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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
the plot had hints of scandal and gossip that characterised the late Victorian, and some sense of the social commentary of the Edwardian— all very exciting! i do like novels set at the cusp of the 20th century. but between the moralising narrator (poor Rhubarb was developed in patches, as were the other characters) and desperate jumps from climax to resolution (though at times so oddly put, one wasn’t sure which was which), the telling quite upset the tale. was the writer aping the Victorian weeklies in the too-neat closures of the many unnecessarily created possible plot lines? i don’t know. i found myself growing more frustrated and disappointed as i neared the end, dashing through the last three chapters, wanting it to be over. however, two gold stars for how exciting a story it was. it was very exciting.
dark
mysterious
reflective
I did stay up late into the night to finish this novel-always a good sign. Reminiscent of one of my favorite novels "Rebecca" the story moved quickly with surprises along the way and a nice wrap-up of the endings. The opportunity is there to follow the storyline of both Mrs England and Nurse May as they go their separate ways.
"West Yorkshire, 1904. When recently graduated Ruby May takes a nanny position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear something is not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. England. Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband and is far from the angel of the house Ruby was expecting. As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracized by the servants and increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there's no such thing as the perfect family—she should know."
"West Yorkshire, 1904. When recently graduated Ruby May takes a nanny position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear something is not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. England. Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband and is far from the angel of the house Ruby was expecting. As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracized by the servants and increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there's no such thing as the perfect family—she should know."
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
***These are my random thoughts after finishing the book for me to save as personal notes (because I can't see an option to make my review private). Some of the thoughts are an overall review of the book, or any questions/feelings that nagged at me throughout. There will almost definitely be spoilers. Read at your own risk.*** ‐----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 stars
Expected it to be either more historical fiction or more mystery, but it didn't really seem to fit into either
Expected more unease/unsettling elements
Quick read, although not a lot happens
The kids seem cute
3 stars
Expected it to be either more historical fiction or more mystery, but it didn't really seem to fit into either
Expected more unease/unsettling elements
Quick read, although not a lot happens
The kids seem cute
I did not know what to expect but WOW did I enjoy this book.
The Plot is very simply from one POV which makes you really feel the surrounding the best. Its a little bit mystery but fitting to the timestory that it plays in. And the fact that it plays in West Yorkshire, with the added slang words etc was just perfect.
I also liked the way the characters were written, non felt two dimentional, even the Baby had personality and you felt how he grew over the book. The Topic of education also is very prominent but in a very interesting way.
All in all I had a blast reading this book, kept me on my toes and thurly my nose in the pages
The Plot is very simply from one POV which makes you really feel the surrounding the best. Its a little bit mystery but fitting to the timestory that it plays in. And the fact that it plays in West Yorkshire, with the added slang words etc was just perfect.
I also liked the way the characters were written, non felt two dimentional, even the Baby had personality and you felt how he grew over the book. The Topic of education also is very prominent but in a very interesting way.
All in all I had a blast reading this book, kept me on my toes and thurly my nose in the pages
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No