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inkedmusingshi's review against another edition
It was monotonous and the pace was very slow.
lauriestein's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. I didn't care enough about the plot or any of the characters to feel dislike or really have anything resembling an emotional response, so...two stars? I guess? The all-over-the-place POV was really not good, though. Probably more like 1.5.
saram618's review against another edition
3.0
This book was just okay for me (2.5 stars, but I'll round up). I think part of the problem was that I wanted it to be Downton Abbey, and it just wasn't. I can't say that I actually liked any of the characters, so it was hard to care what was happening to them. I'm not sure if I disliked the characters because of their actions or because they were all written in a very flat way. I never got the sense that I was allowed to know the characters outside of the appearance they wanted projected to the world. Even when the facade was broken, I didn't think any of the characters reacted in a way that showed any real emotion. Also, the jumping between stories created even more of a disconnect for me. I felt that it often took a while to figure out which character I was reading about and what was happening (sometimes the story would shift time a little, making it somewhat difficult to follow along with). Overall, it was just slow, lacked likable characters, and just didn't have a spark.
rubynajinnah's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this book, I really did. But unfortunately, the book turned out to be a burden to finish. The writing was confusing, too much jumping from here to there with absolutely no explanations. Very frustrating!!
jaedee09's review against another edition
Could not get into the story nor could connect with the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Pregnancy
leafingthroughlife's review against another edition
3.0
Rutherford Park is the palatial home of Lord William and Lady Octavia Cavendish. Nestled in the Yorkshire countryside, the peaceful-appearing estate is an island unto itself, but the secrets that run deep among the Cavendish family and their staff and the coming of war threaten to fracture the idyllic, if suddenly fragile, life the aristocratic family has come to know. As World War I looms on the horizon William struggles to maintain his family and their refuge at Rutherford Park even as his nearest and dearest seem to be moving beyond his grasp.
In Rutherford Park, Cooke allows us to sneak a peek beneath the proper and orderly surface of the Cavendish family and their estate. William takes comfort in order and propriety, but his wife Octavia chafes at the bonds of what is considered appropriate behavior for the lady of the house. She longs to show her love effusively, to walk barefoot in the grass, to cuddle her children instead of resigning them to the staff to raise, but William despite being well-meaning is embarrassed by her improper behavior. The couple's children, Harry, who wants nothing more than to fly away from an indiscretion that ended in tragedy; naïve Louisa, who is about to make her debut in society, and Charlotte, the youngest daughter who might just be a budding activist for change are each slipping away from William and Octavia in their own ways. As William rushes to gather his family back to himself and to the safety of Rutherford Park in the days before the war, past indiscretions and current scandals threaten to undo the life he and Octavia have built together.
In such a book as Rutherford Park, it might be tempting for the author to focus solely on the Cavendish family. Their feelings and foibles certainly could a whole book make. However, Cooke makes the wise decision to take on the estate as a whole exploring the lives of the many servants who keep the wealthy Cavendish household up and running. From the housemaids, Mary and Emily who made their escape from the dangers of mill work only to come face to face with other heartbreaks, to the footman, Nash, who delights in the occasional book of poetry pilfered from William's library, to the farrier, Jack Armitage, who shared an unexpected and perplexing moment with one of the Cavendish daughters, Cooke breathes life into the whole breadth of characters that make Rutherford Park tick. The result is a book that quietly explores the beginning of the end of a way of life through the co-mingled lives of a family whose wealthy way of life is becoming unsuitable and unsustainable and the people whose existence as mere servants is slowly drawing to a close.
Rutherford Park is an unexpectedly deep and wide portrait of not just a family but an entire estate's worth of people. Rather than focus on drama and scandal, Cooke makes the excellent decision to zero in on her characters' inner lives. As a result, characters both major and minor leap off the page, and much to Cooke's credit she manages to make very nearly all of her cast sympathetic to readers who might not agree with their actions but who might well commiserate with their feelings and motivations. If you are a lover of historical fiction or can appreciate a few great character studies, you'll find much to enjoy in Rutherford Park. Recommended!
In Rutherford Park, Cooke allows us to sneak a peek beneath the proper and orderly surface of the Cavendish family and their estate. William takes comfort in order and propriety, but his wife Octavia chafes at the bonds of what is considered appropriate behavior for the lady of the house. She longs to show her love effusively, to walk barefoot in the grass, to cuddle her children instead of resigning them to the staff to raise, but William despite being well-meaning is embarrassed by her improper behavior. The couple's children, Harry, who wants nothing more than to fly away from an indiscretion that ended in tragedy; naïve Louisa, who is about to make her debut in society, and Charlotte, the youngest daughter who might just be a budding activist for change are each slipping away from William and Octavia in their own ways. As William rushes to gather his family back to himself and to the safety of Rutherford Park in the days before the war, past indiscretions and current scandals threaten to undo the life he and Octavia have built together.
In such a book as Rutherford Park, it might be tempting for the author to focus solely on the Cavendish family. Their feelings and foibles certainly could a whole book make. However, Cooke makes the wise decision to take on the estate as a whole exploring the lives of the many servants who keep the wealthy Cavendish household up and running. From the housemaids, Mary and Emily who made their escape from the dangers of mill work only to come face to face with other heartbreaks, to the footman, Nash, who delights in the occasional book of poetry pilfered from William's library, to the farrier, Jack Armitage, who shared an unexpected and perplexing moment with one of the Cavendish daughters, Cooke breathes life into the whole breadth of characters that make Rutherford Park tick. The result is a book that quietly explores the beginning of the end of a way of life through the co-mingled lives of a family whose wealthy way of life is becoming unsuitable and unsustainable and the people whose existence as mere servants is slowly drawing to a close.
Rutherford Park is an unexpectedly deep and wide portrait of not just a family but an entire estate's worth of people. Rather than focus on drama and scandal, Cooke makes the excellent decision to zero in on her characters' inner lives. As a result, characters both major and minor leap off the page, and much to Cooke's credit she manages to make very nearly all of her cast sympathetic to readers who might not agree with their actions but who might well commiserate with their feelings and motivations. If you are a lover of historical fiction or can appreciate a few great character studies, you'll find much to enjoy in Rutherford Park. Recommended!
sarah_toast's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
megan_prairierose's review against another edition
I gave up at chapter 4. This is a silly badly written book.
twitchyredpen's review against another edition
1.0
DNF'd about a quarter of the way through -- was, frankly, only reading to see if there was going to be a twist and Emily-the-knocked-up-servant had survived after all and would cause drama by existing later. Got bored of it all and started flipping through, eventually reaching the end where one of the reader's-guide questions mentioned her death, so I suppose not.
The prose isn't painful; I've never watched Downton Abbey to be disappointed by comparisons; I am not a history/aristocracy expert to fuss over forms of address. My complaint is simply that wow, do I not care about these characters at all. Rich aristocrats wishing they weren't constrained, sleeping with people they aren't supposed to be, justifying it to themselves, gossiping. If you are usually leery of books that have "A Novel" on the front, then be advised that this book is very much "A Novel."
The prose isn't painful; I've never watched Downton Abbey to be disappointed by comparisons; I am not a history/aristocracy expert to fuss over forms of address. My complaint is simply that wow, do I not care about these characters at all. Rich aristocrats wishing they weren't constrained, sleeping with people they aren't supposed to be, justifying it to themselves, gossiping. If you are usually leery of books that have "A Novel" on the front, then be advised that this book is very much "A Novel."