating is mostly because for a dual POV-book, only one of them actually seemed to add to the plot, the other was just.. there. Sure there was an arc, but it just didn't seem.. relevant? The past POV, Ava on board the Titanic, carried the entire story, while Taylor, the present POV.. basically just read a book? There was some attempt at creating a murder mystery, but it never felt engaging and just.. meh. Sad face.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
My low rating is mostly because for a dual POV-book, only one of them actually seemed to add to the plot, the other was just.. there. Sure there was an arc, but it just didn't seem.. relevant? The past POV, Ava on board the Titanic, carried the entire story, while Taylor, the present POV.. basically just read a book? There was some attempt at creating a murder mystery, but it never felt engaging and just.. meh. Sad face.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Miscarriage
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