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curlypip's review against another edition
3.0
From the blurb on the back cover, I was really looking forward to reading this, and waited 5 months to get it on loan from my library! Perhaps such a long wait made my expectations creep higher than was necessary...
It’s a good book, well written and combines my love of gardening and historic homes and novels about multiple generations of the same family. There’s a lot of good things to enjoy.
However.... there were so many characters that we didn’t really get to know them well enough, and some of the romances were a little clichéd for my liking. It took a while to get going, and the first few chapters of a multi-viewpoint novel are always hard, as you figure out who’s who. It’s easy to connect with the main female characters, Venetia, Diana and Emma, but I wanted more from them.
Overall, a solid 3 stars
It’s a good book, well written and combines my love of gardening and historic homes and novels about multiple generations of the same family. There’s a lot of good things to enjoy.
However.... there were so many characters that we didn’t really get to know them well enough, and some of the romances were a little clichéd for my liking. It took a while to get going, and the first few chapters of a multi-viewpoint novel are always hard, as you figure out who’s who. It’s easy to connect with the main female characters, Venetia, Diana and Emma, but I wanted more from them.
Overall, a solid 3 stars
jgwenb's review against another edition
4.0
British, gardens, romance, multiple time periods. So charming. Really liked it.
scromero's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
This was a slow book that was hard for me to get into. I struggled to care for the five narrators and think that the story would have benefitted from less characters. It was difficult to care for so many when we spent such little time with each.
susans's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
kelsie_reads_books's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
julieveg's review against another edition
3.0
Started off interesting but had a predictable and tidy ending. I’m a bit over the trend in fiction of multiple time periods and too many characters.
greenmachine31's review against another edition
3.0
Jumped around a bit for me in the beginning. Sometimes chapters were too short to develop the character. Better after the first half of the book. Interesting parallels
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
3.0
Solid 3.5. There was a lot of characters with interconnected storylines (1907, 1940s and 2021). The different eras of this great Downton Abby esque manner house was really fun to read about. The first female garden designer to the period when the house is taken over for war efforts to the present day when another female landscaper is hired to restore the gardens to their former glory. Lots of heartbreaking tales of loss paired with love found. Women trying to establish their independence in a changing world. Class clashes abound across the generations as well. Overall an entertaining novel but I think I would have enjoyed more focus on fewer characters a bit more.
mdbbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
caylinchronicles's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Relaxing, heartwarming read. Recommend the audiobook.