Reviews

Orphans of the Storm by Celia Imrie

sian_m's review against another edition

2.0

I really struggled to get into this book. I found the characters in the book a little annoying and the way they would all treat Marcella. I did not like her partner at all! Although, eventually after pushing through, I did manage to read all of the book. I like that it was based on true characters and events, that made it worth the push through for me. I read this for my book club and there are others who really enjoyed it, so I imagine that this book just wasn’t really for me.

hayleyanne226's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

sarahp85's review against another edition

3.0

I liked it but it was a tad slow and also... not enough titanic for me, as a titanic obsessed person hahahaha

The story itself is alright, absolutely loved the behind the scenes bit at the end

catrinageorgia's review against another edition

emotional tense 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

4.25

sezzysoo91's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

reviewsbyleyla's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

What a fantastic book! I was engrossed from the first page; it took a while to get to the titanic part, which was the reason I picked up the book in the first place, but actually the book was so engaging and interesting I didn’t mind that at all! I absolutely loved reading this journey of all the characters and seeing their relationships grow and change, and seeing how all the individual storylines would come together. The pacing was perfect, the story was developed beautifully with lots of depth, yet never dragged or felt rushed. A really fantastically written and researched book that I’ll definitely remember and pick up again in the future!

sarahay's review against another edition

adventurous informative lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I raced through this as I suspect so did Imrie, writing it as her lockdown-project. The prose is very simple, at times simplistic, but the drive of the book is such a magnificent real-life drama that I was totally swept up in it for days. And incredibly, it turns out to be completely authentic and assiduously researched.

I thought I’d left an obsession with the Titanic behind in primary school and was glad to find the story wasn’t entirely about it, really just an episode within the drama. I enjoyed the quite ordinary tale of a young Italian woman settling for a career in tailoring as much as I enjoyed the drama which then takes us from Nice to London and New York. But when the narrative eventually reached the Atlantic, my childhood obsession was stirred up all over again; it was fascinating to experience the perspective of the “lucky” ones and focus on those who were rescued from the wreckage.

Hats off to Fidelis Morgan, the “bloodhound” who co-wrote this story really, tracking down the nitty gritty of the real-life drama in the first place. She really deserves more credit up front, and I loved her afterword which explains how the pair were drawn to the story including some really crazy coincidences. It’s full of spoilers so something to look forward to at the end, but I would have enjoyed the experience of reading the book even more if there had been a hint of how very much it is rooted in reality.  It turns out that some of the most bizarre details, incidents and personalities were absolutely true: incredible!

I was prescribed this to cure my current (fiction) reading drought so am grateful to the customer at the library who suggested it. It was fun to carry an e-version of this story with me on my phone and I’ve spent the week looking forward to opportunities when I could pick it up for another immersive half hour: just what I needed!

jillian_roach's review against another edition

I intensely disliked the main character from the start, and feel the writing in this one just isn’t for me, best to move on. 

amy_j18's review

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kbrenn12's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.5