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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
This book was really disappointing after reading Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrades. All three of those were amazing. This...isn't.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It’s too long. Everyone just keeps living somehow. There are entirely too many coincidences. I hate all the 1800s jargon. Don’t waste your time - sorry, Blake
I want to premise my review by saying that Crouch is known for having book synopses ("blurbs" or whatever on the back of the book or inside jacket flap) that are a bit misleading, and once you have read a couple of his books, you realize that there's usually a reason the book has to be marketed that way.
So I love all his book synopses but I don't hold him to them. It's like all those people who went to see The Village and expected some horror flick, only to be totally pissed off when the story was about something totally different. But of course, the movie had to be marketed in such a way so as not to give away the big reveal; otherwise, the punch of the reveal wouldn't hold as much weight for the viewer, which was necessary to get the most out of the movie. Crouch's book synopses are written that way on purpose--he usually has a big reveal. Think Pines!
So when you read about how the past is very much alive, I know you're thinking ghosts, but it's not a ghost story. But that's okay, because it's still good!
I did get a little irritated reading about snow after a while (as another reviewer also mentioned), and I definitely was more interested in the 1893 story than in the 2012 story, but I get that it was written in that way because the two are deeply interconnected, which is revealed more and more as the story progresses. All in all, I thought the writing and weaving of the story were quite brilliant; it's just that the 2012 storyline was a bit hard for me to get through, and I'd wished for a stronger emotional tug for the main character and her dad. Something there just didn't work for me.
Anyway, this is a solid three stars (three stars meaning it did its job and entertained me for the duration--no regret on the amount of money and time I gave to the book). I'm tempted to give it four stars, but I initially set it at three when I finished it, and I trust my memory from after freshly reading it versus three months later. I'll likely pick this one up and read it one more time in a couple of years.
So I love all his book synopses but I don't hold him to them. It's like all those people who went to see The Village and expected some horror flick, only to be totally pissed off when the story was about something totally different. But of course, the movie had to be marketed in such a way so as not to give away the big reveal; otherwise, the punch of the reveal wouldn't hold as much weight for the viewer, which was necessary to get the most out of the movie. Crouch's book synopses are written that way on purpose--he usually has a big reveal. Think Pines!
So when you read about how the past is very much alive, I know you're thinking ghosts, but it's not a ghost story. But that's okay, because it's still good!
I did get a little irritated reading about snow after a while (as another reviewer also mentioned), and I definitely was more interested in the 1893 story than in the 2012 story, but I get that it was written in that way because the two are deeply interconnected, which is revealed more and more as the story progresses. All in all, I thought the writing and weaving of the story were quite brilliant; it's just that the 2012 storyline was a bit hard for me to get through, and I'd wished for a stronger emotional tug for the main character and her dad. Something there just didn't work for me.
Anyway, this is a solid three stars (three stars meaning it did its job and entertained me for the duration--no regret on the amount of money and time I gave to the book). I'm tempted to give it four stars, but I initially set it at three when I finished it, and I trust my memory from after freshly reading it versus three months later. I'll likely pick this one up and read it one more time in a couple of years.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I got this on Kindle Unlimited due to the fact it was free and had decent reviews. The description sounded mysterious and interesting, but I'm at 37% and it feels like I've been reading this for weeks. I'm tired of bouncing back and forth between the past and present when I really don't care what happens to the myriad of characters in either period, so I'm going to mark this CNF and move on.