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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
More like 4.5 stars, but I didn't want to bring the rating down. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the character Beattie. She was such a strong woman who didn't care what others thought of her. I didn't care for Emma; she was very selfish. This was a great story. It reminded me of The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I look forward to reading more by Kimberley Freeman in the future.
My book club chose this one. I liked the dual story and found most of the characters believable and the plots interesting. There was one plot though that I didn't care for but the character died early so he wasn't a major storyline.
I really enjoyed this book. It is will worth reading!
My grandmother died this morning.
I finished the book in the wee hours, after reading it in pretty much one sitting yesterday. I needed it. So much. I wish I could go to her Wildflower Hill and sort through her things and mourn her appropriately, but this book satisfies that in a way real life can't.
Touching and timely and just what I needed.
I finished the book in the wee hours, after reading it in pretty much one sitting yesterday. I needed it. So much. I wish I could go to her Wildflower Hill and sort through her things and mourn her appropriately, but this book satisfies that in a way real life can't.
Touching and timely and just what I needed.
This is a beautifully written story. The plot switches back and forth from Emma's story to Beattie's and throughout the book we begin to understand how Beattie's story will help Emma find herself again. This book is full of many emotions, a lot of them being sadness and heartbreak. But there is hope and an understanding that things don't always work out the way we plan.
I enjoyed the chosen settings in the book- Glasgow, London, and Tasmania. The women led such very different lives in every place, but each existence helped to shape who they were at the conclusion of the book. I enjoyed Beattie's story more than Emma's and found her to be a more likeable character. Beattie was not one to let life's mistakes pull her down and she worked hard to make a name for herself and in the end was very successful. Emma was whiney and self centered, which I think is exactly how Freeman wanted her to be. She does discover how self absorbed she is throughout the book and works to overcome that.
The quote that propels the book: "According to Cora, there are two types of people in the world - those who do things and those who have things done to them." I was a little saddened by the ending but not disappointed. All in all this was a wonderful book and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.
I enjoyed the chosen settings in the book- Glasgow, London, and Tasmania. The women led such very different lives in every place, but each existence helped to shape who they were at the conclusion of the book. I enjoyed Beattie's story more than Emma's and found her to be a more likeable character. Beattie was not one to let life's mistakes pull her down and she worked hard to make a name for herself and in the end was very successful. Emma was whiney and self centered, which I think is exactly how Freeman wanted her to be. She does discover how self absorbed she is throughout the book and works to overcome that.
The quote that propels the book: "According to Cora, there are two types of people in the world - those who do things and those who have things done to them." I was a little saddened by the ending but not disappointed. All in all this was a wonderful book and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.
I could not put this book down. It was the perfect light read I was looking for. Reminiscent of Kate Morton's style. I definitely recommend.
Wildflower Hill is a gorgeous novel, told from the perspective of two women from two different times. The book rotates between the story of Beattie Blaxland in the 1930s and her granddaughter Emma in the present time.
Emma is a successful ballerina in London, whose career ends after an unfortunate injury. Returning home to Australia, she finds that her grandmother left her a home in her will. The home is called Wildflower Hill. Emma goes up to Wildflower Hill, expecting to clean it out and sell it, but while going through her grandmother's things, she finds out the secrets her grandmother had been keeping about her past.
In 1929, Beattie was both pregnant and unwed. Unfortunately, the father of her child is married, but they run off together to Australia, but life doesn't get any easier for Beattie. Beattie was met with roadblock after roadblock and tried to bust through each as best she could. However, no matter her strength, she just couldn't get through some obstacles. This only made her stronger. Still, Beattie tries to make her own life, obtaining Wildflower Hill. There she finds herself; there she finds love.
I was completely consumed in both the stories of Beattie and Emma – the struggles of both strong women. The book was beautifully written and flowed seamlessly. The transition between the two stories was masterfully done. Each ended and then started again perfectly.
I gobbled this book up in two days. I just couldn't stop reading. Anyone looking for a good story that tugs on your heartstrings would surely love Wildflower Hill.
Emma is a successful ballerina in London, whose career ends after an unfortunate injury. Returning home to Australia, she finds that her grandmother left her a home in her will. The home is called Wildflower Hill. Emma goes up to Wildflower Hill, expecting to clean it out and sell it, but while going through her grandmother's things, she finds out the secrets her grandmother had been keeping about her past.
In 1929, Beattie was both pregnant and unwed. Unfortunately, the father of her child is married, but they run off together to Australia, but life doesn't get any easier for Beattie. Beattie was met with roadblock after roadblock and tried to bust through each as best she could. However, no matter her strength, she just couldn't get through some obstacles. This only made her stronger. Still, Beattie tries to make her own life, obtaining Wildflower Hill. There she finds herself; there she finds love.
I was completely consumed in both the stories of Beattie and Emma – the struggles of both strong women. The book was beautifully written and flowed seamlessly. The transition between the two stories was masterfully done. Each ended and then started again perfectly.
I gobbled this book up in two days. I just couldn't stop reading. Anyone looking for a good story that tugs on your heartstrings would surely love Wildflower Hill.
This isn't a genre I read very often, or at all. But I love Kim Wilkins' horror and fantasy novels so decided to take a chance with one of her Kimberley Freeman books. The story reminded me of many other great stories but it was the way she wrote the story that pulled me in and made it hard to put the book down. Most of the story is set in Tasmania, a place I briefly visited once and am now eager to return to. I felt the sense of home that both Beattie and Emma grew to find, I felt the same longing for Wildflower Hill. I found myself caring a lot about what happened to the characters and they will stay with me for a long time. I will definitely be looking for more Kimberley Freeman novels.
This was essentially your run of the mill rom-com novel: due to a catastrophe's, girl's life changes and she ends up relocating. Girl meets boy. Girl makes mistake with boy. Girl realizes mistake. Boy forgives girl. Boy and girl end up together. Happily ever after. However, this book wasn't completely tedious because it was broken up with flashbacks -entire chapters actually- of the girl's grandmother's adult life. I found it incredible intriguing from the sheer fact that the majority of the novel's setting is in Tasmania. As a sociology minor, I loved seeing this different cultural everyday. And, on top of the different culture, the reader is presented it in different time periods: mainly 2009 and the 1930s, but we also glimpse it from the 1960s. Overall, if I hadn't the free time today that I did have, I think it would have taken me much longer to finish reading it. However, it wasn't boring, just not fabulous; I would say pretty average. But I do set the bar high for my books.
Another fabulous journey through time by Kimberley Freeman. She's right up there with Kate Morton as the best author with whom to meander through another person's life and soul. I just adore how real her characters are. Wildflower Hill takes you to the worlds of ballet, Australian sheep ranching, fashion design, working with handicapped children, and civil rights. I loved both Beatie and her granddaughter, Emma. They're amazing women whose tales will stay with you long after the book is finished. For an added treat, get the audiobook and revel in Caroline Lee's fabulous interpretation of this sweeping saga.