You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I requested this book because of online hype. It did not disappoint.
Due to my obsessive Downton Abbey watching a few years back, the description of Blackwood Hall my mind immediately took me back to the Abbey. Only this time, the house is nearly empty after the end of the Great War. Little Alice is sent to Blackwood Hall, her mother's childhood home, while her mother accompanies her father on an international trip. Alice is homesick, and is not used to being stored away in a nursery, with only the company of a very strict nanny, and a very kind maid, who used to care for her mother, Selina. In order to counteract the homesickness, Selina leads Alice on a treasure hunt, that leads toward stories and secrets that have long since been quieted.
This ends up being a nice historical fiction and love saga that you won't want to miss.
Due to my obsessive Downton Abbey watching a few years back, the description of Blackwood Hall my mind immediately took me back to the Abbey. Only this time, the house is nearly empty after the end of the Great War. Little Alice is sent to Blackwood Hall, her mother's childhood home, while her mother accompanies her father on an international trip. Alice is homesick, and is not used to being stored away in a nursery, with only the company of a very strict nanny, and a very kind maid, who used to care for her mother, Selina. In order to counteract the homesickness, Selina leads Alice on a treasure hunt, that leads toward stories and secrets that have long since been quieted.
This ends up being a nice historical fiction and love saga that you won't want to miss.
“Think about today, not tomorrow. Dance over the cracks so you don't fall into them. Drink champagne in the afternoons and invent ridiculous cocktails to make the ruined world glitter again. Keep going, one foot in front of the other. Don't look down.
Selina Lennox is a beautiful girl with a huge heart and a passion for life. Born into wealth she’s lives a life of parties, drinking and playing with the press giving them their next scandal.
Lawrence Weston was born into nothing, a penniless painter who crossed paths with the breathtaking Selina and instantly feel in love. But true love isn’t easy and the pair battle between what they want and what has to be.
Told over two time frames we flick from past tense to present day relieving Selina’s youth and her current world. A novel that encompasses an epic love story, passion, heartache and loss (Tissues are recommended) It was such a perfect yet bittersweet historical fiction novel.
Selina Lennox is a beautiful girl with a huge heart and a passion for life. Born into wealth she’s lives a life of parties, drinking and playing with the press giving them their next scandal.
Lawrence Weston was born into nothing, a penniless painter who crossed paths with the breathtaking Selina and instantly feel in love. But true love isn’t easy and the pair battle between what they want and what has to be.
Told over two time frames we flick from past tense to present day relieving Selina’s youth and her current world. A novel that encompasses an epic love story, passion, heartache and loss (Tissues are recommended) It was such a perfect yet bittersweet historical fiction novel.
Well, this one made me weep at the end. Told from varying perspectives during the period between WW1 and WW2, this is a story about love, societal status and its restrictions at that time and mothers and their daughters.
Wow this book. I thought this was going to be another predictable love story. It is not predictable at all. The two different timelines and how the stories intertwined is magical and beautiful. My heart strings were pulled in so many different directions. I am so glad this book came into my life. I don’t want to give any spoilers but it truly is a book that needs to be read and loved. This will definitely be a book I will remember for years to come. It is a rare unique book in a tome where so many books seem the same.
Maybe I put this book down too many times with breaks in between way too long. Maybe I just couldn't follow the storyline as well as I would have liked. Or maybe I just am not I interested in romance as I thought I might be. No matter which is the ultimate part of making these statements true, I just couldn't get into this story in the way I wanted.
Soft DNF-just not in the mood for it
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 book was fine. I had higher expectations for it and it didn't deliver. It told a very common social divide love story that didn't have any differentiating qualities from the many other social divide love stories.
I didn't feel much attachment to Selina as a main character, but I did really like Lawrence. I did feel like their romance was built entirely too much on their physical attraction to one another and the fact that Lawrence awakened Selina sexually. As for Alice, it was annoying that I didn't know how old she was until the very end of the book (she's 9, FYI). And it was also a bit of a letdown that her plotline really only existed to tell Selina's story until the ending bit.
CONTENT:
LANGUAGE: 1 use of hell; 3 uses of d**n; 1 misuse of Jesus Christ; 5 misuses of Jesus; 3 uses of the f word.
SEXUAL: Selina and Lawrence kiss frequently; they discuss (in vague terms) the first time they had sex; Lawrence alludes to a male form of birth control; Selina thinks about her previous views on sex; sensual gazes; sex is implied multiple times; lovemaking is mentioned; An instance of undressing/foreplay
OTHER: An implied eating disorder; multiple unhealthy views of women's bodies related to eating
I didn't feel much attachment to Selina as a main character, but I did really like Lawrence. I did feel like their romance was built entirely too much on their physical attraction to one another and the fact that Lawrence awakened Selina sexually. As for Alice, it was annoying that I didn't know how old she was until the very end of the book (she's 9, FYI). And it was also a bit of a letdown that her plotline really only existed to tell Selina's story until the ending bit.
CONTENT:
LANGUAGE: 1 use of hell; 3 uses of d**n; 1 misuse of Jesus Christ; 5 misuses of Jesus; 3 uses of the f word.
SEXUAL: Selina and Lawrence kiss frequently; they discuss (in vague terms) the first time they had sex; Lawrence alludes to a male form of birth control; Selina thinks about her previous views on sex; sensual gazes; sex is implied multiple times; lovemaking is mentioned; An instance of undressing/foreplay
OTHER: An implied eating disorder; multiple unhealthy views of women's bodies related to eating
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes