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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I wanted to like this book so badly but it really felt like it dragged through so many parts. I think the author had a lot of interesting ideas between the community, the vote/politics, the business, the romance but I wish she would have chosen to focus on just one or two and not all of them. Still we have so little Jewish historical romance representation so I guess something better than nothing
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Could my get into it 50 pages in. May pick it up later but I wasn’t in the mood
Very poorly written. This is a book that needs 100 pages edited out. It was a real slog to get through. Some events made no sense. I was really happy that this book told a point of view I don’t run across very often - a romance set in the Jewish community of 1830s London. Unfortunately, unless you’re Jewish and understand rituals, obsevances and Yiddish slang there is much in this book that’s incomprehensible. There’s no glossary, or appendix or footnotes to explain many specific cultural references. This wouldn’t be a problem with an ebook where I could easily look things up, but I read a paperback so there were many things I didn’t understand. This book isn’t for the general population because of these weaknesses, which is a shame because I’d like to have understood the culture better.
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to love this one… but… just didn’t.
I loved all aspects of the hist fic. As a gentile, I honestly hadn’t even thought of the coming together of the Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish communities in new locations like London. Honestly I feel like Sephardic Jews are often overlooked in American pop culture.
That said… I didn’t buy it. Aaron is supposedly this ‘can’t succeed at anything but being kind’ guy. Je was hopeless at all book learning but can carry on witty banter at such a high vocabulary? It doesn’t make sense. Also I didn’t need to be told about said faults seven times each inner monologue. After a while it just got boring. It picked up at the end, but…. It took a while to get there. I think shortening this book by 50 pages would do wonders.
I loved all aspects of the hist fic. As a gentile, I honestly hadn’t even thought of the coming together of the Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish communities in new locations like London. Honestly I feel like Sephardic Jews are often overlooked in American pop culture.
That said… I didn’t buy it. Aaron is supposedly this ‘can’t succeed at anything but being kind’ guy. Je was hopeless at all book learning but can carry on witty banter at such a high vocabulary? It doesn’t make sense. Also I didn’t need to be told about said faults seven times each inner monologue. After a while it just got boring. It picked up at the end, but…. It took a while to get there. I think shortening this book by 50 pages would do wonders.