1.85k reviews for:

The Whalebone Theatre

Joanna Quinn

4.02 AVERAGE

lophil's profile picture

lophil's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 9%

Boring. Starts way too early in the supposed main characters life
adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
adventurous emotional funny sad slow-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
emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

(3.5) wowwww.
cried like four times. wish I would've stuck w it and finished faster rather than stopping and starting, but so it goes when the semester starts and leaves zero time for anything leisurely. the characters were SO well developed, and all the relationships were flushed out, no one was filler which I really liked. will def be reading more from this author
I do think it could've been wrapped up before page 558 tho.
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
adventurous emotional slow-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: Complicated

Quite beautiful.
adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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: Complicated

A beautiful, incredible thing, a perfect novel.

A wonderful debut from a writer who easily sits at the historical fiction table with the likes of Kate Quinn and Kate Morton. The Whalebone Theatre has all the beloved elements - a tired English mansion, the derring-do of secret agents, strong female characters, a splash of humor, no shortage of heartbreak - all taken up a serious notch by the quality of Quinn's prose. She offers smart dialogue, poignant observation, and lovely physical descriptions. When people describe books as transporting, this is what they mean. I tumbled right in and emerged feeling as if I'd actually spent the hours in 1920's Dorchester or 1940's Paris. Fantastic.