Reviews

August by Victoria Hislop

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lausiet's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

aliciagriggs's review against another edition

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4.0

I have only recently read The Island, and loved it, so when I saw the sequel to it I was very excited. Thankfully, I really enjoyed this book, though not to the same degree as the first novel (which was exceptional, and I still think about a lot).
I think what I didn't enjoy was the way one of the characters, Anna, was grieved over so much, when she was such a nasty, selfish character. But that was just a personal annoyance rather than a critique of the writing itself. The book is great, and does cover some things left unsaid about characters from the first novel. It didn't pack a punch like the first one, which is why it isn't 5 stars for me, but it was still a great read and I would recommend to all who have read the first one.
I can't help but wish there would be a prequel novel next, about the life of Eleni and Giorgi before leprosy and more detail on the despair of contracting and realising one had leprosy. But that wishful thinking just goes to show how immersive these novels are- I want more, and feel as though I know the characters and want to know more still about them.

megswhitaker's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

chloe_1709's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

bethglover's review against another edition

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4.0

Nice read and makes me want to go to Crete! You could tell a lot of research had been carried out by Hislop to ensure details were accurate.

anna93_'s review against another edition

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4.0

A lovely sequel to a fantastic book. The Island has long been a favourite of mine and it was nice to have a short book that just gave you a bit more detail about what happened to some of the characters afterwards.
Some reviews have criticised it for not having as much 'depth' as The Island but I don't think it needed it. One August Night just neatly wraps up some of the characters' storylines - Manolis' in particular was nice to read.

If you are expecting more on life within the leper colony of Spinalonga, then you are going to be disappointed. But if you take the book for what it is, a continuation of the stories of Maria, Andreas, Antonis and Manolis, then you will have a enjoyable short read.