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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
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:
No
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Oh my this book. My first read of 2021 and I gave it 4.5 stars on my spreadsheet.
It was a little slow to start with and at about the half way mark I was a little unsure where it was really headed. Resolving where we had got to seemed almost impossible but turns out I was wrong and the author managed it with skill and beauty. Rarely does a book make me cry but this one had me absolute bits. My heart ached for Will and Elsa and Laura. In the end the power of love is the message here but it is woven into a story that deals with grief and mental health and aging and loneliness in such a powerful way. The tackling of the mental health part of it was really well done. Rarely have I know it to be written in fiction in such a honest way. I don't know what the authors experience of mental health issues are but he captured the subject and experiences around it so well.
Also I was dubious about the multidimensional aspect of the story. Not usually a thing I would buy into but this, this was done beautifully. "If you listen really closely you can hear their ghosts amid the static" Bloody beautiful writing!
Last year I read the first book I read in 2020 turned out to be my book of the year. I am wondering if The Frequency of Us will turn out to be the same in 2021. It is certainly going to be one I recommend to others.
It was a little slow to start with and at about the half way mark I was a little unsure where it was really headed. Resolving where we had got to seemed almost impossible but turns out I was wrong and the author managed it with skill and beauty. Rarely does a book make me cry but this one had me absolute bits. My heart ached for Will and Elsa and Laura. In the end the power of love is the message here but it is woven into a story that deals with grief and mental health and aging and loneliness in such a powerful way. The tackling of the mental health part of it was really well done. Rarely have I know it to be written in fiction in such a honest way. I don't know what the authors experience of mental health issues are but he captured the subject and experiences around it so well.
Also I was dubious about the multidimensional aspect of the story. Not usually a thing I would buy into but this, this was done beautifully. "If you listen really closely you can hear their ghosts amid the static" Bloody beautiful writing!
Last year I read the first book I read in 2020 turned out to be my book of the year. I am wondering if The Frequency of Us will turn out to be the same in 2021. It is certainly going to be one I recommend to others.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A gentle read set in Bath. Lots of accurate setting descriptions which I enjoyed. This tale had far more magical elements as is progressed than I had anticipated which, I felt, distracted the reader from the opening story a little. Certainly not something to put future readers off though! For Matt Haig lovers: you'd enjoy this heartwarming story.
I’d like to take a minute to thank the publishers and netgalley for a copy of this in exchange of an honest review.
TW: anxiety and panic attacks
Frequency follows the story of Will and Laura. Seventy years ago wills wife went missing, and now no one believes him that she ever existed. Laura suffers with terrible anxiety and panic attacks and is tasked with assessing if Will is mentally unwell or telling the truth. She becomes determined to help him.
I’m going to give some trigger warnings because if you also have terrible anxiety like me, though these scenes are very well written it did also make ME super anxious as a result. I sometimes had to put the book down.
Ultimately it’s a very slow book and didn’t really hold my attention enough to want to continue with it. While elements of a mystery are awesome it just didn’t hook me enough. I also kind of expected radios to play a bigger part but it seemed almost secondary.
TW: anxiety and panic attacks
Frequency follows the story of Will and Laura. Seventy years ago wills wife went missing, and now no one believes him that she ever existed. Laura suffers with terrible anxiety and panic attacks and is tasked with assessing if Will is mentally unwell or telling the truth. She becomes determined to help him.
I’m going to give some trigger warnings because if you also have terrible anxiety like me, though these scenes are very well written it did also make ME super anxious as a result. I sometimes had to put the book down.
Ultimately it’s a very slow book and didn’t really hold my attention enough to want to continue with it. While elements of a mystery are awesome it just didn’t hook me enough. I also kind of expected radios to play a bigger part but it seemed almost secondary.
Book reviews on www.snazzybooks.com.
Sweet, charming and gripping: The Frequency of Us is another brilliant novel from the author of A Boy Made of Blocks and Days of Wonder, both novels I hugely enjoyed.
The main character Laura, who is currently working as a care worker, has been assigned an elderly gentleman living on his own in Bath to assess and see if he can stay in his home despite showing signs of dementia. Laura had her fair share of problems and difficult times herself, but getting through to Will, the man to whom she is assigned, is certainly not an easy task.
We soon find out that the house Will is living in has plenty of memories which may mean his head is still stuck in the past. We wonder if the Elsa he speaks about is actually real, or a figment of his damaged memory?
Alongside the present day narrative, we are taken back to 1942, during the Second World War, as we see Will as a young man and his sweetheart Elsa. What follows is a poignant and heartbreaking story. Switching between the two timeframes allows us to find out much more about Will, and I love books that have dual timeframes in them – this is no exception! For me it adds an extra layer of richness to the story.
Laura is a likeable and interesting character. She has her own problems and feels realistic and well-rounded as a person. I think author Keith Stuart shows the effects of ill mental health in an honest, frank and fresh way because although we see how it has affected Laura, she is still not defined by this.
There are mysterious elements that feel like they can’t be happening but we’re never sure if it’s the effect of Laura’s state of mind or something else. I don’t want to give too much away but I found the two storylines captivating in their own ways and would have happily read a lot more.
Sweet, charming and gripping: The Frequency of Us is another brilliant novel from the author of A Boy Made of Blocks and Days of Wonder, both novels I hugely enjoyed.
The main character Laura, who is currently working as a care worker, has been assigned an elderly gentleman living on his own in Bath to assess and see if he can stay in his home despite showing signs of dementia. Laura had her fair share of problems and difficult times herself, but getting through to Will, the man to whom she is assigned, is certainly not an easy task.
We soon find out that the house Will is living in has plenty of memories which may mean his head is still stuck in the past. We wonder if the Elsa he speaks about is actually real, or a figment of his damaged memory?
Alongside the present day narrative, we are taken back to 1942, during the Second World War, as we see Will as a young man and his sweetheart Elsa. What follows is a poignant and heartbreaking story. Switching between the two timeframes allows us to find out much more about Will, and I love books that have dual timeframes in them – this is no exception! For me it adds an extra layer of richness to the story.
Laura is a likeable and interesting character. She has her own problems and feels realistic and well-rounded as a person. I think author Keith Stuart shows the effects of ill mental health in an honest, frank and fresh way because although we see how it has affected Laura, she is still not defined by this.
There are mysterious elements that feel like they can’t be happening but we’re never sure if it’s the effect of Laura’s state of mind or something else. I don’t want to give too much away but I found the two storylines captivating in their own ways and would have happily read a lot more.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Heartwarming relationship between a lonely man and a troubled young woman, and a love story spanning decades, timelines, reality's.
Probably of interest to Matt Haig fans, this includes the supernatural blended with mental health and how to reach out to people.
Fully understanding the ending might take time. But basically this involves multiverse theory. Time travel stories tend to show that those who travel in time are immune to the changes of different timelines. Like Marty in Back to the Future. I think that might be what the ending is. More or less.
Probably of interest to Matt Haig fans, this includes the supernatural blended with mental health and how to reach out to people.
Fully understanding the ending might take time. But basically this involves multiverse theory. Time travel stories tend to show that those who travel in time are immune to the changes of different timelines. Like Marty in Back to the Future. I think that might be what the ending is. More or less.