A review by bethadele
The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

3.0

This could have been an awesome YA novel instead it's a YA novel that had so much potential and just fell slightly short.

Thing is, I kind of get what Clement-Moore was going for...it just didn't quite work. Building the story slowly, then having everything climax and happen at once may sound good in theory, but really, the climax was a little more anti than climatic. The protagonist was just a little too clueless before all the secrets came pouring out at her. (Is the flood supposed to be symbolic of it all dawning on Sylvie in one fell swoop?)

Now aside from the way the story is structured, the most annoying thing for me was the bloody dog. Who really added nothing at all to the story, even the feeble attempt to make her relevant at the end failed dismally.

I really liked Sylvie. She had me from "I can only handle one bitch at a time."
But when it came to the romance???Um, WHAT BLOODY ROMANCE?
Tingles and angst ridden glances do not a romance story make. Even for the most timid of teens.

I would have really loved to have seen the family history take a little more precedence. The true love story was there.
Having said all that, there was much to like about The Splendour Falls.
Even if I was left a little underwhelmed.