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esorharas 's review for:
The Confessions of Frannie Langton
by Sara Collins
I toyed between a three and a four star rating for this.
However, first thoughts are that this book is beautifully written. There are some great lines in here which I wish I'd kept a note of - I may go back and mark them up later.
I was compelled to keep reading more, even though I didn't much care for any of the characters and found the romance between Frannie and Madame to be lacking in chemistry. Frannie was one of those characters that I kind of liked, and kind of didn't. She did questionable things, and even at the end I wasn't entirely clear on what she had done, except for the bits that are explicitly stated. She lies, too, so is not the most reliable of narrators, which makes you wonder exactly what is the truth and what is a lie.
The plot interested me enough to keep me reading, mainly for the mystery element. Now that I've slept on it, though, I'm beginning to think that the mystery, when it was resolved, wasn't all that shocking. There was something that I can't put my finger on which kept me reading this book, despite initial instincts to put it down due to not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped. I liked the comments on racism and sexism. I liked Madame's comments on her own restrictions, and her and Frannie's desperate plight as two women who could not make a life for themselves, no matter how much they may have wanted to.
I think I've talked myself into giving this three stars. It's a solid, strong three stars, and I'd definitely recommend this for those who like romance, historical fiction and a little bit of mystery on the side. I'd definitely check out more by this author in the future.
However, first thoughts are that this book is beautifully written. There are some great lines in here which I wish I'd kept a note of - I may go back and mark them up later.
I was compelled to keep reading more, even though I didn't much care for any of the characters and found the romance between Frannie and Madame to be lacking in chemistry. Frannie was one of those characters that I kind of liked, and kind of didn't. She did questionable things, and even at the end I wasn't entirely clear on what she had done, except for the bits that are explicitly stated. She lies, too, so is not the most reliable of narrators, which makes you wonder exactly what is the truth and what is a lie.
The plot interested me enough to keep me reading, mainly for the mystery element. Now that I've slept on it, though, I'm beginning to think that the mystery, when it was resolved, wasn't all that shocking. There was something that I can't put my finger on which kept me reading this book, despite initial instincts to put it down due to not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped. I liked the comments on racism and sexism. I liked Madame's comments on her own restrictions, and her and Frannie's desperate plight as two women who could not make a life for themselves, no matter how much they may have wanted to.
I think I've talked myself into giving this three stars. It's a solid, strong three stars, and I'd definitely recommend this for those who like romance, historical fiction and a little bit of mystery on the side. I'd definitely check out more by this author in the future.