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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
It started out so good-- great characters, even with bouncing from pov, it was well organized and thoughtful, and then her writing groups intervened, I assume? Why the affair? And then at the end, a baby as a participation trophy. I was repulsed by the lies of the main character. It made her not likeable and made me detest the entire story. Would not read anything by this author again.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
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:
No
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
No
Nothing like a British accent to keep me engaged in an audio book. This is a read where not much happens but so much does. A timeless love story filled with missed opportunities and coming full circle.
I liked this a lot but the multiple POV storytelling took some getting used to. Overall I was invested in most of the characters but I skimmed through a few of them. The ending felt a little rushed to me as well.
This book was not what I expected it to be, but that's not to say it wasn't great as is! The ending was not what I expected either, but I'm glad it worked out the way it did. It felt right.
This book doesn't just focus on a few years of Bea being in and coming home from America after being sent there temporarily from WWII torn London, but it focuses on her and her surrounding family and friends and the love and loss between them for decades.
Sometimes it was hard to tell about what year it was or who was talking due to the major lack of quotation marks, with the conversations largely happening inside the body of paragraphs. It also felt pretty unnecessarily long in some parts.
I give this book credit for not catering to happy endings with a neat bow placed on top. While the absolute ending was happy, it was not a happy journey.
This book doesn't just focus on a few years of Bea being in and coming home from America after being sent there temporarily from WWII torn London, but it focuses on her and her surrounding family and friends and the love and loss between them for decades.
Sometimes it was hard to tell about what year it was or who was talking due to the major lack of quotation marks, with the conversations largely happening inside the body of paragraphs. It also felt pretty unnecessarily long in some parts.
I give this book credit for not catering to happy endings with a neat bow placed on top. While the absolute ending was happy, it was not a happy journey.
emotional
reflective
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:
Yes
It was fine. The settings (geographical and time periods) were probably the most interesting part, the characters were only semi engaging and I found the plot pretty predictable. But it was an easy read, just nothing really stood out to me about it
emotional
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Millie and Reg send their 11 year old daughter away from the London blitz, across the sea to America. She lives with the Gregory family and their two sons who are around her age.
The first half of this novel, about Bea's experience during the war, was wonderful. The anguish of sending away your child to keep them safe, having her live with complete strangers. There are so many ways it could have gone. There is a mix of sadness, joy, jealousy and love. The emotions leap off the page and fill you with bittersweet longing.
The second half of the novel covers the decades after the war. It was just so boring. Instead of the detailed nuances of the two families lives, it is a series of events with little context. I stopped caring about the characters.
I would definitely read more by this author, and I am so glad I read the first half of this story.
The first half of this novel, about Bea's experience during the war, was wonderful. The anguish of sending away your child to keep them safe, having her live with complete strangers. There are so many ways it could have gone. There is a mix of sadness, joy, jealousy and love. The emotions leap off the page and fill you with bittersweet longing.
The second half of the novel covers the decades after the war. It was just so boring. Instead of the detailed nuances of the two families lives, it is a series of events with little context. I stopped caring about the characters.
I would definitely read more by this author, and I am so glad I read the first half of this story.