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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
This book was a quick read. I rented it from my local library on a whim, and it was a nice change from my normally dark history/mystery preferences.
However, I found the writing to be a tad pretentious and unrealistic… I can’t imagine meeting a ton of random strangers via letter correspondence and each one being capable of crafting beautifully poetic letters. The constant beautiful imagery and prose grew a bit stale 3/4 of the through the book. I found myself rushing to finish just to be done with it. But again, it wasn’t a bad book. It had a nice story and kept me interested to the end.
I did find it interesting that the author chose to say this was a “true story” with just names and locations changed, but if you read the publishing notes it states this was a work of fiction from the people and locations all the way to the actual story itself. Probably intentional to keep you wanting to read and think this was a rare beautiful love story in a world that can be not so beautiful sometimes.
However, I found the writing to be a tad pretentious and unrealistic… I can’t imagine meeting a ton of random strangers via letter correspondence and each one being capable of crafting beautifully poetic letters. The constant beautiful imagery and prose grew a bit stale 3/4 of the through the book. I found myself rushing to finish just to be done with it. But again, it wasn’t a bad book. It had a nice story and kept me interested to the end.
I did find it interesting that the author chose to say this was a “true story” with just names and locations changed, but if you read the publishing notes it states this was a work of fiction from the people and locations all the way to the actual story itself. Probably intentional to keep you wanting to read and think this was a rare beautiful love story in a world that can be not so beautiful sometimes.
The idea of the story intrigued me. However, the amount of characters paired with the epistolary form of the book made it hard to keep track of things, which hindered my ability to care about the characters. Part of this may be due to listening rather than reading, but I've listened to multi-character epistolary books before that I was very engaged with, so I think this book just maybe didn't hit its stride or dig deep enough early enough or perhaps overall.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel is a delightful read that totally captivated me. I enjoyed the unique approach to the storytelling and found it engaged me almost as much as reading old correspondence. The characters, locations, and circumstances had me cheering as the story progressed. Strongly recommended.
Coincidences abound! That's not a good start to base your plot on. Honestly, the amount of blatant "How lucky is that?" in this book is enough to make my eyes roll. And there's not even some grand narrative that explains why everything just lines up perfectly- literally just because the plot needs it to move along. Also, I recognize that most of the characters are literature lovers, but that doesn't mean they have to talk like Mr. Collins. Why on earth are they rhapsodizing about the "blue sky [appearing] like an impostor that dazzles us with its violent and inappropriate contrasts that halo the South" (88) and the "ray of sun [piercing] the heart of the clouds" (71)? These are supposed to be letters sent between old friends, not nineteenth-century poetry. And every character has the same voice. They ALL talk like each other! If it weren't for the letter headers, I would have no idea who was speaking. Please let your characters talk like real people.
But the story was okay, and it was interesting to see how different people's lives connected to the manuscript in question. I suppose that a book can change people's lives, and connect people all over the world. It's a worthy message, if a tad bland.
But the story was okay, and it was interesting to see how different people's lives connected to the manuscript in question. I suppose that a book can change people's lives, and connect people all over the world. It's a worthy message, if a tad bland.
3.5 stars, definitely something different for me to pick up and it was good but not quite my style.
3/5 Stars
The atmosphere was so beautiful and the writing for some my be over the top, but I think it really matched the tone of the book. Considering a majority of this are letters back and forth it did a really good job showing the character through that aspect.
This just didn’t end up going the way I thought it was going to. The concept had me hooked and for the first half I was invested. However, it started to just feel dragged out. I just didn’t feel the emotional punch I think the author was going for by the end. I think this book could be some peoples favorite, sadly, it was just lacking something for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.
The atmosphere was so beautiful and the writing for some my be over the top, but I think it really matched the tone of the book. Considering a majority of this are letters back and forth it did a really good job showing the character through that aspect.
This just didn’t end up going the way I thought it was going to. The concept had me hooked and for the first half I was invested. However, it started to just feel dragged out. I just didn’t feel the emotional punch I think the author was going for by the end. I think this book could be some peoples favorite, sadly, it was just lacking something for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The narration of this book is the best thing ever. I couldn't love this narration more if I tried. I'm not sure the book was entirely my speed as far as content went but the narrators made it so much more interesting to listen to.
This book has an epistolary form which made it a very quick read. Strangers exchange letters with each other because they all have one thing in common: they all read the same manuscript and it impacted their lives. Through the letters, the characters try to unravel the manuscript's journey and gradually a friendship grows between the character's because of the bond they share.
I find this one hard to review because I enjoyed the read and thought it was a very unique one too, but still, I felt a bit disappointed by the story. I think I would've liked extra chapters in between the letters that gave the reader pieces of the manuscript to read. The reader is kept on the surface about the content of the manuscript and because of that, I didn't really believe that the manuscript could have life-altering results for so many readers. This also made it harder for me to connect to the characters because their biggest obsession and most frequent discussion point in their letters is this life-altering manuscript. I think I expected more from the novel in that way and that's why I was left a bit disappointed. I'm still glad I read this book because it certainly has a unique concept and I really liked the format in which it was written.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I find this one hard to review because I enjoyed the read and thought it was a very unique one too, but still, I felt a bit disappointed by the story. I think I would've liked extra chapters in between the letters that gave the reader pieces of the manuscript to read. The reader is kept on the surface about the content of the manuscript and because of that, I didn't really believe that the manuscript could have life-altering results for so many readers. This also made it harder for me to connect to the characters because their biggest obsession and most frequent discussion point in their letters is this life-altering manuscript. I think I expected more from the novel in that way and that's why I was left a bit disappointed. I'm still glad I read this book because it certainly has a unique concept and I really liked the format in which it was written.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book has an epistolary form which made it a very quick read. Strangers exchange letters with each other because they all have one thing in common: they all read the same manuscript and it impacted their lives. Through the letters, the characters try to unravel the manuscript's journey and gradually a friendship grows between the character's because of the bond they share.
I find this one hard to review because I enjoyed the read and thought it was a very unique one too, but still, I felt a bit disappointed by the story. I think I would've liked extra chapters in between the letters that gave the reader pieces of the manuscript to read. The reader is kept on the surface about the content of the manuscript and because of that, I didn't really believe that the manuscript could have life-altering results for so many readers. This also made it harder for me to connect to the characters because their biggest obsession and most frequent discussion point in their letters is this life-altering manuscript. I think I expected more from the novel in that way and that's why I was left a bit disappointed. I'm still glad I read this book because it certainly has a unique concept and I really liked the format in which it was written.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I find this one hard to review because I enjoyed the read and thought it was a very unique one too, but still, I felt a bit disappointed by the story. I think I would've liked extra chapters in between the letters that gave the reader pieces of the manuscript to read. The reader is kept on the surface about the content of the manuscript and because of that, I didn't really believe that the manuscript could have life-altering results for so many readers. This also made it harder for me to connect to the characters because their biggest obsession and most frequent discussion point in their letters is this life-altering manuscript. I think I expected more from the novel in that way and that's why I was left a bit disappointed. I'm still glad I read this book because it certainly has a unique concept and I really liked the format in which it was written.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.