chicken
15th December 2007, 14:27
:confused: I have never written a review before so please bear with me if I ramble!
Synopsis: "Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once the imposing home of the March family - fascinating, manipulative isabelle, Charlie, her brutal and dangerous brother, and the wild and untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House conceals a chilling secret whose impact still resonates.
Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past - and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has the house been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic author Vida Winter? And what is it in Margaret's own troubled past that causes her to fall so pwerfully under Angelfield's spell?
Review: I really liked the sound of this book from the Blurb on the back, but I found it very confusing and quite hard to read. The main character, Margaret, feels under developed, as do most of the characters in the story. It seems that the book should be twice the size to fit in all the details to flesh out the characters. The idea behind the story itself is very good, it just seems to lack depth.
The story begins when Margaret receives a letter from a prominent author who wants to meet her with a view to writing a biography. As the story developes it becomes clear that Vida Winter began life as a different person, and not a particularly nice one. There are a few twists and turns in the story but most of them are fairly predictable as is the ending. Although saying that, it is a satisfying ending.
The way the book is written is a bit irritating as it is not clear which period the story is set in and I kept trying to make Margaret a modern girl, but I dont think she is :dunno: I would have enjoyed it more had I been able to set Margaret in a time zone. I didn't really engage with the characters, they didn't come alive for me this time, which was a shame because overall the book is good. Its an interesting mystery story, with all the ingredients for a really good read, somehow tho (for me) it just didn't quite come off.
If you like mystery tales then give this one a look, but dont expect the characters to jump off the page and into your life - they dont.
Synopsis: "Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once the imposing home of the March family - fascinating, manipulative isabelle, Charlie, her brutal and dangerous brother, and the wild and untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House conceals a chilling secret whose impact still resonates.
Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past - and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has the house been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic author Vida Winter? And what is it in Margaret's own troubled past that causes her to fall so pwerfully under Angelfield's spell?
Review: I really liked the sound of this book from the Blurb on the back, but I found it very confusing and quite hard to read. The main character, Margaret, feels under developed, as do most of the characters in the story. It seems that the book should be twice the size to fit in all the details to flesh out the characters. The idea behind the story itself is very good, it just seems to lack depth.
The story begins when Margaret receives a letter from a prominent author who wants to meet her with a view to writing a biography. As the story developes it becomes clear that Vida Winter began life as a different person, and not a particularly nice one. There are a few twists and turns in the story but most of them are fairly predictable as is the ending. Although saying that, it is a satisfying ending.
The way the book is written is a bit irritating as it is not clear which period the story is set in and I kept trying to make Margaret a modern girl, but I dont think she is :dunno: I would have enjoyed it more had I been able to set Margaret in a time zone. I didn't really engage with the characters, they didn't come alive for me this time, which was a shame because overall the book is good. Its an interesting mystery story, with all the ingredients for a really good read, somehow tho (for me) it just didn't quite come off.
If you like mystery tales then give this one a look, but dont expect the characters to jump off the page and into your life - they dont.