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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
This is a pretty cool book set in the deep South in the early XX century. While I kept wondering as to the historical accuracy of it as the heroine keeps professing various modern ideas on equality - I mean, maybe? plausible? can't truly say it was anachronistic as I just don't know, it is still styled and the author obviously knows the South very well. It is a lot of fun to read, and the twists and turns make for a very exciting engaging reading, all the preaching notwithstanding. The main plot device, the titular Book of the Beloved, is rather out there and the loops don't tie things together all that well but it's still lots of fun. It's a different book. I recommend it. It doesn't at the moment inspire me to read the rest of the series, but I do not regret the time I spent reading it.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
It has been a while since I have had an honest to goodness book induced hangover. The Book of Beloved is responsible for my latest. I started reading it after finishing another book and thought I will just read a couple of chapters and it was almost 3 a.m. when I put the book down after reading the whole thing.
Main character Raissa James travels to Caoin House, her uncle’s estate, which has been said to be haunted. There have been a few mysterious deaths there over the years. She is not there long when she sees her first ghost, a Confederate soldier. Her sighting happens shortly after a man falls to his death at a party at the estate. It is ruled accidental, maybe a suicide, but Raissa thinks it was murder. Raissa uses her desire to become an author to dig deeper into the recent death and those from the past. She thinks the ghosts are key to finding out the truth.
The suicide element of this story should have been a trigger for me after my son’s death and there was a lynching in part of the book as well, but after a couple of short pauses and skimming past a few lines I just kept going. Something just a few months ago that would have made me drop the book and stop reading in an instant, but I am starting to heal more every day and the story had me so enthralled that I just couldn’t stop, I had to know how this story played out. (This may not always be the case but was with this story.) Seances also play into the mystery, trying to get answers, learning more about the people that haunt Caoin House, a way to communicate with those who have passed on. This is something that has really piqued my interest since my son’s death. I truly wish I could communicate with him, maybe someday that wish will come true. So until now I have not been able to read a story with these topics, this one brought them all together in a way my mind and soul could handle.
The reason I was able to read this story is because Carolyn Haines has written it with the hand of a master. She draws the reader in almost timidly. A niece visiting her uncle at an old estate after losing her husband in World War I, then a man falls to his death and the suspense builds, then ghosts begin to appear and secrets starts to be revealed, the suspense builds a little more and things start to get scary. I should have stopped reading then but knew there was no way I was going to sleep then so I kept on reading. Then Raissa makes a startling discovery and I was reading at lightning speed. I can’t say more because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep even after I finished the book. I would advise you not to read before bedtime.
I will say I really like Raissa. She is an intelligent and independent woman that I can see being very involved in the causes of the time period, the 1920’s, like woman getting the right to vote. I also see her becoming a very successful author. I am interested to see where the author takes this character in the future.
I rarely give a Paradise Rating to the first book in a series because usually the plot takes a lesser role as the author needs introduce us to all the characters and the setting and time period. In this case Carolyn Haines does all that and gives us a fantastic mystery too.
It has been a while since I have had an honest to goodness book induced hangover. The Book of Beloved is responsible for my latest. I started reading it after finishing another book and thought I will just read a couple of chapters and it was almost 3 a.m. when I put the book down after reading the whole thing.
Main character Raissa James travels to Caoin House, her uncle’s estate, which has been said to be haunted. There have been a few mysterious deaths there over the years. She is not there long when she sees her first ghost, a Confederate soldier. Her sighting happens shortly after a man falls to his death at a party at the estate. It is ruled accidental, maybe a suicide, but Raissa thinks it was murder. Raissa uses her desire to become an author to dig deeper into the recent death and those from the past. She thinks the ghosts are key to finding out the truth.
The suicide element of this story should have been a trigger for me after my son’s death and there was a lynching in part of the book as well, but after a couple of short pauses and skimming past a few lines I just kept going. Something just a few months ago that would have made me drop the book and stop reading in an instant, but I am starting to heal more every day and the story had me so enthralled that I just couldn’t stop, I had to know how this story played out. (This may not always be the case but was with this story.) Seances also play into the mystery, trying to get answers, learning more about the people that haunt Caoin House, a way to communicate with those who have passed on. This is something that has really piqued my interest since my son’s death. I truly wish I could communicate with him, maybe someday that wish will come true. So until now I have not been able to read a story with these topics, this one brought them all together in a way my mind and soul could handle.
The reason I was able to read this story is because Carolyn Haines has written it with the hand of a master. She draws the reader in almost timidly. A niece visiting her uncle at an old estate after losing her husband in World War I, then a man falls to his death and the suspense builds, then ghosts begin to appear and secrets starts to be revealed, the suspense builds a little more and things start to get scary. I should have stopped reading then but knew there was no way I was going to sleep then so I kept on reading. Then Raissa makes a startling discovery and I was reading at lightning speed. I can’t say more because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep even after I finished the book. I would advise you not to read before bedtime.
I will say I really like Raissa. She is an intelligent and independent woman that I can see being very involved in the causes of the time period, the 1920’s, like woman getting the right to vote. I also see her becoming a very successful author. I am interested to see where the author takes this character in the future.
I rarely give a Paradise Rating to the first book in a series because usually the plot takes a lesser role as the author needs introduce us to all the characters and the setting and time period. In this case Carolyn Haines does all that and gives us a fantastic mystery too.
Solid 🌟 🌟 🌟 1/2.
I figured out the big bad early on but that did not take away from my enjoyment. The one twist I did not see coming, which was great. I really liked all the literary references. There were a few really creepy ghost scenes. Raissa annoyed me a lot of the time. I will continue with the series
I figured out the big bad early on but that did not take away from my enjoyment. The one twist I did not see coming, which was great. I really liked all the literary references. There were a few really creepy ghost scenes. Raissa annoyed me a lot of the time. I will continue with the series
https://superfluousreading.wordpress.com/2018/03/16/the-book-of-beloved-by-carolyn-haines
Amazing, chilling story! So good it's hard to put down once you've started it! I was lucky enough to be a test reader for this before it was published. I just got done reading the published version, and still as chilling as the first time I read it! An amazing story set in the post-WWI era that reaches back to the Civil War. Raissa is an interesting protagonist. She's educated, smart, and witty who is a trailblazer of her time. She also has an interesting ability. Some parts are very creepy and hard to sleep if you read this at night! I had to read it during daylight hours! Haines is an amazing wordsmith with a true gift!
Thank you to the author for this Goodreads giveaway. Apologies for the late review but this seems like a great Fall read.
This novel is multi-faceted. On the surface it is a mystery with a supernatural twist, but since the setting is immediately after World War I in the Deep South it is also a heart wrenching historical novel about gender and racial inequalities which were still looming over the South.
Raissa is a war widow who comes to visit her uncle in Mobile Alabama and finds herself in the company of ghosts; some evil and some souls simply looking to right an injustice. There soon arises a murder mystery and perhaps a mystery spanning generations which could turn Mobile society upside down.
I was by turns spooked by the presence of ghosts, enchanted by Raissa (a headstrong woman fighting for women's rights), and angered by the many injustices that plagued all but the highest society.
I really need the next book in the series soon!
This novel is multi-faceted. On the surface it is a mystery with a supernatural twist, but since the setting is immediately after World War I in the Deep South it is also a heart wrenching historical novel about gender and racial inequalities which were still looming over the South.
Raissa is a war widow who comes to visit her uncle in Mobile Alabama and finds herself in the company of ghosts; some evil and some souls simply looking to right an injustice. There soon arises a murder mystery and perhaps a mystery spanning generations which could turn Mobile society upside down.
I was by turns spooked by the presence of ghosts, enchanted by Raissa (a headstrong woman fighting for women's rights), and angered by the many injustices that plagued all but the highest society.
I really need the next book in the series soon!
Solid 🌟 🌟 🌟 1/2.
I figured out the big bad early on but that did not take away from my enjoyment. The one twist I did not see coming, which was great. I really liked all the literary references. There were a few really creepy ghost scenes. Raissa annoyed me a lot of the time. I will continue with the series
I figured out the big bad early on but that did not take away from my enjoyment. The one twist I did not see coming, which was great. I really liked all the literary references. There were a few really creepy ghost scenes. Raissa annoyed me a lot of the time. I will continue with the series