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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
I received an ARC of this book - yay! And while it is no Historian, I really enjoyed it. She brought to life what Bulgaria was like during the height of Stalin and after - something I was not familiar with. And excellent story!
dark
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:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
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:
No
Historical fiction is almost always my favorite genre, but this one just didn't work for me. It felt like a wild goose chase nearly the whole book. The cast of characters was large and I couldn't connect with any of them, least of all the main character. She is a twenty-something American female, who dashes off to Bulgaria and proceeds to jet around the country for days on end with a cab driver she literally just met. I also felt like the frequent change of narrators was confusing.
Enjoyed the setting of Bulgaria and the (horrifying) descriptions of life during the Communist regime, but the plot felt weak and a bit contrived.
I listened to this on CloudLibrary and it took three loans to finish it up. The story is long and interesting but the details sometimes are overwhelming when listening.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't know why I keep torturing myself with her novels. This one was worst than the others, because I didn't even learn any new history from it. It was part gulag porn, part weepy romance, part political intrigue, part ethereal fantasy (the changing brooch, the super-sentient dog, the dreams of a future son sitting on a riverbank with his future wife...). The main character is boring and childish. And what is with this author and her May-December romances? Gross.
Also, those people were in and out of the car for a week, barely stopping to rest and regroup, and all I kept thinking was "When's the last time she changed her underwear??"
Also, those people were in and out of the car for a week, barely stopping to rest and regroup, and all I kept thinking was "When's the last time she changed her underwear??"
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
adventurous
dark
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:
No
Really a great novel.