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maelirose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
You can't really expect much from an Italian Gothic novel written by an English woman who never went to Italy. Nevertheless, it was full of romance, mystery, and adventure. The ending though was too rushed and characters who I thought were dead just magically appeared out of nowhere. The beginning was really good but the second half of the book needed to be slowed down. Thus, the ending fell flat. I liked The Italian better but it was still a fun fast read.
aklev13's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars ✨
So i’ve been really into gothic romance for a bit lately and thought why not go back to where it all started? I’m no literature historian but i feel like Ann Radcliffe has become known as like the founder of the gothic romance genre so i was like let’s go!
What i did not expect was to read something that also felt like the foundation of daytime soap operas like Days of Our Lives. There was so much family drama like with every person we met in this narrative and no one seemed to actually die, which is crazy because historically, weren’t people dying from colds and drinking water?
I’ve seen this be criticised for too much tell and not enough show and how it doesnt really explore the emotional lives of the characters and i did feel like this had a very fairytale-esque vibe to the narrative i.e ‘there once was a girl and she did this and then this and felt ever so scared’ - you get the gist. But this was also a lot of fun and did repeatedly have me muttering to myself like a crazy person because i had no idea where this was going or what would happen next so would recommend.
So i’ve been really into gothic romance for a bit lately and thought why not go back to where it all started? I’m no literature historian but i feel like Ann Radcliffe has become known as like the founder of the gothic romance genre so i was like let’s go!
What i did not expect was to read something that also felt like the foundation of daytime soap operas like Days of Our Lives. There was so much family drama like with every person we met in this narrative and no one seemed to actually die, which is crazy because historically, weren’t people dying from colds and drinking water?
I’ve seen this be criticised for too much tell and not enough show and how it doesnt really explore the emotional lives of the characters and i did feel like this had a very fairytale-esque vibe to the narrative i.e ‘there once was a girl and she did this and then this and felt ever so scared’ - you get the gist. But this was also a lot of fun and did repeatedly have me muttering to myself like a crazy person because i had no idea where this was going or what would happen next so would recommend.
poeshoe's review against another edition
3.5
Like the story started really great, with a lot of cliches and very convenient coincidences, but it felt like i was reading the Princess Bride, Stardust, Cinderella, those very nostalgic fairytales, but with darker themes and ambiance. But towards the middle, those coincidences became unbearable. In a gothic book, seeking realism is meaningless, but to use that many coincidences to save the plot, that felt like weak and amateur writing to me. I thought it would be a 5 star read, but it ended up not living up to my expectations.
thethinwomanreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
megales's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for a graduate class for YA: Mystery and Horror. I've heard of Radcliffe before and how she was very popular with her gothic style. I can see why readers would have flocked to her novels in the 18th century- a lot of drama goes on! I would call a lot of it cliché but this was an emerging style at the time it was written. It does still remind me of a soap opera- the use of exclamation points, the sudden discovery of someone's sibling or love where you least expect, but is very coincidental! That said I enjoyed this book for that reason, it made me laugh but also I wanted to know what was going to happen next- kidnapping, hiding, shipwrecks, long lost relatives, secret caverns under castles. Like it's crazy, with a lot of female fainting everywhere, but entertaining.
tferree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
Read this for uni. Some of the writing was really beautiful, but it could also be a bit tedious and confusing, particularly the dialogue. Very dramatic and action packed, but some of the twists seemed more for shock value. The end was a bit too neat and tidy for such an otherwise dramatic story.
chelbiird's review against another edition
4.0
oh you know i love a gothic novel… this is really great so heightened and dramatic AND the female protagonist is kinda the romantic hero
christina_a_f's review against another edition
4.0
This was on a syllabus for a Romantics/Gothic lit course where I’d started it but never finished. So glad I finally got around to finishing this. It’s cool to see where a lot of the tropes of later gothic and romantic literature started. It kept me at the edge of my seat, not wrapping up until the very last instant, keeping the tension going throughout.
codenamelou's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
dom_brlw's review against another edition
3.0
A Sicilian Romance is your 1790s thriller. It would have left readers up late at night at the time, made them cry and jump but nowadays, it isn't as entertaining. This book is better studied than read to be honest. The first book I encountered and felt was like that.
I was never so absorbed in the story that I forgot I was reading. I would count the number of pages left in the chapters and sigh when I saw it was more than 10. I always postponed the moment for reading it. When in literature class, however, I loved studying it. It was so much fun!
Also, I was rather proud when I uncovered the mystery (revealed in the last 20 pages) at the very beginning of the novel :)
Well, if you want to know, this book is filled with women fainting, a controlling parent, a manipulative stepmother, men seeking power or men being very chivalrous. It has many themes of the gothic like the use of setting, representation of gender, the supernatural, power and menace and more.
If you're interested in a 1790s read with a bit of action and lots of running away, go for it, you might like it! And if you'd like to study it, even better!
Happy reading <3
I was never so absorbed in the story that I forgot I was reading. I would count the number of pages left in the chapters and sigh when I saw it was more than 10. I always postponed the moment for reading it. When in literature class, however, I loved studying it. It was so much fun!
Also, I was rather proud when I uncovered the mystery (revealed in the last 20 pages) at the very beginning of the novel :)
Well, if you want to know, this book is filled with women fainting, a controlling parent, a manipulative stepmother, men seeking power or men being very chivalrous. It has many themes of the gothic like the use of setting, representation of gender, the supernatural, power and menace and more.
If you're interested in a 1790s read with a bit of action and lots of running away, go for it, you might like it! And if you'd like to study it, even better!
Happy reading <3