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djlovesemo 's review for:
The Lions of Fifth Avenue
by Fiona Davis
Maybe 2.5 stars? Because one story was good.
It is told in two time periods, 1913 and 1993.
1913 is an interesting story and a really interesting character going through tough changes in her life and the world around her.
1993 was...weird. It felt like a goofy romantic comedy. If these were written as two completely unrelated books, I would have been much happier. Because the contrast was so jarring to me.
The 93 character, Sadie, was very boring to me. She had no real personality. It felt like she was supposed to be quirky, but it fell so flat. It was the most generic, cookie-cutter quirky ever. "Librarian dresses in vintage clothes and good to punk rock clubs "
It might have worked if there was any depth to her at all. Like ANYTHING to make you feel like this is a real person, but I didn't get any of that.
And all the silliness of the chasing criminals and going undercover was like a cheesy romantic comedy.
Which I would 100% read. I don't think I would have liked it as much as others, but it's totally my jam.
And the connection at the end? Wow. That was...not for me. Again, super cheesy and goofy.
Which is too bad, because the 1913 stuff was engaging and made sense and had a character with real issues.
It almost feels like the author watched dramatic TV shows about that time period and wrote about it in a serious way.
But also watched cheesy 90s movies to learn about what the world was like in the 90s. I loved on the 90s. I grew up in the 90s. We weren't the movies.
The reveal for the 1913 was fine. Not amazing, but it worked.
The reveal for 1993 was, as I said, really cheesy.
I'm not an author, but I kinda wish we had a longer book about the 1913 stuff, and maybe just an epilogue where we find out Harry is alive and he comes back and reveals the truth. Like, 20 pages take place in 1993.
And maybe get someone else to write the goofy library mystery where the detective and the Librarian fall in love. But give this author credit for the cute idea.
It is a good story idea, but she seems better with drama. I don't want her to stop trying romantic comedies. Because I do love them. So keep at it!
It is told in two time periods, 1913 and 1993.
1913 is an interesting story and a really interesting character going through tough changes in her life and the world around her.
1993 was...weird. It felt like a goofy romantic comedy. If these were written as two completely unrelated books, I would have been much happier. Because the contrast was so jarring to me.
The 93 character, Sadie, was very boring to me. She had no real personality. It felt like she was supposed to be quirky, but it fell so flat. It was the most generic, cookie-cutter quirky ever. "Librarian dresses in vintage clothes and good to punk rock clubs "
It might have worked if there was any depth to her at all. Like ANYTHING to make you feel like this is a real person, but I didn't get any of that.
And all the silliness of the chasing criminals and going undercover was like a cheesy romantic comedy.
Which I would 100% read. I don't think I would have liked it as much as others, but it's totally my jam.
And the connection at the end? Wow. That was...not for me. Again, super cheesy and goofy.
Which is too bad, because the 1913 stuff was engaging and made sense and had a character with real issues.
It almost feels like the author watched dramatic TV shows about that time period and wrote about it in a serious way.
But also watched cheesy 90s movies to learn about what the world was like in the 90s. I loved on the 90s. I grew up in the 90s. We weren't the movies.
The reveal for the 1913 was fine. Not amazing, but it worked.
The reveal for 1993 was, as I said, really cheesy.
I'm not an author, but I kinda wish we had a longer book about the 1913 stuff, and maybe just an epilogue where we find out Harry is alive and he comes back and reveals the truth. Like, 20 pages take place in 1993.
And maybe get someone else to write the goofy library mystery where the detective and the Librarian fall in love. But give this author credit for the cute idea.
It is a good story idea, but she seems better with drama. I don't want her to stop trying romantic comedies. Because I do love them. So keep at it!