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A review by beesreadingnook
The Bereaved by Julia Park Tracey
4.0
"Count me now as a blackmailer as a jezebel, but I may as well be hanged for mutton as for lamb. I am perhaps a nobody, but I was his victim no longer."
tw: light spoilers, child abuse, sexual assault
Well, that was a rollercoaster.
The first two-thirds of this book were phenomenal. It was anything I could have ever wanted out of a historical fiction novel. But then the last third caught me off guard, and it just... ruined what could have been a five star read for me.
Pacing is extremely important. That's pretty common knowledge, but it's something that I struggle with myself in my writing. Because of my own susceptibility, I can get pretty nit-picky about it when I'm reading others' writing. The pacing in the first two-thirds was what made it so good; nothing felt rushed and everything felt very thorough and fleshed out. I started getting worried when I was around page 150 of 296 and the second half of the given summary had not yet begun to take place. Luckily, it was right there that it began to transition into the second part, so I relaxed. Unfortunately, I don't think this was timed correctly. The last third felt rushed and the ending, though quite happy for the most part, almost felt forced because of how quickly everything happened. Martha got her children back in less than a hundred pages... she had spent more time wondering whether she should put them in a home in the first place.
It's really unfortunate, because it's not that I even dislike the ending—I think it's a fine ending and I'm glad that (almost) everything worked out for Martha and her children. I liked how we learned about what happened to them and their descendants. It was a very neat ending, tied up with a little ribbon. But it feels off because of the fast-approaching ending in the last chunk of the book.
Other than that, the rest of the novel was wonderful. As previously stated, the first two thirds of the book were wonderfully written. I adored the imagery and how it painted such a clear picture in my mind. There was so much description that I could really see everything that was happening; it brought the story to life. It was delightful to read as well; I found that I really like Tracey's writing style.
The characters were a delight as well. Martha was an amazing, inspiring woman, and each of her children had such a distinct personality and I liked all of them, even the baby Homer. The villains in the story were realistic and well-done too, especially Montgomery. The sad reality of sexual harassment and how rich people (especially rich men) can worm their way out of sticky situations is presented really clearly in this book. As much as I wanted to see Montgomery get what he deserved, him disappearing from Martha's life was as much of a victory as we were gonna get.
Lastly, I wanted to mention the author's note / explanation at the very end of the book. It was a surprise to see that this was based off of her relatives, and it was really interesting to hear about their real versions compared to their characters. It's really cool that the author turned her family history into a compelling historical novel.
Thank you to Netgalley, Sibylline Press, and Julia Park Tracey for the ARC!
tw: light spoilers, child abuse, sexual assault
Well, that was a rollercoaster.
The first two-thirds of this book were phenomenal. It was anything I could have ever wanted out of a historical fiction novel. But then the last third caught me off guard, and it just... ruined what could have been a five star read for me.
Pacing is extremely important. That's pretty common knowledge, but it's something that I struggle with myself in my writing. Because of my own susceptibility, I can get pretty nit-picky about it when I'm reading others' writing. The pacing in the first two-thirds was what made it so good; nothing felt rushed and everything felt very thorough and fleshed out. I started getting worried when I was around page 150 of 296 and the second half of the given summary had not yet begun to take place. Luckily, it was right there that it began to transition into the second part, so I relaxed. Unfortunately, I don't think this was timed correctly. The last third felt rushed and the ending, though quite happy for the most part, almost felt forced because of how quickly everything happened. Martha got her children back in less than a hundred pages... she had spent more time wondering whether she should put them in a home in the first place.
It's really unfortunate, because it's not that I even dislike the ending—I think it's a fine ending and I'm glad that (almost) everything worked out for Martha and her children. I liked how we learned about what happened to them and their descendants. It was a very neat ending, tied up with a little ribbon. But it feels off because of the fast-approaching ending in the last chunk of the book.
Other than that, the rest of the novel was wonderful. As previously stated, the first two thirds of the book were wonderfully written. I adored the imagery and how it painted such a clear picture in my mind. There was so much description that I could really see everything that was happening; it brought the story to life. It was delightful to read as well; I found that I really like Tracey's writing style.
The characters were a delight as well. Martha was an amazing, inspiring woman, and each of her children had such a distinct personality and I liked all of them, even the baby Homer. The villains in the story were realistic and well-done too, especially Montgomery. The sad reality of sexual harassment and how rich people (especially rich men) can worm their way out of sticky situations is presented really clearly in this book. As much as I wanted to see Montgomery get what he deserved, him disappearing from Martha's life was as much of a victory as we were gonna get.
Lastly, I wanted to mention the author's note / explanation at the very end of the book. It was a surprise to see that this was based off of her relatives, and it was really interesting to hear about their real versions compared to their characters. It's really cool that the author turned her family history into a compelling historical novel.
Thank you to Netgalley, Sibylline Press, and Julia Park Tracey for the ARC!