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evemlacey's review against another edition
Rather boring. Had no motivations to keep reading.
ketutar's review
5.0
I love Eva Ibbotson's books.
This is one of her romance novels. It's not soppy, not purple, and there is practically no sex, and almost no kissing either, but it is lovely. :-)
Her love of Austria comes forth strongly in this one as well as in the others. I would really love to go there and see these places she talks so highly about. I wonder how much of her Austria still exists. :-)
I love the ending. :-D It was to be expected, but also clicked in place so perfectly and timely. I'm just sorry that the house burned, and Marek was being an idiot for a while, there, but I suppose things like that happen.
This is one of her romance novels. It's not soppy, not purple, and there is practically no sex, and almost no kissing either, but it is lovely. :-)
Her love of Austria comes forth strongly in this one as well as in the others. I would really love to go there and see these places she talks so highly about. I wonder how much of her Austria still exists. :-)
I love the ending. :-D It was to be expected, but also clicked in place so perfectly and timely. I'm just sorry that the house burned, and Marek was being an idiot for a while, there, but I suppose things like that happen.
sophiewelsh's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sallyavena's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars instead of 2 for the way Ibbotson writes. I love her descriptive style and the images she creates. Also 3 for the nostalgia of Vienna she brought up. Why it should have been 2 stars instead of 3 is the naivete that Ellen portrays. She is a very Pollyanna type character, with no real depth to her personality other than that every one loves her. Just not very believable and neither is the lack of realization of what was going on all around them in that time period. A lot of things in the plot seemed contrived as well, to make the story move along.
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I picked this book up after I enjoyed my reread of “The Morning Gift,” hoping that it would be similar. It was similar in the sense that it was also a romance set in Europe during World War II…but this book was infinitely more boring.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, War, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Grief, Antisemitism, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
The school and the characters are lovely, but I would have appreciated slightly less adversity for the romance.
mcfade28's review against another edition
3.0
This was definitely not for me. It's a wishy/washy romance with a backdrop of world war 2. Our protagonist Ellen is just so good . She is beautiful, kind and her life's calling is to cook and clean. She moves from London to Austria to become a nanny in a school, where she meets the gruff groundsman, Marek. I think you can all see where it goes from there...
I had so many issues with this book. There was no grand passion, or depth of emotion. We kept being told the two main characters loved each other, but as far as I could see, they weren't that compatible. Marek seemed to aloof, and Ellen was too much of a Mother Theresa.
I had so many issues with this book. There was no grand passion, or depth of emotion. We kept being told the two main characters loved each other, but as far as I could see, they weren't that compatible. Marek seemed to aloof, and Ellen was too much of a Mother Theresa.
lammerman's review against another edition
5.0
http://lhubert3.blogspot.com/2009/01/song-for-summer.html