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A review by marlovve
The Household by Stacey Halls
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK | Manilla Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book was definitely an interesting read. The writing style was incredibly immersive and the writing style was lovely to read. However, I found the characters themselves felt like they all needed to be fleshed out a little more, and the plot itself felt meandering and disjointed.
Angela herself felt a little wishy-washy; one one hand you could care she really did care for the girls, but at other moments, it felt like she treated the house as a hobby; somewhere to grace her presence with once in a while to feel better about herself. That is not to say that she seemed selfish or full of herself, just that she felt a little inconsistent.And the way she treated Mrs Holdsworth at the end, despite the fact she was made aware she had requested help was frustrating. She wasn't perfect, but she absolutely cared for those girls and was doing the best she could in the situation she was given. It was a doomed idea from the start, but man. . I also did not enjoy the romantic subplot given to Angela, and felt her story would have been stronger if it hadn't been included.
Regarding the girls, only Martha and Josephine felt remotely fleshed out to me. Polly seemed to fade into the background and all the others were passing thoughts at best, which I suppose to some extent was the point, to emphasis the revolving door of girls at the cottage. Also, whilst I did feel they were more fleshed out than other characters, they still fell a little flat for me. I think the sheer number of plots Stacey Halls tried to incorporated weakened the book significantly.
This book was definitely an interesting read. The writing style was incredibly immersive and the writing style was lovely to read. However, I found the characters themselves felt like they all needed to be fleshed out a little more, and the plot itself felt meandering and disjointed.
Angela herself felt a little wishy-washy; one one hand you could care she really did care for the girls, but at other moments, it felt like she treated the house as a hobby; somewhere to grace her presence with once in a while to feel better about herself. That is not to say that she seemed selfish or full of herself, just that she felt a little inconsistent.
Regarding the girls, only Martha and Josephine felt remotely fleshed out to me. Polly seemed to fade into the background and all the others were passing thoughts at best, which I suppose to some extent was the point, to emphasis the revolving door of girls at the cottage. Also, whilst I did feel they were more fleshed out than other characters, they still fell a little flat for me. I think the sheer number of plots Stacey Halls tried to incorporated weakened the book significantly.