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2.94 AVERAGE
2.94 AVERAGE
I was really captivated by this book and thought the concept was quite unique, but the ending kind of ruined it for me. I'm not sure, however, how else it could have concluded.
I enjoyed the concept of this book from the get-go, but had difficulty getting into it. The beginning, especially was slow for me; I couldn't read more than 10 or 20 pages (if I was lucky) in one sitting and thought often of giving up and moving on to something else. I've always ascribed to the notion that you should give a book at least 75 pages before you give up on it; that was the point at which I thought it started getting interesting... At least enough to keep me reading, so I'm glad I stuck it out to see how the story ended.
More a 3.5.
I picked up this book because I thought it was on my list to read, but it was another book with Rose in the title. I liked the description though and decided I would check it out. I couldn't really relate to the middle aged, married, mother aspect of everything. And it started slow for me. But towards the end it picked up and I couldn't put it down.
It was written well and an interesting story. I didn't love it, but I thought it brought up some interesting ideas. The reason for the dream island wasn't a big reveal for me as I had realized that halfway through the book. I liked the third person perspective and how at times it shifted to her son Adam which worked in its favor.
I picked up this book because I thought it was on my list to read, but it was another book with Rose in the title. I liked the description though and decided I would check it out. I couldn't really relate to the middle aged, married, mother aspect of everything. And it started slow for me. But towards the end it picked up and I couldn't put it down.
It was written well and an interesting story. I didn't love it, but I thought it brought up some interesting ideas. The reason for the dream island wasn't a big reveal for me as I had realized that halfway through the book. I liked the third person perspective and how at times it shifted to her son Adam which worked in its favor.
When Rose was a little girl, a tragic biking accident left her in a coma, fighting for her life -- but this was the event that truly changed her life forever... or at least the parts that happened while she was asleep...
She remembers the dream vividly; not only because it was spectacular, but because it would be the same dream that she would revisit every single night, even throughout her adult life. It was just Rose and Hugo, the cute, sweet little boy who would be her guide every night on a magical island in which the duo had one goal -- to reach the mystical castle at the end of an eternally long path in order to free the victims who were awaiting their help.
Every single night, Rose and Hugo fought monsters, overcame obstacles, reconciled young emotions, and reached a tiny step further towards their ultimate goal. Hugo remained Rose's hero -- and the man of her dreams -- from childhood, throughout her perilous teenage years, and into her life as a wife and mother of two young boys.
And although Rose has told her husband and her children about Hugo... in enough detail that her children recreate the world from her dreams in order to play Hugo and Rose through their crayons and Lego maps, there is something that is intensely personal about Hugo that causes Rose to withdraw from her real life a little more each day. But, of course, Rose can maintain a working divide between her dreams and her reality, because (after all) nothing about Hugo or her feelings for him can ever be as real as the relationship that she has with her real life husband or her children....
....except, that is, for that one hectic day when Rose came face-to-face with Hugo, alive in the flesh, working the drive-thru at a small town restaurant where her kids have demanded to stop for kids' meals. He's older and balder and rounder than the Hugo in her dreams, but Rose is more positive than anything she's known in her life so far that this is truly her childhood hero, free from her dream world, living and breathing in a place that Rose would never expect.
But, that was just a dream, and there's no way that any of these fantasies could really become reality... right?
Soon Rose's life... her family ... her identity... and her sanity are all brought into question by a chance encounter with a man that she should have never had the chance to meet.
And suddenly, the lines between reality and fantasy become so blurred, stretched, and confused that Rose finds herself unable to find her place in a world that contains her husband, her children.... and.... her Hugo....
I had so much fun with Hugo and Rose, not only because the plot was so engaging and interesting, but also because the whole premise of dreams seeping into a reality left me curious about the direction the story could ultimately take as either an alluring fantasy story or a perplexing psychological drama. Is Rose having an identity crisis or a schizophrenic break? There were just so many possibilities that kept me wrapped up in the characters and their struggles, right up to the very last page.
And yes, there were times that the character of Rose was frustratingly selfish, unrelateable, and obnoxious... and it's undeniable that the character of Hugo tended to be ridiculously useless... and terrible... but, at least for me, the flaws of the characters worked to make their overlying struggles seem a little more relateable and realistic overall. And then the conclusion --which I definitely won't spoil -- felt a little silly to me at first, I could still appreciate the way that everything tied together and rounded out the story without really sacrificing my entertainment from start to finish.
While no story can be perfect, I really and truly did love reading Hugo & Rose and I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a story of domestic self-discovery with a bit of a backdrop of magical imagination.
She remembers the dream vividly; not only because it was spectacular, but because it would be the same dream that she would revisit every single night, even throughout her adult life. It was just Rose and Hugo, the cute, sweet little boy who would be her guide every night on a magical island in which the duo had one goal -- to reach the mystical castle at the end of an eternally long path in order to free the victims who were awaiting their help.
Every single night, Rose and Hugo fought monsters, overcame obstacles, reconciled young emotions, and reached a tiny step further towards their ultimate goal. Hugo remained Rose's hero -- and the man of her dreams -- from childhood, throughout her perilous teenage years, and into her life as a wife and mother of two young boys.
And although Rose has told her husband and her children about Hugo... in enough detail that her children recreate the world from her dreams in order to play Hugo and Rose through their crayons and Lego maps, there is something that is intensely personal about Hugo that causes Rose to withdraw from her real life a little more each day. But, of course, Rose can maintain a working divide between her dreams and her reality, because (after all) nothing about Hugo or her feelings for him can ever be as real as the relationship that she has with her real life husband or her children....
....except, that is, for that one hectic day when Rose came face-to-face with Hugo, alive in the flesh, working the drive-thru at a small town restaurant where her kids have demanded to stop for kids' meals. He's older and balder and rounder than the Hugo in her dreams, but Rose is more positive than anything she's known in her life so far that this is truly her childhood hero, free from her dream world, living and breathing in a place that Rose would never expect.
But, that was just a dream, and there's no way that any of these fantasies could really become reality... right?
Soon Rose's life... her family ... her identity... and her sanity are all brought into question by a chance encounter with a man that she should have never had the chance to meet.
And suddenly, the lines between reality and fantasy become so blurred, stretched, and confused that Rose finds herself unable to find her place in a world that contains her husband, her children.... and.... her Hugo....
I had so much fun with Hugo and Rose, not only because the plot was so engaging and interesting, but also because the whole premise of dreams seeping into a reality left me curious about the direction the story could ultimately take as either an alluring fantasy story or a perplexing psychological drama. Is Rose having an identity crisis or a schizophrenic break? There were just so many possibilities that kept me wrapped up in the characters and their struggles, right up to the very last page.
And yes, there were times that the character of Rose was frustratingly selfish, unrelateable, and obnoxious... and it's undeniable that the character of Hugo tended to be ridiculously useless... and terrible... but, at least for me, the flaws of the characters worked to make their overlying struggles seem a little more relateable and realistic overall. And then the conclusion --which I definitely won't spoil -- felt a little silly to me at first, I could still appreciate the way that everything tied together and rounded out the story without really sacrificing my entertainment from start to finish.
While no story can be perfect, I really and truly did love reading Hugo & Rose and I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a story of domestic self-discovery with a bit of a backdrop of magical imagination.
I won this on goodreads giveaway.
Rose has been dreaming of an island with pink sand going on adventures with Hugo to reach the Crystal City since she was a child. Now Rose is married with 3 children but she seems like she is missing something in her life. The thrill like she has every night with Hugo then one day she actually runs into the man in her dreams...
The premise of this novel is very intriguing. The writing was well done and fast paced. I didn't get bored with the book and I didn't even dread to pick it up again to read.
Rose irritated me a bit on how she treats her family. Her only concern at times was Hugo. The character Hugo was just creepy. (Rose had the creep factor too in a part of the book) I didn't really fall in love with him.
But all in all I really enjoyed this book. It was odd and I like odd.
Would I recommend? Yes, I would.
Rose has been dreaming of an island with pink sand going on adventures with Hugo to reach the Crystal City since she was a child. Now Rose is married with 3 children but she seems like she is missing something in her life. The thrill like she has every night with Hugo then one day she actually runs into the man in her dreams...
The premise of this novel is very intriguing. The writing was well done and fast paced. I didn't get bored with the book and I didn't even dread to pick it up again to read.
Rose irritated me a bit on how she treats her family. Her only concern at times was Hugo. The character Hugo was just creepy. (Rose had the creep factor too in a part of the book) I didn't really fall in love with him.
But all in all I really enjoyed this book. It was odd and I like odd.
Would I recommend? Yes, I would.
Weird. A romance novel in which everything does not wind up alright. Isn't that against the rules? Giving it two stars because the writing was clear and engaging and the premise really interesting, but the resolution is ugh.
Found this title in the New Books section of the library.
Strange story of Rose dreaming every night of her and Hugo in adventures since a childhood head injury occurred. She eventually meets Hugo/David in the real world and things start to spiral. I could relate to some of her "Mom" comments.
Story took a strange turn but it ended up well. It made sense, but was sad and a bittersweet ending.
May or may not recommend it.
Strange story of Rose dreaming every night of her and Hugo in adventures since a childhood head injury occurred. She eventually meets Hugo/David in the real world and things start to spiral. I could relate to some of her "Mom" comments.
Story took a strange turn but it ended up well. It made sense, but was sad and a bittersweet ending.
May or may not recommend it.
Hugo and Rose by Bridget Foley I won this in a giveaway so giving an honest review is the least I could do.
This book was such an up and down kind of read. The first half of the novel I felt for Rose. The second half took a while for me to get back into. Over all this book had a very unique concept and I really enjoyed it.
This book was such an up and down kind of read. The first half of the novel I felt for Rose. The second half took a while for me to get back into. Over all this book had a very unique concept and I really enjoyed it.
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/05/2015-book-119.html
Ever since she was a little girl, Rose has dreamed every night of having adventures on a magical island with a boy named Hugo. Now a stay-at-home mom of three with a busy doctor husband, she's happy with her life, though feels a vague sense of dissatisfaction. And then she thinks she sees a grown-up Hugo in real life, and everything changes. This was immensely readable, if occasionally melodramatic and with an ending I found to be kind of a let-down. It was certainly an interesting book to read on mother's day, since so much of it focuses on motherhood. I dunno, it was fine, but it wasn't quite the story I hoped it would be. B/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book is available now.
Ever since she was a little girl, Rose has dreamed every night of having adventures on a magical island with a boy named Hugo. Now a stay-at-home mom of three with a busy doctor husband, she's happy with her life, though feels a vague sense of dissatisfaction. And then she thinks she sees a grown-up Hugo in real life, and everything changes. This was immensely readable, if occasionally melodramatic and with an ending I found to be kind of a let-down. It was certainly an interesting book to read on mother's day, since so much of it focuses on motherhood. I dunno, it was fine, but it wasn't quite the story I hoped it would be. B/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book is available now.