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jtlars7's review against another edition
2.0
I always find Maeve Binchy's books very readable, and this one fit that mold, but it was not in the same class as my favorites (Evening Class, Tara Road, Scarlet Feather).
ajlewis2's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
It was hard for me to keep up with all the characters and their stories, though each story was very good. The wrap-up of the story was quite good, too. I think I missed a couple of the end stories for some people. I'm left wondering what happened to this one character. I listened to the audiobook, so it would be hard to find the end of that particular thread.
m_abigail758's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was something entirely different and so peaceful to read.
celticrockgirl's review against another edition
3.0
3.25 ✨ This was different than I expected, more a collection of short stories that are related to a certain place rather than a cohesive novel. There are almost too many characters to keep track of but as in all Maeve Binchy books there was a wonderful happy ending for all.
thea_no_evil's review against another edition
3.0
I like her writting style ok book so many difeerent characters in this one you wnated to know more about them but because it only gave a chapter to each you where left wanting more - hoever I did enjoy this not as good as my fave MB book evening class
alissynia's review against another edition
3.0
I know I am late to the party but I have always avoided Maeve Binchy assuming that her books were a bit twee. This year I decided to challenge myself to read authors who I have previously dismissed without reading first. So this is my first ever Maeve Binchy.
I really enjoyed the strong character portraits that she makes in the book. Lots of lovely little vignettes of people that I feel I may have known, complete with all their eccentricities and human failings.
If I was to criticise anything about the book it would be that I found these short little introductions to lots of characters ultimately a little unsatisfying. I wanted to know more about these people and their lives. The 'new road' bit of the story that was supposed to tie the whole thing together felt a little like it was shoe horned in to try and give the book a sense of purpose.
I'm the sort of person who always writes a character list as I read a book as I have a shockingly poor memory for names. I ended up filling two pages with all the different characters and whilst some of them seemed to link I would have loved to have all the characters linked and the novel ending with all the different story lines resolving and tied up with a big, fat bow!
But then I'm not best selling author Maeve Binchy! However it hasn't put me off and I'm going to try another Maeve Binchy, one hopefully with a more cohesive storyline.
I really enjoyed the strong character portraits that she makes in the book. Lots of lovely little vignettes of people that I feel I may have known, complete with all their eccentricities and human failings.
If I was to criticise anything about the book it would be that I found these short little introductions to lots of characters ultimately a little unsatisfying. I wanted to know more about these people and their lives. The 'new road' bit of the story that was supposed to tie the whole thing together felt a little like it was shoe horned in to try and give the book a sense of purpose.
I'm the sort of person who always writes a character list as I read a book as I have a shockingly poor memory for names. I ended up filling two pages with all the different characters and whilst some of them seemed to link I would have loved to have all the characters linked and the novel ending with all the different story lines resolving and tied up with a big, fat bow!
But then I'm not best selling author Maeve Binchy! However it hasn't put me off and I'm going to try another Maeve Binchy, one hopefully with a more cohesive storyline.
kla809's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the stories (many short stories all, somehow, connected to the town of Rossmore $ St Ann's well), but it was crazy confusing on the cd-book. There were no visual (or audible) clues that these were completely different stories...and yet related to a degree. It took a while for me to figure out what was going on.
rainbowowlets's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Not my type of book. Didn't love it. Read it for book club
casehouse's review against another edition
3.0
This was more of a book of short stories, and the individual stories are more disjointed than I was hoping or expecting they would be.