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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Bummed. I’m a big Kate Morton fan, but this wasn’t up to snuff with her usual fare. I’ll still eagerly await her next release though.
One of my favorite parts of her books is the way she deftly uses her characters to weave together past and present. One of the primary characters in this book is a ghost. No, seriously. A ghost. C’mon Kate.
One of my favorite parts of her books is the way she deftly uses her characters to weave together past and present. One of the primary characters in this book is a ghost. No, seriously. A ghost. C’mon Kate.
SUPER disappointed. I love Kate Morton but honestly, WTF did I just read?!
It seemed like a mess. Too many stories, while related, they just didn’t seem cohesive enough. Lots of things left undone.
The best part was maybe part 3(?) about the group being at the house in 1862. Even with that, the time didn’t seem to match. It felt more early 20th century rather than mid 19th century’s
Also, the ghost...really? I was hoping for more about “Lily’s” fate in the hidey hole but it was glossed over. I don’t know what I wanted but what I got wasn’t it.
Joanne Froggatt was a great narrator though.
*sigh* I’m so bummed over this....
It seemed like a mess. Too many stories, while related, they just didn’t seem cohesive enough. Lots of things left undone.
The best part was maybe part 3(?) about the group being at the house in 1862. Even with that, the time didn’t seem to match. It felt more early 20th century rather than mid 19th century’s
Also, the ghost...really? I was hoping for more about “Lily’s” fate in the hidey hole but it was glossed over. I don’t know what I wanted but what I got wasn’t it.
Joanne Froggatt was a great narrator though.
*sigh* I’m so bummed over this....
4.5 sublime stars to The Clockmaker’s Daughter! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟.5
Told in multiple storylines, the first is set in 1862. Edward Radcliffe, an esteemed artist, organizes a group of other young artists to holiday at Birchwood Manor on the Thames. Their objective is to laze away the summer among inspiration and exercising their creativity. What happens instead is a murder, a disappearance, and a missing heirloom.
In the present, Elodie Winslow is an archivist living in London. She runs across two items that she cannot shake, a photograph of an alluring woman and a drawing of a house on a river. Somehow Elodie feels connected to these objects. But how?
I’m a fan of Kate Morton. It started with The Forgotten Garden and never ended. Her books are long, they are in rich in details, and it takes some time to wade through; but the experience is like wading through the most pristine, sheer tropical blue waters, enveloped in glorious details that enrich the story and do not detract or weigh down (or push back) the delight.
It especially takes some time for the pieces of The Clockmaker’s Daughter to take shape and fall in line. But when they do, the pace quickens, and the story is as engaging as one would hope. It’s a murder mystery with wholesome and resonant themes of love and loss. Someone special, alluded to in the synopsis, witnessed all that has happened at Birchwood Manor over the years. She knows its harbored secrets and its most seductive love. The writing is insightful and unforgettable (many passages to highlight!). Will Birchwood Manor ever shed its shroud of secrets?
Thank you to Atria Books for the physical copy. I was absolutely elated to receive a copy in the mail! All opinions are my own.
I read this sublime book with five book friends: Melisa, Holly, Berit, Mackenzie, and Kendall. What an experience it was!
Told in multiple storylines, the first is set in 1862. Edward Radcliffe, an esteemed artist, organizes a group of other young artists to holiday at Birchwood Manor on the Thames. Their objective is to laze away the summer among inspiration and exercising their creativity. What happens instead is a murder, a disappearance, and a missing heirloom.
In the present, Elodie Winslow is an archivist living in London. She runs across two items that she cannot shake, a photograph of an alluring woman and a drawing of a house on a river. Somehow Elodie feels connected to these objects. But how?
I’m a fan of Kate Morton. It started with The Forgotten Garden and never ended. Her books are long, they are in rich in details, and it takes some time to wade through; but the experience is like wading through the most pristine, sheer tropical blue waters, enveloped in glorious details that enrich the story and do not detract or weigh down (or push back) the delight.
It especially takes some time for the pieces of The Clockmaker’s Daughter to take shape and fall in line. But when they do, the pace quickens, and the story is as engaging as one would hope. It’s a murder mystery with wholesome and resonant themes of love and loss. Someone special, alluded to in the synopsis, witnessed all that has happened at Birchwood Manor over the years. She knows its harbored secrets and its most seductive love. The writing is insightful and unforgettable (many passages to highlight!). Will Birchwood Manor ever shed its shroud of secrets?
Thank you to Atria Books for the physical copy. I was absolutely elated to receive a copy in the mail! All opinions are my own.
I read this sublime book with five book friends: Melisa, Holly, Berit, Mackenzie, and Kendall. What an experience it was!
Excellent story! So many story lines that were nicely finished at the end.
I love historical fiction, and maybe unlike a lot of readers, I love multiple storylines and POV characters - who intersect or don’t - but whose disparate voices build out the story. I found this captivating, and had no difficulty discerning which character was narrating and how the pieces and clues fit together. This is my first Kate Morton book, and I’ll be looking to read her others next!
I'm experiencing that bittersweet feeling of having thoroughly enjoyed a new release by one of my favourite authors, knowing that it will be a while before she releases another one. This book grabbed me from the first page and is a perfect Fall treat as it goes well with a cup of tea and a warm blanket.
So many characters, all connected through the years by a haunted hause, the Birchwood Manor.
I personally didn't relate to any of them and the end was bittersweet and left many questions unanswered. Did the house really protect them all?
I personally didn't relate to any of them and the end was bittersweet and left many questions unanswered. Did the house really protect them all?
Took me forever, but I loved every minute. Excellent mystery! Great characters but very hard to keep up with them all. It was so convoluted that I actually took some notes. Excellent mystery!
OMG, I thought it would never, ever end! This is my first Kate Morton book of whom I have heard so nice things; now I am not sure if I want to read anything more by her, although I do have a Hungarian translation of one of her books that I might consider.
Back to this novel. I gave it 2 stars because it stayed on the very fragile border between being utterly and unbearably boring and keeping your interest just enough that you want to finish to find out 'what is happening'. (The latter feature saved it from getting only one star.) The premise and the basic story would have been nice and entertaining, but god, speaking of overcomplicating things! Number one, there are a gazillion story lines going on, and while the idea is that by the end all these lines are united or at least flow into the same river so to say, they are just too much. Number two, what makes them 'too much' is, the fact that the author felt obliged to present a whole, complete story for each and every fricking character in this book, and let me tell you, there are tons of them. As soon as someone shows up, we jump onto yet another thread to listen to their whole life story from the beginning to the point of the story when they enter, instead of just the relevant parts (relevant to the main story, that is). Really, it drove me crazy. In the end there were just a few characters whose life and thread mattered regarding to the main story, but by then the reader is screaming from boredom. It got to the point when it was almost as though it were a parody of a kind.
I was listening to the audiobook (it was OK, nothing special in the narration), and kept looking at the remaining time that did not seem to pass...
Back to this novel. I gave it 2 stars because it stayed on the very fragile border between being utterly and unbearably boring and keeping your interest just enough that you want to finish to find out 'what is happening'. (The latter feature saved it from getting only one star.) The premise and the basic story would have been nice and entertaining, but god, speaking of overcomplicating things! Number one, there are a gazillion story lines going on, and while the idea is that by the end all these lines are united or at least flow into the same river so to say, they are just too much. Number two, what makes them 'too much' is, the fact that the author felt obliged to present a whole, complete story for each and every fricking character in this book, and let me tell you, there are tons of them. As soon as someone shows up, we jump onto yet another thread to listen to their whole life story from the beginning to the point of the story when they enter, instead of just the relevant parts (relevant to the main story, that is). Really, it drove me crazy. In the end there were just a few characters whose life and thread mattered regarding to the main story, but by then the reader is screaming from boredom. It got to the point when it was almost as though it were a parody of a kind.
I was listening to the audiobook (it was OK, nothing special in the narration), and kept looking at the remaining time that did not seem to pass...