A review by superdewa
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

3.0

I read this because it was recommended by someone whose opinion I trust and was disappointed. I was engaged and stuck with it for the cozy sense of place created by detailed descriptions of everything from the layout of homes down to exactly how the endless cups of tea were poured. The world building was wonderful, but the character development was awful and the plot was questionable. All of the main “good” female characters were defined mainly by not being like other “bad” female characters. Not like other girls. There’s a tragedy early on caused by drunk driving, and the characters cast some judgement on that behavior but still rarely say no to a drink before driving in the snow. There is so much drinking! Those are the worst of my grievances but there are many.. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator overacted and didn’t help.

Despite the negative review I now find myself fully in the holiday mood and even made a gingerbread loaf yesterday.