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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I can’t even write a proper review for this. It was painfully beautiful and easily has become one of my favorites. It wasn’t what I expected but it was what I needed. Please read this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book!
Summary: When Josie de Clare moves into Cadawallader to tie up loose ends after her father's death, she discovers a stack of letters written to a Josephine de Clare by a young man named Elias Roch. She soon finds a novel written by same depicting a love story that makes Josie question what is reality and what she knows about love.
Where do I start? First, the structure of this novel is irritating. Josie's story is told soley through emails and texts, making her character nothing more than a cardboard cutout of a person. Anything we learn about her is all second hand information. She's not even a narrator in any real sense. Likewise, all other characters are even less substantial than she is, because they're just names she writes to. At best, it's supremely weak storytelling and characterization. Added to that, the emails and texts and just mindlessly shoved into narration about Elias' letters and novel in such a way that it completely ruins the flow of the book.
Second, Elias is problematic. He is (I guess?) a main character of the book, He falls instantly madly in love with Josephine after ONE brief meeting. That's it. Once, and he's done. They never share another single interaction and yet he pines for her. It's preposterous. Added to this? He lives in the 1820s and Josie only knows him through these letters and his novel, but SHE falls in love with HIM, convinced he's somehow writing to her! Granted, at least there is an interaction here that is ongoing, but again, it's one sided. Then there's Oliver, Josie's friend, the third side of this weird love triangle. He falls for Josie, who is in love with Elias...you get the picture. It's just far too much for the reader to take in and navigate through.
Third: The entire aspect of if Elias is somehow writing to Josie of the future is never really explored or explained. Sure, at the end there's a blip of an explanation for part of it that I won't share because of spoilers, but otherwise, his letters are never explained. What could have made this novel truly interesting and complex was completely ignored in favor of some paltry, unfulfilling story. That is the thread I wish the author had worked on and explored.
Four: This. Book. Dragged. About halfway through I simply stopped caring. The story got stagnant and boring and by the end, it didn't even matter what happened.
All in all, I gave 2 stars simply because I finished it. Honestly, it's more like one and a half, because I feel as though I wasted my time reading it.
Summary: When Josie de Clare moves into Cadawallader to tie up loose ends after her father's death, she discovers a stack of letters written to a Josephine de Clare by a young man named Elias Roch. She soon finds a novel written by same depicting a love story that makes Josie question what is reality and what she knows about love.
Where do I start? First, the structure of this novel is irritating. Josie's story is told soley through emails and texts, making her character nothing more than a cardboard cutout of a person. Anything we learn about her is all second hand information. She's not even a narrator in any real sense. Likewise, all other characters are even less substantial than she is, because they're just names she writes to. At best, it's supremely weak storytelling and characterization. Added to that, the emails and texts and just mindlessly shoved into narration about Elias' letters and novel in such a way that it completely ruins the flow of the book.
Second, Elias is problematic. He is (I guess?) a main character of the book, He falls instantly madly in love with Josephine after ONE brief meeting. That's it. Once, and he's done. They never share another single interaction and yet he pines for her. It's preposterous. Added to this? He lives in the 1820s and Josie only knows him through these letters and his novel, but SHE falls in love with HIM, convinced he's somehow writing to her! Granted, at least there is an interaction here that is ongoing, but again, it's one sided. Then there's Oliver, Josie's friend, the third side of this weird love triangle. He falls for Josie, who is in love with Elias...you get the picture. It's just far too much for the reader to take in and navigate through.
Third: The entire aspect of if Elias is somehow writing to Josie of the future is never really explored or explained. Sure, at the end there's a blip of an explanation for part of it that I won't share because of spoilers, but otherwise, his letters are never explained. What could have made this novel truly interesting and complex was completely ignored in favor of some paltry, unfulfilling story. That is the thread I wish the author had worked on and explored.
Four: This. Book. Dragged. About halfway through I simply stopped caring. The story got stagnant and boring and by the end, it didn't even matter what happened.
All in all, I gave 2 stars simply because I finished it. Honestly, it's more like one and a half, because I feel as though I wasted my time reading it.
Full review on my blog, Storied Adventures!
This was such a sweet story! Told in a series of emails, letters, texts, and a found manuscript, makes this a really unique read! George's writing is beautiful and she manages to change from modern day language to 1800s! Very well done! I want to visit the English countryside more than ever now!
This was such a sweet story! Told in a series of emails, letters, texts, and a found manuscript, makes this a really unique read! George's writing is beautiful and she manages to change from modern day language to 1800s! Very well done! I want to visit the English countryside more than ever now!
DNF @ 5%
that letter sounded so anachronistic I couldn't bear to continue
that letter sounded so anachronistic I couldn't bear to continue
5 stars // read November 2021
Two hundred years ago, a man fell in love with someone, and that someone—or at least her twin—found his letters centuries later.
This book, guys.
I read it in one sitting, cried at several parts, and added it to my “Best Books of 2021” list at like a quarter of the way through.
It’s sappy and romantic, yet deep and meaningful at the same time. It’s a hybrid of historical fiction and contemporary, two of my least favorite genres, yet somehow smushed together it worked. (I was expecting more of a fantasy vibe- but more on that in the Spoilers.)
Love teaches us how to live with, and loss forces us to live without.
This book is about love, grief, and change.
Sorrow is a sharable weight but a solo process.
If you’ve dealt with the loss of a loved one recently, this book might be hard to get through, or it could be healing. Josie’s dad passed away from cancer, which struck a little too close to home for me.
She endeavoured to reflect light when the world cloaked her in darkness.
“Dearest Josephine” tackles some hard topics, but hope is threaded throughout.
Other thoughts:
- “Really, I consider my library the pinnacle of social interaction.” Elias, you are too relatable.
-I’ve never read a book in this format before- a combination of letters, emails, texts, and a novel written by one of the characters. It delivered the story in a unique way that a traditional format probably wouldn’t have accomplished. (I especially loved the bits where it felt like you were reading the novel alongside Oliver and Josie- that was neat.) Since I was reading it on Kindle, some of the texts seemed to cut in abruptly and I’m not sure if that’s the way it’s supposed to be or not.
-Initially, I was devastated by the ending. I took it for granted that
Two hundred years ago, a man fell in love with someone, and that someone—or at least her twin—found his letters centuries later.
This book, guys.
I read it in one sitting, cried at several parts, and added it to my “Best Books of 2021” list at like a quarter of the way through.
It’s sappy and romantic, yet deep and meaningful at the same time. It’s a hybrid of historical fiction and contemporary, two of my least favorite genres, yet somehow smushed together it worked. (I was expecting more of a fantasy vibe- but more on that in the Spoilers.)
Love teaches us how to live with, and loss forces us to live without.
This book is about love, grief, and change.
Sorrow is a sharable weight but a solo process.
If you’ve dealt with the loss of a loved one recently, this book might be hard to get through, or it could be healing. Josie’s dad passed away from cancer, which struck a little too close to home for me.
She endeavoured to reflect light when the world cloaked her in darkness.
“Dearest Josephine” tackles some hard topics, but hope is threaded throughout.
Other thoughts:
- “Really, I consider my library the pinnacle of social interaction.” Elias, you are too relatable.
-I’ve never read a book in this format before- a combination of letters, emails, texts, and a novel written by one of the characters. It delivered the story in a unique way that a traditional format probably wouldn’t have accomplished. (I especially loved the bits where it felt like you were reading the novel alongside Oliver and Josie- that was neat.) Since I was reading it on Kindle, some of the texts seemed to cut in abruptly and I’m not sure if that’s the way it’s supposed to be or not.
-Initially, I was devastated by the ending. I took it for granted that
Spoiler
Josie and Elias Roch would end up together, and I kept waiting for some time-travel thing to show up, and… nope. So it’s kind of bittersweet, yet… Oliver took a lot of effort finishing the novel for Josie, and Lorelai took care of Elias when he was sick. So I can’t be mad at the way it ended. I just expected time travel to show up at some point and it never did.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Such a lovely book about looking around us to see what is good in the world and finding love in unexpected places. I liked how this book was written mainly via correspondence and how all the stories interweaved.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Best book of all time ❤️
I really really wanted to love this book because the author, Caroline George, graduated from Belmont, where I am also studying creative writing. However, I’ve never been a huge history buff or a fan of books composed of letters, so this definitely wasn’t my cup of tea. It was well written, but I got bored which made the book hard to finish.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
7th & up