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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Into the Wilderness left me very underwhelmed. It had all the elements of a story that I would typically like: romance, nature/wilderness, drama, etc. But, the writing was just off. Here is an example of a clunky passage (two characters are making out):
"He realized that she was trying to talk to him, and he came back to himself a little. His name. She was summoning him to her. He drew it from her mouth, swallowed it whole. Gave her back her own name, fed it to her with his tongue."
It brings imagery to mind of a mother bird regurgitating food for her babies, LOL. The writing literally varied per page--one paragraph would be great and the next paragraph would take you mentally out of the book. There was no losing oneself with this one. One of the main problems I had with the writing was the POV. You'd be reading Elizabeth's POV for pages and then suddenly it would be Nathaniel's, no break or warning. It was awkward to say the least.
Again regarding the writing, the characters just weren't believable and some of the situations they were presented with were downright silly. For instance, Nathaniel has to show Elizabeth how to drink from a stream. As a woman who is nearly thirty, one would think she could figure out how to hold her hair back for the task. But, not Elizabeth. The rugged Nathaniel has to show her. *eye roll* Speaking of Nathaniel and Elizabeth, I never felt their chemistry. They just weren't believable as a couple for me and I found his moniker for her of "Boots" as forced and annoying.
Finally, I have to comment on the inclusion of references to Outlander characters. Going into the book I thought that it could be fun, especially as I knew Diana Gabaldon had had some influence on Donati's writing (as Donati herself acknowledges in her Notes). Instead, the references felt gimmicky and, once again, forced. On the surface, Donati's writing seems as though it could be comparable to Gabaldon's, but, in actuality, it didn't even come close for me. JMHO. As all my friends on GR know, I'm a huge DG fan.
For all my gripes, the book wasn't terrible and there was enough drama to make me curious as to the ending. Still, it was only 'ok' for me (2 stars). I think I went into this book expecting too much.
"He realized that she was trying to talk to him, and he came back to himself a little. His name. She was summoning him to her. He drew it from her mouth, swallowed it whole. Gave her back her own name, fed it to her with his tongue."
It brings imagery to mind of a mother bird regurgitating food for her babies, LOL. The writing literally varied per page--one paragraph would be great and the next paragraph would take you mentally out of the book. There was no losing oneself with this one. One of the main problems I had with the writing was the POV. You'd be reading Elizabeth's POV for pages and then suddenly it would be Nathaniel's, no break or warning. It was awkward to say the least.
Again regarding the writing, the characters just weren't believable and some of the situations they were presented with were downright silly. For instance, Nathaniel has to show Elizabeth how to drink from a stream. As a woman who is nearly thirty, one would think she could figure out how to hold her hair back for the task. But, not Elizabeth. The rugged Nathaniel has to show her. *eye roll* Speaking of Nathaniel and Elizabeth, I never felt their chemistry. They just weren't believable as a couple for me and I found his moniker for her of "Boots" as forced and annoying.
Finally, I have to comment on the inclusion of references to Outlander characters. Going into the book I thought that it could be fun, especially as I knew Diana Gabaldon had had some influence on Donati's writing (as Donati herself acknowledges in her Notes). Instead, the references felt gimmicky and, once again, forced. On the surface, Donati's writing seems as though it could be comparable to Gabaldon's, but, in actuality, it didn't even come close for me. JMHO. As all my friends on GR know, I'm a huge DG fan.
For all my gripes, the book wasn't terrible and there was enough drama to make me curious as to the ending. Still, it was only 'ok' for me (2 stars). I think I went into this book expecting too much.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had to return it to the library and the wait time to check it out again was so long that by the time I got it again I didn't remember what happened.
5 STARS
"Elizabeth Middleton leaves a comfortable life in the upper-class England of 1792 to join her father in his colonial mission in a remote American outpost. It is not long, however, before Elizabeth realises that her father has brought her to America under false pretences." (From Amazon)
Elizabeth and Nathaniel are just as lovely as Claire and Jamie. I love this novel all the characters are great! My guilty pleasure read.
"Elizabeth Middleton leaves a comfortable life in the upper-class England of 1792 to join her father in his colonial mission in a remote American outpost. It is not long, however, before Elizabeth realises that her father has brought her to America under false pretences." (From Amazon)
Elizabeth and Nathaniel are just as lovely as Claire and Jamie. I love this novel all the characters are great! My guilty pleasure read.
While I didn't like the fan-fiction aspects of this book, and the first 1/4 of the book was a little dry, this one captivated me and I finished it pretty quickly for such a long book. I also found Elizabeth to be a little unbelievable with her modern liberal ideology (I know this author was inspired by Outlander, but if your character isn't time traveling from the 60's, they shouldn't be a hippie!). Other than that, I found the story to move quickly and it was a fun, entertaining read. I am surprised to say I will be picking up the next book in the series at some point.
This book became one of my absolute favorites. I read the entire series as fast as I possibly could. Now, several years later, I still go and check and see if there are any more updates about these amazing characters. LOVE IT!
I don't know know what to say at this point...yet another a long, delightful historical fiction series that *should* be everything that I adore ruined by the "spicy" scenes - Outlander 2.0 - ick.
This truly a situation that I wish I had better skill with language to articulate the difference between spicy scenes that I can tolerate (and even occasionally like!) and those that just 100% hit the "disgust" button in my brain. It's like biting into eggshells in scrambled eggs - 0 to 60 disgust in microseconds, and nothing can salvage it.
...and here's the worst bit, it was one of my favorite narrators - Kate Reading - even she could not salvage it for me.
This truly a situation that I wish I had better skill with language to articulate the difference between spicy scenes that I can tolerate (and even occasionally like!) and those that just 100% hit the "disgust" button in my brain. It's like biting into eggshells in scrambled eggs - 0 to 60 disgust in microseconds, and nothing can salvage it.
...and here's the worst bit, it was one of my favorite narrators - Kate Reading - even she could not salvage it for me.
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes