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readingandranunculus 's review for:
The Wildling Sisters
by Eve Chase
Thank you to Penguin First to Read for the opportunity to read this book in advance.
I wasn't wow-ed by this book, that is, I wasn't overwhelmed, but I wasn't underwhelmed, and so I think a fair rating from me is a solid 3.5 stars.
The premise of this story is very interesting, though not wildly original. The past intersects and collides with the present on a spooky, old English estate in the countryside, in a way that isn't cookie-cutter like The Lost Letter where every peg fits perfectly into its hole, which I appreciated. I almost wish there hadn't been a 'present' version of the story, and we just followed Margot Wilde from 1959 to current day. Jessie's version of events wasn't nearly as page-turning to me as Margot and her sisters', but I can understand how the two stories were necessary to combine into one. It's just that Margot held more 'oomph' shall we say, as a character. She held more depth and feeling for me.
The author did a fabulous job of creating an atmosphere that felt like something morbid was going to happen was inevitable. Very creepy, almost like a graveyard aura, yet somewhere I, as a reader, wanted to venture into. What I was even more impressed with is the way Ms. Chase understands and depicts human emotion. She describes feelings in a way that made me go, 'how did she do that? How did she understand exactly how I feel? How did she put this emotion I thought was indescribable into beautifully written words?' I was consistently awed throughout at her ability to verbalize and legitimize feelings that I would never think to do on my own.
I definitely wouldn't be opposed to reading Ms. Chase's other works, as again, I wasn't unimpressed, I just wasn't blown out of the water by her novel.
I wasn't wow-ed by this book, that is, I wasn't overwhelmed, but I wasn't underwhelmed, and so I think a fair rating from me is a solid 3.5 stars.
The premise of this story is very interesting, though not wildly original. The past intersects and collides with the present on a spooky, old English estate in the countryside, in a way that isn't cookie-cutter like The Lost Letter where every peg fits perfectly into its hole, which I appreciated. I almost wish there hadn't been a 'present' version of the story, and we just followed Margot Wilde from 1959 to current day. Jessie's version of events wasn't nearly as page-turning to me as Margot and her sisters', but I can understand how the two stories were necessary to combine into one. It's just that Margot held more 'oomph' shall we say, as a character. She held more depth and feeling for me.
The author did a fabulous job of creating an atmosphere that felt like something morbid was going to happen was inevitable. Very creepy, almost like a graveyard aura, yet somewhere I, as a reader, wanted to venture into. What I was even more impressed with is the way Ms. Chase understands and depicts human emotion. She describes feelings in a way that made me go, 'how did she do that? How did she understand exactly how I feel? How did she put this emotion I thought was indescribable into beautifully written words?' I was consistently awed throughout at her ability to verbalize and legitimize feelings that I would never think to do on my own.
I definitely wouldn't be opposed to reading Ms. Chase's other works, as again, I wasn't unimpressed, I just wasn't blown out of the water by her novel.