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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A good historical romance about the New York Public Library. The book had a duel timeline between the past and family that lived in the library and 1990’s. The past is about the family that lived in the apartment inside the library and the disappearance of several key books from the library’s collection. The 1990’s has disappearances happening again with one person that is tied to the family and the original disappearances.
It took me some time to get into this one but I did enjoy it. The best part was learning more about the NY Public Library and its books and quirky artifacts.
I have a new author to follow! Looking forward to reading all that she has written!
Since it took effort to make me want to pick this up, it's a 2.5 star read.
The main protagonist needs to be someone that I can emphasize with. I hated Laura Lyons with a passion. Her actions caused generations of sadness.
For those readers who are able to ignore Laura's selfishness this is an interesting piece of crime fiction in the end.
The main protagonist needs to be someone that I can emphasize with. I hated Laura Lyons with a passion. Her actions caused generations of sadness.
For those readers who are able to ignore Laura's selfishness this is an interesting piece of crime fiction in the end.
medium-paced
I read all of Fiona Davis’s books this year and am trying to figure out where this one fits in my hierarchy. I definitely liked the period and mystery better than some of the others, but the writing was worse. I accidentally read them in order, so it’s not like her writing has improved with practice.
There seemed to be many examples where my seventh grade English teach would have written “show, don’t tell” in the margins. There were also a handful of times when something was alluded to as if hints had been dropped all along, when they really hadn’t. Finally, and this is true for all of Davis’s books, the language she uses in the “old” parts doesn’t seem to be historically accurate. A quick Google search of the origins of some the phrases confirms this.
For me, these books are fast and easy reads. I liked them between heavier books. As a member of my book club says, they are good “palette cleansers.” If Davis writes any more, I won’t be reading them.
There seemed to be many examples where my seventh grade English teach would have written “show, don’t tell” in the margins. There were also a handful of times when something was alluded to as if hints had been dropped all along, when they really hadn’t. Finally, and this is true for all of Davis’s books, the language she uses in the “old” parts doesn’t seem to be historically accurate. A quick Google search of the origins of some the phrases confirms this.
For me, these books are fast and easy reads. I liked them between heavier books. As a member of my book club says, they are good “palette cleansers.” If Davis writes any more, I won’t be reading them.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Painfully slow
The premise was interesting but the cast majority of details were dry
Just never sucked me in or made me feel like I knew the characters
The premise was interesting but the cast majority of details were dry
Just never sucked me in or made me feel like I knew the characters