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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault, Antisemitism, War, Classism
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A Room with a View meets My House in Umbria. A tranquil Riviera setting, with a backdrop of drama, fascism and betrayal.
Hotel Portofino begins well, with a British hotel on the Italian Riviera, ready to cater to the rich and famous. And there are plenty of interesting people staying and working at the hotel. The book reads almost like an Agatha Christie; had there been a dead body all of the diverse guests and the hotel’s staff would have been sat incredulously ready for Poirot to reveal the murderer’s identity. (Un)fortunately there isn’t a body, but there is a stolen painting, forbidden love, arranged marriages, domestic abuse, passionate affairs, racism and more.
Although well-written it feels unnecessarily modern are time. There’s also a lack of plot resolution; nothing feels finite and the ending is abrupt, unfinished and disappointing.
The guests are rich and have some fascinating back stories that drew my attention and kept me engaged in what is quite a slow-paced book. Sadly the characters don’t have enough time to develop and are therefore not enough to make up for the weak, convoluted plot. It’s a good insight into Italy before Mussolini took control and the contrast between the ugly realities of war and the beautiful scenery is cleverly done, but the story itself leaves a lot to be desired
That said, I can’t wait for the TV series, which will hopefully transform the story into a powerful drama.
I was provided with a copy by Random Things Tours. Opinions my own.
For creative book and theatre reviews, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Hotel Portofino begins well, with a British hotel on the Italian Riviera, ready to cater to the rich and famous. And there are plenty of interesting people staying and working at the hotel. The book reads almost like an Agatha Christie; had there been a dead body all of the diverse guests and the hotel’s staff would have been sat incredulously ready for Poirot to reveal the murderer’s identity. (Un)fortunately there isn’t a body, but there is a stolen painting, forbidden love, arranged marriages, domestic abuse, passionate affairs, racism and more.
Although well-written it feels unnecessarily modern are time. There’s also a lack of plot resolution; nothing feels finite and the ending is abrupt, unfinished and disappointing.
The guests are rich and have some fascinating back stories that drew my attention and kept me engaged in what is quite a slow-paced book. Sadly the characters don’t have enough time to develop and are therefore not enough to make up for the weak, convoluted plot. It’s a good insight into Italy before Mussolini took control and the contrast between the ugly realities of war and the beautiful scenery is cleverly done, but the story itself leaves a lot to be desired
That said, I can’t wait for the TV series, which will hopefully transform the story into a powerful drama.
I was provided with a copy by Random Things Tours. Opinions my own.
For creative book and theatre reviews, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter
I received this from the publisher as an advanced reading copy from Netgallery. I agree with other reviewers and that this resembles Downton Abbey on the Italian Riviera. it takes place following World War I and has a large cast of characters that come to stay at the hotel’s first opening. There are multiple storylines and I do not feel that they were all well developed and would have preferred fewer more developed storylines. There is also reference to Agatha Christie however the caper in the novel is not really developed as a main story line. I think this book had a lot of promising storylines but there were just too many of them. As a television series, there are certainly be multiple places to go in subsequent seasons. As a shorter novel, there are just too many storylines to develop.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective