Reviews

This book got my attention very quickly. I was hooked chapter 1, kind of reading eagerly to know what happens next, to know their story. I immediately fell in love with Maeve as expected- fiercely loyal loving and protective sister but also a very intelligent and attractive personality. I felt the awe and dread of the house just as they did- amazed by its beauty and jaded by its excessiveness.
The parents in the story are very frustrating- their lack of empathy for their children and being too caught in their own lives. I found the kids’ obliviousness to their unique situation quite interesting, how they made best with what they had. That they grew up the way they did- Maeve to become an independent person and guardian to Danny, Danny to become whatever he wanted, oblivious to others struggles and protected by his sister- made complete sense to me.
I wish the end was different, that Maeve had time to live a life without the shadow of the Dutch house or her past, maybe it just would never be. Like Danny, I wish Maeve had grown to live up to her own expectations, just like May did (I loved how she is Maeve with a different life- growing up to be what Maeve could’ve been).

Overall, this book is a great read, with an intriguing story, strong character development and beautiful writing.

shawnanahnah's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

bookwormclare01's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ask_dorrey54's review against another edition

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3.0

Tom Hanks reads the audiobook!

debstubb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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

4.75

agabagle's review

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slow-paced

3.0

Just ehh. I read this book for a book club and it just wasn’t for me. The author is a great writer but I just had a hard time getting into the storyline. I had a hard time following the time line and it felt like I was forcing myself to listen to the book until I was more than half way through.

megansmith's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I am surprised how much I like this! I normally hate books with divorce and I dont admittedly know how or why this got on my list, but it did really make me love Ann Pratchett’s writing style. For a very stressful storyline, the deep relationships within the story provided a lot of coziness. If you love reading about interpersonal relationships in a book, you will enjoy this a lot.

I dont have a ton of complaints, this didnt make my heart soar or anything with the book so it wasnt like, one to stay on my shelves forever, but I did enjoy my time with it! Id still recommend it and I’ll be looking to read Tom Lake in the near future.

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