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dragonfly3085's review against another edition
3.0
I very much like Ellen Dugan and both her fiction and nonfiction works. This was maybe my least favorite of all of her stuff though. The writing is solid and it’s an easy read but, and maybe it’s because I’ve always been a more Belle than Cinderella type of girl, I just didn’t connect with the characters.
I wish there was more depth to the story, background on Philippe’s family for example. It felt as though it was started but not finished. Where did his ancestors wife and her dowry go? Why was the painting hidden? Why did grandpère come to the wedding of people he’d never met? It didn’t come together for me. I did appreciate that Max was solid and unwavering in his feelings and that his character wasn’t quite so mercurial as my initial (book 1) impression of him. I’ve had that unrequited best guy friend love. I felt for Ella in those moments.
Having said all that, I loved book 1 and loved the preview for Camilla’s story (book 3) but Gabriella.... I wish her love and light and am excited to see what her daughters powers are. I’m guessing some of Ella’s manifestations during pregnancy were HER doing. So this is either Ellen’s master plan at foreshadowing a new series, or its undeveloped short story nature has left me feeling jaded & questioning. I’m not sure!
I wish there was more depth to the story, background on Philippe’s family for example. It felt as though it was started but not finished. Where did his ancestors wife and her dowry go? Why was the painting hidden? Why did grandpère come to the wedding of people he’d never met? It didn’t come together for me. I did appreciate that Max was solid and unwavering in his feelings and that his character wasn’t quite so mercurial as my initial (book 1) impression of him. I’ve had that unrequited best guy friend love. I felt for Ella in those moments.
Having said all that, I loved book 1 and loved the preview for Camilla’s story (book 3) but Gabriella.... I wish her love and light and am excited to see what her daughters powers are. I’m guessing some of Ella’s manifestations during pregnancy were HER doing. So this is either Ellen’s master plan at foreshadowing a new series, or its undeveloped short story nature has left me feeling jaded & questioning. I’m not sure!
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