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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Ha! I'm sick at the moment and accidentally deleted this review! Fortunately I had already posted the review on my blog.
So here it is again, folks. :)
2.5★
Well…it was better than Stormy Petrel, but still fell short of the mark for me.
The beginning, although sad and depressing was well written. I felt for the lonely child that Jilly was and loved the relationship with her “fairy godmother”, Geillis.
And as always, Lady Stewart creates a wonderful sense of place, vividly described people. I’m interested in life in post war Britain with all the frustrating hardships and food shortages.
I was fine with the magic realism element.
But this book shares the same major fault that Stormy Petrel has, where Lady Stewart seems to head towards a major plot point and then backs away. For me the instalove was extreme – and for a very anonymous hero. (who also appears to be a negligent father.)
I really liked Rose Cottage, but Lady Stewart’s other two cottage books aren’t for me. Even Rose Cottage I’m unlikely to reread.
It wasn’t really relevant to the story, but I’m glad that Lady S introduced me to the poet Sidney Keyes. Did she know him? Or as a well read woman, did she decide to use her influence with her readership to stop this young man, who was killed in WW2, from fading into obscurity.
A sample poem that Keyes wrote about the grandfather who raised him.
Elegy
(In memoriam SKK)
April again, and it’s a year again
Since you walked out and slammed the door
Leaving us tangled in your words. Your brain
Lives in the bank-book and your eyes look up
Laughing from the carpet on the floor:
And we still drink from your silver cup.
It is a year again since they poured
The dumb ground into your mouth:
And yet we know, by some recurring word
Or look caught unawares, that you still drive
Our thoughts like the smart cobs of your youth –
When you and the world were alive.
A year again, and we have fallen on bad times
Since they gave you to the worms.
I am ashamed to take delight in these rhymes
Without grief; but you need no tears.
We shall never forget nor escape you, nor make terms
With your enemies, the swift departing years.
Keyes was only 16 when he wrote this. Sixteen!
A remarkable talent was lost. Best poetry I have read this year. 5★
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess…
So here it is again, folks. :)
2.5★
Well…it was better than Stormy Petrel, but still fell short of the mark for me.
The beginning, although sad and depressing was well written. I felt for the lonely child that Jilly was and loved the relationship with her “fairy godmother”, Geillis.
And as always, Lady Stewart creates a wonderful sense of place, vividly described people. I’m interested in life in post war Britain with all the frustrating hardships and food shortages.
I was fine with the magic realism element.
But this book shares the same major fault that Stormy Petrel has, where Lady Stewart seems to head towards a major plot point and then backs away. For me the instalove was extreme – and for a very anonymous hero. (who also appears to be a negligent father.)
I really liked Rose Cottage, but Lady Stewart’s other two cottage books aren’t for me. Even Rose Cottage I’m unlikely to reread.
It wasn’t really relevant to the story, but I’m glad that Lady S introduced me to the poet Sidney Keyes. Did she know him? Or as a well read woman, did she decide to use her influence with her readership to stop this young man, who was killed in WW2, from fading into obscurity.
A sample poem that Keyes wrote about the grandfather who raised him.
Elegy
(In memoriam SKK)
April again, and it’s a year again
Since you walked out and slammed the door
Leaving us tangled in your words. Your brain
Lives in the bank-book and your eyes look up
Laughing from the carpet on the floor:
And we still drink from your silver cup.
It is a year again since they poured
The dumb ground into your mouth:
And yet we know, by some recurring word
Or look caught unawares, that you still drive
Our thoughts like the smart cobs of your youth –
When you and the world were alive.
A year again, and we have fallen on bad times
Since they gave you to the worms.
I am ashamed to take delight in these rhymes
Without grief; but you need no tears.
We shall never forget nor escape you, nor make terms
With your enemies, the swift departing years.
Keyes was only 16 when he wrote this. Sixteen!
A remarkable talent was lost. Best poetry I have read this year. 5★
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess…
Aww this was very cute with a touch of magic to it! Lovely.
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thornyhold is a delightful, slow-living dream. Perfect for escapism when I want to pretend I've just inherited a cottage in the English countryside.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Minor: Bullying, Misogyny, Death of parent
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"Thornyhold" is a short and sweet novel with a 'lil bit of a mystery and a very smol amount of suspense and, in what I am coming to think of as a signature of Stewart, a rushed and kind of ubelievable romance.
But it is also dreamy, charming, and evocative of a simpler, pastoral place and time, and it was very soothing to read. It is dripping with atmosphere.
At its heart, this book is old-fashioned cottage core. Thornyhold, the house, is really the star of the book. Stewart describes the cottage and the gardens in beautiful detail. It reminded me of the delightful recurring dreams I have where I get to explore amazing, bizarre houses room by room.
I would probably re-read it just for that transporting feeling and for the cozy, comfort-read factor.
But it is also dreamy, charming, and evocative of a simpler, pastoral place and time, and it was very soothing to read. It is dripping with atmosphere.
At its heart, this book is old-fashioned cottage core. Thornyhold, the house, is really the star of the book. Stewart describes the cottage and the gardens in beautiful detail. It reminded me of the delightful recurring dreams I have where I get to explore amazing, bizarre houses room by room.
I would probably re-read it just for that transporting feeling and for the cozy, comfort-read factor.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Five things about Thornyhold by Mary Stewart 📚📚📚📚📚
1. This was so fun! Jane Eyre meets The Witches in the 1950s.
2. The characters are all lovable. Even the ones that you don’t quite know are good or bad.
3. There’s so much love in this book…and an old house…and nature…myth…magic.
4. A very satisfying ending to the love story and a laugh out loud scenario I could not see coming.
5. In short, this strange little romantic coming of age is pure delight. DELIGHT.
1. This was so fun! Jane Eyre meets The Witches in the 1950s.
2. The characters are all lovable. Even the ones that you don’t quite know are good or bad.
3. There’s so much love in this book…and an old house…and nature…myth…magic.
4. A very satisfying ending to the love story and a laugh out loud scenario I could not see coming.
5. In short, this strange little romantic coming of age is pure delight. DELIGHT.
lighthearted
medium-paced
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional