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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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:
Yes
I liked this better than ‘The Glass Ocean’, though they both tackle similar timelines and stories, and are both exceedingly exhausting because of it. I think what made me like this more is how the main characters- both Caroline in the past and Caroline in the present- are strong independent women with agency, yet they are incredibly imperfect as well. Their selfishness war with their selflessness in a shockingly realistic and relatable way, and I guess it’s because I could connect with them more that I found myself drawn to this story a lot more as well.
I realize some people might not like the time jump technique employed here, which makes use of old letters to tell pieces of the past, but I actually appreciated it. It lets you into the mind of Caroline (of the past) and how she tries to tell her twin sister about the secret life she’s living, as well as her insecurities despite doing what she thinks is the right thing. The letters were at times selfish and unintentionally cruel, and honestly even I developed a love/hate relationship with Caroline. It’s very complicated. And another complicated thing this novel highlighted? Family relations. It’s about one of the hardest things in life, from my experience, because conflicts related to family is almost always more deeply-rooted than what appears on the surface. It’s so much harder to deal with family, to not allow resentments to fester, than it is to deal with other people. It’s because we always start from a place of love when it comes to family. That’s why the misunderstandings and disappointments always feel so much worse and so much more painful than they should when it’s family causing it. I thought this novel illustrated this point so well. Grief and secrets very nearly doomed this family to a point of no return (from past to present), and it would’ve been easy to make this story more melodramatic than it should be, but the author knows how to keep it grounded.
I realize some people might not like the time jump technique employed here, which makes use of old letters to tell pieces of the past, but I actually appreciated it. It lets you into the mind of Caroline (of the past) and how she tries to tell her twin sister about the secret life she’s living, as well as her insecurities despite doing what she thinks is the right thing. The letters were at times selfish and unintentionally cruel, and honestly even I developed a love/hate relationship with Caroline. It’s very complicated. And another complicated thing this novel highlighted? Family relations. It’s about one of the hardest things in life, from my experience, because conflicts related to family is almost always more deeply-rooted than what appears on the surface. It’s so much harder to deal with family, to not allow resentments to fester, than it is to deal with other people. It’s because we always start from a place of love when it comes to family. That’s why the misunderstandings and disappointments always feel so much worse and so much more painful than they should when it’s family causing it. I thought this novel illustrated this point so well. Grief and secrets very nearly doomed this family to a point of no return (from past to present), and it would’ve been easy to make this story more melodramatic than it should be, but the author knows how to keep it grounded.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
The London House is a historical fiction novel with themes about learning from the past to have a happier and more successful future.
Caroline’s family has suffered loss and hardship for multiple generations with each generation feeling even more trapped in grief than the last. The lies that were meant to protect have only caused more hurt and feelings of betrayal. Caroline’s world is turned upside down when she learns that there is more to her family history than she was told, and she decides to finally discover the long lost truth.
The London House has two main stories, the story of Caroline Payne in present day and the story of Caroline’s great aunt and namesake, Caroline Waite (Caro). The story is told from Caroline’s perspective as she reads the letters and diaries her grandmother and great aunt left behind. I personally didn’t really care for this particular way of telling a story. It’s definitely unique, but I prefer more of a 3rd person narrative.
I enjoyed the themes of learning from the past and moving forward with the intent of not repeating those mistakes. I love family history and finding connections with our ancestors and this story definitely had that. I enjoyed the bit of mystery, and felt like I needed to finish to find out what really happened to Caro. But I struggled with the writing style, I didn’t connect with the characters, and there were several main plot points that I just didn’t enjoy.
Caroline and all her family members were so critical of each other and just angry and bitter. I get that this story is about growing and healing, but I didn’t like how no one seemed to have healthy relationships. Even when reading Caro’s letters, I didn’t like how she was constantly at odds with her family. I understand having falling outs and conflicts, but I felt like there were more conflicts and arguments than happy moments and I prefer to read about happy loving characters.
The timing of the story was also something that bothered me. The Caroline spends about a week studying about 20 years of Caro’s life. Although the research probably could’ve been done that quickly if you didn’t do anything else, I felt like the healing that happened between Caroline and her parents and her friend Mat during that week seemed way fast considering they have 20+ years of grief, conflict, and bitterness to overcome.
I think I would’ve liked this story better if it had just been a narrative of Caro and her story. And I would’ve liked to see more romantic elements both in Caro’s story in 1940 and Caroline’s story in 2020.
Overall, it was a good story, but it’s not for me.
If you like WWII historical fiction, two plot lines that parallel each other, and characters who are influenced to change by studying the past, you may enjoy the London House.
Caroline’s family has suffered loss and hardship for multiple generations with each generation feeling even more trapped in grief than the last. The lies that were meant to protect have only caused more hurt and feelings of betrayal. Caroline’s world is turned upside down when she learns that there is more to her family history than she was told, and she decides to finally discover the long lost truth.
The London House has two main stories, the story of Caroline Payne in present day and the story of Caroline’s great aunt and namesake, Caroline Waite (Caro). The story is told from Caroline’s perspective as she reads the letters and diaries her grandmother and great aunt left behind. I personally didn’t really care for this particular way of telling a story. It’s definitely unique, but I prefer more of a 3rd person narrative.
I enjoyed the themes of learning from the past and moving forward with the intent of not repeating those mistakes. I love family history and finding connections with our ancestors and this story definitely had that. I enjoyed the bit of mystery, and felt like I needed to finish to find out what really happened to Caro. But I struggled with the writing style, I didn’t connect with the characters, and there were several main plot points that I just didn’t enjoy.
Caroline and all her family members were so critical of each other and just angry and bitter. I get that this story is about growing and healing, but I didn’t like how no one seemed to have healthy relationships. Even when reading Caro’s letters, I didn’t like how she was constantly at odds with her family. I understand having falling outs and conflicts, but I felt like there were more conflicts and arguments than happy moments and I prefer to read about happy loving characters.
The timing of the story was also something that bothered me. The Caroline spends about a week studying about 20 years of Caro’s life. Although the research probably could’ve been done that quickly if you didn’t do anything else, I felt like the healing that happened between Caroline and her parents and her friend Mat during that week seemed way fast considering they have 20+ years of grief, conflict, and bitterness to overcome.
I think I would’ve liked this story better if it had just been a narrative of Caro and her story. And I would’ve liked to see more romantic elements both in Caro’s story in 1940 and Caroline’s story in 2020.
Overall, it was a good story, but it’s not for me.
If you like WWII historical fiction, two plot lines that parallel each other, and characters who are influenced to change by studying the past, you may enjoy the London House.
A riveting search for the truth behind generations of family secrets; this split-time (and partially epistolary!) novel is filled with intense family drama and intricate details.
In many ways, The London House is not an easy read. In fact, I actually stopped a third of the way through the book when I first got it from NetGalley. But a few months later, I picked it up again, and was able to slowly savor the depths of the detail.
In many ways, The London House is not an easy read. In fact, I actually stopped a third of the way through the book when I first got it from NetGalley. But a few months later, I picked it up again, and was able to slowly savor the depths of the detail.
I was listening to the audiobook and it's a MAJOR pet peeve when the narrator cannot do a competent accent of a significant character. A huge number of the characters are British - the narrator should be able to do a British accent. Stopped listening very early.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes