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elixtirr 's review for:
The Shivering Sands
by Victoria Holt
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The copy I owned of this book was only 280 pages or so, but it felt so. incredibly. long. The pacing is just far too slow for my liking. I read The King In His Castle by the same author when I was teenager and really enjoyed the story, but this one was a bit of a miss. My main motivation to finish this story was just being able to see the various strings of information be neatly tied up and explained. Most of the novel consisted of so much happening and yet nothing happening. Every time there was a story beat or a plot point, I absolute ate up the story. But soon, the excitement of that story beat faded away into the obscurity of vaguely entertaining dialogue that would go on for another 50+ pages. When everything was wrapped up and explained at the end, it was satisfying enough; however, I wish there had been more suspense interwoven into the story in general. It was there, to be sure, but I would have liked more of it. Again, this story suffers because the suspense and major plot points are wedged between endless pages of exposition and mediocre dialogue. I wish I had had a better time reading this book, but I stopped being able to connect with the main character about mid-way through the novel. If you like gothic romance, mystery, suspense, and thrillers, I suggest you choose a different book. I can truly only see other Victoria Holt readers enjoying this to the fullest extent. Even then, it may fall short of her other works; it’s hard for me to say, since I have only read one of her other novels. As a stand-alone novel, though, this wasn’t exemplary. Perhaps I am being uncharitable since I generally despised the main love interest. I’m not convinced he is the martyr he is seen to be by the main protagonist, and their dynamic is questionable at best and manipulative at worst.