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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
Lou lives in a small village, where she dreams of being a writer and something exciting finally happening. With her sister Alice recently married, Lou wonders where she fits in life. Then her neighbouring house receives guests for the summers: a dazzling brother and sister that sweep Lou into a life of glamour, parties and friendship.
I haven't read The Great Gatsby (I think the book is loosely based on it?) so unfortunately that element of the book was lost on me. I don't think it was necessary, however, as I still enjoyed the story. The author certainly has a way with words; the language was beautiful and enchanting. Unfortunately, the plot was just very slow. Not much actually happens until the last hundred pages.
Having read the author's other book, Under a Dancing Star, I noticed a lot of similarities between the two, especially in terms of themes. Girl discovers new, enchanting place with new, dazzling people and a love interest. I think I preferred this main character from this book, however, for Lou seemed more realistic. She struggles with living in her sister's shadow and when her sister gets married, Lou is left wondering if she will have to follow in Alice's footsteps and how she can be herself without Alice beside her every step of the way. Her discovery of the Cardew house and its new owners save her from making these decisions, as she is swept up in friendship, parties and glitter, if only for the summer.
The Cardew brother and sister, Robert and Caitlin, were nice characters. I enjoyed their relationships with Lou. Caitlin was your typical rich, beautiful girl who hides her tragic past under a disguise of glamour. Robert and Lou are at first a bickering pair who then develop a deeper connection.
I just wish the plot had been more action-packed, for during the start and middle it lagged, making this a slow read for me. The ending picked up, however, and overall this was still an enjoyable read.
Lou lives in a small village, where she dreams of being a writer and something exciting finally happening. With her sister Alice recently married, Lou wonders where she fits in life. Then her neighbouring house receives guests for the summers: a dazzling brother and sister that sweep Lou into a life of glamour, parties and friendship.
I haven't read The Great Gatsby (I think the book is loosely based on it?) so unfortunately that element of the book was lost on me. I don't think it was necessary, however, as I still enjoyed the story. The author certainly has a way with words; the language was beautiful and enchanting. Unfortunately, the plot was just very slow. Not much actually happens until the last hundred pages.
Having read the author's other book, Under a Dancing Star, I noticed a lot of similarities between the two, especially in terms of themes. Girl discovers new, enchanting place with new, dazzling people and a love interest. I think I preferred this main character from this book, however, for Lou seemed more realistic. She struggles with living in her sister's shadow and when her sister gets married, Lou is left wondering if she will have to follow in Alice's footsteps and how she can be herself without Alice beside her every step of the way. Her discovery of the Cardew house and its new owners save her from making these decisions, as she is swept up in friendship, parties and glitter, if only for the summer.
The Cardew brother and sister, Robert and Caitlin, were nice characters. I enjoyed their relationships with Lou. Caitlin was your typical rich, beautiful girl who hides her tragic past under a disguise of glamour. Robert and Lou are at first a bickering pair who then develop a deeper connection.
I just wish the plot had been more action-packed, for during the start and middle it lagged, making this a slow read for me. The ending picked up, however, and overall this was still an enjoyable read.
I adored this! I read Laura Wood's other book thanks to it's relation to Much Ado About Nothing and liked it a lot so thought I would try her other book and I fell hard for it. I loved the characters, the storyline, the setting, everything was just perfect. Very much a welcome surprise to this reader.
A perfect atmospheric book! It really captures the luxury of this gatsby style family. The romance was fantastic. I loved the screwball nature of the couple.
Well this was a fun, light read. Definite Great Gatsby vibes but a much more enjoyable read.
I’ll be honest and say I only bought this book because it had a really nice cover, but it ended up being a sweet and summery book. It’s quite a light read with good writing and explored some interesting themes, and Lou was a really likeable protagonist. There’s also LGBTQ representation which isn’t very common in historical fiction. as for the characters, I liked Lou and Caitlin, although Lou's sister annoyed me a bit. The best bit about this book was definitely the writing - it captures the dreamy and glamorous atmosphere really well.
It got better and better.
“it is my experience that you can be sad anywhere” - that by itself is sad, but true!
Loved the growth in the characters!
“it is my experience that you can be sad anywhere” - that by itself is sad, but true!
Loved the growth in the characters!
The love interest gives the main character the newest Agatha Christie novel (mind you that this is set in the 20s) and the main character was dying to read it! I don’t think you need any other incentive to pick this up!
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I had seen quite a lot of BookTubers talk about this book prior to its release, and the one thing that really captured my attention about this book was the cover. It has such beautiful gold foiling that shines and it's just gorgeous. The only problem for me was that I went into this book with low expectations. I don't really read a lot of historical fiction because of the connotations that are attached the genre (boring, long-winded...), but I think it's safe to say that I was positively surprised.
Growing up in her sleepy Cornish village dreaming of being a writer, sixteen-year-old Lou has always wondered about the grand Cardew house which has stood empty for years. And when the owners arrive for the summer - a handsome, dashing brother and sister - Lou is quite swept off her feet and into a world of moonlit cocktail parties and glamour beyond her wildest dreams.
But, as she grows closer to the Cardews, is she abandoning her own ambitions... And is there something darker lurking at the heart of the Cardew family?
As aforementioned, I went into this book thinking that I wasn't going to enjoy it. Historical fiction isn't my cup of tea, but since I had heard so many people saying good things about it, I decided that I would take the chance and read it. I was actually lucky enough to be sent an unsolicited copy from Scholastic, so thank you so much to them for sending me a copy to review.
The premise of this book is pretty straightforward: a farm girl meets a bunch of upper-class people and ends up partying her summer away with them whilst also getting to know them for who they really are. And yes, it was straightforward, but it was so bloody entertaining. I read pretty much the whole book with a goofy smile on my face because I loved the characters and their relationships with each other, I loved the romance, I loved the banter, I loved the friendships... Everything about the characters was so well done. A Sky Painted Gold is written in the 1st person from Lou's perspective as she navigates her way through young adult life. Just as a side note, Lou has her 18th birthday at the end, and it made me feel so old... I wish I was still 18... Oh well.
I loved seeing the different family dynamics in this book as well. We see the family dynamic of Lou with her parents and her brothers and sisters (I loved her relationship with Alice), and then we also see the dynamic with the Cardew family and how their family is wrapped in secrets, but on the other hand, Lou's family is so open about everything.
I knew from the very first moment that Lou had a conversation with Robert that I would ship them. The banter between the two of them was amazing, and I thought that they had so much chemistry! Alas, he was already taken *sobs*. But still, every time they were together, they completely stole the show and took over the whole novel with their friendship, and I loved reading about it. The thing with Robert is that he is portrayed as an upper-class snob in all of the tabloids, but when Lou meets him, she realises how much pressure he is under to keep the family together, took look after his sister, and she realises that he's actually a genuine, down-to-Earth guy who just wants to live his life. I think I may have fallen in love with him myself... Oops.
One of the other things that I absolutely loved about this book was the female friendships. Caitlin and Lou were such amazing friends, and even though Caitlin was hiding a lot about her self from Lou, they were both still there for each other throughout the good and the bad. Outside of their friendship were other women such as Laurie and Elodie who would also be there for the other girls. There was no name-calling, not bitching... Just honest, and positive female friendships which YA definitely needs more of.
Overall, this was such an enjoyable book, and I'm really glad that I took upon Scholastics offer to read it. It DID take me a quite a while to read (I started reading it in July, and finished it beginning of August), but that's just because I have had so much life stuff going on that I've hardly had the time to read or DO anything! For more information on this, read my July wrap up, and also my August wrap up.
But ANYWAY, I thoroughly urge everyone to read this book if you are looking for a cute, quick contemporary read, that also discusses the darker themes of death in the family and the racism of the 1920's. What a beautiful, beautiful book...
Trigger warnings: suicide, death in the family, racism, the use of the word 'gipsy' as a slur, alcoholism
Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Growing up in her sleepy Cornish village dreaming of being a writer, sixteen-year-old Lou has always wondered about the grand Cardew house which has stood empty for years. And when the owners arrive for the summer - a handsome, dashing brother and sister - Lou is quite swept off her feet and into a world of moonlit cocktail parties and glamour beyond her wildest dreams.
But, as she grows closer to the Cardews, is she abandoning her own ambitions... And is there something darker lurking at the heart of the Cardew family?
As aforementioned, I went into this book thinking that I wasn't going to enjoy it. Historical fiction isn't my cup of tea, but since I had heard so many people saying good things about it, I decided that I would take the chance and read it. I was actually lucky enough to be sent an unsolicited copy from Scholastic, so thank you so much to them for sending me a copy to review.
“I found the Cardew House, a house full of shadows, and I knew, with a huge sense of relief, that I belonged there.”
- Laura Wood, A Sky Painted Gold
The premise of this book is pretty straightforward: a farm girl meets a bunch of upper-class people and ends up partying her summer away with them whilst also getting to know them for who they really are. And yes, it was straightforward, but it was so bloody entertaining. I read pretty much the whole book with a goofy smile on my face because I loved the characters and their relationships with each other, I loved the romance, I loved the banter, I loved the friendships... Everything about the characters was so well done. A Sky Painted Gold is written in the 1st person from Lou's perspective as she navigates her way through young adult life. Just as a side note, Lou has her 18th birthday at the end, and it made me feel so old... I wish I was still 18... Oh well.
I loved seeing the different family dynamics in this book as well. We see the family dynamic of Lou with her parents and her brothers and sisters (I loved her relationship with Alice), and then we also see the dynamic with the Cardew family and how their family is wrapped in secrets, but on the other hand, Lou's family is so open about everything.
"Candles in glass jars dot the lawn and hang from the trees, flaming torches have been dug into the ground, and a hazy, romantic glow hovers over the scene in front of me."
- Laura Wood, A Sky Painted Gold
I knew from the very first moment that Lou had a conversation with Robert that I would ship them. The banter between the two of them was amazing, and I thought that they had so much chemistry! Alas, he was already taken *sobs*. But still, every time they were together, they completely stole the show and took over the whole novel with their friendship, and I loved reading about it. The thing with Robert is that he is portrayed as an upper-class snob in all of the tabloids, but when Lou meets him, she realises how much pressure he is under to keep the family together, took look after his sister, and she realises that he's actually a genuine, down-to-Earth guy who just wants to live his life. I think I may have fallen in love with him myself... Oops.
One of the other things that I absolutely loved about this book was the female friendships. Caitlin and Lou were such amazing friends, and even though Caitlin was hiding a lot about her self from Lou, they were both still there for each other throughout the good and the bad. Outside of their friendship were other women such as Laurie and Elodie who would also be there for the other girls. There was no name-calling, not bitching... Just honest, and positive female friendships which YA definitely needs more of.
"There are dozens of people gathered on the lawn. Moonlight strikes the rippling water beyond, and the sky is simply bursting with stars, like great handfuls of silver sequins scattered on a swathe of black silk."
- Laura Wood, A Sky Painted Gold
Overall, this was such an enjoyable book, and I'm really glad that I took upon Scholastics offer to read it. It DID take me a quite a while to read (I started reading it in July, and finished it beginning of August), but that's just because I have had so much life stuff going on that I've hardly had the time to read or DO anything! For more information on this, read my July wrap up, and also my August wrap up.
But ANYWAY, I thoroughly urge everyone to read this book if you are looking for a cute, quick contemporary read, that also discusses the darker themes of death in the family and the racism of the 1920's. What a beautiful, beautiful book...
Trigger warnings: suicide, death in the family, racism, the use of the word 'gipsy' as a slur, alcoholism
Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I received a proof copy at the Northern YA Lit Fest in exchange for an honest review.
I think this was my favourite June read. I was so lost in the world Wood created and completely swept away right alongside the protagonist Lou, into this Gatsby-esque, high society world. The Cornish setting was a great bonus and gave me And Then There Were None vibes (which is like totally wrong because this isn’t a murder mystery, though Lou is obsessed with Agatha Christie). I’m actually still in the *heart eyes* faze where it’s difficult to articulate my feelings for this book but I’ll do my best.
Lou is from an ordinary Cornish family, expected to grow up, get married and never leave her village, until she is thrown into the world of the infamous socialites, the Cardews, whose summer home is located on an island just over the causeway from her home. From there she is thrown into a whirlwind, rural summer in the roaring 20s, full of love, family, friendship, and jazz. I fell in love with so many of these characters and I just want everyone to read this and fall as deeply in love with them as I am.
The story is addictive, woven beautifully and honestly, I loved every second and would re-read it immediately if I hadn’t loaned it to Ellie.
I think this was my favourite June read. I was so lost in the world Wood created and completely swept away right alongside the protagonist Lou, into this Gatsby-esque, high society world. The Cornish setting was a great bonus and gave me And Then There Were None vibes (which is like totally wrong because this isn’t a murder mystery, though Lou is obsessed with Agatha Christie). I’m actually still in the *heart eyes* faze where it’s difficult to articulate my feelings for this book but I’ll do my best.
“I found the Cardew House, a house full of shadows, and I knew, with a huge sense of relief, that I belonged there.”
Lou is from an ordinary Cornish family, expected to grow up, get married and never leave her village, until she is thrown into the world of the infamous socialites, the Cardews, whose summer home is located on an island just over the causeway from her home. From there she is thrown into a whirlwind, rural summer in the roaring 20s, full of love, family, friendship, and jazz. I fell in love with so many of these characters and I just want everyone to read this and fall as deeply in love with them as I am.
The story is addictive, woven beautifully and honestly, I loved every second and would re-read it immediately if I hadn’t loaned it to Ellie.