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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
medium-paced
a little too slow for my taste, especially when the book is a mix between period drama and thriller
A Pleasant Surprise
I never really thought much about the history of the city of San Francisco, but this story changed that. This book gave me a wonderful introduction to an exciting time.
I never really thought much about the history of the city of San Francisco, but this story changed that. This book gave me a wonderful introduction to an exciting time.
Enjoyable historical fiction set in SF prior to the great Earthquake. A little romance/rags to riches fish out of water.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The story is a little hackneyed but it's a good holiday read. I'm not sure what I found vaguely annoying about the writing but I suspect that it is all the overt and longwinded foreshadowing before the big betrayal. The 'revenge' is a little anticlimactic too. The writing (and editing) needs to be lifted a notch or two. "Worser"? Are you kidding me?
This said, I do enjoy a rags to riches/revenge fantasy - I have them every day :-)
This said, I do enjoy a rags to riches/revenge fantasy - I have them every day :-)
I liked it, but honestly it may have been better without the last chapter.
This story follows naive May Kimble who leaves New York when her mother dies to be with rich relatives in San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century. The first part of the story has May being overwhelmed, and then bored, by all the glamour of society. There are a couple of big twists, so I'm not going to give much more away about the plot. May goes through a lot throughout the story, and the narrative tells me she's a changed person by the end, but I frankly didn't believe it. This book is a good example of plot driving the story, of plot happening to a character, instead of the character taking action. I found myself rather annoyed at several instances, and I can think of only a couple times where May makes a decision for herself. Still, the story intrigued me enough to want to know how everything would end. I admit I was rather let down. The end seemed to fizzle out in the third act. There was really nothing remarkable here, but it wasn't a bad read.
tinyleafbooks.com
tinyleafbooks.com
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5 rounded up.
This book was free to me on my kindle. In my opinion/experience there is often a reason why free Kindle books are free!
Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I loved the world building - I really felt like I could see early San Francisco in my mind as I read. Historical fiction can be tricky for me - I need details but I don't want to feel like I'm reading a book report. The details in this book were woven beautifully throughout the story.
And the story itself was very engaging! I love a good revenge story and I did not feel this book disapointed...until the very end. I didn't LOVE the way the loose ends were tied up. It felt a little rushed and a little almost too modern for the time period. Hence the 0.5 star deduction.
Otherwise, a very solid, enjoyable read.
This book was free to me on my kindle. In my opinion/experience there is often a reason why free Kindle books are free!
Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I loved the world building - I really felt like I could see early San Francisco in my mind as I read. Historical fiction can be tricky for me - I need details but I don't want to feel like I'm reading a book report. The details in this book were woven beautifully throughout the story.
And the story itself was very engaging! I love a good revenge story and I did not feel this book disapointed...until the very end. I didn't LOVE the way the loose ends were tied up. It felt a little rushed and a little almost too modern for the time period. Hence the 0.5 star deduction.
Otherwise, a very solid, enjoyable read.