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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
mysterious
Did not enjoy this one as much as the others. More like just a collection of short stories. They are linked, but even at the end I was not sure how it all fit altogether.
How does she weave all these stories and books together so effortlessly?! It's wondrous!
A group of people stranded by flooding together in an inn tell each other stories to pass the time. Each telling reveals something about the teller. Gradually, a puzzle develops as vague connections start to appear--connections from tales to tales, tellers to tellers, and tales to tellers. By the end, a mystery has emerged, one that plays out among the tellers before any of them can leave. Whether you read for the folk tales and legends, the intriguing characters, or the satisfying mystery--or all, of course--you will be thrilled with the storytelling and your newfound, deeper knowledge of Milford's world of Nagspeake, the slightly magical port city setting (in one way or another) for all of her books.
A note from Mildford's website:
A note from Mildford's website:
First things first: The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book, being a piece of lore that exists independently within the Roaming World (the shared world of all my books so far), you can read it at absolutely at any time. It connects to every other one of the books, but isn’t dependent on any of them. If you haven’t read any of the others yet, The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book is a great place to start, but you can also read it at any point, fitting it in anywhere you like among the others.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Having read all of the Greenglass House books (but none of the other Nagspeake novels yet), I've come to love this world and these stories and yet...I'd gotten the impression from the first four Greenglass House novels that Kate Milford was maybe not great at writing endings. I loved every single thing about the first four books except the rushed, clumsy endings. In The Ranconteur's Commonplace Book she finally nails an ending, and everything else is as wonderful as ever or even better.
A return to Nagspeake, and a stay at the Blue Vein Inn, a necessity, because the rain…well, the rain won't stop.
"The rain had not stopped for a week, and the roads that led to the inn were little better than rivers of muck. This, at least, is what Captain Frost said when he tramped indoors, coated in the yellow mud peculiar to that part of the city, before hollering for his breakfast. The rest of the guests sighed. Perhaps today, they had thought. Perhaps today, their unnatural captivity would end. But the bellowing man calling for eggs and burnt toast meant that, for another day at least, fifteen people would remain prisoners of the river Skidwrack, and the new rivers that had once been roads, and the rain."
As readers of Milford's [b:Greenglass House|18222716|Greenglass House (Greenglass House, #1)|Kate Milford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379952488l/18222716._SY75_.jpg|25656381] know, this is Milo's favorite book. It's a utter delight to return to the Sovereign town of Nagspeake and see the history of Milford's other books woven into this one, the bonds tightening to make a cohesive whole.
One can only hope the Au t Lucy's Counterpane Book shows up next.
"The rain had not stopped for a week, and the roads that led to the inn were little better than rivers of muck. This, at least, is what Captain Frost said when he tramped indoors, coated in the yellow mud peculiar to that part of the city, before hollering for his breakfast. The rest of the guests sighed. Perhaps today, they had thought. Perhaps today, their unnatural captivity would end. But the bellowing man calling for eggs and burnt toast meant that, for another day at least, fifteen people would remain prisoners of the river Skidwrack, and the new rivers that had once been roads, and the rain."
As readers of Milford's [b:Greenglass House|18222716|Greenglass House (Greenglass House, #1)|Kate Milford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379952488l/18222716._SY75_.jpg|25656381] know, this is Milo's favorite book. It's a utter delight to return to the Sovereign town of Nagspeake and see the history of Milford's other books woven into this one, the bonds tightening to make a cohesive whole.
One can only hope the Au t Lucy's Counterpane Book shows up next.