The book intrigued me a lot, firstly because the cover is brilliant and the blurb alludes to a non-present character...
So there were times when I wasn’t sure if I’d finish this book.
I don’t think it started well. It took me ages to get into it and longer than usual to start enjoying it. I notice a few other reviews have felt the same.
However, I am glad I stuck with it because the second half of the book picked up the pace.
I think the problem was in the characters rather than the story. I didn’t particularly like or dislike the protagonist. She was quite flat and came across as a bit of a snob who looked down on her half sister and the people from the small town where she was from. Perhaps that was the point but for me it didn’t work.
The house was almost a character in itself... this worked well, and the atmosphere and scene setting was good.
I found the first half too long and superfluous.
The second half when the pace picked up was good. The mystery of the house was engaging and the story was original
I think the plot saved it for me, because the characterisation wasn’t good. Don’t expect to be immediately hooked!
So there were times when I wasn’t sure if I’d finish this book.
I don’t think it started well. It took me ages to get into it and longer than usual to start enjoying it. I notice a few other reviews have felt the same.
However, I am glad I stuck with it because the second half of the book picked up the pace.
I think the problem was in the characters rather than the story. I didn’t particularly like or dislike the protagonist. She was quite flat and came across as a bit of a snob who looked down on her half sister and the people from the small town where she was from. Perhaps that was the point but for me it didn’t work.
The house was almost a character in itself... this worked well, and the atmosphere and scene setting was good.
I found the first half too long and superfluous.
The second half when the pace picked up was good. The mystery of the house was engaging and the story was original
I think the plot saved it for me, because the characterisation wasn’t good. Don’t expect to be immediately hooked!