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alilianaraquel's review against another edition
4.0
Opinião no blogue: https://a-lilianaraquel.blogspot.com/2019/02/critica-literaria-victoria-fox-fonte.html
maggie888's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
Absolutely loved this book! I felt like the pacing of the story was just right with something always keeping you wondering what's going to happen next.
Absolutely loved this book! I felt like the pacing of the story was just right with something always keeping you wondering what's going to happen next.
readingactually's review
4.0
This worked well for me because I love a book about secrets. The characters were well developed and the story line was great. I look forward to this authors next book.
seadaz's review
5.0
Giving 4.5 stars.
Amazing read, thoroughly enjoyed this - until the last few chapters, which so much seemed to happen that weren’t relayed to the reader, so I was a little disappointed in those chapters - but overall, omg what a great book.
Definitely a family mystery, not this author’s usual bonkfest book (also a read I enjoy😁).
Lucy takes up a new job in Italy to run away from a relationship that ended traumatically, and becomes involved in a long term family mystery.
My notes:
Vivien’s father was awful and coninues to wreak havoc.
Vivien’s sister-in-law is nasty piece of work
Vivien’s husband is weak.
Amazing read, thoroughly enjoyed this - until the last few chapters, which so much seemed to happen that weren’t relayed to the reader, so I was a little disappointed in those chapters - but overall, omg what a great book.
Definitely a family mystery, not this author’s usual bonkfest book (also a read I enjoy😁).
Lucy takes up a new job in Italy to run away from a relationship that ended traumatically, and becomes involved in a long term family mystery.
My notes:
Vivien’s father was awful and coninues to wreak havoc.
Vivien’s sister-in-law is nasty piece of work
Vivien’s husband is weak.
booksuperpower's review
4.0
The Silent Fountain by Victoria Fox is a 2017 Mira publication.
This is a moving, heartbreaking story written with shades of Gothic mystery and romance.
In the 1970s, after escaping an abusive home life, Vivien finally got her big break as an actress, but the price of success comes at a big cost. After a horrific accident, Vivien is nursed back to health by the handsome Dr. Giovanni Moretti. The couple falls madly in love, but secrets from the past could stain their lives together, while tragedy tears away the remaining shreds of happiness left in their relationship.
Fast forward to present day and we find the aging and haunted Vivien living in Tuscany, on the Castillo Barbarossa estate, which is only a shadow of its former glory. Needing help, Vivien hires, Lucy Whittaker, a young woman who needs a change of scenery after a finding herself at the heart of gut wrenching scandal.
But, once Lucy arrives, she feels ill at ease in the old house, which is full of strange noises, and the neglected courtyard fountain seems to hold the knowledge of horrifying crimes. Lucy is compelled to figure out all of Vivien’s secrets, but, she never would have imagined the ghastly truths she would uncover, which will more than explain why Vivien has been living a reclusive life, while Lucy, discovers a few truths about herself and what is really important in life.
This story is an emotional tale, full of dark family secrets, sadness, cruelty, and heartbreak, but is also a story of redemption, closure and new beginnings.
I loved the Gothic undertones in this story. The old estate, the reclusive actress, the buried secrets and crimes helped to create a taut, atmospheric tone, full of suspense and danger. There were a few weak spots in the story right there at the beginning, where events were glossed over, perhaps to propel the story onwards, but other than that, the reader will be easily drawn in by all the mystery and the romance surrounding Vivien and will worry about Lucy’s involvement and her current predicament as the press begins to zero in on her private location.
The tale is bittersweet, and in some ways a little moody, and melancholy, but I loved the way things turned out for Lucy, which was a very pleasant and upbeat way for the book to conclude.
Overall, the author did a great job of capturing a pure Gothic tone while weaving a mesmerizing tale of suspense, love and loss. This book was right up my alley! I really do wish there were more books written like this one!
4 stars
This is a moving, heartbreaking story written with shades of Gothic mystery and romance.
In the 1970s, after escaping an abusive home life, Vivien finally got her big break as an actress, but the price of success comes at a big cost. After a horrific accident, Vivien is nursed back to health by the handsome Dr. Giovanni Moretti. The couple falls madly in love, but secrets from the past could stain their lives together, while tragedy tears away the remaining shreds of happiness left in their relationship.
Fast forward to present day and we find the aging and haunted Vivien living in Tuscany, on the Castillo Barbarossa estate, which is only a shadow of its former glory. Needing help, Vivien hires, Lucy Whittaker, a young woman who needs a change of scenery after a finding herself at the heart of gut wrenching scandal.
But, once Lucy arrives, she feels ill at ease in the old house, which is full of strange noises, and the neglected courtyard fountain seems to hold the knowledge of horrifying crimes. Lucy is compelled to figure out all of Vivien’s secrets, but, she never would have imagined the ghastly truths she would uncover, which will more than explain why Vivien has been living a reclusive life, while Lucy, discovers a few truths about herself and what is really important in life.
This story is an emotional tale, full of dark family secrets, sadness, cruelty, and heartbreak, but is also a story of redemption, closure and new beginnings.
I loved the Gothic undertones in this story. The old estate, the reclusive actress, the buried secrets and crimes helped to create a taut, atmospheric tone, full of suspense and danger. There were a few weak spots in the story right there at the beginning, where events were glossed over, perhaps to propel the story onwards, but other than that, the reader will be easily drawn in by all the mystery and the romance surrounding Vivien and will worry about Lucy’s involvement and her current predicament as the press begins to zero in on her private location.
The tale is bittersweet, and in some ways a little moody, and melancholy, but I loved the way things turned out for Lucy, which was a very pleasant and upbeat way for the book to conclude.
Overall, the author did a great job of capturing a pure Gothic tone while weaving a mesmerizing tale of suspense, love and loss. This book was right up my alley! I really do wish there were more books written like this one!
4 stars
depizan's review against another edition
1.0
The gothic elements and description were really all this book had going for it. Despite having a more or less happily ever after end for the main (current time) woman, it just left a bad taste in my mind.
Part of the problem is that, while mental illness and villainy often get conflated in gothic romances (and that's problematic, whenever it's set), it just hits different in a non-historical story. In fact, the mentally-ill character was so poorly handled, I kept thinking it was a historical story. Actually, that was a problem for all of the 1970s-80s part of the book - it felt more '20s-'30s. Something about various characters attitudes just felt older.
In any event, I can deal with literal mad women in attics in stories set in 18-something, or maybe even the very early 1900s. But don't put a mad woman in an attic in 1980 and expect me not to think you're kind of shitty and ableist. (And she wasn't even the only mentally ill character who made me feel that way. There's also a suicide that mostly exists for drama.)
Actually, that's the problem, the whole thing felt very for the drama, and not in a good way. It felt more tabloid than gothic romance. Ah well.
Part of the problem is that, while mental illness and villainy often get conflated in gothic romances (and that's problematic, whenever it's set), it just hits different in a non-historical story. In fact, the mentally-ill character was so poorly handled, I kept thinking it was a historical story. Actually, that was a problem for all of the 1970s-80s part of the book - it felt more '20s-'30s. Something about various characters attitudes just felt older.
In any event, I can deal with literal mad women in attics in stories set in 18-something, or maybe even the very early 1900s. But don't put a mad woman in an attic in 1980 and expect me not to think you're kind of shitty and ableist. (And she wasn't even the only mentally ill character who made me feel that way. There's also a suicide that mostly exists for drama.)
Actually, that's the problem, the whole thing felt very for the drama, and not in a good way. It felt more tabloid than gothic romance. Ah well.
kirjoihinkadonnut's review against another edition
5.0
Äärimmäisen koukuttavaa ja viihdyttävää lukemista. En olisi halunnut irtautua millään kirjan äärestä, kun sen jännittävät salaisuudet kietoi minut otteeseensa. Loistavaa kesälukemista!
leahmichelle_13's review against another edition
4.0
Victoria Fox is an author who has massively evolved since her debut novel Hollywood Sinners was released in 2011, she’s gone from being a bonkbuster author, to an author with more to her stories than glamorous people in glamorous locations. The Silent Fountain appears to be another departure for Fox, and I really liked it. For years I’ve loved books set in the present and the past, the stories that opens up as times have changed and I was fascinated by The Silent Fountain, by the mystery surrounding it and the fantastic Italian setting.
The Silent Fountain tells the stories of two ladies – Lucy finds herself lost after a tragedy, worried that when the truth comes out about what happened that day, she’ll be enemy number one with everyone who knows her (and doesn’t) and Vivien, a Hollywood starlet, turned recluse. Both find themselves at Castillo Barbarossa, with secrets aplenty between them, will Barbarossa give up its own secrets and let Lucy learn the truth about what happened to turn Vivien into a recluse? It’s such an intriguing plot – plenty of drama, plenty to question, lots to get your teeth stuck into and I was fascinated by Vivien’s story. It’s a slow burn and you have to be patient for the reveal, but boy is it worth it. It keeps you turning the pages like you can’t believe, because you MUST know what happened.
One of the most interesting aspects about The Silent Fountain and Vivien, is her beef with Isabella, the sister of Gio, whom Vivien marries. Isabella is mute, after an incident when their parents died, and Vivien is convinced Isabella is out to ruin her life. It’s fascinating story and because we only really see it from Vivien’s perspective it’s easy to wonder if Vivien is imagining things, if Isabella is just hated because of her presence, but as the story unfolds, it just seems to become more and more interesting. More and more heartbreaking. It went places I didn’t expect, Fox wrote scenes that were really quite upsetting, but I still couldn’t stop reading, because it was fascinating.
The story in the now wasn’t as interesting, your typical love affair (yawn!) however seeing Lucy discover Barbarossa and try to uncover its secrets was intriguing. I just found The Silent Fountain so fascinating. I loved Victoria’s writing, the story was incredible, the writing was just the right pace, with little titbits given out with each passing chapter and I loved getting to know Lucy and Vivien (mostly Vivien). I’ve loved every genre Fox has tried and I love this new direction for sure. She’s SUCH a good storyteller, she really gets you into the heart of her stories and The Silent Fountain was a triumph.
The Silent Fountain tells the stories of two ladies – Lucy finds herself lost after a tragedy, worried that when the truth comes out about what happened that day, she’ll be enemy number one with everyone who knows her (and doesn’t) and Vivien, a Hollywood starlet, turned recluse. Both find themselves at Castillo Barbarossa, with secrets aplenty between them, will Barbarossa give up its own secrets and let Lucy learn the truth about what happened to turn Vivien into a recluse? It’s such an intriguing plot – plenty of drama, plenty to question, lots to get your teeth stuck into and I was fascinated by Vivien’s story. It’s a slow burn and you have to be patient for the reveal, but boy is it worth it. It keeps you turning the pages like you can’t believe, because you MUST know what happened.
One of the most interesting aspects about The Silent Fountain and Vivien, is her beef with Isabella, the sister of Gio, whom Vivien marries. Isabella is mute, after an incident when their parents died, and Vivien is convinced Isabella is out to ruin her life. It’s fascinating story and because we only really see it from Vivien’s perspective it’s easy to wonder if Vivien is imagining things, if Isabella is just hated because of her presence, but as the story unfolds, it just seems to become more and more interesting. More and more heartbreaking. It went places I didn’t expect, Fox wrote scenes that were really quite upsetting, but I still couldn’t stop reading, because it was fascinating.
The story in the now wasn’t as interesting, your typical love affair (yawn!) however seeing Lucy discover Barbarossa and try to uncover its secrets was intriguing. I just found The Silent Fountain so fascinating. I loved Victoria’s writing, the story was incredible, the writing was just the right pace, with little titbits given out with each passing chapter and I loved getting to know Lucy and Vivien (mostly Vivien). I’ve loved every genre Fox has tried and I love this new direction for sure. She’s SUCH a good storyteller, she really gets you into the heart of her stories and The Silent Fountain was a triumph.
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