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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
3.5-4 stars. Loved the historical subject matter and storyline. Characters were well likable and had strength. I feel like the current story of Abi could have been written stronger and had more meat to it. Especially middle-end without giving anything away.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
Please enjoy additional book reviews & adventures on my blog: The Bull Crabs
The overall rating of 4.26 (as of 6/16/21) is a bit fluffed up ...
This is not a crazy masterpiece that will stick with you forever. It doesnt have that magical writing that will carry us through for years and years. No colleges will study this book. It will most likely, never be a modern classic.
BUT!
This was a really wonderful book. I enjoyed the story and couldn't put it down. I love learning about the characters and the opening really pulled me in easily.
I'm fascinated by bee keeping, so that alone captured my attention. I had no idea it was way more than just a bee keeping love story (ha). I love being surprised by books.
I thought the story of Abi(present day) could have been completely left out. I didn't find it interesting, I didn't think she really connected with Eliane (WWII) and the way the author was trying to connect the two women was a stretch. The author has a really good story with Eliane. A very complex group of characters I really enjoyed knowing and I was always upset when she switched to the Abi timeline, hoping it would switch back soon.
Overall - good book! I would recommend to anyone who needs a nice read.
Words not your thing? Odd you are on goodreads then. No judgement, check out my picture book on this new hip site called 'Instagram'.
The overall rating of 4.26 (as of 6/16/21) is a bit fluffed up ...
This is not a crazy masterpiece that will stick with you forever. It doesnt have that magical writing that will carry us through for years and years. No colleges will study this book. It will most likely, never be a modern classic.
BUT!
This was a really wonderful book. I enjoyed the story and couldn't put it down. I love learning about the characters and the opening really pulled me in easily.
I'm fascinated by bee keeping, so that alone captured my attention. I had no idea it was way more than just a bee keeping love story (ha). I love being surprised by books.
I thought the story of Abi(present day) could have been completely left out. I didn't find it interesting, I didn't think she really connected with Eliane (WWII) and the way the author was trying to connect the two women was a stretch. The author has a really good story with Eliane. A very complex group of characters I really enjoyed knowing and I was always upset when she switched to the Abi timeline, hoping it would switch back soon.
Overall - good book! I would recommend to anyone who needs a nice read.
Words not your thing? Odd you are on goodreads then. No judgement, check out my picture book on this new hip site called 'Instagram'.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve had zero reading time recently so the fact that I’ve taken over a fortnight to read this is no reflection on it at all. Having said that, it is a slow burner. I found my attention wavering a little until I got about half way through and then I really needed to keep turning the pages. Having read The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah and The Secrets Between Us by Laura Madeleine I was already very familiar with the basis for the storyline but it was interesting to see how Fiona Valpy interwove this region’s history with present day life. I’ve wavered between 3/4 stars here and would like to give 3.5. I loved the atmosphere created within the book but found some of the plot a little predictable . But, the journey is subtle and atmospheric & I engaged with all the main characters. The penultimate chapter is given over totally to a wedding between people we know nothing about & whilst there are obviously reasons behind this it does make the ending feel a little disjointed. All in all an enjoyable read.
emotional
hopeful
sad
This was an okay historical fiction for me. I’ve read worse and I’ve read better 🤷🏼♀️
It seems like a nice story but I just couldn't get into it and never finished it. I'll update if I ever try again.
Really enjoyable read. I enjoyed the parallel stories in two different time periods. However, the myopic characters in Abi's story fell flat in comparison to the dynamic, nuanced characters in Elaine's. IPV is complex and multifaceted. I wish the author would have explored that with Abi's parallel story or focused more on her healing journey than her backstory.
2.5 stars rounded down. Pretty much all of Abi’s chapters felt unnecessary. It was odd to draw a comparison between domestic abuse and a world war? I realize how serious domestic abuse is but idk it still didn’t sit right to compare the resilience of going through that to the resilience of living through years of a literal war. Most of Abi’s chapters in the middle of the book were unnecessary too because all they were doing was talking about the meaning behind Elaine’s story, which felt too hand-hold-y to the reader. I didn’t need it spelled out how terrible Elaine must have had it and what certain metaphors meant. It also felt like Abi was just used as a way to justify telling this story in the first place with her arrival to Coulliac when the author could’ve just jumped right into Elaine’s life without any reasoning. Basically you could have removed all of Abi’s chapters and the book would have ended up with the same take home points and a better story.