I never got on with 'The Keeper of Lost Things' as a whole, but I enjoyed the writing style so much I knew I needed to try another from Ruth Hogan, and 'Madame Burova' really didn't disappoint.
The cover really drew me in and the setting of Brighton made me feel at-easy from the start. Hogan makes each storyline flow so well, both on their own timeline and interweaving the two, creating a rich world that the characters fill up with their personalities.
Madame Burova is quite the character: she doesn't encapsulate completely the often clichéd mysterious, tarot reader. Instead, she's a wonderfully independent woman with an obvious belief and love for her magic and every time she appeared on the page the book seemed to spring to life. Her very presence made the book such an easy, pleasant read.
It is a very warm and welcoming novel, with great characters that have their own stories to tell even if they intertwine with many others, and the setting couldn't be more nostalgic (for good and for worse). It is quite reminiscent of 'The Keeper of Lost Things' only through it's unique storytelling and wonderful imagery, but 'Madame Burova' definitely has the edge with it's magic and setting.
The cover really drew me in and the setting of Brighton made me feel at-easy from the start. Hogan makes each storyline flow so well, both on their own timeline and interweaving the two, creating a rich world that the characters fill up with their personalities.
Madame Burova is quite the character: she doesn't encapsulate completely the often clichéd mysterious, tarot reader. Instead, she's a wonderfully independent woman with an obvious belief and love for her magic and every time she appeared on the page the book seemed to spring to life. Her very presence made the book such an easy, pleasant read.
It is a very warm and welcoming novel, with great characters that have their own stories to tell even if they intertwine with many others, and the setting couldn't be more nostalgic (for good and for worse). It is quite reminiscent of 'The Keeper of Lost Things' only through it's unique storytelling and wonderful imagery, but 'Madame Burova' definitely has the edge with it's magic and setting.