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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Now here's a weird, interconnected story with multiple narrators who are even more multiple because most of them are time travelers so they are themselves at multiple ages. The story begins with the foursome of British women who discover time travel in the early 1970s. It jumps back and forth to their future selves, their future descendents' selves of various periods, and gestures to time periods as late as the 2400s (which seem to be a return to feudalism).
The plot is partially driven by understanding the death of one of the founders, but the time traveling element makes people feel less like death is final. One character works as a time traveling detective. As such, she can't prevent a crime, but she can impact elements around it. The paradoxes are referenced but not entirely explained, which I don't mind.
Quote of the novel:
The plot is partially driven by understanding the death of one of the founders, but the time traveling element makes people feel less like death is final. One character works as a time traveling detective. As such, she can't prevent a crime, but she can impact elements around it. The paradoxes are referenced but not entirely explained, which I don't mind.
Quote of the novel:
They were librarians and curators--the kind of women who write zines and collect retro toys.
*Swoon*. How much do I love Veronica and Stoker? Like the most.
And trap them on an isolated island with a very "And then there were none" feel? I'm so into it.
Stoker's brother invited Veronica to an old friend's island castle for some butterfly stuff. Of course she can't refuse. Stoker ends up tagging along and the whole triangle gets messy. Malcom is the castle owner, and lives with his sister on this isolated island. The island has it's own mythology and the island inhabitants are full of "witches" and "mer-folk". The reason they were invited to come to the island (other than butterfiles) is revelaed in dramatic fashion. A day after marrying Malcom, young Rosamind goes missing. He believes she never left the island, but was instead murdered, and wants his houseguests to determine what happened.
There are plenty of viable suspects....the former lover, the heir to the house, the sister who loves her gardens, and then there is her husband as well.
The culprit is someone I didn't see coming....and this is the second book I've read recently that relies heavily on the "priest holes" of old homes/castles. I still love Veronica, and her relationship with Stoker takes a leap in this book that is wholy satisfying. The last chapter provides a hint on what they will do next....and reader? I'm here for it!
And trap them on an isolated island with a very "And then there were none" feel? I'm so into it.
Stoker's brother invited Veronica to an old friend's island castle for some butterfly stuff. Of course she can't refuse. Stoker ends up tagging along and the whole triangle gets messy. Malcom is the castle owner, and lives with his sister on this isolated island. The island has it's own mythology and the island inhabitants are full of "witches" and "mer-folk". The reason they were invited to come to the island (other than butterfiles) is revelaed in dramatic fashion. A day after marrying Malcom, young Rosamind goes missing. He believes she never left the island, but was instead murdered, and wants his houseguests to determine what happened.
There are plenty of viable suspects....the former lover, the heir to the house, the sister who loves her gardens, and then there is her husband as well.
The culprit is someone I didn't see coming....and this is the second book I've read recently that relies heavily on the "priest holes" of old homes/castles. I still love Veronica, and her relationship with Stoker takes a leap in this book that is wholy satisfying. The last chapter provides a hint on what they will do next....and reader? I'm here for it!
This was so much fun. I wasn't expecting such a quick read, but it was so easy to keep turning the (well in my case digital) pages of this book. Kate Mascarenhas manages to weave a very complex timeline and plot together in a very believable and seemingly effortless way. The diversity in this book was also very refreshing and had so much intersectional girl power that it was a great time all round. That being said, I kind of wish the ending hadn't felt so rushed. Maybe part of it was that my Kindle didn't show me all the supplementary material at the end, so I didn't realise I was close to the end, but also I didn't have the feeling that things were quite ready to wrap up so either way it took me by surprise and not in a good way. I would definitely recommend this book though, especially if you're looking for a diverse, female-led sci-fi because how many of those are around?
I was bored, but I wasn't into the premise in the first place.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
God, I loved this. Easily my favourite book I've read this year.
The blurb mentioned it being for fans of Emily St. John Mandel, and I can easily see why. Multiple narratives from different characters at different points in time, slowly converging and tying into each other. I know of lots of people who loved Station Eleven and I urge them to read this.
The world that Kate Mascarenhas has created feels so real - it blends in so naturally to our real one. She has thought of so many issues that could occur from the reality of time travel that I couldn't have even begun to think of addressing, and covered them well.
One recommendation I have is that you don't leave many days in between reading sessions - I did and due to the growing number of characters mentioned (who are often, due to the nature of time travel, in a different point in their - or other characters' - timeline to where you last heard from them) it took me a while to remember all of the connecting threads at times. This isn't a criticism of the book, this is a criticism of my multi-day periods of not reading it!
The book has mentions of self-harm, bipolar, and eating disorders, but they're not mentioned with too much detail and are all relevant to the overall narrative.
The blurb mentioned it being for fans of Emily St. John Mandel, and I can easily see why. Multiple narratives from different characters at different points in time, slowly converging and tying into each other. I know of lots of people who loved Station Eleven and I urge them to read this.
The world that Kate Mascarenhas has created feels so real - it blends in so naturally to our real one. She has thought of so many issues that could occur from the reality of time travel that I couldn't have even begun to think of addressing, and covered them well.
One recommendation I have is that you don't leave many days in between reading sessions - I did and due to the growing number of characters mentioned (who are often, due to the nature of time travel, in a different point in their - or other characters' - timeline to where you last heard from them) it took me a while to remember all of the connecting threads at times. This isn't a criticism of the book, this is a criticism of my multi-day periods of not reading it!
The book has mentions of self-harm, bipolar, and eating disorders, but they're not mentioned with too much detail and are all relevant to the overall narrative.
A huge thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was so incredibly excited for this book, and while there are many things to love about it, it just fell kinda flat for me. Perhaps it was the audio I listened to, but it seemed to drag a lot. It truly is a shame, because as I mentioned, there is so much to love:
- All the characters are women. Of course there are men present, but they can barely be called side characters.
- There is diversity in terms of color of skin, nationality, and sexuality.
- The women are intelligent, and independent.
- The women have their own clear personalities.
- The time traveling is quite well thought out, and gives a completely different take on it, which I enjoyed.
But then why, you ask, did you not love it? To be honest, when looking at the points above, I wonder the same myself. I think reading this in print would be better, as it gets quite confusing at times, though the narrator does an absolute splendid job- special shoutout for the accents!
The story is told in quite a disjointed way, which I suppose makes sense for a time travel story, but when two timelines are in 2017 & 2018 it is just a bit too close to each other. Margaret is absolutely terrible, and I did not care one bit for the mystery, the case. It was no surprise at all who had died, and as the story unfolded it really wasn't a stretch to figure out what had happened. Or it felt that way to me at least. Some parts were also incredibly disturbing, and it felt like they were thrown in for shock value. Sure, they get explained later on, but still they felt disconnected from the book- entirely random.
There are also some awkward instances, like when you think about the actual ages of Grace and Ruby, but some are also disturbingly funny, like having sex with either your past or future self. I thought that was brilliant. The glossary at the back gives you a nice overview of the terms used in the 'time travel language', and knowing there are terms for things because they have actually happened, makes you wonder about what drives people. Now THOSE are the stories I want to read!
So yeah, it's not a bad book, not at all. It has plenty of redeeming qualities, and perhaps one day I'll revisit it in print, but for now I'm very underwhelmed. Perhaps it was my too high expectations, my state of mind, my energy levels.. who knows. Our reviews get colored by all sorts of things, and all I can do is to try and give an overview of my findings, including my opinion. Please read this book for yourself, because I really think a lot of people will love this!
I was so incredibly excited for this book, and while there are many things to love about it, it just fell kinda flat for me. Perhaps it was the audio I listened to, but it seemed to drag a lot. It truly is a shame, because as I mentioned, there is so much to love:
- All the characters are women. Of course there are men present, but they can barely be called side characters.
- There is diversity in terms of color of skin, nationality, and sexuality.
- The women are intelligent, and independent.
- The women have their own clear personalities.
- The time traveling is quite well thought out, and gives a completely different take on it, which I enjoyed.
But then why, you ask, did you not love it? To be honest, when looking at the points above, I wonder the same myself. I think reading this in print would be better, as it gets quite confusing at times, though the narrator does an absolute splendid job- special shoutout for the accents!
The story is told in quite a disjointed way, which I suppose makes sense for a time travel story, but when two timelines are in 2017 & 2018 it is just a bit too close to each other. Margaret is absolutely terrible, and I did not care one bit for the mystery, the case. It was no surprise at all who had died, and as the story unfolded it really wasn't a stretch to figure out what had happened. Or it felt that way to me at least. Some parts were also incredibly disturbing, and it felt like they were thrown in for shock value. Sure, they get explained later on, but still they felt disconnected from the book- entirely random.
There are also some awkward instances, like when you think about the actual ages of Grace and Ruby, but some are also disturbingly funny, like having sex with either your past or future self. I thought that was brilliant. The glossary at the back gives you a nice overview of the terms used in the 'time travel language', and knowing there are terms for things because they have actually happened, makes you wonder about what drives people. Now THOSE are the stories I want to read!
So yeah, it's not a bad book, not at all. It has plenty of redeeming qualities, and perhaps one day I'll revisit it in print, but for now I'm very underwhelmed. Perhaps it was my too high expectations, my state of mind, my energy levels.. who knows. Our reviews get colored by all sorts of things, and all I can do is to try and give an overview of my findings, including my opinion. Please read this book for yourself, because I really think a lot of people will love this!
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes