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A review by aktunmore
Half-Blown Rose by Leesa Cross-Smith
2.0
Just finished, read a few other reviews and the other negative ones seem to have the same issues I did with the book.
I just could not get on board with the main female character (Vincent) and what seemed an over reaction to her husband's secret. She was apparently upset about a lie in his past and then the book is nothing but her lying to her family and friends about her present. There is also almost never a situation where I'm going to like a character that cheats on a marriage.
Beyond that, the book felt a bit pretentious and like name dropping, but with places in Europe. It felt unnecessary to the story. I just couldn't find anything in common with any of the characters. Almost everyone was artsy, well-off (aka wealthy enough not to have to worry about real jobs), and high brow. I wouldn't be friends with these characters if it was real life, so it's not surprising I didn't like them in the novel. Lastly, I've been to Paris and it's lovely and I love reading about it, but it's still just a place in the world. There are many wonderful places but I can't imagine being so tied to one or so in love with a location like Vincent is in the book.
Writing was good. But this just wasn't the book for me.
I just could not get on board with the main female character (Vincent) and what seemed an over reaction to her husband's secret. She was apparently upset about a lie in his past and then the book is nothing but her lying to her family and friends about her present. There is also almost never a situation where I'm going to like a character that cheats on a marriage.
Beyond that, the book felt a bit pretentious and like name dropping, but with places in Europe. It felt unnecessary to the story. I just couldn't find anything in common with any of the characters. Almost everyone was artsy, well-off (aka wealthy enough not to have to worry about real jobs), and high brow. I wouldn't be friends with these characters if it was real life, so it's not surprising I didn't like them in the novel. Lastly, I've been to Paris and it's lovely and I love reading about it, but it's still just a place in the world. There are many wonderful places but I can't imagine being so tied to one or so in love with a location like Vincent is in the book.
Writing was good. But this just wasn't the book for me.