Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
hopeful
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
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
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
this book seems not just romantic, but also Romantic. it makes me want to lose myself in a field of violets.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
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
This book was a pleasant, short read that made me feel pretty happy. No complaints, and of course I loved George and Lucy.
Phew, boy am I glad I finished this book.
I really really wanted to like this book. I heard that there was really rich and beautiful imagery and that it had all of these beautiful moments set in Italy. To an extent that was there. I don't know if it was just me being a mood reader that is currently in a phase where I need to read fast paced narratives, but I found the majority of this novel to be unbearably slow and dry. Half of the novel is set in Italy and the other half is set in England. Strangely, I enjoyed the parts set in England more than those set in Italy, despite my entire reason for picking up this novel being its Italian setting. I found that there was just more interesting plot points that occurred in the second half. The first half literally just felt like we were pointlessly meandering around Italy.
I spoke with someone who genuinely enjoyed this novel when they read it, and they said that the whole point of it is that it is slow and suppressing and that not much happens. I understand that, however it just did not work for me. I felt like I really had to scrape through some of the chapters and that in some of them I really just didn't even understand what was going on. That was probably my fault though because it didn't take long before I stopped reading the explanatory notes of which there were a considerable amount.
Fortunately, the final 40-50 pages of this novel provided some sort of redemption. I found that the plot was a lot more fast-paced and easy to follow. It was also just generally more interesting and people were doing things and talking about things instead of just gossiping about minor characters. I actually really enjoyed the last 40-50 pages of this book, which is kind of a bummer for me because it shows me that the first half of the book could have been enjoyable for me too if it hadn't been written so painstakingly slowly.
All in all, I'm glad that I'm over with this book. I'm happy it picked up towards the end, but the massive reading slump it put me into and the way that I felt the need to actively avoid it really brought down its rating for me. I always assume however, that with another reading I may find different things to enjoy in a work. The same goes for this novel, though I don't see myself picking this up again for a good while.
I really really wanted to like this book. I heard that there was really rich and beautiful imagery and that it had all of these beautiful moments set in Italy. To an extent that was there. I don't know if it was just me being a mood reader that is currently in a phase where I need to read fast paced narratives, but I found the majority of this novel to be unbearably slow and dry. Half of the novel is set in Italy and the other half is set in England. Strangely, I enjoyed the parts set in England more than those set in Italy, despite my entire reason for picking up this novel being its Italian setting. I found that there was just more interesting plot points that occurred in the second half. The first half literally just felt like we were pointlessly meandering around Italy.
I spoke with someone who genuinely enjoyed this novel when they read it, and they said that the whole point of it is that it is slow and suppressing and that not much happens. I understand that, however it just did not work for me. I felt like I really had to scrape through some of the chapters and that in some of them I really just didn't even understand what was going on. That was probably my fault though because it didn't take long before I stopped reading the explanatory notes of which there were a considerable amount.
Fortunately, the final 40-50 pages of this novel provided some sort of redemption. I found that the plot was a lot more fast-paced and easy to follow. It was also just generally more interesting and people were doing things and talking about things instead of just gossiping about minor characters. I actually really enjoyed the last 40-50 pages of this book, which is kind of a bummer for me because it shows me that the first half of the book could have been enjoyable for me too if it hadn't been written so painstakingly slowly.
All in all, I'm glad that I'm over with this book. I'm happy it picked up towards the end, but the massive reading slump it put me into and the way that I felt the need to actively avoid it really brought down its rating for me. I always assume however, that with another reading I may find different things to enjoy in a work. The same goes for this novel, though I don't see myself picking this up again for a good while.