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aaron_username's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.25
calcitestar's review against another edition
4.0
A great book. Good for a holiday or to knit and listen to. A little bit of family history. A little bit about the arts. A little bit of the supernatural. A little bit of family life. A little bit of pain and a whole lot of joy.
the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
This is a new author for me and I was pleasantly surprised! This is a well written, sweet and thoroughly enjoyable Summer read!!
dilldaise's review against another edition
1.0
It's just me. . . . I do not like English authors. One chapter in and blah. .
rhodaj's review against another edition
3.0
Kate and Simon are bringing their young children up in London and are extremely stressed trying to keep all the balls in the air and make the decision to move to the Suffolk countryside with Simon’s mother and leave the bustling city life behind, while they find a house of their own.
Out on a walk one evening, Kate stumbles across a house that she realizes she has already had dreams about. She befriends Agnes, the elderly lady that lives in the house and discovers that they have more in common than she ever anticipated.
This book started off really well for me. I was invested in the move to the countryside and village life and enjoyed Agnes’ story of her life and the lovely old Seddington House. However it all started to unravel for me about halfway through.
Firstly, there were a number of very unlikely coincidences that just made it all very far-fetched. A few I could live with, but too many, and particularly the last one in the book was almost ridiculous to me.
Secondly, I was really put off and annoyed by the romance in this book which was both unnecessary and untimely in my opinion. I really hate when an author feels the need to insert a token romance (I’m the first to admit I’m not a romantic though
Out on a walk one evening, Kate stumbles across a house that she realizes she has already had dreams about. She befriends Agnes, the elderly lady that lives in the house and discovers that they have more in common than she ever anticipated.
This book started off really well for me. I was invested in the move to the countryside and village life and enjoyed Agnes’ story of her life and the lovely old Seddington House. However it all started to unravel for me about halfway through.
Firstly, there were a number of very unlikely coincidences that just made it all very far-fetched. A few I could live with, but too many, and particularly the last one in the book was almost ridiculous to me.
Secondly, I was really put off and annoyed by the romance in this book which was both unnecessary and untimely in my opinion. I really hate when an author feels the need to insert a token romance (I’m the first to admit I’m not a romantic though
thesassybookworm's review
4.0
This is a new author for me and I was pleasantly surprised! This is a well written, sweet and thoroughly enjoyable Summer read!!
lillyalaine36's review
5.0
This was my first book by author Rachel Hore. The beauty of the cover art enticed me as it promised hidden delights within and it didn't disappoint.
This is Kate's story, as she and her husband Simon move out of city for family life in the country. Kate stumbles across and old house and forging a bond with it's elderly owner Agnes finds that they may be linked more than they could have every thought possible. And what of Agnes's family home, why does Kate feel she's been there before and why does it feel like home.
This book is beautifully written, it gives up it's story little by little. Building throughout to a nice, but perhaps transparent, conclusion. The author takes the tale of Kate for the main part and mixes it with flashbacks to the life of Agnes in her youth.
For me personally the flashbacks were evocative and a lovely part of the book and could have been used a little more. I could have read about Agnes all day and her family with their mix of relationships. The story instead stays mainly with Kate and the struggles she finds adapting to her new life and the ultimate devastation it bring.
This book was one I struggled to put down. I wanted to keep going and uncovering more of Agnes's story and finding out her secrets. This made it a hugely enjoyable and interesting read. Highly recommended and Hore is an author I will now look forward to reading more of. She reminds me a lot of Kate Morton and that is high praise indeed.
This is Kate's story, as she and her husband Simon move out of city for family life in the country. Kate stumbles across and old house and forging a bond with it's elderly owner Agnes finds that they may be linked more than they could have every thought possible. And what of Agnes's family home, why does Kate feel she's been there before and why does it feel like home.
This book is beautifully written, it gives up it's story little by little. Building throughout to a nice, but perhaps transparent, conclusion. The author takes the tale of Kate for the main part and mixes it with flashbacks to the life of Agnes in her youth.
For me personally the flashbacks were evocative and a lovely part of the book and could have been used a little more. I could have read about Agnes all day and her family with their mix of relationships. The story instead stays mainly with Kate and the struggles she finds adapting to her new life and the ultimate devastation it bring.
This book was one I struggled to put down. I wanted to keep going and uncovering more of Agnes's story and finding out her secrets. This made it a hugely enjoyable and interesting read. Highly recommended and Hore is an author I will now look forward to reading more of. She reminds me a lot of Kate Morton and that is high praise indeed.
pixieauthoress's review
5.0
I'm a fan of historical novels and family-sagas so this book was right up my street. I was a bit cautious when starting this novel as it was a gift from my mum and I've sometimes found some of her favourite books to be a bit flat and predictable. Thankfully, this book exceeded my expectations as I really found myself connecting with the protagonist and was completely immersed in the story.
Kate is eight years into her marriage to Simon when they decide to move to the country to rekindle their love and reconnect with their children. While Kate leaves her high-flying publishing job to become a stay-at-home mum, her husband commutes to London during the week. Eventually they begin to see less and less of each other, and although Kate and the kids are settled in Suffolk, making friends with their neighbours and creating a new life for themselves, Kate and Simon's marriage still seems to be on the rocks. I think that any woman would sympathise with Kate's situation, and it even made me - a nineteen year old, unmarried university student - realise how difficult "commuter marriages" are. Her life also struck a chord with me as I'd love to work in publishing, but know that ultimately, I'd want to stay at home when I have children. My long term boyfriend is also called Simon...spooky!
While exploring her new home area with her children, Kate discovers a beautiful old house - one that she thinks she's dreamed about - which belongs to a long lost relative. Whilst dealing with her new life and the difficulties with her husband, Kate also discovers a long-ago unsolved mystery surrounding her new-found Aunt Agnes that she is determined to solve. Here, the "narrative within a narrative" style of writing takes off as Kate discovers secrets about her Aunt Agnes, and her own family, in her old diaries. This style will be familiar to fans of Kate Morton's [b:The House at Riverton|1278752|The House at Riverton|Kate Morton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182455437s/1278752.jpg|1267740] or [b:The Forgotten Garden|3407877|The Forgotten Garden|Kate Morton|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51k8YmcsgDL._SL75_.jpg|3448086], although this novel isn't so evenly split between the modern and past narratives. It was fascinating to dip into the 1920s and experience life through the eyes of Agnes. Although I didn't become so connected to her as I did to Kate, it was exciting to uncover the mysteries surrounding her and her family.
I'll admit that it did take me a while to get into the story, but in the end I really cared about the characters and wanted them to achieve happiness in their lives. This is a book with happy endings all round, so if you're looking for a serious novel with absolutely nothing predictable then this might not be for you. But if you like a splash of romance, a dabble of mystery and good dash of historical detail and family problems then I'd recommend this author. 9/10
Kate is eight years into her marriage to Simon when they decide to move to the country to rekindle their love and reconnect with their children. While Kate leaves her high-flying publishing job to become a stay-at-home mum, her husband commutes to London during the week. Eventually they begin to see less and less of each other, and although Kate and the kids are settled in Suffolk, making friends with their neighbours and creating a new life for themselves, Kate and Simon's marriage still seems to be on the rocks. I think that any woman would sympathise with Kate's situation, and it even made me - a nineteen year old, unmarried university student - realise how difficult "commuter marriages" are. Her life also struck a chord with me as I'd love to work in publishing, but know that ultimately, I'd want to stay at home when I have children. My long term boyfriend is also called Simon...spooky!
While exploring her new home area with her children, Kate discovers a beautiful old house - one that she thinks she's dreamed about - which belongs to a long lost relative. Whilst dealing with her new life and the difficulties with her husband, Kate also discovers a long-ago unsolved mystery surrounding her new-found Aunt Agnes that she is determined to solve. Here, the "narrative within a narrative" style of writing takes off as Kate discovers secrets about her Aunt Agnes, and her own family, in her old diaries. This style will be familiar to fans of Kate Morton's [b:The House at Riverton|1278752|The House at Riverton|Kate Morton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182455437s/1278752.jpg|1267740] or [b:The Forgotten Garden|3407877|The Forgotten Garden|Kate Morton|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51k8YmcsgDL._SL75_.jpg|3448086], although this novel isn't so evenly split between the modern and past narratives. It was fascinating to dip into the 1920s and experience life through the eyes of Agnes. Although I didn't become so connected to her as I did to Kate, it was exciting to uncover the mysteries surrounding her and her family.
I'll admit that it did take me a while to get into the story, but in the end I really cared about the characters and wanted them to achieve happiness in their lives. This is a book with happy endings all round, so if you're looking for a serious novel with absolutely nothing predictable then this might not be for you. But if you like a splash of romance, a dabble of mystery and good dash of historical detail and family problems then I'd recommend this author. 9/10
numberstitcher's review
1.0
Hmm, I read the first 20 odd pages - I don't like the main character! She's a bit too middle class for my liking. My husband told me off for wasting time reading stuff I didn't like, but just went through some reviews on here, so maybe i'll give it another 30 pages...
Right well, it took me just about 6 months to get back into this book. Picked it up around May 2012 in vain hope of finishing to take back to Lynda (my mother-in-law) in the UK. But, only finished it on the day we got BACK from the UK! Anyhoo, passed it onto Lynda when she visited in July.
About the book: Far too obvious with the characters and the plot. Middle class woman, struggling in London with life/work balance, move out to the country, marriage ends, find your "dream house", find new love interest, live happily ever after. The moment Dan got on the page, I knew he was going to be the "man", Dan the Man!
Anyway, read it, and I'm now thinking I am not going to buy books with interesting looking covers any more. Granted I'm not very choosy in my reading, but this was not time well spent.
Right well, it took me just about 6 months to get back into this book. Picked it up around May 2012 in vain hope of finishing to take back to Lynda (my mother-in-law) in the UK. But, only finished it on the day we got BACK from the UK! Anyhoo, passed it onto Lynda when she visited in July.
About the book: Far too obvious with the characters and the plot. Middle class woman, struggling in London with life/work balance, move out to the country, marriage ends, find your "dream house", find new love interest, live happily ever after. The moment Dan got on the page, I knew he was going to be the "man", Dan the Man!
Anyway, read it, and I'm now thinking I am not going to buy books with interesting looking covers any more. Granted I'm not very choosy in my reading, but this was not time well spent.