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acgood 's review for:
Into the Wilderness
by Sara Donati
I'm teetering on the edge between 2.5 and 3 stars with this one. Have you ever read a book that, while technically everything is sound - nice descriptive writing, fully-fleshed out characters, good plotting and pacing - it just...didn't hold you attention? Yeah, that's how I felt with this book.
Don't get me wrong, I really do think Donati can write. There were some nice turns of phrase, and for the most part I liked how the story progressed. But I struggled so hard to finish this book and I really can't put my finger on as to why that is.
One definite qualm I did have with the book was how quickly the relationship between Nathaniel and Elizabeth developed. For a 29-year-old woman raised by Quakers her whole life, literate and a proud spinster, to abandon all teachings and decorum and sleep with a guy before even getting engaged to him seemed really, REALLY unlikely. Especially since she only knew the guy for a month. Elizabeth shows no signs of hesitancy with how quickly this relationship is progressing. NONE. I understand she's really taken with the guy, but the context of her character makes it so unlikely that she'd do that.
So maybe that's why I couldn't care much for the book after the first half? The relationship, while not unbelievable, definitely felt hollow. I couldn't feel any emotional pull for this couple. While I don't think it's a bad match per se, it still didn't fully connect with me.
I don't think I will be picking up the rest of the series, unless I unconsciously really do like it and will feel a hankering for it months from now. Currently, though, I just feel a lot of ambiguity-bordering-on-apathy towards this series and its characters. Nothing really bad, but nothing really great, either.
Don't get me wrong, I really do think Donati can write. There were some nice turns of phrase, and for the most part I liked how the story progressed. But I struggled so hard to finish this book and I really can't put my finger on as to why that is.
One definite qualm I did have with the book was how quickly the relationship between Nathaniel and Elizabeth developed. For a 29-year-old woman raised by Quakers her whole life, literate and a proud spinster, to abandon all teachings and decorum and sleep with a guy before even getting engaged to him seemed really, REALLY unlikely. Especially since she only knew the guy for a month. Elizabeth shows no signs of hesitancy with how quickly this relationship is progressing. NONE. I understand she's really taken with the guy, but the context of her character makes it so unlikely that she'd do that.
So maybe that's why I couldn't care much for the book after the first half? The relationship, while not unbelievable, definitely felt hollow. I couldn't feel any emotional pull for this couple. While I don't think it's a bad match per se, it still didn't fully connect with me.
I don't think I will be picking up the rest of the series, unless I unconsciously really do like it and will feel a hankering for it months from now. Currently, though, I just feel a lot of ambiguity-bordering-on-apathy towards this series and its characters. Nothing really bad, but nothing really great, either.