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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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3.5 stars rounded to 4. moonlight and the pearler's daughter is a really interesting historical fiction debut. it's got a great plotline with a mystery that pulled me in far more than i expected it to with some unexpected twists and turns towards the end. for me, the plot is the high point of this novel. the cast is great. i really fell in love with eliza; her fearless and headstrong nature was charming in spite of the fact that she was occasionally naive and reckless. her brother thomas was also a really interesting addition, and i wish we'd gotten to see a little more of him to further understand his mentality.
there are many examples of descriptive, beautifully crafted passages of scene-setting to really immerse the reader in 1890s australia. for me, they were perhaps a little too lengthy and elaborate and became a little tedious, but i think if you really love the historical fiction genre, it'll be a positive for you. lizzie pook really works so hard to paint a mental image of a long gone time period. there are also some flashback scenes, diary entries, and check-ins with characters away from the main storyline interspersed throughout the story. while most of them added to the overall experience, they occasionally took me out of an exciting plot point in the main storyline that i wanted to focus on. but aside from these two points, MATPD is a solid story that i would recommend giving a try if you like historical fiction and/or mystery.
massive thanks to pan Macmillan and netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars rounded to 4. moonlight and the pearler's daughter is a really interesting historical fiction debut. it's got a great plotline with a mystery that pulled me in far more than i expected it to with some unexpected twists and turns towards the end. for me, the plot is the high point of this novel. the cast is great. i really fell in love with eliza; her fearless and headstrong nature was charming in spite of the fact that she was occasionally naive and reckless. her brother thomas was also a really interesting addition, and i wish we'd gotten to see a little more of him to further understand his mentality.
there are many examples of descriptive, beautifully crafted passages of scene-setting to really immerse the reader in 1890s australia. for me, they were perhaps a little too lengthy and elaborate and became a little tedious, but i think if you really love the historical fiction genre, it'll be a positive for you. lizzie pook really works so hard to paint a mental image of a long gone time period. there are also some flashback scenes, diary entries, and check-ins with characters away from the main storyline interspersed throughout the story. while most of them added to the overall experience, they occasionally took me out of an exciting plot point in the main storyline that i wanted to focus on. but aside from these two points, MATPD is a solid story that i would recommend giving a try if you like historical fiction and/or mystery.
massive thanks to pan Macmillan and netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was the sprayed edges that drew me in initially but I stayed for the gutsy heroine!
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one since I don't really go for historical books.
I liked the writing style and how descriptive it was. Eliza is literally my favourite - she's the kind of person I'd be friends with.
Overall, a really interesting read!
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one since I don't really go for historical books.
I liked the writing style and how descriptive it was. Eliza is literally my favourite - she's the kind of person I'd be friends with.
Overall, a really interesting read!
Nothing about this book was satisfying.
The writing was meh, the pacing was off and the story just got progressively more frustrating. Lots of ideas and little plot points were introduced but none of them felt like they actually added anything or were utilized. There were so many details bur I felt like we were getting descriptions about the wrong things that didn’t actually add to the story. Others felt like they were splashed in to give the characters a rich inner life or make us really sympathize but these were much fewer and far between and every character still felt really boring.
I felt like there were so many missed opportunities and so many interesting endings that could have been. Nothing was really fleshed out or developed and on top of that the ending felt incredibly rushed. The characters all had to have a happy ending (but done in a really bland, annoying way), and the twist / mystery ending wasn’t actually fun. But it could have been!
That’s maybe the worst thing about this book for me- it could have be fun.
The writing was meh, the pacing was off and the story just got progressively more frustrating. Lots of ideas and little plot points were introduced but none of them felt like they actually added anything or were utilized. There were so many details bur I felt like we were getting descriptions about the wrong things that didn’t actually add to the story. Others felt like they were splashed in to give the characters a rich inner life or make us really sympathize but these were much fewer and far between and every character still felt really boring.
I felt like there were so many missed opportunities and so many interesting endings that could have been. Nothing was really fleshed out or developed and on top of that the ending felt incredibly rushed. The characters all had to have a happy ending (but done in a really bland, annoying way), and the twist / mystery ending wasn’t actually fun. But it could have been!
That’s maybe the worst thing about this book for me- it could have be fun.
Love this so far!
Update: The plot was okay, but the descriptive language was perfection and earned this 5 stars
Update: The plot was okay, but the descriptive language was perfection and earned this 5 stars
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you love historical fiction that paints vivid landscapes and details in its description this is for you! I only like this sort of book via audiobook otherwise I find myself getting distracted because there isn't much of a quick-paced plot. Something else I didn't love was that there seemed to be a lack of transition between chapters, it got better as the book went on but just didn't flow very well in my opinion.
Note: I got the audiobook to finish out what I hadn't read yet, and it was much easier to picture the descriptions like a movie for me.
Thank you again to NetGalley and for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Note: I got the audiobook to finish out what I hadn't read yet, and it was much easier to picture the descriptions like a movie for me.
Thank you again to NetGalley and for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes