julene

Everything I love in a book!

Revisado: 10-24-23

Set in Georgian England, the likeable bright young protagonist Red meets the challenges of a young woman with nothing but her wits and some card-reading skills to find her past and future. Red is orphaned when her travelling fortune-teller father dies. She is in a desperate search to find out who her mother is with only a locket as a clue and the few stories her father told her. When her dying father trades his valuable fortune telling book on The Square of Sevens to secure her guardianship, she is forced to leave Cornwall to live in complicated and mannered Bath. Great efforts and care are taken to transform Red into a Lady with a better name and back-story for her new position. And as a Lady, she eventually finds and follows clues leading her to maneuver London's back-streets with travelling minstrels and the social stratification of Georgian drawing rooms for more answers. She was literally dealt a bad hand and must play her few remaining cards right!

This spellbinding novel is about fate and destiny. It is intricately plotted with family secrets, murders, greed, mystery, and the power of superstition. There is even a long Dickensian courtroom drama. Red tells us her story first-person. The man hired by a wealthy family to find out her secrets also tells us his story in first person. He is wary, and worried when she learns too much. Twists, turns, hidden codicils and wills, priest holes in Tudor mansions, powerful fighting families, lurking villains, passionate betrayals, and sleuthing leave you guessing until the wallop of an ending!

Making the read even more fun, is the author's use of the cards in the game Square of Seven's with their meaning as Chapter delineators dividing the book in a 4 square story. I whipped through this fun read. I was never bothered by the length and loved the well-researched period detail. Bonus: The author notes at the end are a must read...AFTER you finish. I listened on audio and LOVED it. This is an intricately plotted, epic book that delivers plot twists galore. . . A big, satisfying and clever book!

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Richly told narrative

Revisado: 05-20-23

Turn of the century fairytale w wonderful twists and turns. Villains, angels, love and heartbreak all woven into a hard to put down novel. Loved it.

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ugh.

Revisado: 11-29-21

fake accent. boring. I can't think of another 15 words to finish this review. a really good example of how to make history boring

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started out promising...

Revisado: 11-13-19

Why do audiobook publishers feel that they need to add stupid stuff like people talking on the phone as though they are connected by a copper cup? And where was the editor of this book when every time a woman was described, her hair was "scraped back" to her head. Twice I can forgive, four or five times it just takes you out of the story. And the story, was not bad. Although it got pretty predictable by the middle of the book. Finally, everyone's death in the story went on way too long. In fact some of the death scenes I forwarded 30 seconds and then again, and they were still going on. A bit gratuitous for my taste and unnecessary in detail to forward the plot of the book.

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New York gossip, places and sad money

Revisado: 08-10-19

A bit repetitive, but very interesting. A bit repetitive, but very interesting. A bit repetitive...

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the reason audio books are sometimes the best

Revisado: 07-18-19

My book club chose this book, and I was sure it was going to be a treacley self-involved tearjerker. I. Was. WRONG. As with all my favorite books, usually historical fiction, it is about love, loss, and life, but Tembi is so honest in her reflections, and deeply profound in her perceptions, the book is as philosophical as it is inspirational.

This lyrical symphony of words and story moved me in many ways I was not prepared for. The pacing, the depth of shared experience, and the descriptions, are so beautiful that I found myself crying in empathy, joy, and delight many times throughout the book.

As she watches her young daughter stir a pot of tomatoes among the family of local Sicilians, she reflects on the strength and vitality of her daughter and how she knows she will grow up to be independent thoughtful and to be able to "stir the pot" in life when needed.

Finally, the author is the perfect narrator for this book. Her gentle voice, her deep convictions and her honesty all shine throughout. And as with many audiobooks, to hear the native languages spoken and translated, brought the story a heightened resonance.

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wow

Revisado: 02-01-19

this book just had the most magnificent story and the poetry woven throughout made it quite lyrical

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intrepid pursuit of parent across oceans ...

Revisado: 11-23-18

while another daughter struggles with the loss of her mother's memory and coming to terms with a broken marriage. endlessly fascinating and interesting story

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Kate Morton has a new fan

Revisado: 05-02-18

This book was recommended to me by a friend because of my love for the book The Secret Garden when I was a child. If you like Dickensian plot lines, Austen'esque characters and great mysteries that weave themselves through time, GET this book! I loved it and will now read the rest of her books.

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Can. Not. Listen.

Revisado: 05-02-18

I think I like the story. I know I like Jake Tapper. But - A reader he is NOT! HONESTLY unlistenable. Characters mash into the prose, the story is lost as you try so hard to listen. A huge disservice to his book. Someone do Jake a favor, Get another reader! It's truely an art form best left to those artists. Jake is great at many things, I'm sure he'll understand.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas