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alitch's review against another edition
4.0
What I liked about this book was not the mystery per say, more of the how did she gave my an insight into a lot of practices during WWII that I wasn’t aware of.
laculbute's review against another edition
3.0
cute! satisfying! lots of tragedy baked right in there
nearly_empty_nesting's review against another edition
4.0
This multi timeline book that threads the lives of women together while describing beautiful gardens and flowers. I listened to this on audio but I can’t help but wish this was a print version with sketches and photos.
jen_h's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kelpish's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book at all in my opinion, but it just fell a little short for me. I dislike putting too much weight in the comparison of books, but I think I would been more satisfied with The Last Garden in England if I had read it before The Women of Château Lafayette. The women of TLGIE were more well-rounded of characters than you can sometimes find in this nebulous genre of “historical fiction largely based during WWII with a cover of a woman in period clothing facing away from the reader”, but they still felt flat at times.
This may be due to me listening to it via audiobook, but I found the switching between first- and third-person narration based on character to be puzzling at best and distracting at worst. I eventually concluded that Venetia is writing in her diaries, which is why they are in first person? This is never explicitly stated via audiobook - perhaps they are differentiated in print by a difference in formatting, but there definitely seems to be something lost in listening to TLGIE. I will say that the narrators for the audiobook did an excellent job and portrayed each of the primary five women beautifully.
This may be due to me listening to it via audiobook, but I found the switching between first- and third-person narration based on character to be puzzling at best and distracting at worst. I eventually concluded that Venetia is writing in her diaries, which is why they are in first person? This is never explicitly stated via audiobook - perhaps they are differentiated in print by a difference in formatting, but there definitely seems to be something lost in listening to TLGIE. I will say that the narrators for the audiobook did an excellent job and portrayed each of the primary five women beautifully.
srm401's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
saamunds's review against another edition
3.0
This was an easy historical fiction/romance told in three different years (1907, 1944 & 2021). Centering on a grand country house (Highbury) in England and the expansive garden at the home. The 1907 year is for Venezia, who has been hired to create the gardens at Highbury. 1944 focuses on three women, Diane (Highbury's owner), Stella (HIghbury's cook) & Beth (a local land girl) during the war where the house has been turned into a convalescent home, most of the lawn has been taken for crops and the gardens are slowly decaying. 2021 finds Emma being hired by the current owners of the home (Diane's great-granddaugher?) to return the gardens to Venezia's original vision, which is difficult due to the age and lack of documents.
Thankfully, the three different time periods were defined well enough that I had no issues discerning which era I was in, even when there were multiple storylines (1944) twisting together. The lives of these women are wholly separate but tied together by the gardens of the house and you see how being at Highbury has affected their lives, for good (mostly) and bad, however every character has a happy ending even if there was tragedy along the way. I definitely recommend this book if you like gardens, the English countryside & historical romance.
I received a free ebook from NetGalley & Gallery Books.
Thankfully, the three different time periods were defined well enough that I had no issues discerning which era I was in, even when there were multiple storylines (1944) twisting together. The lives of these women are wholly separate but tied together by the gardens of the house and you see how being at Highbury has affected their lives, for good (mostly) and bad, however every character has a happy ending even if there was tragedy along the way. I definitely recommend this book if you like gardens, the English countryside & historical romance.
I received a free ebook from NetGalley & Gallery Books.
geisttull's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Longwood Gardens Community Reads title - better than some - at least there was a lot of garden references.