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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I wanted to love this book. The story is something I would ordinarily get into and the prose is beautiful. However, I struggled with this one. The story is just too slow and it takes too long for everything to “click”. When the click finally happened, I just didn’t really care anymore.
Very entertaining story of a murder and a woman who disappears breaking an artist's heart. Told from various viewpoints and time shifts from past to present. Have to read closely to figure out all the connections of the characters but well done.
As many other reviewers have written, this book had way too many characters and was far too long. I tried hard to focus on the main characters of this multi-timeline book but who knew that I was supposed to retain even the smallest cameo appearance of someone like, for example, Jeremiah? For instance, he was mentioned off-handedly three times within the first 100 pages and not again until 400 pages in - but it turns out that his role was sort of critical.
For me, too much of the mystery was based on people not speaking their minds.
For me, too much of the mystery was based on people not speaking their minds.
This is the first Kate Morton book I’ve read, and picked it up based on the cover alone (a sin, I know, but I found the title and cover intriguing). I was captivated from moment one. The timeline jumps were fun rather than frustrating, and all the characters were hashed-out enough for me to root for them. I think I’ll have to read others from her and hope I enjoy them as much as I did this!
What a great story! I loved the historical detail and all the characters from the past and present. Engrossing from start to finish!
The story is intriguing...some of the time. I get drawn in, and then I find my mind wandering. I think the story is just taking too long to get to the point, and I wonder how much of this back story (and side stories) are actually part of the whole and are actually important. I may never know, because this is going on my DNF shelf.
3.75*
Deducted points for being too long! But I ended up really enjoying this beautifully written book. I did get lost with all the characters in different time frames but as I read on, everything came together.
Deducted points for being too long! But I ended up really enjoying this beautifully written book. I did get lost with all the characters in different time frames but as I read on, everything came together.
La trama es muy interesante, pero para mí la forma en que se desarrolla el libro me ha parecido muy pesada, en la cual habían demasiados detalles con los que te perdías
I had never read Kate Morton before, so I cannot compare it to her other novels. I can see why she has so many loyal fans, her writing is lovely, though this story felt quite long. This novel starts when Elodie, a modern archivist, stumbles upon a satchel with a notebook and old photograph inside. Elodie diligently researches their past, whisking us across time as the story develops. Chapters are told from multiple points-of-view, and it’s not always immediately clear at the outset whose we’re seeing or where we are in time and place. It’s a method that works well, getting us to the end without giving all the twists and turns away beforehand.
It’s not an action-filled, or plot-heavy novel. It’s much more about the moments in time we visit and the character development, which are beautifully described in Morton’s transporting prose. And while the story was engaging, I wish it’d been a little more to the point.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for review.
Full review + book-inspired recipe on The Hungry Bookworm
It’s not an action-filled, or plot-heavy novel. It’s much more about the moments in time we visit and the character development, which are beautifully described in Morton’s transporting prose. And while the story was engaging, I wish it’d been a little more to the point.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for review.
Full review + book-inspired recipe on The Hungry Bookworm