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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
DNF I was really bored and did not feel attached to the characters at all. Everything felt foggy and distant which may have been the intent but I put it down and never felt pulled to pick it back up
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very interesting twist towards the end
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I kind of wavered between giving this 4 and 5 stars and then I decided that the very last pages kind of knocked off a star in and of themselves. While the prose was absolutely gorgeous and the classical turn-of-phrase was just right for the time period and atmosphere, the ending felt inordinately rushed. We have the big reveal of "Her" and then a very vague explanation for it. I think I am still trying to wrap my head around it-which is also a good thing. I love novels that stay with me and make the wheels of my mind turn long after I've finished the book.
The other criticism I have is the change in styles from first person POV to third person omniscient POV to third person limited POV. I don't mind changing the POV's, but it seemed kind of disorganized and disrupting to the general flow of the story when the styles were changed. Maybe it works for some people, but not really for me.
All in all though, this was a very unique and enjoyable Gothic tale that I was pleased to see avoided many trope pitfalls and cliches. Definitely would recommend.
The other criticism I have is the change in styles from first person POV to third person omniscient POV to third person limited POV. I don't mind changing the POV's, but it seemed kind of disorganized and disrupting to the general flow of the story when the styles were changed. Maybe it works for some people, but not really for me.
All in all though, this was a very unique and enjoyable Gothic tale that I was pleased to see avoided many trope pitfalls and cliches. Definitely would recommend.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
Very clever, cyclical story, full of wonderful language and descriptions of nature. I like how Ward makes her readers do some of the work - she doesn't tell us everything, who is who - she trusts that we can work it out for ourselves and that makes the moment when you go 'Ohhh, that's who that character is, and that's why she looks like that,' all the more wonderful.
I’m a Catriona Ward fanboy so 5 stars. Seriously though book is dense, complex and rewarding. Great first novel, although I wouldn’t start here with her. Probably read “last house on needless street” first.
Mixed feelings. The writing is gorgeous but it sometimes felt almost too subtle for me, like I would miss what the author was trying to say. Since the plot jumps around a lot, and there are so many characters, I found it hard to keep track of what was happening.
I like how it wrapped itself up, but it was just a bit long and dragged in sections