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sarajeanqueen's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
ryanpfw's review
4.0
I liked this one.
Spoilers!
The plot here was reminiscent of several others books I’ve read, specifically the reliving past lives and recalling them as infants. I did appreciate how much of a primary focus it got here. I’ve read other books where the central mystery concerns whether or not people are reliving, and it’s confirmed here very early on to allow the author to mine the topic.
I do have to add at this point that while the genres I usually read are diverse, I don’t quite fall into the camp that would probably enjoy this book the most. There’s a particular type of romance reader that I am not. A lot of the dialogue between Robert and Anna to me felt stilted. That is understandable given Robert lived through time periods where speaking styles were more formal. Still, as a read, I felt that formality often, specifically in the romantic bits. Not my personal cup of tea, but clearly many will love this.
The only other negative is one that probably one that won’t affect most readers. I’m the one slightly out of genre. I found the narrative a bit too descriptive. It seemed at times to go on for a sentence too long and pulled me out of the story as I waited for the next paragraph to start. It’s a prose thing, but I think it’s also a genre thing too, especially with the romance.
What worked and that I loved? Rose, specifically. You knew early on that there were going to be points with Will, and Rose’s closet, and things went pretty much paint by the numbers. There were some red herrings and dead ends and a bit more layering than I expected, even if I guessed where we’d end up in the end. I can’t say I was fond of where Will’s story ended, but Rose’s? For sure. I do like that they never conclusively confirmed that she was a relative, because it’s very plausible the neighbor passed the music box to her own children and there’s no connection at all, or that it didn’t make its way to a yard sale. Still, wonderful presence. I did hope for a throwaway line that the daughter would be named Rose.
This narrative could have taken a very simple, direct path. It muddied things up instead. Anna’s mom is an alcoholic. She spends much of the book trying to deal with the death of her husband and daughter almost two decades ago. She’s at times a caring mother for Anna but mostly does a lot of emotional damage. Robert’s admission about his children is a devastating one for Anna and the plot didn’t need to go there, but did, but mines it for all its worth. I respect how the characters respond to these events. They really layer it out. The climax strikes me as a little too RL Stein with mustache twirly villain, and I’m not thrilled that Robert was keeping yet another secret from Anna. He sure had a lot of them.
The last two chapters really elevated the book for me. I admittedly bought it for the sci-fi plot, and it delivered on taking it seriously. I take it Anna literally remembers everything? There was a bit of an incongruity where Anna’s mom says she probably kept Anna from fully remembering past lives as a child by not encouraging the behavior, and it’s suggested the memories came through when she was sleeping in response. I’m not clear why Will would be expected to forget just because Anna did? Although he did, so never mind.
The plots with the rattle and the music box were handled in a way I haven’t seen before, with the passage of time. It was a great detail handled very well.
There was too much “Robert is very worried about how to solve all this, for he is the man” going on in the early chapters so the resolution of this book particularly was very well received by me. That plot was on purpose and the focus was correctly moved to Anna and her personal growth. I did question the plot point of how Anna chose to spend her life (not moving on) but given the plot with her mom, I feel the author built up decent credibility for her argument.
All in all, a great read. I’ll certainly read the second book.
Spoilers!
The plot here was reminiscent of several others books I’ve read, specifically the reliving past lives and recalling them as infants. I did appreciate how much of a primary focus it got here. I’ve read other books where the central mystery concerns whether or not people are reliving, and it’s confirmed here very early on to allow the author to mine the topic.
I do have to add at this point that while the genres I usually read are diverse, I don’t quite fall into the camp that would probably enjoy this book the most. There’s a particular type of romance reader that I am not. A lot of the dialogue between Robert and Anna to me felt stilted. That is understandable given Robert lived through time periods where speaking styles were more formal. Still, as a read, I felt that formality often, specifically in the romantic bits. Not my personal cup of tea, but clearly many will love this.
The only other negative is one that probably one that won’t affect most readers. I’m the one slightly out of genre. I found the narrative a bit too descriptive. It seemed at times to go on for a sentence too long and pulled me out of the story as I waited for the next paragraph to start. It’s a prose thing, but I think it’s also a genre thing too, especially with the romance.
What worked and that I loved? Rose, specifically. You knew early on that there were going to be points with Will, and Rose’s closet, and things went pretty much paint by the numbers. There were some red herrings and dead ends and a bit more layering than I expected, even if I guessed where we’d end up in the end. I can’t say I was fond of where Will’s story ended, but Rose’s? For sure. I do like that they never conclusively confirmed that she was a relative, because it’s very plausible the neighbor passed the music box to her own children and there’s no connection at all, or that it didn’t make its way to a yard sale. Still, wonderful presence. I did hope for a throwaway line that the daughter would be named Rose.
This narrative could have taken a very simple, direct path. It muddied things up instead. Anna’s mom is an alcoholic. She spends much of the book trying to deal with the death of her husband and daughter almost two decades ago. She’s at times a caring mother for Anna but mostly does a lot of emotional damage. Robert’s admission about his children is a devastating one for Anna and the plot didn’t need to go there, but did, but mines it for all its worth. I respect how the characters respond to these events. They really layer it out. The climax strikes me as a little too RL Stein with mustache twirly villain, and I’m not thrilled that Robert was keeping yet another secret from Anna. He sure had a lot of them.
The last two chapters really elevated the book for me. I admittedly bought it for the sci-fi plot, and it delivered on taking it seriously. I take it Anna literally remembers everything? There was a bit of an incongruity where Anna’s mom says she probably kept Anna from fully remembering past lives as a child by not encouraging the behavior, and it’s suggested the memories came through when she was sleeping in response. I’m not clear why Will would be expected to forget just because Anna did? Although he did, so never mind.
The plots with the rattle and the music box were handled in a way I haven’t seen before, with the passage of time. It was a great detail handled very well.
There was too much “Robert is very worried about how to solve all this, for he is the man” going on in the early chapters so the resolution of this book particularly was very well received by me. That plot was on purpose and the focus was correctly moved to Anna and her personal growth. I did question the plot point of how Anna chose to spend her life (not moving on) but given the plot with her mom, I feel the author built up decent credibility for her argument.
All in all, a great read. I’ll certainly read the second book.
fairestskyebooks's review against another edition
4.0
A riveting and unique love story spanning time and reincarnation. A wonderful tale that was so enjoyable and captivating a novel that I am now on the lookout to read more of Lee Ann’s books! All the feels to leave you laughing, crying, and hugging the book when you reach the end.
pelicanfreak's review against another edition
5.0
I fear I’ll not be able to express just how great this book is, however I’ll try.
First of all, even if this isn’t your genre, I strongly recommend it for the art of writing alone. Ward has a brilliant way with words, the analogies used here are vivid, creative, original and still sensible.
That said, I completely loved this book and missed it whenever I put it down. With the glimpses of the past, it feels like a double escape, if that makes sense. With this book, I become attached to the heroine right away, needing to know more, wanting to see her go through the everyday stuff, but then her dreams take me back to a whole other time … and it too is addictive.
I constantly say—complain really—that everything has been done before, everything is predictable and I struggle to finds things that really impress me. This book though … while I did predict all of it, I absolutely craved seeing it play out. I’d still take sequels, prequels, any more of these people’s world I could get my hands on. (Thought it is wrapped up neatly.) And there is no denying that it is original. I cannot tell you how excited I am to read something that’s so refreshing.
Refreshing how? This book, despite being YA is a classic love story. I don’t want to post spoilers so you’ll have to take me at my word there. But the feelings, the passion are very raw, and very, very real. The book is very clean, but still conveys more passion than I’ve seen in almost everything else I’ve read combined.
The character development is very complex—and again without saying too much for fear of spoilers—I can only say the author pulled it off, mastering both continuity and basic traits, values and characteristics at a soul level.
Also there were some truly heart-wrenching scenes that were … exhilarating to read between the scenes themselves, and the part of me that couldn’t turn off my appreciation for the art and how well it was all executed.
I rarely give 5-star reviews, especially when I managed to predict so much but, this book truly warrants all of the stars with its masterful execution.
So … 5 stars. Can I give it more?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Love is indeed enough and in the end it is all we take with us.”
First of all, even if this isn’t your genre, I strongly recommend it for the art of writing alone. Ward has a brilliant way with words, the analogies used here are vivid, creative, original and still sensible.
That said, I completely loved this book and missed it whenever I put it down. With the glimpses of the past, it feels like a double escape, if that makes sense. With this book, I become attached to the heroine right away, needing to know more, wanting to see her go through the everyday stuff, but then her dreams take me back to a whole other time … and it too is addictive.
I constantly say—complain really—that everything has been done before, everything is predictable and I struggle to finds things that really impress me. This book though … while I did predict all of it, I absolutely craved seeing it play out. I’d still take sequels, prequels, any more of these people’s world I could get my hands on. (Thought it is wrapped up neatly.) And there is no denying that it is original. I cannot tell you how excited I am to read something that’s so refreshing.
Refreshing how? This book, despite being YA is a classic love story. I don’t want to post spoilers so you’ll have to take me at my word there. But the feelings, the passion are very raw, and very, very real. The book is very clean, but still conveys more passion than I’ve seen in almost everything else I’ve read combined.
The character development is very complex—and again without saying too much for fear of spoilers—I can only say the author pulled it off, mastering both continuity and basic traits, values and characteristics at a soul level.
Also there were some truly heart-wrenching scenes that were … exhilarating to read between the scenes themselves, and the part of me that couldn’t turn off my appreciation for the art and how well it was all executed.
I rarely give 5-star reviews, especially when I managed to predict so much but, this book truly warrants all of the stars with its masterful execution.
So … 5 stars. Can I give it more?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Love is indeed enough and in the end it is all we take with us.”
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