Reviews with content warning for Death - The Blue Castle

I remember enjoying the Anne of Green Gables series when I was younger, and this book was something I’d wanted to read for a while. It was an easy-to-read classic, which is something that I appreciate when it comes to classics. I also liked that it was actually written in the 1920s, allowing me to assume that the portrayal of women was likely more accurate. They were expected to be married by 20, they weren’t advised to read, etc. I feel like a lot of the historical fiction I read today has a lot of empowered women who seem like they are super groundbreaking, but in reality, they are just like every other FMC in the same type of story, which is completely fine, but not something that is necessarily accurate of the time period. One of the only complaints that I have is that I didn’t really connect to any of the characters, including the main character. However, I do wonder if that is because I am outside of the targeted age range for this book since I know that Anne of Green Gables was intended for a bit of a younger audience. For example, when the main character was complaining about breakfast in Chapter 3, she mentioned how she “hated marmalade” or how she didn’t like the nickname Doss. I feel like this is something that might better relate to a younger audience, but it is not an accurate portrayal of a 29-year-old woman. It reminds me of how TV shows that take place in high school were more appealing to me when I wasn’t actually in high school. However, having her be more relatable to a child even though she is a 29-year-old woman would make her a more relatable character for the younger audience, which is who the book was presumably intended for. My other complaint is that the book was very slow to start. However, the last ~20% was phenomenal, convincing me to recommend the book and bump my rating up another half-star.

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helenafaustina's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book kept getting better and better, and I'm glad I picked it up.

The first thing I'd like to say is that this would be a great book to read for anyone who wants to get into creative writing. There is a lot of descriptive writing with beautiful similes, prose, and things like that that are not only enjoyable, but would be really good for students to pay attention to.

It's a cozy book, full of twists and turns. It gets rather crazy at some points, and there was a lot of shocking plot twists that I didn't expect, although I did predict one from the beginning that I'm proud of myself for. I'd like to reread this knowing all that happens. The writing, in true Montgomery fashion, is gorgeous. As a nature lover myself I absolutely relished those parts. Romantic tropes came up, but it wasn't cringy, and it was enjoyable and sweet.

The only think that made me take away a half star was that during Valancy's rebellion, her attitude towards swearing was weird. She was decent in every way, but she had become weirdly tolerant of it to the point of considering doing it herself. It was an odd point in her character development.

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town_scar's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious relaxing 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

4.75

Only knocking it down a peg because I was 50% through the audiobook before it could hold my attention. But the ending blew me away, so I'll have to buy a paperback of it someday to give it a reread. Unlike my beloved Anne novels, this one has one steady arc of plot rather than a slew of vignettes.

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melliebean28's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It had a very depressing start, but once it picked up oh boy did it whirlwind. Not much to say without ruining the story except that you must must must read this book!!!

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kelleykamanda's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.0

Predictable and nothing particularly novel, but gentle, easy and nice nonetheless.

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janenx01's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? N/A

5.0

My most favorite LM Montgomery book. The love story is a little corny, but I continue to read this over and over because her descriptions of nature are so sublime. I, too, want to live in a picturesque cabin on a island in a lake in the middle of a forest.

More adult than her Anne novels - there is sex mentioned! You've been warned!

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eatingfiction's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing fast-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

5.0

[24/8/22: Finished reading for the second time, barely longer than a week since I read it originally. I'm just. In love with this book. It has this soothing quality... however in other news I hated the ending this time, lol. It's too much, WAY too much.]

Oh my soul. The way L.M. Montgomery crafts her stories are wistfully melancholic and deeply joyful. Her descriptions of nature are stunning and could make me cry for how in love with the world, despite all tragedy, her characters are. Her classic children's novel, Anne of Green Gables, is one of my all time favourites and now, and now, and now...

I love The Blue Castle. I love it despite all the reasons I shouldn't. It's largely a romance novel, which is not something I typically enjoy -- but even more so it's the story of a young woman, Valancy, falling in love with life itself. She is searching for her "Blue Castle", in other words, her home -- her true home, her purpose. She lives a loveless life in a loveless family, all tradition and routine and rules and reputation. It's in the threat of losing her life -- a sudden diagnosis of a terminal illness -- that she discovers love can exist for her. She pursues life like she never had before, to the horror of her family. (she even dares to slide down the bannister!!!)

"I’ve been keeping up appearances all my life. Now I’m going in for realities. Appearances can go hang."

This novel is funny, with Valancy's family and their utterly ridiculous ways. It's tragic, in the ways books about terminal illness usually are and bittersweet in the way that L.M. Montgomery always is. It's also very circumstantial in ways that make little logical sense...but it doesn't matter much. The ending is the stuff of fairytales, and almost too cheesy to bear. But it doesn't matter. I don't care even a little. I love this story wholeheartedly. This book is my blue castle.

“Isn't it better to have your heart broken than to have it wither up? Before it could be broken it must have felt something splendid. That would be worth the pain.”

p.s. Banjo and Good Luck are the loves of my life

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asiaasiaja's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Beautiful prose, a great and well fleshed-out protagonist, one of my most favourite romance books of all time.

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