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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So this book was actually amazing. I loved it to death and it really touches you. Morton does a great job with making the story seem as realistic as possible. The character development in this book was the best possible, as I really felt connected to the characters. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! So for the cutest-relationships label/tag/bookshelf thing, I at first liked one relationship, then liked another one more. But yeah. This story had so many twists and turns that it required a lot of flipping back and being like, "Whattt?? How did I miss that? Ohhhh got it." Then, the huge twist that makes me need to read the story all over again just so I can see all the foreshadowing that I missed and bonk myself on the head for not seeing it. However, even though I'm kind of complaining about it, I LOVE how I could be like, "Oh well, this is going to happen, which is to cause this, and then this will happen, and then the book will be happily ever after." No, I didn't guess anything that was going to happen, except for one thing, but only because I have this bad habit of reading the last three pages of books before I finish. I need to stop doing that. But most of the times, the ends are the most beautiful parts. Especially this one. It wasn't necessarily satisfying in the way that I knew everything that happened and all my questions were answered, but because it was the perfect mix of mystery and closure. I would say more, but I'm feeling lazy but hopefully this can give you insight on how wonderful this book is. More...later?
Spoiler
JIMMY AND VIVIEN!!!!!!!!!! <3
Enrapturing. Loved this so much!! I loved the back and forth between characters and time periods, and the mysteries painted throughout had me reeling. And the ENDING. My mind was blown. I had to put the book down and just think about it- so many twists that I didn’t see coming in the slightest. I am so satisfied- such a great experience to read it!! Wish I could read it again for the first time.
Well, that was a surprising ending! A thoroughly enjoyable read, cleverly constructed.
This is the first Kate Morton book I’ve ever read. It felt slow in the beginning, but I appreciated the detail in Morton’s writing. I felt like I knew how it was going to end from early on in the book, but so many aspects of the story evolved that made me question my assumptions and thus made it a fun read.
So much of the story was far fetched (i.e. the doctor’s and Katy’s journals that just happened to document so much). I’d still recommend this as an entertaining mystery, but not really for the historical fiction..... If you want to read about WWII, this isn’t the book for you.
So much of the story was far fetched (i.e. the doctor’s and Katy’s journals that just happened to document so much). I’d still recommend this as an entertaining mystery, but not really for the historical fiction..... If you want to read about WWII, this isn’t the book for you.
This definitely isn't my favorite of Morton's books; I may have even given it three stars if the ending hadn't been so unexpectedly twisty. This story didn't have the usual meandering, ever-so-slightly magical feel of the rest, and one of the main characters was distinctly unlikeable. But Morton's skillful writing and plotting helped the book stay interesting and held the tension long enough to get me to the great, sad ending. I'll hope for a little better from her next book, but this was a good, solid read in the meantime.
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:
Yes
I was so engrossed when I got to Vivian’s perspective. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen. I thought this was a little long but a great story!
I enjoyed this story, I was frustrated with the characters as the book progressed and wasn't sure how the ending could satisfy me as to the character development. I was pleasantly surprised. It is formulaic, in that Kate Morton writes the sAme basic novel every time. But it was better than I had anticipated.
I TOTALLY CALLED IT!!!!
Ok, I guessed the ending mostly because it was what I WANTED to have happen, and was pleasantly surprised when it actually did happened that way.
It was a reeeeaaaalllllly hard book to read though. I dragged my feet through all of it, only reading in the morning when there was a lot of sunlight and I could get down to it. That usually isn't me. Usually, I'm up too late reading or ignore my life around me or grab as many stolen moments as I can. This book didn't make me feel that way at all.
I hated the protagonist, but loved the guy, but knew that he was being manipulated and was way too good for her and yada yada yada. I kept going, though, because, well, book club. I was worried through the first half that this was going to be another tree situation (where the only character I can stomach turns into a tree), but then halfway through Vivian shows up and the story started to interest me. Then I had to keep reading to figure out how it would end because now I had a protagonist I could root for
Honestly, I was surprised that she didn't end up with Jimmy, but instead shoved a real ending on me. Usually, when a book tries to be "real" it ends up leaving a metallic taste in my mouth. Like you get when you try and drink from that old canteen you found in the garage because it would be "cool." But this time, it was only bitter-sweet - that feeling you get that love and life happen in a moment, but it's the love and life that last through years of being built together that will really define what you leave behind. Moments and people not to be forgotten, but you can have happiness in the now and future. That Jimmy was right for her, but so was Stephen. Made me think of the Matched books I just finished actually.
On the not so great side, there were moments where I felt like something dark was chasing me, trying to catch me like it was trying to catch Vivian. That part was less than palpable.
Overall it was a good story and an interesting, well-built twist. Not something that would come to mind when someone would ask if I had any book recommendations, but not something that I would regret reading. A solid three. Unless three months from now I still have issues, but if I stopped reading books because I was scared of getting traumatized, then I might as well stop breathing too.
Ok, I guessed the ending mostly because it was what I WANTED to have happen, and was pleasantly surprised when it actually did happened that way.
It was a reeeeaaaalllllly hard book to read though. I dragged my feet through all of it, only reading in the morning when there was a lot of sunlight and I could get down to it. That usually isn't me. Usually, I'm up too late reading or ignore my life around me or grab as many stolen moments as I can. This book didn't make me feel that way at all.
I hated the protagonist, but loved the guy, but knew that he was being manipulated and was way too good for her and yada yada yada. I kept going, though, because, well, book club. I was worried through the first half that this was going to be another tree situation (where the only character I can stomach turns into a tree), but then halfway through Vivian shows up and the story started to interest me. Then I had to keep reading to figure out how it would end because now I had a protagonist I could root for
Honestly, I was surprised that she didn't end up with Jimmy, but instead shoved a real ending on me. Usually, when a book tries to be "real" it ends up leaving a metallic taste in my mouth. Like you get when you try and drink from that old canteen you found in the garage because it would be "cool." But this time, it was only bitter-sweet - that feeling you get that love and life happen in a moment, but it's the love and life that last through years of being built together that will really define what you leave behind. Moments and people not to be forgotten, but you can have happiness in the now and future. That Jimmy was right for her, but so was Stephen. Made me think of the Matched books I just finished actually.
On the not so great side, there were moments where I felt like something dark was chasing me, trying to catch me like it was trying to catch Vivian. That part was less than palpable.
Overall it was a good story and an interesting, well-built twist. Not something that would come to mind when someone would ask if I had any book recommendations, but not something that I would regret reading. A solid three. Unless three months from now I still have issues, but if I stopped reading books because I was scared of getting traumatized, then I might as well stop breathing too.