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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
This is an emotional, poignant love story of both romantic love and love between a mother and daughter. It moved me in the end - I teared up multiple times - but it also felt really slow and overly wordy for the majority of the book.
3.5 stars
I don't read a lot of historical fiction, let alone historical romance, but the setting and time period of The Glittering Hour caught my attention. This is a love story, but even more than that, it's the story of a mother and daughter and their bond. The story is told in dual timelines, and while that doesn't always work for me, the author handles it quite seamlessly, and it's easy to get lost in the atmosphere of the story. That said, this one does have some serious lag time in the beginning, but the second part of the book certainly makes up for it. This is not a story full of action, but it does have a forward momentum that kept me reading. I loved the connection between mother and daughter, and I was as interested in learning about how Alice came to be as she was. Overall, it's a wonderful story of love and loss with engaging characters and one of my favorite time periods in history. The wild and carefree Selina fits in perfectly with what we think of when the '20s are mentioned, and even though she lives in a different time, the author still made her relatable. This one may have been a bit out of my wheelhouse, and those lags in the first half could've used some going over, but it is most certainly worth the read.
as posted on Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read Blog scheduled to go live at 8am EST on Dec 1st, 2019
https://mommasaystoreadornottoread.blogspot.com/2019/12/book-review-blog-tour-glittering-hour.html
I don't read a lot of historical fiction, let alone historical romance, but the setting and time period of The Glittering Hour caught my attention. This is a love story, but even more than that, it's the story of a mother and daughter and their bond. The story is told in dual timelines, and while that doesn't always work for me, the author handles it quite seamlessly, and it's easy to get lost in the atmosphere of the story. That said, this one does have some serious lag time in the beginning, but the second part of the book certainly makes up for it. This is not a story full of action, but it does have a forward momentum that kept me reading. I loved the connection between mother and daughter, and I was as interested in learning about how Alice came to be as she was. Overall, it's a wonderful story of love and loss with engaging characters and one of my favorite time periods in history. The wild and carefree Selina fits in perfectly with what we think of when the '20s are mentioned, and even though she lives in a different time, the author still made her relatable. This one may have been a bit out of my wheelhouse, and those lags in the first half could've used some going over, but it is most certainly worth the read.
as posted on Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read Blog scheduled to go live at 8am EST on Dec 1st, 2019
https://mommasaystoreadornottoread.blogspot.com/2019/12/book-review-blog-tour-glittering-hour.html
Tepid tearjerker about two star-crossed lovers between the wars. Some nice atmosphere with the Bright Young Things of the 1920s, but the dragged out dual timeline dilutes the impact of their doomed romance.
I found this book to be just… okay. It read to me like a Lifetime movie. Stories like these make me feel detached, but I was lured in by the promise of descriptive world building and a historical fiction slant. Turns out it was just a romance novel in disguise. If you’re into that sort of story, then you’ll likely love this book.
The TL;DR (Spoilers) Two people from different castes fall in love, woman realizes that she can’t live that life and marries the sensible choice, finds out she’s pregnant with the other mans baby. There’s no attempt to produce an heir which is odd to me if you’re going to hold strict to tradition. At some point (they aren’t really clear on when) she finds out she has cancer and creates some grand lie to “protect” her daughter through the same shallow type of game that she would play with the Bright Young People. She dies with her lost love and their love child by her side.
The TL;DR (Spoilers) Two people from different castes fall in love, woman realizes that she can’t live that life and marries the sensible choice, finds out she’s pregnant with the other mans baby. There’s no attempt to produce an heir which is odd to me if you’re going to hold strict to tradition. At some point (they aren’t really clear on when) she finds out she has cancer and creates some grand lie to “protect” her daughter through the same shallow type of game that she would play with the Bright Young People. She dies with her lost love and their love child by her side.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, War
Minor: Suicide
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The only good writing from this book is the synopsis on the back which isn’t actually the story. Writing was bad. The characters were kind of insufferable. Long and winding and then had a twist on top of the already really obvious twist. Bad.
It is a rare book that has me so affected in the end the characters feel like close friends to whom I don’t want to say goodbye. This one was especially hard because of its raw emotion as the two timelines reveal their hidden truths.
You’ll be affected, but do read it- the journey is memorable.
You’ll be affected, but do read it- the journey is memorable.
Oh my goodness. I've never cried so hard while reading a book. Just do yourself a favor and give this a read.