1 to 12 of 12
Review Date: 5/2/2017
First in a series of 3. Interesting characters and plot.
Drawback was that it was a bit wordy...in the style of the Brontes and Austen...and some of it seemed like a bit of filler.
But it was good enough to make me want to read the next in the series.
Drawback was that it was a bit wordy...in the style of the Brontes and Austen...and some of it seemed like a bit of filler.
But it was good enough to make me want to read the next in the series.
Review Date: 7/3/2010
Helpful Score: 2
First of all, I am an avid reader with eclectic tastes. I read whatever I can get my hands on.
However, this book was so boring and tedious that I couldn't get much past the first chapter. I skimmed through, hoping the story got more interesting, but no such luck. The writer's style isn't bad, but there are just too many detailed descriptions, too many extra bits of information, none of which really moved the story along.
If you're bored already, this is absolutely not the book to read!
However, this book was so boring and tedious that I couldn't get much past the first chapter. I skimmed through, hoping the story got more interesting, but no such luck. The writer's style isn't bad, but there are just too many detailed descriptions, too many extra bits of information, none of which really moved the story along.
If you're bored already, this is absolutely not the book to read!
Review Date: 9/4/2014
Helpful Score: 1
Plot was weak...no real explanation of the paranormal (we got the "who" and a rather weak "why," but not the "how"), and much too wordy. The excess musings weakened with the tension.
Review Date: 9/2/2009
Very entertaining if you like both mysteries and dry British wit...which I do. Hugh Laurie's voice comes through loud and clear. Can't wait to read more of his work.
Review Date: 4/1/2013
The part of the book dealing with Jordan Marsh was interesting and enjoyable. However, the parts that switched back to Charlotte and Hattie's time were really too wordy, too tedious, and I ended up skipping large chunks. I think that, in an effort to capture the flavor of the past century, Alderman tried to emulate an Austen or Bronte style. That might have worked if she hadn't gone on and on and on with bits of trivia that didn't move the story forward. I doubt that I'll bother with the series.
Review Date: 8/24/2014
I had high hopes when I read the title and blurb, but the book was a complete disappointment. Very poor writing! The descriptions were without color, detail, none of the 5 senses...a prime example was the main character saying she cooked all the things her daughter like for dinner, but there weren't any details to let the reader imagine the scene. In fact, that WAS the scene, glossed over and what she cooked were "things."
So, the reader "sees" nothing really, not the house...other than it was big, had doors and windows and furniture and she painted the walls (what color, what did the furniture look like, etc.?) The author missed huge possibilities of bringing this book to life by simply having the character sit "in a mahogany, carved side chair with plush cushions, the scarlet fabric worn down to a dirty pale pink" instead of her character just sitting down in a Victorian chair.
The print was weird in places, the punctuation off, and it was clearly a book printed by either a very small publisher or by the author herself. I couldn't manage to get past the first couple chapters, and even skimming was so boring that I simply gave up.
The author broke the cardinal rule of good writing: show; don't tell!
So, the reader "sees" nothing really, not the house...other than it was big, had doors and windows and furniture and she painted the walls (what color, what did the furniture look like, etc.?) The author missed huge possibilities of bringing this book to life by simply having the character sit "in a mahogany, carved side chair with plush cushions, the scarlet fabric worn down to a dirty pale pink" instead of her character just sitting down in a Victorian chair.
The print was weird in places, the punctuation off, and it was clearly a book printed by either a very small publisher or by the author herself. I couldn't manage to get past the first couple chapters, and even skimming was so boring that I simply gave up.
The author broke the cardinal rule of good writing: show; don't tell!
Review Date: 8/24/2014
Better than some, but not up to Massie's usual standards. It felt as if the author were trying to hurry up and get everything jammed in. It was more of a draft, needing more development, instead of being a finished book.
Something to read when nothing else is available, but that's about it.
Something to read when nothing else is available, but that's about it.
Review Date: 8/11/2014
This could have been a much better book. The basic plot was good enough, but it felt rushed, as though the author were in a big hurry to get to the end. Partly because of this, the characters never became more than two-dimensional with some of them being just the usual flat stereotypes.
There were some discontenting grammar and punctuation flaws, such as a repetition of the phrase "a roll of the eyes was given" with no punctuation or capitalization. I don't know why the author didn't simply write, "She rolled her eyes," but it got to be annoying and broke the train of the action for the reader. Also, there were a lot of sentences strung together with commas instead of periods, and that made some of them harder to figure out what thought went with what thought.
I suspect this was self-published, not a bad thing, but just not enough editing and revision by a competent editor.
Still, it was a quick read, though a lightweight one, and really wasn't scary at all..or even very romantic since, with the character development being superficial, the romance was superficial and hackneyed as well.
There were some discontenting grammar and punctuation flaws, such as a repetition of the phrase "a roll of the eyes was given" with no punctuation or capitalization. I don't know why the author didn't simply write, "She rolled her eyes," but it got to be annoying and broke the train of the action for the reader. Also, there were a lot of sentences strung together with commas instead of periods, and that made some of them harder to figure out what thought went with what thought.
I suspect this was self-published, not a bad thing, but just not enough editing and revision by a competent editor.
Still, it was a quick read, though a lightweight one, and really wasn't scary at all..or even very romantic since, with the character development being superficial, the romance was superficial and hackneyed as well.
Review Date: 3/9/2011
Lovely, lovely book! Wonderful story and entrancing illustrations. It moved me to buy the Stellaluna stuffed toy/puppet. It's adorable!
Review Date: 9/4/2014
Too predictable; characters and plot same ol'-same ol'.
Review Date: 7/3/2010
Helpful Score: 2
Good for a quick, light read. The characters...the three sisters and the three guys...weren't in depth enough to make them stand out as separate people. The sisters' personalities were interchangeable, as were the three guys'. The difference were just superficial.
But it was a way to pass a summer afternoon.
But it was a way to pass a summer afternoon.
Review Date: 3/9/2013
Helpful Score: 3
Had high hopes for this book, but I was disappointed. The exclamations used by the main character (a fashion designer's assistant and seamstress) were just too cutesy. Got really tired of "What the Hermes?" It simply felt unnatural. I'd wager if anyone really talked like this, people who had to listen to it would get very irritated after a while. Just too much of it.
The plot was kind of thin, the characters not fleshed out enough. Some of the sentences seemed disjointed; they lacked a good flow.
Not the worst book I've ever read, but I won't be getting the next book in this series.
The plot was kind of thin, the characters not fleshed out enough. Some of the sentences seemed disjointed; they lacked a good flow.
Not the worst book I've ever read, but I won't be getting the next book in this series.
1 to 12 of 12
