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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I received this as an ARC through Netgalley.
I was impressed with how all the stories were interwoven. A great work of historical fiction.
I was impressed with how all the stories were interwoven. A great work of historical fiction.
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars. Though there are sad things that happen in this book, I would still characterize it as a pleasant read. I didn't have much of an emotional reaction to the sad events, perhaps because they were fairly easy to see coming, or perhaps because there were so many stories happening I didn't feel very attached to any characters, or perhaps because I am just cold-hearted.
At any rate, if you like reading about bucolic English gardens and countrysides, this might be a book for you.
At any rate, if you like reading about bucolic English gardens and countrysides, this might be a book for you.
Originally reviewed at Books Etc.
Julia Kelly's The Whispers of War was a favourite of 2020 so I was very much looking forward her 2021 release, The Last Garden of England. It did not let me down!
As the description indicates, this novel stretches over three time periods. I really liked that we got a sweeping story with a magnificent garden at the centre of it. The world of gardens and how they were designed for those grand houses in England hadn't ever been something I had thought about and I found it really interesting. I liked reading as the garden was planned, seen in all it's glory, and then in decay as it was being brought back to life. That was how Kelly intended the story to be connected but it got a bit lost in the 1944 timeline. That's not to say I wasn't interested, as I absolutely was. I just think, at some points, it read like two different books that just happened to have the same garden. The 1907 and present day storylines, on the other hand, were woven together really well as it was the beginning and the end (plus a rebirth) of the garden. Emma was determined to figure out Venetia's original plan and I loved reading as she dug into the history of Highbury House's garden.
All the characters - and there were a lot of them - were engaging and I was intrigued at how they were all connected through the years. I cared about each woman and wanted only the best for them. I was worried when they found themselves in impossible situations and rooted for them to find their Happily Ever After, whatever that may have been.
Kelly spent the most time on the 1944 timeline, which is not surprising as there were three characters featured in that section and given her history of writing WWII era novels. I've read novels about land girls and the big houses that were turned into hospitals (possibly even in the same novel before) but Kelly still managed to make it a fresh and interesting story that kept me turning the pages until the end.
The Last Garden in England isn't perfect but it is perfectly entertaining. I enjoyed every minute I spent reading Julia Kelly's latest novel and thought of it often when I wasn't reading it. This one is for the historical fiction fans who want to get lost in a whole other world - a world full of flowers and secrets.
*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*
Julia Kelly's The Whispers of War was a favourite of 2020 so I was very much looking forward her 2021 release, The Last Garden of England. It did not let me down!
As the description indicates, this novel stretches over three time periods. I really liked that we got a sweeping story with a magnificent garden at the centre of it. The world of gardens and how they were designed for those grand houses in England hadn't ever been something I had thought about and I found it really interesting. I liked reading as the garden was planned, seen in all it's glory, and then in decay as it was being brought back to life. That was how Kelly intended the story to be connected but it got a bit lost in the 1944 timeline. That's not to say I wasn't interested, as I absolutely was. I just think, at some points, it read like two different books that just happened to have the same garden. The 1907 and present day storylines, on the other hand, were woven together really well as it was the beginning and the end (plus a rebirth) of the garden. Emma was determined to figure out Venetia's original plan and I loved reading as she dug into the history of Highbury House's garden.
All the characters - and there were a lot of them - were engaging and I was intrigued at how they were all connected through the years. I cared about each woman and wanted only the best for them. I was worried when they found themselves in impossible situations and rooted for them to find their Happily Ever After, whatever that may have been.
Kelly spent the most time on the 1944 timeline, which is not surprising as there were three characters featured in that section and given her history of writing WWII era novels. I've read novels about land girls and the big houses that were turned into hospitals (possibly even in the same novel before) but Kelly still managed to make it a fresh and interesting story that kept me turning the pages until the end.
The Last Garden in England isn't perfect but it is perfectly entertaining. I enjoyed every minute I spent reading Julia Kelly's latest novel and thought of it often when I wasn't reading it. This one is for the historical fiction fans who want to get lost in a whole other world - a world full of flowers and secrets.
*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*
I originally gave this book 5 stars but after thinking more about it last night, I decided to bump the rating down to 3.5 stars - rounded up to 4 stars. This was a beautiful story about 3 women and how they are all connected to the garden at the Highbury House. The descriptive language made me feel as if I am in the garden myself, walking along the paths, seeing and touching all of the flowers. I liked how everything was based on real facts from the early 1900s, during the war and then in the present day. I liked learning about the requisition of properties and land during the war. It was interesting that Venetia's story was written in first person (diary format) while all of the others in third person.
I liked how all of their stories came together in the book but... I felt there was something missing in the end. It felt like it wrapped up too fast for me in the final moments of the story. Throughout the story, the actual designing and restoration process was never really emphasized because the characters were always absorbed by something else or someone else so to say. I would have enjoyed hearing a bit more of the process and maybe even the map of the garden in the beginning of the book would have been an amazing visual since it was hard to grasp how big the garden actually was or for someone with no flower knowledge, the diagram of which flower is where.
The pace of the story was very good but jumping back to talking about the ending, I felt it closed too fast and some items were left unresolved. Emma may have been the storyline that ties all of the stories together but I felt it was a bit unrealistic of how Emma, Sydney and the rest of the characters in that storyline all figured out the story with her grandfather without doing any research and never fully closed that thought. It felt they just brain stormed the idea and then moved on to the next closing points.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and learning about the characters. I did feel that Stella was perhaps a bit more dominant in Beth's storyline but it wasn't an issue at all. If you like historical fiction, I recommend this book because of the amount of facts in the book and the romance adds a nice touch to the storylines.
I liked how all of their stories came together in the book but... I felt there was something missing in the end. It felt like it wrapped up too fast for me in the final moments of the story. Throughout the story, the actual designing and restoration process was never really emphasized because the characters were always absorbed by something else or someone else so to say. I would have enjoyed hearing a bit more of the process and maybe even the map of the garden in the beginning of the book would have been an amazing visual since it was hard to grasp how big the garden actually was or for someone with no flower knowledge, the diagram of which flower is where.
The pace of the story was very good but jumping back to talking about the ending, I felt it closed too fast and some items were left unresolved. Emma may have been the storyline that ties all of the stories together but I felt it was a bit unrealistic of how Emma, Sydney and the rest of the characters in that storyline all figured out the story with her grandfather without doing any research and never fully closed that thought. It felt they just brain stormed the idea and then moved on to the next closing points.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and learning about the characters. I did feel that Stella was perhaps a bit more dominant in Beth's storyline but it wasn't an issue at all. If you like historical fiction, I recommend this book because of the amount of facts in the book and the romance adds a nice touch to the storylines.
This book by Julia Kelly is stellar!!! There are 3 timelines...1907/1944/2021. The story revolves around the gardens at Highbury House.
Venetia is the first one to begin work on the gardens but is forced to leave before her work is done and leaves for America to start a new life after some scandal/tragedy.
In the 1944 timeline, Diana is the new the owner of Highbury and it has been taken over by the government as a hospital during the war. Stella works in the kitchen and Beth works on the land at a nearby farm and comes to Highbury to sketch the gardens.
Emma is in the 2021 timeline and has been hired to bring back the beauty of the gardens. She is able to use sketches from Venetia and Beth both to try to recreate the gardens to their fullest.
This is a beautiful story about so many things but the most important to me is that this garden was the happiness of so many people. There was sadness too but the garden brought them to happiness.
Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery books for an early copy of this beautiful book.
Venetia is the first one to begin work on the gardens but is forced to leave before her work is done and leaves for America to start a new life after some scandal/tragedy.
In the 1944 timeline, Diana is the new the owner of Highbury and it has been taken over by the government as a hospital during the war. Stella works in the kitchen and Beth works on the land at a nearby farm and comes to Highbury to sketch the gardens.
Emma is in the 2021 timeline and has been hired to bring back the beauty of the gardens. She is able to use sketches from Venetia and Beth both to try to recreate the gardens to their fullest.
This is a beautiful story about so many things but the most important to me is that this garden was the happiness of so many people. There was sadness too but the garden brought them to happiness.
Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery books for an early copy of this beautiful book.
Julia Kelly crafts a beautiful multi-generational novel in The Last Garden in England. Centering around the breathtaking Highbury House estate, the reader meets women across three different timelines--1907, led by Venetia Smith, the garden designer who brings it to life; 1944, and the women who protect it from being destroyed and turned into wartime farmland; and present-day as Emma tries to restore the garden's original beauty.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous and so descriptive that I felt like I was in the dirt with these women. While there are a lot of different characters to keep track of and the narration and timeline shifts quite a bit throughout the seasons the book is divided into, I thought Julia Kelly did a great job really developing each character.
I really enjoyed traveling throughout time with this novel and this special garden. I will be grabbing a copy of this when it comes out, it will make the perfect gift for someone who loves gardening and a strong set of female leads!
Special thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous and so descriptive that I felt like I was in the dirt with these women. While there are a lot of different characters to keep track of and the narration and timeline shifts quite a bit throughout the seasons the book is divided into, I thought Julia Kelly did a great job really developing each character.
I really enjoyed traveling throughout time with this novel and this special garden. I will be grabbing a copy of this when it comes out, it will make the perfect gift for someone who loves gardening and a strong set of female leads!
Special thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Читала-читала и не могла понять: часть сюжета мне знакома, а остальное абсолютно нет. С помощью товарищей разобралась, что знакомая часть была из "Поворота ключа" Рут Уэа. А в целом все очень мило, про сады я люблю, про британские в особенности, а тут судьбы трех женщин - той, что сад создала, той, что владела, и той, что реставрировала, ну и всякие там тайны и загадки, которые случайно выкапываются в ходе садоводства.
I enjoyed the 3 different timelines and although parts of the book did take place during WWII it was a different perspective and not battle scenes, etc. I liked the garden aspect of it and how all three stories were tied together by the Highbury House and garden!