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A review by kdawg2009
Alchemy of a Blackbird by Claire McMillan
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
This was my first GoodReads Giveaway winning. For that, I thank the publication. I entered this giveaway because I am a big fan of historical fiction, I liked the title, and liked the cover.
Unfortunately this book was hard for me to get into. I found the men characters to be pretentious and largely unlikeable. The best part of this book is the relationship depicted between Leonora and Remedios.
I found Claire McMillan's writing to be sesquipedalian. Normally, I am able to determine the meaning of unknown words based on the sentence, but I frequently found myself lost with some of the terminology in this book.
Another confusing aspect is the chapter layout. There is a main story that composes the first half of each chapter. Each chapter has a picture of a tarot card in the middle with an explanation of how to read the card. However, the second half of the chapter is never a continuation of the first half. Rather, it is a related character's perspective of what is occurring within the chapter. As a reader, I found this confusing. I feel the 2nd half of each chapter would have benefited from having the speaker's name printed at the top, for less confusion.
I did find the information regarding tarot history to be interesting. I would have liked to have seen some pictures of Remedios artwork included as well.
Unfortunately this book was hard for me to get into. I found the men characters to be pretentious and largely unlikeable. The best part of this book is the relationship depicted between Leonora and Remedios.
I found Claire McMillan's writing to be sesquipedalian. Normally, I am able to determine the meaning of unknown words based on the sentence, but I frequently found myself lost with some of the terminology in this book.
Another confusing aspect is the chapter layout. There is a main story that composes the first half of each chapter. Each chapter has a picture of a tarot card in the middle with an explanation of how to read the card. However, the second half of the chapter is never a continuation of the first half. Rather, it is a related character's perspective of what is occurring within the chapter. As a reader, I found this confusing. I feel the 2nd half of each chapter would have benefited from having the speaker's name printed at the top, for less confusion.
I did find the information regarding tarot history to be interesting. I would have liked to have seen some pictures of Remedios artwork included as well.