Meh.
I started reading this book with high hopes... My opinion was based on a
combination of things like word of mouth, fellow reader reviews, synopsis of
the book, and even the appeal of the book cover. I wanted to love this
book... I really, REALLY wanted to love this book. I kept reading
& reading in an effort to try and love this book.
To be fair,
I will say that the author did a fantastic job in terms of writing
style and editing. Ms. Lewis' writing is smooth, transitional,
and almost effortless. I had no difficulty following the author's ability to tell a story, but I did difficulty with the story line. However, as far as
'technical' effort, the author's work was virtually flawless.
The
awesome concept of fiction is what doesn't work for me, may work 100%
for someone else. No story is going to reach everyone, every time.
Please consider this while reading this review & judge accordingly.
For me, 'The Englishman', was a hot mess in numerous ways. It
had too much going on in so many different directions, I couldn't follow
it all as it unfolded. The 'secondary plot' was so complicated that I quickly
lost interest, therefore when it was 'solved', I didn't even realize it.
Finally, the 'main characters' of the story... we see the heroine
almost immediately, but there are many aspects of her life that I'm
still scratching my head about. And the Englishman, Giles? A very
similar scenario for me. Lots of questions, very few answers.
I
had to make myself finish the book & it was a huge effort. (It's a bit
long, which is great if you are enjoying the read.) I can't honestly say
I enjoyed reading this book, but I wish I could. However, I DO appreciate
the author's effort & I also appreciate her writing style and the
work she put forth into ensuring the final product was polished. I'd
like to see more of her writing & I'd definitely be interested in
reading something else from her in a different story line.
That said, it has been brought to my attention that I should try to use some sort of 'rating' system with my reviews. So, in the future I will attempt to rate books I've read on a 0-5, with 5 being the equivalent of those '5 star' books.
This book was a struggle for me... so 2.5 stars.
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