Scan barcode
splitdice's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
okay, so i want to start out with don't let my low review sway you because i think at least part of the problem was that this book wasnt what i expected/wasnt for me. this book reads so much more like a romcom/romance than historical fiction, which made the entire reading process feel really off for me. it utilizes third person following the main character, jean. this writing style made the entire book sound very tell-not-show, which honestly made it feel like i was reading fan fiction. it wasnt just the writing style, however. it was also just how the scenes were? there is a week where the two women grow really close apparently but we arent really shown a lot of it and just told. no character in this book felt like a real person and no one said things that seemed even a little bit realistic. the way everyone talked and acted seemed like a contemporary romance but taking place in 1830s nova scotia. so why make it historical in the first place? so some vilianous characters are homophobic and everyone else is not? it was so hard to take anything seriously in this book too because of the writing. and some really fucked up things happened if you thought about it too hard and when there were these darker moments none of it felt serious! and whenever the main character had emotional/dark things happening everything just seemed to go over really quickly? i dont know, it was a huge mess and everything was clashing in terms of tone, writing, characters, setting, plot. and even though everything in theory in this book is interesting it was SO BORING. like i really should have dnfed it but im stubborn. i didnt care about any of the characters and i was rushing to be done with this book.
i wanted to like this book so much and i think thats why its so disappointing :( im giving it more than 1 star bc i do enjoy the lesbian rep and it isnt necessarily bad/harmful/egregious unlike some other books i read but it was just flat out bad.
i wanted to like this book so much and i think thats why its so disappointing :( im giving it more than 1 star bc i do enjoy the lesbian rep and it isnt necessarily bad/harmful/egregious unlike some other books i read but it was just flat out bad.
lets_b_libros's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
alexandra_00's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
abbieday01's review against another edition
1.0
Ok…I know this is highly rated, but it just wasn’t for me. I read it on a recommendation - and should have done some more research on it before reading it myself - should have read the blurb, some Goodreads reviews (good and bad) then I would have known what I was sinking into. So…in the end this is a no for me. A hard pass.
hmatt's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I'm really enjoying the (small, but... growing?) trend of queer Canadian historical fiction novels. This was middling for me all things considered. It struggled to keep me through the middle while fewer big things were happening in the plot, but I liked the characters and was invested in how the story turned out. I'm not sure that I was wholly convinced by the romance element, but I'm glad it was included if only to have more interesting representation out there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
imperfect_ravenclaw's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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
betweentwobookends's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
zeebyrd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
kjdubic's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
bnwolgamot's review against another edition
4.0
Grade: B-
I liked it from 0-55% and then 90-100%. The middle section made me crazy bc Jean was so wrapped up in her head that she was literally insufferably dumb, and she had no self control to the point of being dangerous. She’s lucky that she didn’t lose a baby cuz she was so self absorbed.
I liked it from 0-55% and then 90-100%. The middle section made me crazy bc Jean was so wrapped up in her head that she was literally insufferably dumb, and she had no self control to the point of being dangerous. She’s lucky that she didn’t lose a baby cuz she was so self absorbed.