A review by therainbowshelf
The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I don't usually like general fiction, but I've been surprised before. Not this time. I picked this up because it sounded like a healing story about a woman recovering from a major life change and running a mobile library. I couldn't get into the story or characters. I also just didn't understand why after a decade or two, the woman felt entitled to ask her ex for money and wasn't set up at all. The POV shifts felt weird throughout, and I didn't find any of the side characters compelling. In fact, I found it tedious the way the narration kept referring to certain side characters with long descriptions like "Oscar the dog man" and constantly saying the carpenter showed up "with the devil at his heels" (the devil was his dog). I also thought it was weird that all the characters, especially the old carpenter man, kept calling the 50 year old protagonist a girl (or, in the case of the carpenter, just girl).
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