You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
situationnormal 's review for:
The Shadow Land
by Elizabeth Kostova
I received an ARC free for review
3.75 stars but rounding up to 4. I haven't read Kostova's other books, so I can't speak at all to how this one compares. This one has a very slow build, with many different characters and their stories layering on top of each other and creating the nail-biting (albeit a little obvious) reveal near the end.
I became attached to a few of the characters, which is what I'm always looking for in a new book, but I also found myself drawn much more to some than others, which made this story's structure difficult to get through at times. I would be invested in one story line and get annoyed when I was pulled out of it to visit the past or future.
I also feel like a book with such a slow build had an overly vague and quickly dissolved ending, which is frustrating after reading a book this long. I'm not asking for a pretty bow and all of the ends taken care of, but I wanted either more or less from the end of this novel--if we don't get the last couple of chapters, I think it would have worked better for me, but since we did I would've liked them to be a little more fleshed out.
The relationships between the two characters we follow through the majority of the story was really strong although in the beginning it irked me that one of them mentioned repeatedly (it felt like at least once a page but I'm sure it was less) that they were afraid the other character was going to try and hit on them. Other relationships, while they had some emotional impact, weren't explored in the present well enough for me to feel the emotional resonance, which is the main thing I'm missing from this novel--slow and meandering pace aside.
Overall I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to those interested in the area or author, or even history buffs in general since it seems to be extremely well researched, but I can't see myself rereading it. It is worth sticking with through the beginning just to get to the characters who pick up halfway through, though.
3.75 stars but rounding up to 4. I haven't read Kostova's other books, so I can't speak at all to how this one compares. This one has a very slow build, with many different characters and their stories layering on top of each other and creating the nail-biting (albeit a little obvious) reveal near the end.
I became attached to a few of the characters, which is what I'm always looking for in a new book, but I also found myself drawn much more to some than others, which made this story's structure difficult to get through at times. I would be invested in one story line and get annoyed when I was pulled out of it to visit the past or future.
I also feel like a book with such a slow build had an overly vague and quickly dissolved ending, which is frustrating after reading a book this long. I'm not asking for a pretty bow and all of the ends taken care of, but I wanted either more or less from the end of this novel--if we don't get the last couple of chapters, I think it would have worked better for me, but since we did I would've liked them to be a little more fleshed out.
The relationships between the two characters we follow through the majority of the story was really strong although in the beginning it irked me that one of them mentioned repeatedly (it felt like at least once a page but I'm sure it was less) that they were afraid the other character was going to try and hit on them. Other relationships, while they had some emotional impact, weren't explored in the present well enough for me to feel the emotional resonance, which is the main thing I'm missing from this novel--slow and meandering pace aside.
Overall I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to those interested in the area or author, or even history buffs in general since it seems to be extremely well researched, but I can't see myself rereading it. It is worth sticking with through the beginning just to get to the characters who pick up halfway through, though.