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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
7 hours into the 26 hour audiobook and I’ve lost the will to live. 7 hours of Beatrice being twisted and occasionally pumping her warped brother. Dreadful.
Honestly I gave it a good go, but couldn't quite finish the book... I skipped to the end and read the last page though. It ended like I thought it would. Some parts were okay, like perhaps the beginning, but the whole incest thing turned me off. It got too dark when Beatrice became a destructive force, and ugh, it was not enjoyable after a certain point at all. It became almost depressing and I couldn't read anymore. There were few redeeming qualities about the book. Practically all the likable characters had something happen to them like get killed, had possible insanity, or something of the sort.
Forgot all about having read this ragefest-inducing series (that I received from someone as a much recommended gift) until I saw someone rating it on my feed. MAN, IT'S BEEN YEARS AND I'M STILL PISSED. Philippa Gregory's prose is wonderful, but this series...... Beatrice... just... WHY DO YOU EXIST, BEATRICE? Beatrice, in a nutshell, is basically a very, very muddled attempt at a Machiavellian female protagonist in a Georgian setting that emulates all the messed up bits of a Machiavellian persona without any of the concepts of good rule and POSITIVE repercussions. Never before have I read and continued reading a book in which I hated the protagonist/villain this thoroughly from the first five pages onwards. Srsly, Beatrice, like. Why.
Also. I carried on forth because I am a classic Type A when it comes to reading (and also a hopeless idealist, kept on hoping it MIGHT get better) and read MERIDON because that's just the person that I am and just. Meridon in a nutshell???? = JFC *slams into a wall*
Also. I carried on forth because I am a classic Type A when it comes to reading (and also a hopeless idealist, kept on hoping it MIGHT get better) and read MERIDON because that's just the person that I am and just. Meridon in a nutshell???? = JFC *slams into a wall*
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death of parent
I had heard good things about this author and so I was anxious to give this book a read, but by half-way into it, I was really appalled and repelled by the characters. They had no redeeming social value as far as I could see. I essentially skimmed through the rest of the book, thinking that perhaps I would find a gold nugget somewhere in the pages, but all I found was dross.
I was thrilled when I started this book because I've always loved Gregory's books, but once I got into this book just bothered me deeply. I understand the main characters wants to inherit the family land because she loves it more and that its injust that it goes to her brother because he does not really care but the way she goes about it. I finished this book because that is what I do, but I will not be reading the other two of this series.
I didn't read any reviews before I read this book, just picked it up because i like others by Gregory. This book is very different from her others. However, I did enjoy it. Like the rest of her books, the reading takes time and thought, because she writes very little "fluff". Beatrice is a character I can get behind and root for, even when she continues to make the worst choices possible. Even until the epilogue, I wanted her to find a way to fix things for her communtiy. Gregory did a great job of making me feel for the heroine, and dislike Celia for her innocence. It takes strong writing to create dislike for the likable character, and love for the "evil" one. While the incest IS disturbing, it is explained by her belief system about the land - doesn't make it right, just contributes to the character. Books should be read to be enjoyable and to make you think. This was both, and I will continue the series.
There aren't many authors out there that can make you thoroughly despise a main character as well as Philippa Gregory does. I really disliked Margaret in The Red Queen and I didn't think it would be possible for me to despise another female character as much as I despised her.
Then I met Beatrice Lacey in Wideacre, and she is just an awful, awful, awful person. There is nothing to like about her. She is a manipulative, murdering, conniving, despicable person through and through, and that is what I enjoyed so much about this book. Just when you think she can't possibly stoop any lower, she does!
The teaser for this book suggests that Beatrice is a strong-minded woman who doesn't conform to the social standards of her time, but her story isn't really about a woman forging her own path. Nope. This story is about a woman who will stop at nothing to destroy everything she touches, all for the sake of her beautiful childhood home, Wideacre, and she even manages to wreck that.
Judging from the poor reviews here on GoodReads, it looks like Gregory turned off quite a few people with Beatrice Lacey. I suspect people were more turned off by Beatrice's capacity for evil than anything else. Wideacre is well written and it's thoroughly enjoyable. I can't think of one dull moment! It's not very often that I read a book and hope that the heroine gets exactly what she deserves. Gregory delivers and then some. I'm looking forward to the second installment of the Wideacre trilogy.
Then I met Beatrice Lacey in Wideacre, and she is just an awful, awful, awful person. There is nothing to like about her. She is a manipulative, murdering, conniving, despicable person through and through, and that is what I enjoyed so much about this book. Just when you think she can't possibly stoop any lower, she does!
The teaser for this book suggests that Beatrice is a strong-minded woman who doesn't conform to the social standards of her time, but her story isn't really about a woman forging her own path. Nope. This story is about a woman who will stop at nothing to destroy everything she touches, all for the sake of her beautiful childhood home, Wideacre, and she even manages to wreck that.
Judging from the poor reviews here on GoodReads, it looks like Gregory turned off quite a few people with Beatrice Lacey. I suspect people were more turned off by Beatrice's capacity for evil than anything else. Wideacre is well written and it's thoroughly enjoyable. I can't think of one dull moment! It's not very often that I read a book and hope that the heroine gets exactly what she deserves. Gregory delivers and then some. I'm looking forward to the second installment of the Wideacre trilogy.
Some books you never expect your grandmother to hand you when you ar sixteen - still one of my favourites!
Twisted! (Deliciously so.) Total summer trashy fun, if you don't mind really raunchy sex and a despicable anti-heroine.