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A review by hewlettelaine
The House of Sorrowing Stars by Beth Cartwright
2.0
An interesting concept but ultimately a frustrating read!
I liked the ideas that Cartwright created in this book. The concept of a magic house that helps people with their grief is very interesting and I liked the way the house was described and all the mysterious people in it. For me, however, the plot went awry in the second half.
Liddy starts as a seemingly strong female character - rejecting an unsatisfactory marriage and heading off to the House on an adventure. All that falls apart once she meets Raphaelle, who she swiftly decides she's in love with despite him being rude to her and their having exchanged about 3 words. I really hate this kind of vapid romance where female characters are won over purely by Mr Brooding's magnetic "charm". There was no chemistry to get into and the idea that Liddy was fated to come and "save" him completely undermines the agency and independence that she is given at the start. Similarly, the marchpane. It's a big deal at the start of the book but it's significance seems to get lost along the way. It's Liddy's great skill and she does absolutely nothing with it and it has very little point.
Secondly - the ghost wife. Ravanna is Raphaelle's first wife who died in an accident after losing their child. She is presented as a restless soul, tethered to the house by Raphaelle's grief and a danger. I thought the story was going to turn fully supernatural in the latter half but after one brief episode, she is swept to the side. Raphaelle makes his key and deals with her entirely off stage and she is never mentioned again while he gets his happy ending with Liddy. Again, a missed opportunity to explore the other side of the grieving experience and to give Raphaelle some much needed character too.
Lastly, the house itself. Every so often there are interludes where the house speaks. This aspect of the story is left frustratingly unfulfilled. It would have been great to make the house more of an active character and to use its voice more often. I'm not sure what the author intended with this but it could potentially have been very interesting.
Overall, there is a lot of potentially very interesting things about this atory and the writing is enjoyable. It simply gets bogged down in too many unsatisfactory points and characters that do not hang together well enough for me.
I liked the ideas that Cartwright created in this book. The concept of a magic house that helps people with their grief is very interesting and I liked the way the house was described and all the mysterious people in it. For me, however, the plot went awry in the second half.
Liddy starts as a seemingly strong female character - rejecting an unsatisfactory marriage and heading off to the House on an adventure. All that falls apart once she meets Raphaelle, who she swiftly decides she's in love with despite him being rude to her and their having exchanged about 3 words. I really hate this kind of vapid romance where female characters are won over purely by Mr Brooding's magnetic "charm". There was no chemistry to get into and the idea that Liddy was fated to come and "save" him completely undermines the agency and independence that she is given at the start. Similarly, the marchpane. It's a big deal at the start of the book but it's significance seems to get lost along the way. It's Liddy's great skill and she does absolutely nothing with it and it has very little point.
Secondly - the ghost wife. Ravanna is Raphaelle's first wife who died in an accident after losing their child. She is presented as a restless soul, tethered to the house by Raphaelle's grief and a danger. I thought the story was going to turn fully supernatural in the latter half but after one brief episode, she is swept to the side. Raphaelle makes his key and deals with her entirely off stage and she is never mentioned again while he gets his happy ending with Liddy. Again, a missed opportunity to explore the other side of the grieving experience and to give Raphaelle some much needed character too.
Lastly, the house itself. Every so often there are interludes where the house speaks. This aspect of the story is left frustratingly unfulfilled. It would have been great to make the house more of an active character and to use its voice more often. I'm not sure what the author intended with this but it could potentially have been very interesting.
Overall, there is a lot of potentially very interesting things about this atory and the writing is enjoyable. It simply gets bogged down in too many unsatisfactory points and characters that do not hang together well enough for me.