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dobilodeau's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
2.5
elvenavari's review against another edition
3.0
I like this. The attention to emotions was excellent.
jac995's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not my normal sort of read but it was a good story and enjoyable. It's about a newly divorced man who is an architect who decides to do a stone hedge building class in Cornwall. As he builds relationships and starts to heal his life there is a flood which threatens the lives of the villages he has come to care about. I liked how it was based on an actual flood in the town of Boscastle in 2004 and the actions and rescues of the townspeople were real.
lisadee's review against another edition
5.0
The blurbs for this book compare it to Nicholas Sparks. In the way that the author is so in touch with emotions that comparison is very accurate. This book doesn't leave me with that corny romance aftertaste however. I spent almost as much time pondering why I enjoyed it as I did actually reading it. In part it was because of the endearing characters such as the precocious little girl; Lee; wise beyond her years. The settings were vibrant and real partially because it is a fictional story set around the events of a flood that occured in the English countryside in 2004. The stories of the various characters then seem to build onto each other, layer upon layer, like that of the paintings of one character, Nicola. On the surface it is a story of how stone walls are built, how they are formed, what they can withstand yet it is very symbolic of human nature, and what makes a person who they are...what builds them up, what knocks them down ,and how all the parts fit together to make a whole. That is how this book is best enjoyed: you see all of these layers, but to see it's beauty you have to step back from it and see it as a whole.
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
A little romance is sometimes exactly what you need. Here we have Andrew Stratton, professor of architecture, recently divorced by his wife who derides his choice of profession. He decides to take a summer course in building dry stone hedges in England while he thinks about his passion for architecture linked to the earth.
Nicola, a painter, has been living a quiet life since she left her abusive husband.
Both are in Boscastle, a small village on the coast of England and they get to know each other through the friendship of a small girl, wise beyond her years.
The story is told against the real-life background of Boscastle and the real-life event of a 2004 flash flood that destroyed much of the village. Nicola has a argumentative bent that she uses as a protective device. Andrew is suffering from a crisis of confidence. Both find something in the other that they need.
I learned a lot about dry stone hedges and how they are built (which was interesting), and enjoyed the setting and the characters. There are lots of intriguing people here and this is no cookie-cutter romance.
Nicola, a painter, has been living a quiet life since she left her abusive husband.
Both are in Boscastle, a small village on the coast of England and they get to know each other through the friendship of a small girl, wise beyond her years.
The story is told against the real-life background of Boscastle and the real-life event of a 2004 flash flood that destroyed much of the village. Nicola has a argumentative bent that she uses as a protective device. Andrew is suffering from a crisis of confidence. Both find something in the other that they need.
I learned a lot about dry stone hedges and how they are built (which was interesting), and enjoyed the setting and the characters. There are lots of intriguing people here and this is no cookie-cutter romance.