These Days is set in April 1941 during 4 nights of the Belfast Blitz during WW2. The story focuses on sisters Emma and Audrey and their family and we see the impact that this horrendous attack has on them. Each member of the family has their own things going on in their lives with secrets to keep and people outside the family that they are worried about and the book explores how family dynamics can shift and be tested during a time of crisis.
Unfortunately, while I loved the premise of this book, the writing style really let me down. I dislike books that don't use speech marks and this book blends dialogue with prose so conversations feel more like you are being told what was said rather than shown. I love dialogue and think it is crucial for getting to know characters and their relationships with each other so the decision to omit speech marks really affected this for me and ultimately ruined my enjoyment of the book. The story and characters felt flat and I struggled to connect with any of them.
The depiction of the war and destruction of Belfast was hard hitting, moving and well described but I wish I could say the same for the characters.
Thank you to Readers First for the copy of this book.
Unfortunately, while I loved the premise of this book, the writing style really let me down. I dislike books that don't use speech marks and this book blends dialogue with prose so conversations feel more like you are being told what was said rather than shown. I love dialogue and think it is crucial for getting to know characters and their relationships with each other so the decision to omit speech marks really affected this for me and ultimately ruined my enjoyment of the book. The story and characters felt flat and I struggled to connect with any of them.
The depiction of the war and destruction of Belfast was hard hitting, moving and well described but I wish I could say the same for the characters.
Thank you to Readers First for the copy of this book.