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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
This is the story of two different women, Amber in the late 1960s and Lorna in the present day. Amber spends her idyllic holidays in Cornwall at Black Rabbit Hall with her three siblings and her parents. That is, until tragedy strikes, and her life is turned upside down. Lorna and her fiance are looking for a wedding venue when they visit Black Rabbit Hall. Lorna feels a strong connection with the place, but doesn't quite know why. What she eventually discovers will change everything she thought she knew about her past. The story alternates between Amber's and Lora's perspectives and time periods until the end when we find out how they are connected.
I loved Carlos Ruiz Zafón's "The Shadow of the Wind" and Diane Setterfield's "The Thirteenth Tale", and I love Kate Morton's books. I'm always on the lookout for similar books and I read "Black Rabbit Hall" hoping it would fit the bill. It did in many ways, although I felt like the suspense and drama that are present in the books I just mentioned weren't quite the same in this book. That said, this was still an excellent read and I had trouble putting it down.
I loved Carlos Ruiz Zafón's "The Shadow of the Wind" and Diane Setterfield's "The Thirteenth Tale", and I love Kate Morton's books. I'm always on the lookout for similar books and I read "Black Rabbit Hall" hoping it would fit the bill. It did in many ways, although I felt like the suspense and drama that are present in the books I just mentioned weren't quite the same in this book. That said, this was still an excellent read and I had trouble putting it down.
Books about crumbling English manor houses aren't usually a letdown for me, but this one was too long and couldn't be saved by its overly predictable mystery. The characters had a flair for the dramatic, particularly Lorna, and made choices that seemed unrealistic.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't endorse this as like, AMAAAAAAAAZING or anything, but it is the kind of page turner-y goodness I look for in a summer read.
The four stars are for the writing, the setting, the imaginating (yes I made that word up).
The plot? Meh. Not so much. Too predictable, contrived and gothic-romancey (that one too).
The plot? Meh. Not so much. Too predictable, contrived and gothic-romancey (that one too).
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one actually took me a while to get into -- I was not a fan of the switching POVs (from historical to more recent), as I found them rather jarring. I definitely preferred the historical chapters, as I usually do in these dual-timeline novels. Nevertheless, midway through the book I found myself becoming more invested in these characters' story. It took some twists and turns towards the end (arguably getting kind of melodramatic), but what I found particularly compelling about the story was Amber's voice, which just so perfectly captured a girl on the brink of coming-of-age. The topics of death and grief are a focal point in this book, and in particular, the impact of the mother's death at the beginning (it happens fairly early on, so not really a spoiler) on various characters is made markedly apparent.
While this novel doesn't read quite like a Kate Morton -- the writing style does not have the same depth of description or elegant turn of phrase -- I think those who enjoy Kate Morton's novels would also like this one. It wasn't what I was expecting initially, which was more of a Gothic thriller-type story, but in the end it won me over.
While this novel doesn't read quite like a Kate Morton -- the writing style does not have the same depth of description or elegant turn of phrase -- I think those who enjoy Kate Morton's novels would also like this one. It wasn't what I was expecting initially, which was more of a Gothic thriller-type story, but in the end it won me over.
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lorna is getting married to John and somehow decides that Black Rabbit Hall should be the venue. She has some vague childhood memories of having been there. She is drawn into the derelict mansion and its mysterious owner Catherine.
Intertwined in this story is that of the children of Black Rabbit Hall in the 60's: Amber, Toby, Kitty and Barney. This is told through Amber's perspective. Her mother dies and their father marries Catherine. She arrives with her teenaged son Lucian.
This intertwined present-and-past technique is one I am getting a little tired of for this type of book. However, it has its uses in driving the plot forward. Everything is quite predictable, although the author really stretches her artistic license to throw in some unexpected twists and not just the ones you see coming from the very start.
The book is saved by the last couple of chapters and the epilogue. There is something decidedly satisfying about a book that delivers the results you crave.
Intertwined in this story is that of the children of Black Rabbit Hall in the 60's: Amber, Toby, Kitty and Barney. This is told through Amber's perspective. Her mother dies and their father marries Catherine. She arrives with her teenaged son Lucian.
This intertwined present-and-past technique is one I am getting a little tired of for this type of book. However, it has its uses in driving the plot forward. Everything is quite predictable, although the author really stretches her artistic license to throw in some unexpected twists and not just the ones you see coming from the very start.
The book is saved by the last couple of chapters and the epilogue. There is something decidedly satisfying about a book that delivers the results you crave.